2026 Forest River Wildcat221CHEF

The Wildcat 221CHEF leaves Forest River's factory at 5,613 lbs dry, with a published GVWR of 7,605 lbs and 1,992 lbs of cargo capacity between the two. Cargo capacity is 26% 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 39-gallon fresh tank spends 324 lbs of that 1,992 lbs before anything else is loaded.

Dry tongue weight is 605 lbs, or 11% 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 39 gallons fresh, 64 grey and 32 black, 96 gallons of waste capacity against 39 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 Wildcat roster this is the 5th of 16 floorplans by dry weight, in a line that runs from 3,489 lbs to 8,036 lbs. It sits in the lighter 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 5,613 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 6,609 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 7,605 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 listing 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. 221CHEF is a Wildcat designation and this site does not decode it into a layout claim.

Wildcat's travel-trailer roster is the bumper-pull half of a badge this site has so far carried only as fifth wheels. Sixteen floorplans are published for 2026 and all sixteen are catalogued here. The roster runs 3,489 lb dry on a 22-foot 9-inch single-axle up to 8,036 lb on a 35-foot 6-inch tandem, with dry tongue weights of 359 to 945 lb, so the light end sits inside mid-size-SUV territory on paper while the top of the range wants a half-ton with a real payload figure. Forest River publishes a GVWR for every one of the sixteen, and dry weight plus cargo capacity equals that published GVWR exactly on all sixteen.

A full 39-gallon fresh tank is about 325 lb of water (water counts as cargo: 49 CFR 571.110 S9.3.2), 16% of the 221CHEF’s 1,992 lb cargo capacity, leaving 1,667 lb. Across 16 Wildcat travel-trailer floorplans the water share runs 10% to 28%, and 7 give up more than this one. Nearest on that share: Wildcat 305MBX at 16% and Wildcat 278RLX at 17%. Your own unit’s figure is on the label inside its entry door (49 CFR 571.110 S9.3.3).

Closest sibling: the Wildcat 241DBEDS, nearest on the published figures. It differs on 5 of the 8 fields both publish (this plan first): length 27 ft 9 in vs 28 ft 6 in; dry weight 5,613 lb vs 5,656 lb; GVWR 7,605 lb vs 7,740 lb; cargo capacity 1,992 lb vs 2,084 lb; dry hitch weight 605 lb vs 740 lb. They match on fresh tank, grey tank and black tank.

Either side of it by GVWR: Wildcat 181DBEDS is 1,975 lb lighter (5,630 lb GVWR); Wildcat 220BATH is 59 lb heavier (7,664 lb GVWR).

All 26 Wildcat floorplans: Wildcat line hub.

Against the 221CHEF: the Puma Camping Edition 263BHCE is 2 lb lighter and 4 ft longer; the Coachmen Apex Ultra-Lite 242BARV is 5 lb lighter and 1 ft longer; the Campsite Ultra 19KB is 5 lb lighter and 5 ft shorter.

11 of the 18 fields this catalogue tracks are published for the 221CHEF. Not published: interior height, sleeps, slide count, axle count, tire specification, refrigerator, air conditioning.

Sourcing rules: methodology.