I'm a newbie here with an interest in a 2008 W&P 28FS. What has me puzzled a little is the difference in specs from the brochure compared to the VIN printout posted inside a cabinet door. The brochure has the GVWR as 13209 lbs, while the printout has it as 9950. That's a big difference. What also has me concerned is the brochure has the water capacity as 66 gallons, while the printout has it as 42 gallons. My normal thinking would tell me the printout is specific to the trailer, but is the brochure usually this much off? I sure would like to have 66 gallons of fresh water (actually more if possible).
The carrying capacity in the brochure is 4500, while the printout is 3798. Either way, I can live with the CC. That's actually what I like about these trailers. I plan to use the trailer for trail riding with 3 or 4 dirt bikes. The trailer seems very functional for what I'm looking for. I would be interested in any feedback from any 28FS owners, as well as anyone else with info that would help me in deciding whether or not this trailer will suit me. I have a 2006 Ford 250 with a 6.0 turbo diesel for a tow vehicle.
The brochure gives a general description, but the actual weights will depend on options and equipment that have been installed from the factory. If you look on the left front exterior wall of the camper you will see a white sticker that displays the V.I.N. number and weights, that is suppose to be the true info about your camper. And by the way, to FRF
Welcome to FRF.
I must say, I'm a little confused too. I went to the website and looked up the 28FS and the following is the info I found.
Unit Type TT
Hitch Weight 1,209 lbs.
Number of Axles 2
Total Axle Weight 7,401 lbs.
Total Ship Weight 8,612 lbs.
GVWR 13,209 lbs.
Cargo Capacity 3,988 lbs.
Exterior Length 33 ft. 8 in.
Box Length 29 ft. 2 in.
Cargo Length 11 ft. 11 in.
Fresh Water Capacity 66 Gal.
Black and Gray Capacity 31/31 Gal.
The cargo capacity is close to what's listed on the site but the GVWR is way off. The website says that they put 5200 lb axles under them so simple math tells you with that your GVWR should be over 11500 lbs. The limiting factor might be the wheels and/or tires. You didn't say what the label had for the UVW but with a GVWR of 9950 and the website shipping weight of 8612 that don't leave you much CCC. Looks like the label might be wrong. You might want to check it again and find out all the numbers.
__________________
Salem 29RKSS Pushing a GMC Sierra 2500HD!
Gotta go campin!
Thanks for your replies, and thanks for the welcome also. Here's the printout from the dealer's website, and a phone picture of the VIN info on the outside of the trailer. I'm just a bit confused, but I would think the printout would be correct. If all else fails, ask the dealer right!! You would think I would have done that, but I was sort of avoiding the dealer until it was time to really DEAL a price. Anyone out there have a 2008 28FS? By the way, I would have posted this in the Work & Play section, but it doesn't appear to get much traffic.
Don't ya just love it when they give you 2 or 3 sets of "numbers".!!
(You've got 2 stickers giving 2 different tire pressures!)
Since both the inside the cabinet and the outside sticker
give a GVWR of 9950, I'd go with that.
The big variable is the actual trailer weight. It often is. The only real
way to know fer sure is to haul that puppy to a certified truck scales.
In lieu of that, you could try calling the factory but I don't know who to
ask for.
I had another brand of TT that had an obviously incorrect outside sticker.
It said I had a single axle and 14" tires.
Well any idiot (even me) could stand there and look at the sticker and then
look at the DUAL axles and see the tires were stamped 13".
I called the factory and spoke to a floor manager and he personally mailed
me a replacement sticker. Problem was it had the wrong tire size and load ratings
too!! I had to tell THEM what my tires were and then they sent me a 3rd sticker
that I suppose was correct.
Some/many brochures include the water in the water heater when they
talk about fresh water capacity. My heater is 6 gallons. I don't know what the
one you are looking at is but 6 gal is a pretty standard size. My brochure said
30 gallon fresh water. My heater is 6 so I only have 24 in the fresh tank.
It cannot be filled to the tip top so I loose a couple gallons there. The water
pump won't suck it completely dry so I loose a couple gallons there.
MY ACTUAL usable water is more like 20 gallons when the brochure said 30!
Sheesh, that's 1/3 less than advertised.
Your cargo capacity could be 1/3 less than they say on the brochure too!!
Welcome to the world of RVs!! Where the numbers are often made up and a good
time is had by (almost) all.
__________________ Peace! Dan & Rita D
2017 Nissan Titan 5.6L King cab 4wd
2016 Evergreen Everlite 242RBS
29' empty nest model. Blue Ox WD hitch
(1 queen bed, large main cabin and huge bathroom)
Camping days 2010-53, 2011-47, 2012-41, 2013-41, 2014-31, 2015-40, 2016-44, 2017-63, 2018-75, 2019-32, 2020-41, 2021-49, 2022-43, 2023-66
Ask the dealer to weight the unit, check the axles tags if present. Verifying the water could be done by measuring the water going in by turning a hose on and check the time that it takes to fill a 5 gallon bucket then the time to fill the tank at the same hose rate. The math should give you the total tank size. Just do it slow enough that the air can escape properly, i have had issues with believeing the tank is full and get to the camp site and end up with less than half a tank of water. I learned my lesson and hopefully I won't do that again.
The 6.0l PSD will be fine. I use an 7.3 PSD in a 2000 Excursion pulling a 2009 All American @ 12K+ loaded.
Thanks for your replies. You know, now that you mention it, I'm pretty sure the actual tires on the trailer are 16", which matches the lower sticker, as opposed to the upper sticker that shows 15". Go figure??
I think it's time to call Forest River. Give them the VIN and ask them to verify the numbers. That unit with the 15" tires would limit the GVWR to the 9950 lbs. With the 16" tires the tires are not limiting factor in the GVWR. I'd definitely call the mfg and see what they say.
__________________
Salem 29RKSS Pushing a GMC Sierra 2500HD!
Gotta go campin!
You're right, and that's what I'll plan on doing on Monday. Anyone know any specific person or number I should call at Forest River? I did see the thread with phone numbers for Forest River, but I'm not sure which one I should start with. Also, there's a fairly close RV show tomorrow that I plan on going to, and hopefully I can talk to some folks out there that could provide some insight into this array of numbers.
Work & Play 28FS brochure specs vs. actual
to FRF
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