01 What makes it unique
The 26FKDS inverts the usual travel-trailer layout: the galley goes up front and the bedroom to the back. The Forest River factory describes the floorplan as two entries and two slide outs, with a metal exterior and a 20-foot awning, and an interior of a front kitchen and a rear bedroom — sleeping five in about 31 feet. Putting the kitchen in the nose gives it the front windows and pushes the bedroom to the quiet end, and the second entry door means you can get to the bedroom without walking through the galley. It is the shortest of the eight profiled Pumas and the easiest to place on a site. It carries the standard Puma build: a powder-coated steel I-beam frame with steel crossmembers under .024/.030-gauge aluminum skin, an AlphaPly roof membrane under a limited lifetime warranty, R-7 fiberglass insulation cut and glued between sidewall studs on 16-inch centres, a 5/8-inch Araucoply plywood floor under a 25-year limited warranty, an enclosed Darco-wrapped underbelly with enclosed water tanks, a tankless water heater and an 11 cu ft 12-volt refrigerator. Solar is roof and side-mount prep only — no panel is installed from the factory.
Palomino publishes an 8,553-pound GVWR against the 7,053-pound dry weight, leaving a 1,500-pound cargo capacity and a 1,035-pound dry tongue — a heavy tongue for the length, which is what a front kitchen does to the weight distribution, and worth checking against your payload before you assume a shorter trailer means an easier tow. The tank set is 43/70/35 gallons fresh/grey/black. Palomino and Forest River publish no MSRP for the Puma line, so confirm street pricing with a dealer. The 26FKDS is the Puma for a small family or a couple who cooks and wants a rear bedroom in a body that still fits most sites.
Forest River lists all four Puma packages as required, but the Value Shopper Package specifies a 13,500 BTU ducted air conditioner and the Limited Edition Package specifies a 15,000 BTU unit in place of it — the two required packages contradict each other, so confirm the air conditioner on the actual unit.
02 Full specifications
Dimensions
- Exterior length
- 30' 10"
- Exterior height
- 11' 1"
- Exterior width
- 8' 0"
Weights
- Dry / unit base weight (UVW)
- 7,053 lbs
- GVWR (max loaded)
- 8,553 lbs
- Net cargo / payload (CCC)
- 1,500 lbs
- Dry tongue (hitch) weight
- 1,035 lbs
Capacities
- Fresh water
- 43 gal
- Grey water
- 70 gal
- Black water
- 35 gal
- Refrigerator
- 11 cu ft
Construction
- Frame
- Powder-coated steel I-beam · steel crossmembers
- Exterior
- .024 / .030-gauge aluminum skin (metal-sided)
- Roof
- AlphaPly membrane, limited lifetime warranty · 3/8″ decking
- Rafters
- 4½″ crowned truss roof rafters
- Insulation
- R-7 fiberglass, cut and glued between sidewall studs · studs 16″ on centre
- Floor
- 5/8″ Araucoply plywood decking (25-year limited warranty)
- Underbelly
- Enclosed Darco-wrapped · enclosed water tanks
Running gear
- Axles
- 2 (tandem)
- Axle rating
- Not published by source*
- Hitch
- Bumper Pull (weight-distribution recommended)
- Jack
- 3,500 lb electric tongue jack · 4 electric stabilizer jacks
- Wheels
- Aluminum · spare tire (tire rating not published*)
- Solar
- Roof and side-mount PREP only — no panel installed*
Galley & systems
- Refrigerator
- 11 cu ft 12-volt black-glass refrigerator
- A/C
- 1 unit · 13,500 BTU ducted low-profile with heat pump*
- Water heater
- Tankless (on-demand)
- Cooktop
- 21″ stainless oven and range hood · glass range cover
- Microwave
- 1.3 cu ft stainless
- Heat
- Floor-ducted
Sleeping & layout
- Sleeps
- 5
- Slides
- 2
- Entries
- 2
- Awning
- 1 · 20'
03 The Puma floorplan family
Puma is Palomino's metal-sided value travel trailer — bumper-pull towables on a powder-coated steel I-beam frame, and a cross-shop against Forest River's own Salem / Wildwood and Aurora, Prime Time's Avenger, Keystone's Springdale and Jayco's Jay Flight SLX. Eight floorplans are profiled in full and linked below; the remaining plans are catalogued and shown muted. The 26FKDS on this page is highlighted.
| Floorplan | Nominal | Sleeps | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 220FK | 25 ft | — | Front kitchen and rear bathroom |
| 227RK | 26 ft | 4 | Rear kitchen, front bedroom and pass through bathroom |
| 229RB | 26 ft | 3 | Front bedroom and rear bathroom |
| 25BHS | 30 ft | 9 | Bunk beds and front bedroom |
| 26FKDS | 30 ft | 5 | Front kitchen and rear bedroom |
| 27RBDS | 33 ft | 4 | Front bedroom and rear bathroom |
| 290RL | 34 ft | — | Kitchen island, front bedroom and rear living |
| 310RK | 35 ft | 4 | Rear kitchen |
| 30RKQS | 36 ft | 4 | Rear kitchen and front bedroom |
| 31RLQS | 36 ft | 4 | Kitchen island, front bedroom and rear living |
| 32RBFQ | 36 ft | 11 | Bunk beds, u-dinette and front bedroom |
| 32RBFQ2 | 36 ft | 7 | U-dinette, front bedroom, rear bedroom and two bedrooms |
| 337BH | 37 ft | 8 | Bunk beds, loft, front bedroom and pass through bathroom |
| 345BHL | 37 ft | 8 | Loft and front bedroom |
| 31QBBH | 37 ft | 9 | Bunk beds, u-dinette and front bedroom |
| 31FKRK | 37 ft | 4 | Front kitchen and rear bedroom |
| 32BH2B | 38 ft | 11 | Bunk beds, kitchen island, front bedroom and two full bathrooms |
| 340DB | 38 ft | — | Bunk beds, front bedroom, rear bedroom, two bedrooms and two full bathrooms |
| 32BHFS | 38 ft | 11 | Bunk beds, kitchen island and front bedroom |
| 32BHQS | 38 ft | 11 | Bunk beds, front bedroom and bathroom and a half |
Puma is Palomino's metal-sided value travel trailer — a powder-coated steel I-beam frame under .024/.030-gauge aluminum skin, and a cross-shop against Forest River's own Salem / Wildwood and Aurora, Prime Time's Avenger, Keystone's Springdale and Passport, Jayco's Jay Flight SLX and Coachmen's Catalina. The 2026 factory roster carries twenty travel-trailer plans; the eight highest-demand floorplans are profiled here in full and the remaining twelve are catalogued from published specifications below. Every Puma rides a bumper-pull tandem-axle chassis with an AlphaPly roof under a limited lifetime warranty, R-7 fiberglass sidewall insulation, an enclosed Darco-wrapped underbelly, a tankless water heater and an 11 cu ft 12-volt refrigerator, and every plan carries a 43-gallon fresh tank. Solar is prep only. Tongue weight, GVWR, dry weight and CCC are published per plan and each plan's dry weight plus CCC equals its GVWR exactly. Dry weight is a factory estimate; real loaded tongue weights run higher — always weigh the loaded trailer and confirm against your vehicle's tow rating and payload.
04 What owners & reviewers report
Front kitchen, rear bedroom, dual entry
The factory floorplan puts the galley in the nose and the bedroom at the back, with two entries — the bedroom is reachable without crossing the kitchen.
A heavy tongue for a 31-foot trailer
The 1,035-pound dry tongue is heavier than that of several longer Pumas — a front galley loads the nose. Check it against your vehicle's payload rather than assuming the shorter body tows lighter.
The shortest profiled Puma
At about 31 feet it is the most site-friendly of the eight profiled plans.
Confirm the air conditioner
The Value Shopper Package lists a 13,500 BTU ducted A/C and the Limited Edition Package lists a 15,000 BTU unit in place of it; Forest River marks both required, so confirm the size on the unit.
Weigh the loaded trailer
Dry weight is a factory estimate and real loaded tongue weights run above the 1,035-pound base — weigh the loaded trailer and use a weight-distributing hitch.
05 How it compares
Forest River's own Salem / Wildwood — the in-house metal-sided value cross-shop.
Prime Time's Avenger — the sister-division metal-sided value line.
The 31FKRK — the same front-kitchen and rear-bedroom idea stretched to about 38 feet.