01 What Sandstorm is
Sandstorm is a toy-hauler roster published under three badges at once, and the first useful thing to know about it is that Sandstorm, Stealth and Shockwave are the same sixteen trailers. Not similar - the same floorplan codes, the same dry weights, the same cargo capacities, the same tanks, checked field by field. So a shopper cross-shopping the three badges is cross-shopping one product, and the choice between them is a dealer question rather than a trailer question. Within that roster there are two real classes. Five plans are travel trailers, 7,439 to 9,399 lb dry with 1,155 to 1,855 lb on the tongue. Seven are fifth wheels, 9,459 to 15,749 lb dry with 2,165 to 3,765 lb on the pin. The lightest fifth wheel outweighs the heaviest bumper pull, so the two halves do not overlap and no plan here is a borderline call. Cargo capacity runs 3,281 to 5,676 lb on the fifth wheels and 3,771 to 5,300 lb on the travel trailers - the bumper pulls give up very little payload, which is unusual and is the reason to read the table rather than assume the fifth wheels carry more.
Across the whole Sandstorm roster the published dry weights run from 7,439 lbs to 16,354 lbs, cargo capacities from 3,066 lbs to 5,676 lbs, and dry hitch weights from 1,155 lbs to 3,765 lbs. Exterior lengths run 28 to 45 feet. Those are Forest River's figures for a standard build, captured from the factory roster block and confirmed against each floorplan's own factory page.
Forest River publishes a GVWR for 15 of the 16 floorplans, and on 15 of those the arithmetic ties out exactly: dry weight plus cargo capacity equals the published rating to the pound. That check is run on every plan before it is profiled here, and a plan that fails it is catalogued with the disagreement printed rather than quietly corrected.
02 Floorplans profiled in depth
12 of the 16 Sandstorm floorplans are profiled in full below, each on its own page with the complete factory weight, dimension and tank block. The profiled set is spread across the weight range rather than taken from one end of it, so the lightest and heaviest plans in the line are both represented. Every plan profiled here publishes a full field set and, where Forest River publishes a GVWR, passes the dry-plus-cargo arithmetic check.
| Floorplan | Dry wt | Length | Cargo | Hitch wt | GVWR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2215 | 7,439 | 28' 6" | 5,300 | 1,155 | 12,739 |
| 2513 | 7,629 | 30' 0" | 3,771 | 1,230 | 11,400 |
| 2730 | 8,429 | 34' 1" | 5,041 | 1,470 | 13,470 |
| 2600 | 9,129 | 34' 9" | 4,441 | 1,570 | 13,570 |
| 2900 | 9,399 | 36' 6" | 4,456 | 1,855 | 13,855 |
| 2710 | 9,459 | 32' 3" | 5,300 | 2,165 | 14,759 |
| 2800 | 10,419 | 32' 3" | 5,300 | 2,265 | 15,719 |
| 3300 | 10,879 | 36' 10" | 5,676 | 2,555 | 16,555 |
| 3217GX | 13,124 | 38' 4" | 4,036 | 3,160 | 17,160 |
| 3513GX | 13,969 | 40' 5" | 3,281 | 3,250 | 17,250 |
| 4017GX | 15,674 | 45' 0" | 5,326 | 3,765 | 21,000 |
| 4114GX | 15,749 | 45' 11" | 5,251 | 3,360 | 21,000 |
Every figure in this table is a Forest River factory publication for 2026, captured twice - from the line roster block and from each floorplan's own factory page - and cross-checked field by field. Forest River publishes no sleeping capacity, axle count, tire size or MSRP for this line, so there are no columns for them.
03 Also in the 2026 line
The remaining 4 Sandstorm floorplans are catalogued here from the factory's published figures. 4 of them are Forest River dealer-stock-only plans, which are real floorplans but are not orderable through the normal channel. A plan is catalogued rather than profiled when the factory has not yet published its full field set, when its own published figures disagree with each other, or simply because the profiled set is capped. Nothing in this table is estimated.
| Floorplan | Dry wt | GVWR | Cargo | Hitch wt | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2550 (dealer stock) | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Dealer stock only |
| 3216GX (dealer stock) | 12,884 | 16,925 | 4,041 | 2,925 | Dealer stock only |
| 3715GX (dealer stock) | 14,254 | 17,320 | 3,066 | 3,320 | Dealer stock only |
| 4015GX (dealer stock) | 16,354 | 21,000 | 4,646 | 3,335 | Dealer stock only |
Catalogued plans carry the factory figures Forest River publishes and nothing else. A row reading “Not published” means the factory does not publish that field for that plan - it is never a placeholder for a figure this site could not be bothered to find.
04 How to choose
Sort this line by the constraint you actually have. If the tow vehicle is fixed, start at the weight column: the lightest plan in the roster is the 2215 at 7,439 lbs dry and the heaviest is the 4015GX - DSO at 16,354 lbs, and that spread is wide enough that the two ends are not the same buying decision. If the tow vehicle is not fixed, sort by cargo capacity instead - the 3300 carries the most at 5,676 lbs, and payload is the number that runs out first on a long trip.
Do not sort by floorplan number. Forest River's codes encode length loosely and layout not at all, and this site does not decode them into layout claims. Two plans with adjacent numbers in this roster can differ by hundreds of pounds of dry weight and by more than that in dry hitch weight, which is the figure that determines what the tow vehicle has to be.
Where Forest River publishes a floorplan description it is quoted on the plan page and identified as factory marketing copy rather than a specification. Where it publishes none, the plan page says so instead of describing a layout that nobody has verified. That is the difference between a catalogue and a brochure.
05 What to weigh before buying
What this line is
Forest River publishes this roster three times, as Sandstorm, as Stealth and as Shockwave, on three separate factory line pages with their own per-plan detail pages. All three publish the same sixteen floorplan codes and the same specifications: 295 non-null published fields on each side, GVWR on 15 of 16 on each side, and all 15 tie out exactly against dry weight plus cargo capacity. Compared field by field across all sixteen plans, Stealth and Sandstorm differ in nothing at all, and Shockwave differs in one character - it writes the 2215 awning as 18 where the other two write 18 feet. This site catalogues that as one trailer under one set of pages carrying all three names, rather than publishing three near-identical page sets; the Sandstorm badge is used for the page addresses because the three are indistinguishable on every measurable axis and something had to break the tie. Twelve of the sixteen plans are profiled. The other four are marked dealer stock only by the factory and are catalogued with their weights instead. Sleeping capacity, axle count, tire size and MSRP are not published in this channel, and neither is garage length or fuel-station capacity - which on a toy hauler are the two figures buyers most want, so their absence is stated here rather than filled with an estimate.
The four fields Forest River does not publish
Sleeping capacity, axle count, tire size and MSRP are absent from Forest River's specification channel for Sandstorm. They are absent from this site too. None of the four is estimated from the segment, inferred from a sibling floorplan or lifted from a dealer listing quoting its own guess back. Tire size matters most of the four: two codes a digit apart are different tires with different load ratings, and a misread is a safety claim.
Match the tow vehicle honestly
This roster holds two towing classes, so the first question is which half of it you are shopping. The plans here run from 7,439 lbs to 16,354 lbs dry with dry hitch weights of 1,155 lbs to 3,765 lbs, and that span crosses the line between a bumper pull and a fifth wheel. On a travel trailer the hitch load sits on a weight-distribution hitch and the tow vehicle's tongue rating. On a fifth wheel the pin load comes off the truck's payload rating rather than its towing rating - the towing number is the one most often quoted and the wrong one. Check the grouping column in the table above before comparing any two plans on weight alone. Dry weight is not towing weight in either case: water, batteries, propane, gear and dealer-installed accessories all sit on top of it. Read your own door sticker, and weigh the trailer loaded the way you actually travel.
06 What every Sandstorm has
08 Recalls
NHTSA lists 12 recall campaigns affecting this line. The earliest was reported 18 May 2012 and the most recent 25 Apr 2025.
| Reported | Campaign | Component | What can go wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Apr 2025 | 25V277000 | Electrical system | Wiring without circuit protection may become damaged and short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire. |
| 17 Apr 2024 | 24V272000 | Equipment | A circuit board that overheats increases the risk of a fire. |
| 3 Nov 2023 | 23V739000 | Electrical system | A melted wire may cause a short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire. |
| 29 Jul 2022 | 22V556000 | Equipment | An awning that drops or extends beyond normal operation can increase the risk of injury. |
| 13 Apr 2022 | 22V243000 | Equipment | A gas leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire. |
| 10 Jan 2020 | 20V009000 | Equipment | The incorrect tire pressure can cause a loss of vehicle control or premature tire failure, increasing the risk of a crash. |
| 24 Feb 2017 | 17V117000 | Equipment | A propane leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire or explosion. |
| 10 Dec 2015 | 15V831000 | Equipment | If occupants are not warned elevated carbon monoxide levels, they are at an increased risk of injury. |
| 19 Nov 2015 | 15V771000 | Equipment | The overheating of the water may result in the release of steam, possibly causing the operator is to scald themselves and increasing the risk of injury. |
| 9 Jun 2015 | 15V359000 | Suspension | If the wheel studs break, the wheel could detach from the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash. |
| 17 May 2013 | 13V203000 | Equipment | If the motor assembly screws shear, it is possible that the awning can unfurl unexpectedly, either while the vehicle is at rest or while in transit, increasing the… |
| 18 May 2012 | 12V227000 | Equipment | Incorrect weight information may lead TO overloading, which may cause axle OR tire failure, increasing the risk OF A crash. |
Coverage is not complete, and this matters. These campaigns come from two passes over NHTSA’s public record: a query-by-query harvest of the recall API (1,556 queries, of which 0 failed and 242 returned an explicit zero), and a sweep of NHTSA’s complete recall flat file (325,650 rows), which added 46 campaigns the API harvest had missed. It missed them because the roster it worked from was built by a catalog endpoint that refuses most requests, so entire manufacturer names were never asked about — NHTSA files several Forest River sub-brands as makes of their own. Two limits remain: NHTSA sometimes files a roster under a parent name, and some matches below rest on the wording of the recall rather than its model field. Campaigns affecting only pre-2005 units fall outside this catalog’s range and are not listed. This page is a starting point, not a clearance. Check a specific VIN at NHTSA before you buy, and again before you tow.
09 Owner-reported problems
Owners have filed 21 complaints with NHTSA about this line. The earliest was filed 29 Jul 2011 and the most recent 3 Dec 2025. The breakdown below is what those owners actually reported, grouped by the component NHTSA assigned.
What gets reported
| Component group | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | 6 | 29% |
| Tires | 3 | 14% |
| Unknown or other | 3 | 14% |
| Equipment | 2 | 10% |
| Suspension | 2 | 10% |
| Wheels | 2 | 10% |
| Engine | 1 | 5% |
| Fuel/propulsion system | 1 | 5% |
| Service brakes | 1 | 5% |
Most recent reports
The most recent 10 owner reports filed on this line, newest first. Wording is NHTSA’s summary of what the owner described.
| Filed | Component | Miles | What the owner reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Dec 2025 | Tires | 3,000 | The contact owns a 2022 Forest River Sandstorm Toy Hauler trailer equipped with API Tires, Tire Line: Gladiator QR25-TS, Tire Size: ST225/75/R15, DOT Number: 1FFTCHRD4. The contact stated that while stopping to refuel it was discovered that the front passengerâs side tire had expanded and there… |
| 9 Jul 2024 | Suspension | — | On [XXX], while traveling NB on [XXX], my 2022 Forest River Shockwave (purchased new in July 2022), suffered a catastrophic suspension failure on the driver's side while hauling my son's dirt bike and a golf cart. I was able to safely get my vehicle and the toy hauler off to the shoulder. A wheel… |
| 29 Mar 2024 | Structure › Body | — | The front of the trailer where the aluminum top section meets The lower section is separating where they meet. The upper section has a half inch lip that The lower section is supposed to fit into but there is nothing to hold it in place , no screws or bolts there unless perhaps it was glued at the… |
| 27 Nov 2023 | Structure › Frame and members | 0 | The contact owns a 2024 Forest River Stealth Trailer. The contact stated that the frame was not welded properly. The safety chains were installed incorrectly. The trailer was taken to an independent mechanic, who declined to service the trailer. The local dealer was contacted. The trailer was not… |
| 6 Sep 2023 | Unknown or other | — | The first time we used the oven the plastic backsplash started melting. There is no heat guard and the stove is installed right up against the wall. Plastic backsplash is a fire hazard. |
| 12 Aug 2022 | Tires | — | 1 tire blew, 2 tires with Bulges QR25-ts ast235/18r16- 3 tires available for inspection. Tire that blew on a winding uphill with no pullout for about 1 mile draging the rim with sparks and smoke no reproduction of my knowledge, only contacted manufacturer. no insurance no warning RV was used… |
| 25 Feb 2022 | Structure › Body | — | The contact owns a 2018 Forest River Sandstorm. The contact stated that there was a fracture near the front on the driver's side. The contact had not taken the trailer to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and advised the contact to take the trailer to a body shop. The body… |
| 9 Aug 2021 | Equipment | 3,000 | The contact owns a 2018 Forest River Shockwave. The contact stated that the kitchen countertop located next to the gas stove was sloped down and sunken inwards causing tension to the liquid petroleum gas lines. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The RV was not repaired. The… |
| 1 Jun 2021 | Structure › Body | — | There is many things currently wrong with this trailer as the floor is soft in many spots, the electrical for the pop out is on a fail safe and the manual override for this is in a location to not be accessed, the fresh water tanks and pump are having mechanical or some issues. |
| 24 Feb 2021 | Engine | — | Tl* the contact owns A 2019 forest river shockwave. The contact stated that an attempt was made by him to change the oil in the trailer however, he discovered that there was A distance between the generator and the oil filter. Due to the distance, the oil filter could not be removed to replace the… |
How this count is drawn. A report is counted here only when NHTSA’s own model field names this line. What the owner typed in the description is never used to attribute a report: our line names are ordinary English words, and an owner writing “imagine my surprise when the axle went” or naming the state of Montana is not reporting a Grand Design Imagine or a Keystone Montana.
Read these as reports, not as findings. Complaints are submitted by owners and NHTSA does not verify them; no complaint here has been confirmed as a defect, and none of them is a recall. The sample is also self-selected — only owners motivated to file appear in it — so a high count tracks how many units a line sold at least as much as how well it was built. Use the pattern, not the total: a component that keeps recurring is worth inspecting on any used unit. File or search complaints at NHTSA.