2026 PalominoPuma Vista 38VFL

Forest River publishes a 13,214-pound GVWR for the Puma Vista 38VFL against a 11,414-pound unloaded weight, and the 1,800 pounds of cargo carrying capacity that leaves is ranked 8 of 13 on the 13-plan destination trailer roster. Dry weight plus CCC equals the published GVWR exactly, so the three figures are internally consistent rather than rounded against each other. The published tongue weight is 1,605 pounds.

The 38VFL measures 40' 3" long, 13' 4" tall and 96" wide, and carries a 43 / 70 / 70-gallon fresh, grey and black tank set; the factory lists its awning size as TBD. Height is the number to check first on a trailer this size — measure garage doors, carports and low branches against the published 13' 4" before the first trip. The factory files this plan under its own grouping, “Destination Trailers - Full Loft Height” — the only plan on the Vista roster filed that way. Against its neighbours on the roster, the shorter 37PFL runs 1,665 pounds lighter dry and the longer 38DEN runs 980 pounds lighter dry.

Unlike every other plan on this roster, the factory floorplan record for the 38VFL publishes no equipment package at all — the package blocks that appear on its sibling plans are simply absent from its page. Nothing has been carried across from those siblings: what a 38VFL is delivered with is not published by the factory, so confirm the equipment on the unit itself.

How the 38VFL differs from the other 25 Puma travel trailers. Most distinctive first. How these ranks are worked out.

• Black tank, 70 gal: largest of 26, level with the 421LFT and 422LFT; next are the 32BHQS, 39BHK and two others (65 gal).
• Cargo capacity as a share of GVWR, 13.6%: seventh-smallest of 24, between the 429LFT (12.8%) and the 402LFT (14.8%).
• Tongue weight, 1,605 lb: eighth-heaviest of 26, between the 39BHK (1,445 lb) and the 403LFT (1,675 lb).
• Dry weight, 11,414 lb: ninth-heaviest of 26, between the 39BHK (10,989 lb) and the 402LFT (11,849 lb).
• GVWR, 13,214 lb: tenth-highest of 25, between the 39BHK (12,739 lb) and the 38RLB (13,255 lb).
• Tongue weight as a share of dry weight, 14.1%: eleventh-largest of 26, between the 25TH and 37PFL (13.7%) and the 39DBT (14.2%).
• Exterior height, 13 ft 4 in: tallest of 26, level with the 401RLFT, 402LFT and six others; next are the 25TH, 27TH and 29TH (12 ft 2 in).
• Length, 40 ft 3 in: thirteenth-shortest of 26, between the 37PFL (40 ft) and the 38DEN (40 ft 6 in).
• Grey tank, 70 gal: shared with the 26FKDS, 30RKQS and seven others; of 26, thirteen smaller and three larger, nearest the 31FKRK, 38RLB and two others (65 gal) and the 39BHK and 423LFT (100 gal).
• Cargo capacity, 1,800 lb: shared with the 337BH, 39BHK and three others; of 26, ten smaller and ten larger, nearest the 429LFT (1,786 lb) and the 420LFT (1,801 lb).

Next to the 39BHK, the nearest lighter floorplan by dry weight, the 38VFL is 425 lb heavier by dry weight, has a GVWR 475 lb higher, has a tongue weight 160 lb heavier, is 2 ft 7 in shorter, stands 1 ft 7 in taller, has a grey tank 30 gal smaller and has a black tank 5 gal larger; the two publish the same cargo capacity and fresh tank.

Next to the 402LFT, the nearest heavier floorplan by dry weight, the 38VFL is 435 lb lighter by dry weight, has a GVWR 686 lb lower, has 251 lb less cargo capacity, has a tongue weight 90 lb lighter, is 2 ft 7 in shorter, has a grey tank 35 gal larger and has a black tank 35 gal larger; the two publish the same exterior height and fresh tank.

Puma Vista is the destination trailer tier of Palomino’s Puma family — 15 floorplans filed by the factory under “Destination Trailers”, sold under the parent Puma line and rostered on the Puma hub’s Puma Vista section. Per this site’s family policy a factory sub-roster lives under its parent hub rather than taking a hub of its own. Two plans are published with the conflict shown rather than profiled with the rest: on 39BHK, 423LFT the factory’s own published GVWR does not equal its published dry weight plus CCC, and this site publishes that conflict rather than resolving it. Of those, the 39BHK misses by 50 lb, and all three of its figures are published in full and flagged (†), with the trailer’s weight label governing; the 423LFT misses by 3,000 lb, so its printed GVWR is shown as disputed and is not given as a rating (†).

A full 43-gallon fresh tank is about 357 lb of water (water counts as cargo: 49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.2), 20% of the Puma Vista 38VFL’s 1,800 lb cargo capacity, leaving 1,443 lb. Across 26 Puma travel-trailer floorplans the water share runs 11% to 28%, and 10 give up more than this one. Nearest on that share: Puma 337BH at 20% and Puma Vista 429LFT at 20%. Your own unit’s figure is on the label inside its entry door (49 CFR 571.120 S10.4.3).