01 What makes it unique
The 286RL opens a rear living area behind a front bedroom. The Forest River factory describes the floorplan as one entry and two slide outs with a fiberglass exterior, and an interior of a front bedroom and a rear living area — sleeping four in about 34 feet. The rear-living layout trades bunks and a rear bathroom for an open lounge at the back, and the two slides widen it; a jack knife sofa is the standard seating, with theater seating offered as a factory option in place of it. It carries the full Tracer Touring build in laminated fiberglass: welded aluminum framing and a pinch-rolled laminated Eternabond structure, 2-inch foam-block-insulated walls, a Tufflex PVC roof under a lifetime warranty, a fully enclosed drop-frame underbelly, an installed 200-watt solar panel with a 40-amp controller, a 12-volt glass refrigerator and an on-demand tankless water heater.
Prime Time publishes a 9,620-pound GVWR against the 7,418-pound dry weight — a much higher GVWR than the shorter plans — leaving a 2,202-pound cargo capacity, among the largest in the line, and an 820-pound dry tongue. A fully ducted 15,000-BTU air conditioner and 42/34/34-gallon fresh/grey/black tanks are standard. Prime Time and Forest River publish no MSRP for the line, so confirm street pricing with a dealer. The 286RL is the Tracer for a couple who wants an open rear lounge and a big cargo margin — but its 9,620-pound GVWR wants an honestly rated half-ton, so match the tow vehicle carefully.
02 Full specifications
Dimensions
- Exterior length
- 34' 0"
- Exterior height
- 11' 1"
- Exterior width
- 8' 0"
Weights
- Dry / unit base weight (UVW)
- 7,418 lbs
- GVWR (max loaded)
- 9,620 lbs
- Net cargo / payload (CCC)
- 2,202 lbs
- Dry tongue (hitch) weight
- 820 lbs
Capacities
- Fresh water
- 42 gal
- Grey water
- 34 gal
- Black water
- 34 gal
- Refrigerator
- 12-volt glass refrigerator
Construction
- Framing
- Welded aluminum · pinch-rolled laminated
- Structure
- Eternabond · 2″ walls · foam-block insulation
- Roof
- Tufflex PVC, lifetime warranty · 3/8″ OSB decking
- Trusses
- 5″ wood trusses with steel plates
- Exterior
- Laminated fiberglass
- Underbelly
- Fully enclosed · drop-frame pass-through
Running gear
- Axles
- 2 (tandem)
- Hitch
- Bumper Pull (weight-distribution recommended)
- Jack
- Power tongue jack · power stabilizer jacks
- Tires
- D-rated radial · aluminum wheels · spare with carrier
- Solar
- 200W panel · 40A controller · solar disconnect (installed)
Galley & systems
- Refrigerator
- 12-volt glass refrigerator
- A/C
- 1 unit · 15,000 BTU ducted
- Water heater
- On-demand tankless
- Cooktop
- Cooktop with air fryer
- Furnace
- 30,000 BTU
- Bed
- Camp King
Sleeping & layout
- Sleeps
- 4
- Slides
- 2
- Entries
- 1
- Awnings
- 1
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
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).
03 The Tracer floorplan family
Tracer is Prime Time's value / mid touring travel trailer — laminated, welded-aluminum-framed half-ton towables and a cross-shop against Forest River's own Aurora and Salem / Wildwood, Jayco's Jay Flight SLX and Grand Design's Transcend Xplor, with the metal-sided Prime Time Avenger as its value sibling. Six floorplans are profiled in full and linked below; the remaining plans are catalogued and shown muted. The 286RL on this page is highlighted.
| Floorplan | Nominal | Sleeps | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 195RB | 23 ft | 3 | Front bedroom and rear bathroom |
| 220RS | 26 ft | 3 | Front bedroom and rear living area |
| 235RK | 29 ft | 4 | Rear kitchen, front bedroom, pass-through bath · dual entry |
| 250BH | 29 ft | 6 | Published specifications only |
| 255DS | 29 ft | 2 | Front bedroom |
| 248RE | 30 ft | 3 | Rear kitchen, U-dinette and front bedroom |
| 275BH | 32 ft | 8 | Bunk beds and front bedroom · dual entry · metal |
| 286RL | 34 ft | 4 | Front bedroom and rear living area · dual slide |
| 295DB | 37 ft | 8 | Bunk beds and front bedroom · dual entry · dual slide |
| 308BH | 37 ft | 8 | Published specifications only |
Tracer is Prime Time's value / mid touring travel trailer — the laminated, welded-aluminum-framed "Touring Edition" half-ton line, a construction step above the metal-sided value bracket and a cross-shop against Forest River's own Aurora and Salem / Wildwood, Jayco's Jay Flight SLX, Keystone's Passport and Grand Design's Transcend Xplor. Its metal-sided value sibling is the Prime Time Avenger. RVUSA files ten 2026 Tracer plans; six floorplans are profiled here in full and the remaining four are catalogued from published specifications below. Every Tracer rides a bumper-pull tandem-axle chassis with welded aluminum framing and a pinch-rolled laminated Eternabond structure, 2-inch walls with foam-block insulation, a Tufflex PVC lifetime-warranty roof, a fully enclosed drop-frame underbelly with a huge pass-through, a Camp King bed, an installed 200-watt solar panel with a 40-amp controller, a 12-volt glass refrigerator, an on-demand tankless water heater and D-rated radial tires. Tongue weight, GVWR, dry weight and CCC are published per plan and each plan's dry weight plus CCC equals its GVWR exactly. Dry weight is a factory estimate; real loaded tongue weights run higher — always weigh the loaded trailer and confirm against your vehicle's tow rating and payload.
04 Notes on this floorplan
Open rear living area
The factory floorplan is a front bedroom and a rear living area on two slides — a couples comfort plan without bunks or a rear bathroom.
Big cargo margin
A 2,202-pound cargo capacity is among the largest in the line — genuine room for gear, water and supplies.
Theater seating is an option, not standard
The jack knife sofa is the standard seating; Prime Time offers theater seating as a factory option in its place, so confirm what a given unit is actually built with.
Higher GVWR — match the tow vehicle
Its 9,620-pound GVWR is well above the shorter plans and an 820-pound base tongue runs higher loaded, so confirm an honestly rated half-ton and weigh the loaded trailer.
05 How it compares
The 248RE — a rear kitchen with a U-dinette on a lighter single-slide chassis.
Forest River's own Aurora — a wide-body value rear-living cross-shop from the sister division.
The 295DB — the family flagship with bunk beds on the biggest chassis.
06 Loading it for a trip
A full 42-gallon fresh tank is about 350 lb of water (water counts as cargo: 49 CFR 571.110 S9.3.2), 16% of the 286RL’s 2,202 lb cargo capacity, leaving 1,852 lb (463 lb per rated berth). Across 6 Tracer floorplans the water share runs 14% to 24%, and 4 give up more than this one. Nearest on that share: Tracer 195RB at 14% and Tracer 295DB at 17%. 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 Tracer 235RK, nearest on the published figures. It differs on 6 of the 9 fields both publish (this plan first): length 34 ft 0 in vs 29 ft 2 in; dry weight 7,418 lb vs 5,923 lb; GVWR 9,620 lb vs 7,705 lb; cargo capacity 2,202 lb vs 1,782 lb; dry hitch weight 820 lb vs 705 lb; grey tank 34 gal vs 68 gal. They match on sleeps, fresh tank and black tank.
| Tracer plans | This plan | Position, low to high | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| GVWR (lb) | 9,620 | 5 of 6 | 7,585–9,850 |
| Dry weight (lb) | 7,418 | 5 of 6 | 5,013–7,828 |
| Cargo capacity (lb) | 2,202 | 5 of 6 | 1,447–2,572 |
| Dry hitch weight (lb) | 820 | 5 of 6 | 585–1,050 |
| Length | 34 ft 0 in | 5 of 6 | 23 ft 4 in–37 ft 11 in |
| Grey tank (gal) | 34 | 1 of 6 | 34–102 |
| Sleeps | 4 | 3–4 of 6 | 3–8 |
Either side of it by GVWR: Tracer 275BH is 1,835 lb lighter (7,785 lb GVWR); Tracer 295DB is 230 lb heavier (9,850 lb GVWR).
| Nearest Tracer siblings | Length | Sleeps | Dry (lb) | GVWR (lb) | CCC (lb) | Hitch (lb) | Fresh (gal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tracer 286RL | 34 ft 0 in | 4 | 7,418 | 9,620 | 2,202 | 820 | 42 |
| Tracer 235RK | 29 ft 2 in | 4 | 5,923 | 7,705 | 1,782 | 705 | 42 |
| Tracer 295DB | 37 ft 11 in | 8 | 7,828 | 9,850 | 2,022 | 1,050 | 42 |
| Tracer 248RE | 30 ft 0 in | 3 | 6,023 | 7,660 | 1,637 | 660 | 42 |
| Tracer 275BH | 32 ft 1 in | 8 | 6,338 | 7,785 | 1,447 | 785 | 42 |
| Tracer 195RB | 23 ft 4 in | 3 | 5,013 | 7,585 | 2,572 | 585 | 42 |
All 6 Tracer floorplans: Tracer line hub.
| Other lines, nearest by GVWR | GVWR (lb) | Dry (lb) | Sleeps | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 286RL | 9,620 | 7,418 | 4 | 34 ft 0 in |
| Coachmen Apex Ultra-Lite 293RLDS | 9,618 | 7,304 | 4 | 34 ft 0 in |
| EVO 2920VB | 9,615 | 7,433 | — | 34 ft 11 in |
| Longitude 230FK | 9,630 | 6,113 | — | 28 ft 6 in |
| Surveyor Legend 296QBLE | 9,604 | 6,806 | — | 35 ft 1 in |
| Wildcat 271CHEF | 9,602 | 6,774 | — | 34 ft 5 in |
| Jay Feather 31BH | 9,600 | 8,010 | 10 | 37 ft 2 in |
Against the 286RL: the Coachmen Apex Ultra-Lite 293RLDS is 2 lb lighter; the EVO 2920VB is 5 lb lighter; the Longitude 230FK is 10 lb heavier and 6 ft shorter.
08 Common questions about the 286RL
How much does the 286RL weigh?
7,418 lb dry; 9,620 lb GVWR, the most it may weigh loaded.
How much can the 286RL carry?
2,202 lb, 23% of its GVWR (median across 958 travel trailers here: 23%). A full fresh tank uses 350 lb of it.
What is the tongue weight of the 286RL?
820 lb dry, 11% of the dry weight (median across 1,156 travel trailers here: 12%).
What size tow vehicle does the 286RL need?
A tow rating of at least 9,620 lb, plus payload for the loaded tongue weight, passengers and cargo.
How many people does the 286RL sleep?
It is rated to sleep 4. 2 of the 6 Tracer floorplans that publish a count sleep more.
What are the tank capacities on the 286RL?
Fresh 42, grey 34, black 34 gallons. Off hookups, fresh water runs out first.
How long is the 286RL?
34' 0" overall, tongue or pin box included.
From the figures above.
09 What this page publishes, and what it does not
17 of the 18 fields this catalogue tracks are published for the 286RL. Not published: interior height, tire size (a description is published, a size is not).
Sourcing rules: methodology.
10 Manuals & documents
Sources: forestriverinc.com (linked below); the full source note is at the foot of the page.
11 NHTSA safety record
NHTSA holds 11 recall campaigns and 6 owner complaints against the Tracer line. They are counted separately: a recall is a confirmed defect with a remedy, a complaint one owner’s unverified account.
Too few reports to show a pattern. 6 complaints have been filed on this line — not enough to say what fails most often. They cover unknown or other, electrical system, fuel/propulsion system, power train and suspension.
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 Tracer line page.