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Half-Ton Fifth Wheel · No Published GVWR · Factory Brochure Record

2021 Forest River Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels2896MB

a 36-foot fifth wheel that leaves the factory at 9,662 lbs dry and is rated to carry 1,926 lbs of cargo.

Tow-Critical Data — as built, MY2021

9,662lb
Dry Weight
1,926lb
Cargo Capacity
1,588lb
Pin Weight
36ft
Length
1,926 lb cargo Fifth Wheel · Fifth Wheels Built by · Forest River Model year · 2021

01 What makes it unique

The Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels 2896MB leaves Forest River's factory at 9,662 lbs dry with 1,926 lbs of cargo capacity. Forest River publishes no GVWR for this line, so the loaded rating is not quoted on this page and is not computed from the other two figures. What the cargo number covers is defined by the factory: fresh water, gear, food, batteries and every dealer-installed accessory come out of it. Fresh water is 8.3 lb per gallon, so filling the 54-gallon fresh tank spends 448 lbs of the 1,926 lbs before anything else goes in.

Dry pin weight is 1,588 lbs, which is 16% of the dry weight. That figure lands on the truck's rear axle and comes straight off its payload rating - not its towing rating, which is the number most often quoted and the wrong one for this decision. Pin weight rises as the trailer is loaded, and a fifth wheel loaded toward its cargo capacity will put substantially more than 1,588 lbs over the bed. Read the payload figure on your own door sticker rather than a brochure maximum for the model.

Tank capacities are 54 gallons fresh, 90 grey and 50 black, 140 gallons of waste capacity against 54 gallons of supply. The ratio is what governs how long the trailer can sit off hookups: waste capacity exceeds fresh, so the fresh tank is the binding constraint and refilling extends the stay. Forest River publishes these three figures per floorplan, and they are the factory's numbers rather than a segment average.

Against the rest of the Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels roster this is the 3rd of 3 floorplans by dry weight, in a line that runs from 8,289 lbs to 9,662 lbs. It is the heaviest plan in the line, so the tow vehicle should be settled before the floorplan is. Comparing floorplans inside one line is more reliable than comparing across brands, because every figure here comes from the same factory channel on the same day.

A useful way to read these figures is to stop planning against the dry weight. Nobody tows a trailer at 9,662 lbs: that is the weight before water, batteries, propane, bedding, food, tools and anything the dealer bolted on. Load half the published cargo capacity and this plan is already near 10,625 lbs on the road. Because Forest River publishes no loaded rating for this line, the ceiling has to come from the trailer's own weight label rather than from this page, and the comparison you make against the tow vehicle should use the loaded figure.

Every number above was read from one factory document: Forest River's own 2021 brochure for this line, and each figure was read back against that document's text before it was published. This is a single-channel record rather than the two-rendering cross-check this site runs on factory web captures, and it is described that way rather than dressed up as more. The brochure publishes no GVWR for this line, so the loaded rating is shown as not published and is never computed from dry weight plus cargo capacity. Where a figure is missing from this page it is because the brochure does not publish it, not because it was hard to find - and the row says so rather than being quietly dropped.

Forest River publishes no floorplan description for this plan in the channel this page is built from - only the numeric specification block. Rather than describe a layout from the floorplan code, which would be a guess dressed as a fact, this page carries what the factory publishes and says where it stops. 2896MB is a Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels designation and this site does not decode it into a layout claim.

02 Full specifications

Dimensions

Exterior length
36' 6"
Exterior height
13' 2"
Exterior width
8'

Weights

Dry / unit base weight (UVW)
9,662 lbs
GVWR (max loaded)
Not published by Forest River for this line
Net cargo / payload (CCC)
1,926 lbs
Dry pin weight
1,588 lbs

Capacities

Fresh water
54 gal
Grey water
90 gal
Black water
50 gal

Running gear

Hitch type
Fifth wheel (pin box)
Axles
Not published by Forest River
Tires
Not published by Forest River

Sleeping & layout

Sleeps
Not published by Forest River
Awnings
Not published by Forest River

Verified specs, drawn to scale

Original graphics built from this floorplan’s own verified figures.

Size, drawn to scale

Scale outline of the 2896MBScale outline of the 2896MB. Overall length 36' 6", overall height 13' 2", overall width 8' 0".end view8' 0"36' 6" overall length13' 2"
Overall length and height are drawn true to scale from the published figures, and the end view uses the same scale. Axle count is as published; axle position, wheel size and the nose profile are schematic. This is a size drawing, not a floorplan, and not a claim about body shape.

Holding tanks

Holding tank capacities for the 2896MBHolding tank capacities: fresh 54 gallons, grey 90 gallons, black 50 gallons.Fresh54 galGrey90 galBlack50 gal
Published tank capacities on one scale. A full fresh tank is about 450 lbs of water — roughly 23% of this plan’s 1,926 lb cargo capacity, before you load anything else.

These graphics are generated from the same verified record that builds the table above, and are published under this site’s own licence — nothing here is traced from, or derived from, a manufacturer drawing or photo. Where a figure is not published for this plan, the graphic that would need it is omitted rather than estimated. The full record is in the published dataset.

03 The Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels floorplan family

Dry weight runs 8,289 to 9,662 lb and dry pin weight 1,404 to 1,588 lb, which puts all three above the lightest 2022 Ultra Lite plans and firmly into three-quarter-ton truck territory once the pin load is taken off the payload rating. Cargo capacity runs 1,615 to 1,926 lb. Fresh water is 54 gallons on all three; grey runs 70 to 90 gallons and black 40 to 50. Travel length runs 30 ft 5 in to 36 ft 6 in and exterior height is 13 ft 1 in or 13 ft 2 in - worth reading before a garage or a low bridge, because that is a foot and a half taller than the travel trailers in the same range.

FloorplanNominalSleepsNotable
2621WS30' 5"8,2891,615Fifth Wheels
2882S33'9,6201,876Fifth Wheels
2896MB36' 6"9,6621,926Fifth Wheels

These are the 2021 Rockwood Ultra Lite fifth wheels whose floorplans Forest River did not carry into 2022 - the three codes the 2022 brochure drops. Every figure on this page is read from the 2021 document; nothing is carried across from an adjacent model year, because this site measured elsewhere that adjacent years of one floorplan can differ on half their published fields including tow-critical ones. Forest River publishes no GVWR for this line in this brochure, so the loaded rating is shown as not published. It is never computed from dry weight plus cargo capacity - that sum is what the trailer would weigh if you used every pound of its cargo rating, not a figure the manufacturer has certified the axles and frame against. These figures come from one factory document rather than from the two separate factory renderings this site cross-reads on Forest River's web channel, and every figure was read back against that document's own text before publication. Sleeping capacity, tire size and MSRP are not published in the brochure and are absent here rather than estimated.

04 What owners & reviewers report

What Forest River does not publish for this line

Sleeping capacity, axle count, tire size and MSRP are absent from Forest River's specification channel for Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels, so they are absent here. They are not estimated from the segment, not carried over from a sibling floorplan, and not taken from a dealer listing quoting itself. A tire size in particular is a safety-relevant number that differs between two codes a digit apart, and this site does not guess one.

There is no factory GVWR for this trailer

Forest River publishes dry weight, cargo capacity and dry pin weight for every Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels floorplan and publishes no GVWR for any of them. The factory's own glossary defines cargo capacity as GVWR minus UVW, which means the rating can be worked out - and a figure you worked out is not a figure the manufacturer published, so this page does not print one. Use the weight label on the trailer itself, which every Forest River unit carries.

Awning size is not published for this floorplan

Forest River publishes an awning size for some Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels floorplans and not for this one. The row reads as unpublished rather than being filled from a neighbouring plan in the same roster.

Weigh it before you tow it

Every figure on this page is a factory publication for a standard build. Forest River's own footnote on unloaded weight calls it an estimated average based on a standard build with optional equipment, and options, dealer-installed accessories and the previous owner's additions all move it. The only weight that governs your towing decision is the one under your own trailer on a scale, loaded the way you actually travel.

SOURCING — ownership notes to be expanded with cited threads from owner communities & forums per the data plan

05 How it compares

Lighter
Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels 2882S

9,620 lbs dry against this plan's 9,662 lbs, a difference of 42 lbs. Same line, same factory channel, same model year - so the gap is a real one rather than a difference in how two brands measure.

06 Loading it for a trip

This floorplan carries its water comfortably. A full 54-gallon fresh tank is roughly 23% of the 1,926-pound cargo capacity, leaving the 2896MB with a usable gear budget even when you tow full.

Weight budgetFigureWhat it means
Cargo capacity as published (CCC)1,926 lbEverything you add: gear, water, propane, batteries, food, people’s belongings.
Fresh tank filled (54 gal × 8.34 lb)−450 lbWater is the heaviest thing most owners add, and it is added first.
Cargo budget left with a full fresh tank1,476 lb23% of this plan’s capacity is spent before a single bag is loaded.

The published dry pin weight of 1,588 pounds is 16% of this floorplan’s 9,662-pound dry weight. Fifth-wheel pin weight rides in the bed of the truck, so it comes off payload rather than off tow rating — and it rises with the trailer as you load it, not in proportion to what you put over the axles.

Tank balance is generous here: 54 gallons of fresh against 90 grey and 50 black, so waste capacity keeps pace with supply and the fresh tank is the constraint that ends a dry stay.

07 Where this floorplan sits

Ranked by dry weight, the 2896MB sits 9 of 14 in the Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels line: 9,662 pounds against a line that runs from 7,764 to 10,379 pounds. That position is the useful thing to know, because the plans immediately either side of it are the real alternatives.

Either side of it in the same line: Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels 2882S is 42 pounds lighter at 9,620 lb dry; and Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels 2892RB is 356 pounds heavier at 10,018 lb dry.

Comparable fifth wheelsGVWR (lb)Dry (lb)SleepsLength
2896MB—9,662—36 ft 6 in
Arctic Wolf 3250SUITE—9,668436 ft 1 in
Cardinal 32CHILL12,1889,688—35 ft 3 in
Eagle 31QBH11,7009,6907—
Roamer 264RLS11,8009,735—32 ft 8 in
Reflection 32BH11,9959,468735 ft 10 in
Nightfall 270N14,7599,459—32 ft 3 in

Against the 2896MB: the Arctic Wolf 3250SUITE is 6 lb heavier; the Cardinal 32CHILL is 26 lb heavier and 1 ft shorter; the Eagle 31QBH is 28 lb heavier. Those are differences in the published numbers only — what they cost, how they are built and how they live are separate questions each of those pages answers on its own terms.

Those are the nearest fifth wheels from other lines by weight — one per line, picked by proximity on that figure and nothing else. They are listed so the same tow vehicle can be checked against real alternatives, not because they are equivalent inside; layout, build and price diverge sharply across that group.

For scale, the Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels floorplans profiled here run 7,764 to 10,379 pounds dry and 29 to 37 feet of exterior length across 14 plans. Where a floorplan falls in that spread usually says more about which vehicle can tow it, and which site it fits, than the layout name does.

Every profiled floorplan in this line, with the full weight table, is on the Rockwood Ultra Lite Fifth Wheels line hub.

08 Common questions about the 2896MB

How much can the 2896MB carry?

Cargo carrying capacity is 1,926 pounds. That is the whole budget: water, propane, batteries, gear and everything you bring. Filling the 54-gallon fresh tank uses about 450 pounds of that.

What is the pin weight of the 2896MB?

The published dry pin weight is 1,588 pounds. It is measured empty; loaded, it runs higher, and it comes out of your tow vehicle’s payload rather than its tow rating.

What are the tank capacities on the 2896MB?

Fresh 54 gallons, grey 90 gallons, black 50 gallons. Tank sizes set how long the floorplan can sit away from hookups, and the smallest of the three is what ends the stay.

How long is the 2896MB?

Exterior length is 36' 6". Measure against your site length and your storage before committing — the exterior figure is the one that has to fit, and it includes the tongue or pin box.

Every figure in these answers is read from this page’s verified specification table. Where the manufacturer publishes nothing, the question is not answered rather than estimated.

09 What this page publishes, and what it does not

This catalog tracks 18 specification fields per floorplan. Named sources publish 9 of them for the 2896MB. The rest are not shown, because the alternative is reading a figure across from a sibling floorplan or from what the segment usually does — and a number nobody published is worth less than an admitted gap.

Not published for this floorplan: GVWR, interior height, sleeps, slide count, axle count, tire specification, awning, refrigerator, air conditioning. If you find one of these in a manufacturer document for this plan, it belongs on this page.

The completeness figure at the foot of this page (75%) measures the same thing on the full field set: it is a measurement of how much this floorplan’s manufacturer publishes, not of how much research went into the page.

How every figure here was sourced and checked is set out on the methodology page.

11 NHTSA safety record

This floorplan belongs to the Rockwood & Flagstaff line, and NHTSA holds 35 recall campaigns and 209 owner complaints against that line. They are separate records and are not added together — a recall is a manufacturer-confirmed defect with a remedy; a complaint is one owner’s account, which NHTSA does not verify.

What to look at on a used one. Across the 209 complaints filed on this line the most-reported components are tires (24%), structure (15%) and wheels (14%). That is where owners of this family have had trouble, so it is where an inspection is worth the time.

Recall coverage is not complete — our harvest of NHTSA’s recall API ran 1,556 queries, of which 0 failed and 242 returned an explicit zero. A line can still be under-reported where NHTSA files a roster under a parent name, or where a match rests on the wording of the recall rather than its model field. Complaints come from the complete bulk file but are unverified and self-selected: a high count tracks how many units a line sold at least as much as how well it was built. Check a specific VIN at NHTSA before you buy. Full tables are on the Rockwood & Flagstaff line page.