01 What makes it unique
The Viking 262DBS leaves Forest River's factory at 6,093 lbs dry, with a published GVWR of 7,725 lbs and 1,632 lbs of cargo capacity between the two. Cargo capacity is 21% 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 1,632 lbs before anything else is loaded.
Dry tongue weight is 725 lbs, or 12% 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, 64 grey and 32 black, 96 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 Viking roster this is the 14th of 16 floorplans by dry weight, in a line that runs from 2,499 lbs to 7,208 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 6,093 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 6,909 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 7,725 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. 262DBS is a Viking designation and this site does not decode it into a layout claim.
02 Full specifications
Dimensions
- Exterior length
- 31' 11"
- Exterior height
- 11' 0"
- Exterior width
- 96"
Weights
- Dry / unit base weight (UVW)
- 6,093 lbs
- GVWR (max loaded)
- 7,725 lbs
- Net cargo / payload (CCC)
- 1,632 lbs
- Dry tongue (hitch) weight
- 725 lbs
Capacities
- Fresh water
- 40 gal
- Grey water
- 64 gal
- Black water
- 32 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
- 18'
Verified specs, drawn to scale
Original graphics built from this floorplan’s own verified figures.
Loaded weight budget
Size, drawn to scale
Holding tanks
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.
03 The Viking floorplan family
Viking is organised by weight rather than by layout, and the factory names the groupings accordingly: 3K, 4K, 5K and 6K Series. That makes it the most readable roster in this group for anyone shopping to a tow limit, because the series name is the weight class. Eighteen floorplans run 2,499 to 7,208 lb dry on lengths of 16 feet to 36 feet 8 inches, with dry tongue weights of 325 to 930 lb - the lightest plan is genuinely inside a mid-size crossover's rating rather than nominally inside it.
| Floorplan | Nominal | Sleeps | Notable | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19RK | — | — | — | 4K Series · published specifications only |
| 282TQS | — | — | — | 6K Series · published specifications only |
| 12BH | 16' 0" | 2,499 | 3,968 | 3K Series |
| 12RD | 16' 0" | 2,544 | 3,968 | 3K Series · published specifications only |
| 16FB | 18' 6" | 2,943 | 3,875 | 3K Series |
| 17BH | 20' 5" | 3,034 | 3,860 | 3K Series · published specifications only |
| 17FQ | 20' 5" | 3,084 | 3,850 | 3K Series |
| 18FQ - DSO | 20' 5" | 3,199 | 3,998 | Dealer stock only |
| 18BH | 23' 0" | 3,479 | 4,088 | 4K Series · published specifications only |
| 18DBS | 23' 0" | 4,114 | 4,915 | 4K Series |
| 242MK | 26' 10" | 4,724 | 7,700 | 5K Series |
| 26BH | 29' 3" | 4,769 | 7,450 | 5K Series · published specifications only |
| 25QBH | 30' 5" | 5,048 | 7,630 | 5K Series |
| 22BHSR | 26' 0" | 5,498 | 7,600 | 6K Series · published specifications only |
| 25RB | 30' 9" | 5,865 | 7,740 | 6K Series · published specifications only |
| 262DBS | 31' 11" | 6,093 | 7,725 | 6K Series |
| 292TB | 36' 8" | 6,903 | 9,645 | 6K Series · published specifications only |
| 282DORM | 36' 11" | 7,208 | 9,730 | 6K Series |
Viking is published by Forest River in four weight series - 3K, 4K, 5K and 6K - across eighteen floorplans, one of which is dealer-stock-only. Forest River publishes dry weight, cargo capacity, dry tongue weight and the exterior dimensions for the roster, a GVWR for sixteen plans, fresh water for sixteen and awning size for seventeen. The two plans with no published GVWR are catalogued weights-only. Sleeping capacity, axle count, tire size and MSRP are not published in this channel.
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 Viking, 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.
05 How it compares
5,048 lbs dry against this plan's 6,093 lbs, a difference of 1,045 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.
7,208 lbs dry, 1,115 lbs more than this plan, and 2,522 lbs of cargo capacity against this one's 1,632 lbs. Stepping up a floorplan usually buys length before it buys payload.
2,976 lbs of cargo capacity, the highest of the 8 Viking 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 20% of the 1,632-pound cargo capacity, leaving the 262DBS with a usable gear budget even when you tow full.
| Weight budget | Figure | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo capacity as published (CCC) | 1,632 lb | Everything you add: gear, water, propane, batteries, food, people’s belongings. |
| Fresh tank filled (40 gal × 8.34 lb) | −334 lb | Water is the heaviest thing most owners add, and it is added first. |
| Cargo budget left with a full fresh tank | 1,298 lb | 20% of this plan’s capacity is spent before a single bag is loaded. |
The published dry tongue weight of 725 pounds is 12% of the 6,093-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 7,725-pound GVWR the 262DBS is towing 1,632 pounds more than its 6,093-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 64 grey and 32 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 262DBS sits 7 of 8 in the Viking line: 7,725 pounds against a line that runs from 3,850 to 9,730 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: Viking 242MK is 25 pounds lighter at 7,700 lb GVWR; and Viking 282DORM is 2,005 pounds heavier at 9,730 lb GVWR.
| Comparable travel trailers | GVWR (lb) | Dry (lb) | Sleeps | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 262DBS | 7,725 | 6,093 | — | 31 ft 11 in |
| Cascade 26SSC | 7,725 | 6,203 | — | 30 ft 9 in |
| Ozark 25CP | 7,720 | 6,288 | — | 29 ft 7 in |
| Alpha Wolf 22SW | 7,735 | 5,513 | — | 27 ft 0 in |
| Cherokee Grey Wolf 23DBH | 7,712 | 5,861 | 8 | 29 ft 3 in |
| Longitude 185RB | 7,740 | 5,293 | — | 24 ft 1 in |
| Rockwood & Flagstaff Mini Lite 2523MBR | 7,710 | 6,313 | 2 | 25 ft 10 in |
Against the 262DBS: the Cascade 26SSC is 1 ft shorter; the Ozark 25CP is 5 lb lighter and 2 ft shorter; the Alpha Wolf 22SW is 10 lb heavier and 5 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 Viking floorplans profiled here run 2,499 to 7,208 pounds dry and 16 to 37 feet of exterior length across 8 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 Viking line hub.
08 Common questions about the 262DBS
How much does the 262DBS weigh?
It leaves the factory at 6,093 pounds dry, and its manufacturer-set loaded ceiling (GVWR) is 7,725 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 262DBS carry?
Cargo carrying capacity is 1,632 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 262DBS?
The published dry tongue weight is 725 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 262DBS need?
Your vehicle needs a tow rating of at least 7,725 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 262DBS?
Fresh 40 gallons, grey 64 gallons, black 32 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 262DBS?
Exterior length is 31' 11". 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 262DBS. 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.
11 NHTSA safety record
This floorplan belongs to the Viking line, and NHTSA holds 7 recall campaigns against that line. They are separate records and are not added together — a recall is a manufacturer-confirmed defect with a remedy; a complaint is one owner’s account, which NHTSA does not verify.
Recall coverage is not complete — our harvest of NHTSA’s recall API ran 1,556 queries, of which 0 failed and 242 returned an explicit zero. A line can still be under-reported where NHTSA files a roster under a parent name, or where a match rests on the wording of the recall rather than its model field. Complaints come from the complete bulk file but are unverified and self-selected: a high count tracks how many units a line sold at least as much as how well it was built. Check a specific VIN at NHTSA before you buy. Full tables are on the Viking line page.