2026 Forest River Salem Villa / Salem Grand Villa / Wildwood Lodge / Wildwood Grand Lodge40RLB

The Salem Villa 40RLB leaves Forest River's factory at 11,604 lbs dry with 1,841 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 40-gallon fresh tank spends 332 lbs of the 1,841 lbs before anything else goes in.

Tongue weight is 1,445 lbs, 12% of the dry weight as published; it rises as the trailer is loaded and counts against the tow vehicle’s tongue-weight and payload limits (tongue weight by size).

Off hookups: 160 gallons of grey and black capacity against 40 gallons of fresh water, so fresh water runs out first (tank sizes by length).

Against the rest of the Salem Villa roster this is the 4th of 12 floorplans by dry weight, in a line that runs from 9,234 lbs to 14,404 lbs. It sits in the lighter third of the line.

Plan the tow on loaded weight, not the 11,604 lbs dry figure: half the published cargo capacity brings this plan to about 12,524 lbs. Forest River publishes no loaded rating for this line, so the ceiling is the one on the trailer’s own weight label (how to read trailer weights).

Forest River’s line listing and this floorplan’s own factory page agree on all 4 shared figures. No GVWR is published for this line, so dry plus cargo has no rating to check against. A missing row means Forest River does not publish that figure (how figures are verified).

Forest River's own description of this floorplan reads: “The 40RLB is an open floorplan that maximizes space for a residential cottage look and feel. The large king bedroom provides plenty of storage and washer/dryer hookup. The bathroom offers a walk-in shower with built-in seat, skylight, and linen cabinets. The island kitchen provides residential appliances and plenty of room for all the cooking essentials. Don’t forget the awesome view out the panoramic windows.” That is the factory's marketing copy rather than a specification, and nothing in it is treated as a verified field on this page - layout descriptions, sleeping arrangements and feature claims in factory copy are not carried into the spec table unless the factory also publishes them as specifications.

How the 40RLB differs from the other eleven Salem Villa floorplans. Most distinctive first. How these ranks are worked out.

• Dry weight, 11,604 lb: fourth-lightest of twelve, between the 42DMS (11,484 lb) and the 42QBQ (12,029 lb).
• Tongue weight, 1,445 lb: fourth-lightest of twelve, between the 42QBQ (1,365 lb) and the 42DMS (1,475 lb).
• Cargo capacity, 1,841 lb: fifth-smallest of twelve, between the 42FLDL (1,511 lb) and the 44ZEN (1,891 lb).
• Grey tank, 120 gal: largest of twelve, level with the 40ZZZ; next are the 40FKP, 42DL and four others (80 gal).
• Tongue weight as a share of dry weight, 12.5%: sixth-smallest of twelve, between the 40FDEN (11.9%) and the 42ICE (12.7%).
• Length, 43 ft: sixth-shortest of twelve, between the 40FDEN (42 ft 5 in) and the 40FKP (43 ft 3 in).
• Exterior height, 12 ft 8 in: lowest of twelve, level with the 353FLFB, 40FDEN and two others; next is the 42DL (13 ft).

Next to the 42DMS, the nearest lighter floorplan by dry weight, the 40RLB is 120 lb heavier by dry weight, has 150 lb less cargo capacity, has a tongue weight 30 lb lighter, is 10 in shorter, has a grey tank 50 gal larger and has a black tank 40 gal smaller; the two publish the same exterior height and fresh tank.

Next to the 42QBQ, the nearest heavier floorplan by dry weight, the 40RLB is 425 lb lighter by dry weight, has 505 lb more cargo capacity, has a tongue weight 80 lb heavier, is 8 in longer, has a grey tank 40 gal larger and has a black tank 40 gal smaller; the two publish the same exterior height and fresh tank.

These are destination trailers - towed to a seasonal site, levelled, and largely left there - and the numbers only make sense read that way. Fourteen floorplans run 9,234 to 14,404 lb dry against cargo capacity of just 886 to 2,446 lb. On a touring trailer that ratio would be a warning; here it is the design, because the trailer is not being loaded for a trip. What it does mean is that the fit-out a seasonal site accumulates eats the margin quickly, and 886 lb is not much once a screen room, a grill and a season of furniture are aboard. All fourteen are bumper pull, with 1,260 to 1,855 lb on the tongue - for a tow most owners make twice a year, which is why so many of these are delivered rather than towed by the buyer. Forest River splits the roster into a standard group and a Grand group, and the split is real: the six Grand plans start at 12,209 lb dry where the six standard plans start at 9,234 lb. Fresh water is 39 to 40 gallons across the whole roster, which is a plumbed-site number rather than a boondocking one and tells you plainly what these are for.

A full 40-gallon fresh tank is about 332 lb of water, 18% of the 40RLB’s 1,841 lb cargo capacity, leaving 1,509 lb. Across 12 Salem Villa floorplans the water share runs 14% to 37%, and 4 give up more than this one. Nearest on that share: Salem Villa 44ZEN at 18% and Salem Villa 42FLDL at 22%.