CAMPERTRAILERS.COM

Destination Trailer · Widest Cargo Spread · Single-Source Profile

2026 Forest River Cherokee Timberwolf39DK

a 43-foot destination trailer that leaves the factory at 11,979 lbs dry and is rated to carry 1,276 lbs of cargo.

Tow-Critical Data — as built, MY2026

11,979lb
Dry Weight
13,255lb
GVWR
1,255lb
Tongue Weight
43ft
Length
1,276 lb cargo Destination Trailer · Destination Trailers Built by · Forest River Model year · 2026

01 What makes it unique

The Cherokee Timberwolf 39DK leaves Forest River's factory at 11,979 lbs dry, with a published GVWR of 13,255 lbs and 1,276 lbs of cargo capacity between the two. Cargo capacity is 10% of the loaded rating, and Forest River's own definition is worth reading before you plan against it: cargo capacity is what remains for fresh water, gear, food, batteries and every dealer-installed accessory. Fresh water alone is 8.3 lb per gallon, so filling this trailer's 40-gallon fresh tank spends 332 lbs of that 1,276 lbs before anything else is loaded.

Dry tongue weight is 1,255 lbs, or 10% of the dry weight. Ten to fifteen percent is the conventional band for a bumper-pull trailer, and this plan sits inside it as published. Tongue weight is not fixed: it moves with how the trailer is loaded, and weight added ahead of the axles raises it. A weight-distribution hitch is the normal fitment at this tongue load, and the tow vehicle's tongue-weight limit is a separate number from its trailer-weight limit.

Tank capacities are 40 gallons fresh, 70 grey and 40 black, 110 gallons of waste capacity against 40 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 Cherokee Timberwolf roster this is the 9th of 11 floorplans by dry weight, in a line that runs from 7,109 lbs to 12,589 lbs. It sits in the heavier third of the line. 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 the pair of weights is to stop planning against the dry figure. Nobody tows a trailer at 11,979 lbs: that is the weight before water, batteries, propane, bedding, food, tools and anything the dealer bolted on. Load half the published cargo capacity, which is modest for a family trip, and this plan is already near 12,617 lbs on the road. Compare that number against the tow vehicle, not the dry weight, and leave margin on top of it - the published GVWR of 13,255 lbs is a limit rather than a target.

Every number above was captured twice from Forest River and checked against itself before it was published. The line roster block and the individual floorplan page are two separate factory renderings of the same trailer, and this plan's 4 shared figures agree exactly on both. Dry weight plus cargo capacity also equals the published GVWR exactly, which is the arithmetic check this site runs on every profiled floorplan. Where a figure is missing from this page it is because Forest River does not publish it in this channel, 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. 39DK is a Cherokee Timberwolf designation and this site does not decode it into a layout claim.

02 Full specifications

Dimensions

Exterior length
43' 9"
Exterior height
13' 6"
Exterior width
96"

Weights

Dry / unit base weight (UVW)
11,979 lbs
GVWR (max loaded)
13,255 lbs
Net cargo / payload (CCC)
1,276 lbs
Dry tongue (hitch) weight
1,255 lbs

Capacities

Fresh water
40 gal
Grey water
70 gal
Black water
40 gal

Running gear

Hitch type
Bumper pull (weight-distribution recommended)
Axles
Not published by Forest River
Tires
Not published by Forest River

Sleeping & layout

Sleeps
Not published by Forest River
Awnings
21'

Verified specs, drawn to scale

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

Loaded weight budget

Loaded weight budget for the 39DKHorizontal bar. Dry weight 11,979 pounds, then cargo capacity 1,276 pounds, against a GVWR of 13,255 pounds. Dry tongue weight 1,255 pounds on the same scale.GVWR 13,255 lbsDry 11,979 lbsCargo capacity 1,276 lbsDry tongue weight 1,255 lbs — same scale
Drawn from this page’s published figures. The bar runs from empty to GVWR: the dark band is dry weight, the light band is everything you are allowed to add — water, propane, batteries and gear all come out of it.

Size, drawn to scale

Scale outline of the 39DKScale outline of the 39DK. Overall length 43' 9", overall height 13' 6", overall width 8' 0".end view8' 0"43' 9" overall length13' 6"
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 39DKHolding tank capacities: fresh 40 gallons, grey 70 gallons, black 40 gallons.Fresh40 galGrey70 galBlack40 gal
Published tank capacities on one scale. A full fresh tank is about 334 lbs of water — roughly 26% of this plan’s 1,276 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.

What it takes to tow this

Built from this floorplan’s verified weights. We publish the trailer side only.

Minimum tow rating your vehicle needs13,255 lb
Published dry tongue weight1,255 lb
Loaded tongue weight, typical range1,326–1,988 lb
Minimum receiver hitch capacity13,255 lb towed / 1,988 lb tongue
The tongue weight above is dry. It is the figure the manufacturer publishes for an empty trailer. Loaded — with water, propane, batteries and your gear — it runs higher, which is why the range row uses loaded weight. Sizing your truck off the dry number under-budgets your payload.
The arithmetic that actually binds. Open your driver’s door and read the payload figure on the yellow-and-white sticker — that number is specific to your truck as built. Subtract from it: loaded tongue weight (use the range above), every passenger, everything in the bed and cab, and the weight-distributing hitch itself where one is used. What is left is your margin. Payload, not tow rating, is what most half-ton owners run out of first.

We do not publish tow ratings for specific trucks. A single model can vary by thousands of pounds depending on engine, axle ratio, cab, drivetrain and package — the only authoritative figure is the one on your own door jamb. Loaded tongue percentages are industry convention for travel trailers (10–15% of loaded weight), not a measurement of this unit. Hitch classes are not used here as a rating: SAE J684 covers trailers to 10,000 lb GVWR and does not define Class V, and capacity boundaries differ between manufacturers — read the rating stamped on your hitch.

03 The Cherokee Timberwolf floorplan family

Timberwolf carries the widest cargo spread of any line in this group: 876 lb at the bottom of the roster and 4,296 lb at the top, a factor of nearly five, on trailers 7,109 to 12,589 lb dry. Two of the eleven published plans are in a separate mini-loft travel-trailer grouping and the other nine are destination trailers. Dry hitch weight stays between 1,040 and 1,614 lb across the whole range, so the hitch figure alone will not tell you which end of the line you are looking at - the cargo number will.

FloorplanNominalSleepsNotable
16ML27' 9"7,10911,240Mini Loft Travel Trailers
20OG35' 8"8,29411,275Mini Loft Travel Trailers
39TN40' 7"8,85413,150Destination Trailers
27MDK35' 11"10,12411,924Destination Trailers
39HBA44' 3"10,77413,330Destination Trailers
39DL42' 8"10,77813,095Destination Trailers
39DC44' 11"11,55413,470Destination Trailers
39NA42' 8"11,80513,614Destination Trailers
39DK43' 9"11,97913,255Destination Trailers
39AL45' 0"11,99413,180Destination Trailers
39JM43' 4"12,58913,465Destination Trailers

Timberwolf is published by Forest River in two groupings, destination trailers and mini-loft travel trailers, across eleven floorplans, none dealer-stock-only. Forest River publishes dry weight, GVWR, cargo capacity, dry hitch weight, all three exterior dimensions and all three tank capacities for every plan and awning size for nine, and dry weight plus cargo capacity equals the published GVWR exactly on all eleven. Sleeping capacity, axle count, tire size and MSRP are not published in this channel. The factory files Timberwolf under its Cherokee brand; it is a distinct roster and shares no floorplan codes with the Cherokee travel-trailer lines already on this site.

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 Cherokee Timberwolf, 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.

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
Cherokee Timberwolf 39NA

11,805 lbs dry against this plan's 11,979 lbs, a difference of 174 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.

Heavier
Cherokee Timberwolf 39AL

11,994 lbs dry, 15 lbs more than this plan, and 1,186 lbs of cargo capacity against this one's 1,276 lbs. Stepping up a floorplan usually buys length before it buys payload.

Most cargo in the line
Cherokee Timberwolf 39TN

4,296 lbs of cargo capacity, the highest of the 11 Cherokee Timberwolf floorplans profiled here. If payload rather than length is the binding constraint, that is the plan to compare against.

06 Loading it for a trip

This floorplan carries its water comfortably. A full 40-gallon fresh tank is roughly 26% of the 1,276-pound cargo capacity, leaving the 39DK with a usable gear budget even when you tow full.

Weight budgetFigureWhat it means
Cargo capacity as published (CCC)1,276 lbEverything you add: gear, water, propane, batteries, food, people’s belongings.
Fresh tank filled (40 gal × 8.34 lb)−334 lbWater is the heaviest thing most owners add, and it is added first.
Cargo budget left with a full fresh tank942 lb26% of this plan’s capacity is spent before a single bag is loaded.

The published dry tongue weight of 1,255 pounds is 10% of the 11,979-pound dry weight, which sits inside the 10–15% band usually quoted for stable towing. It is still a dry figure: loading the front pass-through and the fresh tank both push it up.

Nothing above changes the ceiling. Loaded to its 13,255-pound GVWR the 39DK is towing 1,276 pounds more than its 11,979-pound dry figure, and that is the number your vehicle has to be rated for — not the brochure weight.

Tank balance is generous here: 40 gallons of fresh against 70 grey and 40 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 GVWR, the 39DK sits 7 of 11 in the Cherokee Timberwolf line: 13,255 pounds against a line that runs from 11,240 to 13,614 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: Cherokee Timberwolf 39AL is 75 pounds lighter at 13,180 lb GVWR; and Cherokee Timberwolf 39HBA is 75 pounds heavier at 13,330 lb GVWR.

Comparable travel trailersGVWR (lb)Dry (lb)SleepsLength
39DK13,25511,97943 ft 9 in
Campsite Reserve 39GB13,2558,91940 ft 7 in
Puma Vista 38RLB13,25510,80442 ft 3 in
Cyclone 261513,2508,640434 ft 8 in
Zinger 390DB13,20010,517843 ft 1 in
Cascade 39DLC13,34211,32742 ft 8 in
Sandstorm 273013,4708,42934 ft 1 in

Against the 39DK: the Campsite Reserve 39GB is 3 ft shorter; the Puma Vista 38RLB is 2 ft shorter; the Cyclone 2615 is 5 lb lighter and 9 ft shorter. 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 travel trailers 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 Cherokee Timberwolf floorplans profiled here run 7,109 to 12,589 pounds dry and 28 to 45 feet of exterior length across 11 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 Cherokee Timberwolf line hub.

08 Common questions about the 39DK

How much does the 39DK weigh?

It leaves the factory at 11,979 pounds dry, and its manufacturer-set loaded ceiling (GVWR) is 13,255 pounds. Real towing weight lands between the two and depends entirely on what you load. Use the GVWR when matching a tow vehicle; the dry figure is only useful for comparing floorplans against each other.

How much can the 39DK carry?

Cargo carrying capacity is 1,276 pounds. That is the whole budget: water, propane, batteries, gear and everything you bring. Filling the 40-gallon fresh tank uses about 334 pounds of that.

What is the tongue weight of the 39DK?

The published dry tongue weight is 1,255 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 size tow vehicle does the 39DK need?

Your vehicle needs a tow rating of at least 13,255 pounds — this floorplan’s GVWR — and enough payload left over for the hitch load, passengers and anything in the bed. This site does not publish tow ratings for specific vehicles, because one truck model varies by thousands of pounds across engine, axle ratio, cab and package. The figure that governs is the payload sticker on your own door jamb.

What are the tank capacities on the 39DK?

Fresh 40 gallons, grey 70 gallons, black 40 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 39DK?

Exterior length is 43' 9". 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 11 of them for the 39DK. 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: interior height, sleeps, slide count, axle count, tire specification, 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 (85%) 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.