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Fifth Wheel · Mid-Profile Affordable-Luxury · Single-Source Profile

2026 Forest River Wildcat36MB

The mid-bunk family plan and the highest-pin Wildcat — a four-slide coach with bunk beds, a loft, a kitchen island, a front king bedroom, a rear living room and a fireplace, sleeping up to ten under the line’s longest awning.

Tow-Critical Data — as built, MY2026

11,537lb
Dry Weight
14,335lb
GVWR
2,335lb
Pin Weight
42ft
Length
Sleeps 10 Mid-Profile Fifth Wheel · Mid-bunk + loft family plan, fireplace, longest awning, highest pin Built by · Forest River Construction · 2" vacuum-bonded aluminum · 16 cu ft 12V fridge

01 What makes it unique

The 36MB is Wildcat’s mid-bunk family plan and the one built for a crowd. It pairs a front king bedroom with mid bunk beds and a loft, a kitchen island, a rear living room and an electric fireplace, opened by four slide-outs, sleeping up to ten (Cardinal markets it as sleeping ten or more). At a 2,335-pound dry pin it carries the highest pin weight in the profiled line, and it tows under the line’s longest power awning at 19 feet. It rides the full Wildcat build: a 2-inch vacuum-bonded aluminum-framed sidewall structure, a one-piece molded fiberglass front cap, a PVC roof membrane with a lifetime warranty, a heated and enclosed underbelly with 12-volt tank heat pads and sectioned ABS armor, and 4-point automatic leveling.

Forest River publishes an 11,537-pound UVW, a 2,798-pound CCC and a 14,335-pound GVWR (the published GVWR equals UVW plus CCC exactly, the highest GVWR of the lighter profiled plans), against the profiled line’s highest dry pin of 2,335 pounds. A 45,000-BTU three-air-conditioner system, a 35,000-BTU furnace, a 5,000-BTU electric fireplace, a 60,000-BTU tankless water heater, a 16-cubic-foot 12-volt refrigerator, a 21-inch 2-in-1 oven range, a 30-inch over-the-range microwave and a 60-gallon fresh tank are standard, under two power awnings (19 and 11 feet) with a 200-watt rooftop solar prep.

US street pricing has commonly run around the high $50,000s. It is the mid-bunk, big-family Wildcat. For a family that wants bunk beds, a loft, a kitchen island, a front king bedroom and a rear living room with a fireplace — sleeping up to ten, towed behind a properly rated three-quarter-ton or larger truck — the 36MB is the line’s mid-bunk family plan. It is sold as the Cardinal 36MB under a sister badge.

02 Full specifications

Dimensions

Exterior length
42' 7"
Exterior width
8' 0"
Exterior height
13' 2"
Interior height
6' 5"

Weights

Dry / unit base weight (UVW)
11,537 lbs
GVWR (max loaded)
14,335 lbs
Net cargo / payload (CCC)
2,798 lbs
Dry pin (hitch) weight
2,335 lbs

Capacities

Fresh water
60 gal
Grey water
76 gal
Black water
38 gal
Refrigerator
16 cu ft 12V

Construction

Frame
2" vacuum-bonded aluminum-framed sidewalls · high-density block-foam insulation · welded aluminum structure
Walls
Laminated aluminum-framed walls · one-piece molded fiberglass front cap · residential fiberglass roof & floor insulation
Roof
PVC roof membrane (lifetime warranty) · 5" arched roof rafters · 6′ 5" upper-deck height
Underbelly
Heated & enclosed underbelly · 12V tank heat pads · sectioned ABS underbelly armor · 5/8" T&G plywood floor

Running gear

Axles
2 (tandem) · per-axle GAWR not separately published *
Hitch
Fifth-wheel (in-bed) · 4-point automatic leveling · 200W rooftop solar prep
Brakes
Electric · self-adjusting · 50-amp service
Tires
Aluminum wheels · outside shower · dual 20-lb LP

Galley & bath

Cooktop
21" 2-in-1 oven range · 30" OTR microwave · 60K tankless water heater
Refrigerator
16 cu ft 12V
A/C
45,000 BTU 3-A/C system
Water heater
60,000-BTU tankless · on-demand

Sleeping & layout

Sleeps
10
Slides
4
Entries
1
Awnings
2 (19' & 11')
Primary bed
King 66×80

03 The Wildcat floorplan family

Wildcat is Forest River's mid-profile affordable-luxury fifth wheel — a step above the brand's own value-mid Arctic Wolf and a step below its premium-mainstream Sandpiper. Six of the most distinct 2026 floorplans are profiled here in full. The 36MB on this page is highlighted; each other plan links to its own page.

FloorplanNominalSleepsNotable
32LIVE36 ft4Rear living + kitchen island + front bedroom, lightest and shortest, lowest GVWR
33CHEF38 ft4Rear kitchen + front bedroom, couples who cook and work remote, lowest pin
402BEDS42 ft8Two queen bedrooms + two full baths, dual entry, unique family plan
36MB43 ft10Mid-bunk + loft family plan, fireplace, longest awning, highest pin
35CRIB43 ft8Rear bunkhouse + front queen + two full baths, tallest in the line
36FUN43 ft8Rear king master + front bunkhouse suite + two full baths, dual entry
37GALLEY43 ft6Front kitchen + king suite + bath-and-a-half, galley-and-entertainment
37PUB43 ft4Front living + kitchen island + bath-and-a-half, the front-living sibling
35FL43 ft6Front entertainment/living + rear bedroom, biggest cargo capacity, four slides
37BEST44 ft10Bunk beds + bath-and-a-half + dual entry, heaviest, longest, highest GVWR

Wildcat is Forest River's mid-profile affordable-luxury fifth wheel — a step above the brand's own value-mid Arctic Wolf and a step below its premium-mainstream Sandpiper. Ten of the most distinct 2026 retail floorplans are profiled here in full; only two Dealer Stock Only plans (34CRIB, 35FUN) are listed on the hub but not profiled. Every plan is built on a 2-inch vacuum-bonded aluminum-framed sidewall structure with a one-piece molded fiberglass front cap, a PVC roof membrane with a lifetime warranty, residential fiberglass roof and floor insulation, a heated and enclosed underbelly with 12-volt tank heat pads and sectioned ABS armor, seamless roto-cast holding tanks, 4-point automatic leveling, a 50-amp service, a 35,000-BTU furnace, an 18,000-BTU ducted air conditioner (a 45,000-BTU three-A/C system is standard on most plans), a 60,000-BTU tankless water heater, a 16-cubic-foot 12-volt refrigerator, a 5,000-BTU electric fireplace, a 60-gallon fresh tank line-wide and a 200-watt rooftop solar prep. Hitch weight, UVW, CCC and GVWR are published per plan; the published GVWR equals UVW plus CCC exactly on every profiled plan. The numeric per-axle GAWR is not separately published for Wildcat. UVW is a factory estimated average; real loaded pin weights run higher — always weigh the loaded coach and confirm against your truck's payload and rear-axle ratings. Wildcat is badge-engineered as the Cardinal under a sister badge.

04 What owners & reviewers report

Mid-bunk + loft family plan, sleeps up to ten

A front king bedroom plus mid bunk beds and a loft sleeping up to ten, with a rear living room and a fireplace — a full family coach.

Highest pin in the profiled line

At a 2,335-pound dry pin it carries the highest pin weight of the six profiled plans — confirm your truck’s payload and rear-axle rating against the loaded pin.

Longest awning + full three-A/C standard

The line’s longest power awning at 19 feet plus a 45,000-BTU three-air-conditioner system standard — a fully-cooled, shaded family campsite out of the box.

Four slides on a big floorplan

It opens on four slide-outs and sleeps up to ten, so confirm the live-in feel and the campsite footprint suit you before buying.

SOURCING — ownership notes to be expanded with cited threads from owner communities & forums per the data plan

05 How it compares

↔ Cross-shop
Wildcat 37BEST

The bigger bunk plan — a bath-and-a-half and dual entry doors, the heaviest and longest coach in the line.

↔ Cross-shop
Wildcat 402BEDS

The two-bedroom alternative — two queen bedrooms and two full baths instead of a bunk-and-loft layout, also dual entry.

↓ Step down
Arctic Wolf 287BH (Forest River)

Arctic Wolf’s most popular family bunkhouse a tier below — a lighter, lower-priced family coach with a leaner package.