01 What makes it unique
Starcraft lists the 2025 GSL Travel Trailer 290RLS at 7,320 lb unloaded (UVW), with a GVWR of 8,900 lb, a cargo carrying capacity of 1,580 lb and a hitch weight of 960 lb. Its UVW plus its cargo capacity comes to exactly its GVWR.
It is 33' 5" long and 11' 2" high with the air conditioner, with 45 gal fresh, 58 gal grey, 29 gal black. Fresh water weighs about 8.3 lb per US gallon, so a full fresh tank uses roughly 374 lb of the cargo capacity before anything else is loaded.
Among the 5 GSL Travel Trailer floorplans Starcraft lists for 2025 with a published weight, it is number 1 by unloaded weight, in a range from 7,320 lb (290RLS) to 8,655 lb (321BHS). Every figure in that comparison is Starcraft’s, for the same model year.
Every number on this page was read on 5 Nov 2026 from Starcraft’s own floorplan page for the GSL Travel Trailer 290RLS, whose title names the model year 2025.
How the 290RLS differs from the other four GSL Travel Trailer floorplans. Most distinctive first. How these ranks are worked out.
- Dry weight, 7,320 lb: lightest of five; next is the 275RLS (7,350 lb).
- GVWR, 8,900 lb: lowest of five; next are the 263KBS and 275RLS (8,995 lb).
- Tongue weight, 960 lb: lightest of five; next is the 275RLS (985 lb).
- Exterior height, 11 ft 2 in: lowest of five; next are the 263KBS, 275RLS and 305FLS (11 ft 3 in).
- Cargo capacity, 1,580 lb: second-largest of five, between the 305FLS (1,490 lb) and the 275RLS (1,645 lb).
- Cargo capacity as a share of GVWR, 17.8%: second-largest of five, between the 263KBS and 305FLS (16%) and the 275RLS (18.3%).
- Tongue weight as a share of dry weight, 13.1%: second-smallest of five, between the 321BHS (12.4%) and the 275RLS (13.4%).
- Length, 33 ft 5 in: second-shortest of five, between the 263KBS (32 ft 4 in) and the 275RLS (33 ft 11 in).
- Sleeping capacity, 6: third-smallest of five, between the 305FLS (4) and the 275RLS (8).
Next to the 275RLS, the nearest heavier floorplan by dry weight, the 290RLS is 30 lb lighter by dry weight, has a GVWR 95 lb lower, has 65 lb less cargo capacity, has a tongue weight 25 lb lighter, is 6 in shorter, stands 1 in lower and sleeps two fewer; the two publish the same fresh tank, grey tank and black tank.
02 Full specifications
Dimensions
- Exterior length
- 33' 5"
- Exterior height
- 11' 2" (with A/C)
- Exterior width
- 8' 1"
- Interior height
- Not published by Starcraft
Weights
- Dry / unit base weight (UVW)
- 7,320 lb
- GVWR (max loaded)
- 8,900 lb
- Net cargo / payload (CCC)
- 1,580 lb
- Hitch / tongue weight
- 960 lb
Capacities
- Fresh water
- 45 gal
- Grey water
- 58 gal
- Black water
- 29 gal
- Propane
- Not published by Starcraft
Running gear
- Hitch type
- Bumper pull
- Tire size
- ST225/75R15'E
Sleeping & layout
- Sleeps
- up to 6
- Awning
- 11' 0"
How these published figures sit against the rest of the catalogue: travel trailer tongue weight by size; fresh, grey and black tank sizes; camper trailer size chart.
Drawn to scale
Weight budget
Size, with end view
Holding tanks
Axles, wheels and nose shape are schematic; not a floorplan. Data: dataset.
Towing it
Check your vehicle. Enter the ratings from your owner’s manual and the door-pillar placard.
Compares your figures with this page’s published GVWR (8,900 lb) and the upper loaded tongue estimate (1,335 lb, a rule of thumb). Your vehicle’s placard and the trailer’s own weight label govern.
Loaded range: 10–15% of GVWR on the tongue, a rule of thumb, not a measurement of this unit. No truck ratings or hitch classes (why; NHTSA, DOT HS 809 433). The range starts at the published figure, because loaded is never lighter than that.
03 The GSL Travel Trailer floorplan family
Starcraft lists 5 GSL Travel Trailer floorplans for 2025; this site profiles every one with a published weight, from Starcraft’s own floorplan pages.
| Floorplan | Nominal | Sleeps | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 290RLS | 33' 5" | up to 6 | Profiled |
| 275RLS | 33' 11" | up to 8 | Profiled |
| 263KBS | 32' 4" | up to 2 | Profiled |
| 305FLS | 36' 0" | up to 4 | Profiled |
| 321BHS | 37' 10" | up to 11 | Profiled |
Starcraft lists 5 GSL Travel Trailer floorplans. Every 2025 plan with a published weight has a page here; the rest are catalogued with the reason against each.
04 Notes on this floorplan
What Starcraft does not publish for the 290RLS
Starcraft’s page prints no axle count and no interior height against this floorplan, so none is given. Nothing is filled from a sibling floorplan, a different model year or a dealer listing.
Read the label on the trailer
Federal rules put a load-carrying label inside every RV trailer: its unloaded weight with full propane, its cargo carrying capacity and its GVWR (49 CFR 571.110 and 571.120). Those figures come from the trailer itself and govern the towing decision.
05 How it compares
7,350 lb UVW and 8,995 lb GVWR, against this plan’s 7,320 lb and 8,900 lb.
06 Loading it for a trip
A full 45-gallon fresh tank is about 374 lb of water (water counts as cargo: 49 CFR 571.110 S9.3.2), 24% of the 290RLS’s 1,580 lb cargo capacity, leaving 1,206 lb (201 lb per rated berth). Across 5 GSL Travel Trailer floorplans the water share runs 23% to 28%, and 3 give up more than this one. Nearest on that share: GSL Travel Trailer 275RLS at 23% and GSL Travel Trailer 305FLS at 25%. Your own unit’s figure is on the label inside its entry door (49 CFR 571.110 S9.3.3).
07 Where this floorplan sits
Closest sibling: the GSL Travel Trailer 275RLS, nearest on the published figures. It differs on 6 of the 9 fields both publish (this plan first): length 33 ft 5 in vs 33 ft 11 in; sleeps 6 vs 8; dry weight 7,320 lb vs 7,350 lb; GVWR 8,900 lb vs 8,995 lb; cargo capacity 1,580 lb vs 1,645 lb; hitch weight 960 lb vs 985 lb. They match on fresh tank, grey tank and black tank.
| GSL Travel Trailer plans | This plan | Position, low to high | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| GVWR (lb) | 8,900 | 1 of 5 | 8,900–9,995 |
| Dry weight (lb) | 7,320 | 1 of 5 | 7,320–8,655 |
| Cargo capacity (lb) | 1,580 | 4 of 5 | 1,340–1,645 |
| Hitch weight (lb) | 960 | 1 of 5 | 960–1,090 |
| Length | 33 ft 5 in | 2 of 5 | 32 ft 4 in–37 ft 10 in |
| Sleeps | 6 | 3 of 5 | 2–11 |
Either side of it by GVWR: GSL Travel Trailer 263KBS is 95 lb heavier (8,995 lb GVWR).
| Nearest GSL Travel Trailer siblings | Length | Sleeps | Dry (lb) | GVWR (lb) | CCC (lb) | Hitch (lb) | Fresh (gal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSL Travel Trailer 290RLS | 33 ft 5 in | 6 | 7,320 | 8,900 | 1,580 | 960 | 45 |
| GSL Travel Trailer 275RLS | 33 ft 11 in | 8 | 7,350 | 8,995 | 1,645 | 985 | 45 |
| GSL Travel Trailer 305FLS | 36 ft 0 in | 4 | 7,810 | 9,300 | 1,490 | 1,090 | 45 |
| GSL Travel Trailer 263KBS | 32 ft 4 in | 2 | 7,560 | 8,995 | 1,435 | 1,029 | 45 |
| GSL Travel Trailer 321BHS | 37 ft 10 in | 11 | 8,655 | 9,995 | 1,340 | 1,075 | 45 |
All 5 GSL Travel Trailer floorplans: GSL Travel Trailer line hub.
| Other lines, nearest by GVWR | GVWR (lb) | Dry (lb) | Sleeps | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 290RLS | 8,900 | 7,320 | 6 | 33 ft 5 in |
| Lance Travel Trailer 2465 | 8,900 | 6,400 | 5 | 29 ft 10 in |
| Pause 19.4 | 8,900 | 6,643 | — | 24 ft 0 in |
| Westbrook Luxury 285BHLC | 8,908 | 6,908 | — | 32 ft 7 in |
| Coachmen Catalina 281QBUNK | 8,890 | 7,390 | 10 | 36 ft 2 in |
| Aurora Light 28QBUNK | 8,874 | 7,374 | — | 36 ft 2 in |
| Puma Ambush 25TH | 8,873 | 6,173 | — | 29 ft 9 in |
Against the 290RLS: the Lance Travel Trailer 2465 is 4 ft shorter and sleeps 1 fewer; the Pause 19.4 is 9 ft shorter; the Westbrook Luxury 285BHLC is 8 lb heavier.
08 Common questions about the 290RLS
How much does the 290RLS weigh?
7,320 lb dry; 8,900 lb GVWR, the most it may weigh loaded.
How much can the 290RLS carry?
1,580 lb, 18% of its GVWR (median across 1,010 travel trailers here: 23%). A full fresh tank uses 374 lb of it.
What is the tongue weight of the 290RLS?
960 lb as published, 13% of the dry weight (median across 1,413 travel trailers here: 12%).
What size tow vehicle does the 290RLS need?
A tow rating of at least 8,900 lb, plus payload for the loaded tongue weight, passengers and cargo.
How many people does the 290RLS sleep?
It is rated to sleep up to 6. 2 of the 5 GSL Travel Trailer floorplans that publish a count sleep more.
What are the tank capacities on the 290RLS?
Fresh 45, grey 58, black 29 gallons. Off hookups, fresh water runs out first.
How long is the 290RLS?
33' 5" overall, tongue or pin box included.
From the figures above.
09 What this page publishes, and what it does not
13 of the 18 fields this catalogue tracks are published for the 290RLS. Not published: interior height, slide count, axle count, refrigerator, air conditioning.
Sourcing rules: methodology.
10 Manuals & documents
Sources: starcraftrv.com (linked below); the full source note is at the foot of the page.
11 NHTSA safety record
NHTSA holds 1 recall campaign and 1 owner complaint (model years 2005 on) against the GSL line (a recall and a complaint are not the same thing).
Too few reports to show a pattern. 1 complaint has been filed on this line — not enough to say what fails most often. It covers electrical system.
Recall coverage here is not complete, and complaints are owners’ unverified reports (how this record is built). Check a specific VIN at NHTSA before you buy. Full tables are on the GSL line page.