2005 Forest River Salem Travel Trailer Floor Plans and Specs
Old trailers do exist. When they are taken care of, you can get an old trailer with a nice floor plan for a low price. The problem with going to an older trailer is that the important information may be missing. 17 years is a long time and information can get lost.
This may be a bit hard to get specific information. Forest River’s website does not contain any information about the 2005 and the best we got was NADA’s description which said it was a 31 by 8-foot trailer that weighed 4470 pounds.
To learn more about this trailer model, just continue to read our article. It contains as much information that can be found about this make and model of the trailer so you can decide if you want to buy one or not.
2005 Salem Travel Trailer Floor Plans
This is going to be a difficult task as one owner reported that he could not find very much information on the internet about this year and the model of the Salem trailer. We have to concur with his frustration as our searches turned up one model for sale and it did not show any pictures of the interior.
We did come across a Salem Sport 5th wheel trailer for sale but the interior photos did not show enough of the floor plan to get a good idea if it was comfortable, well laid out or not. It was also in need of a lot of repair work so any photos were not flattering to say the best about it.
There was a 2005 Salem 31 for sale and the interior photos were much better. The interior looks clean, well organized with lots of cupboard space throughout. We cannot compare floor plans as there are not many listings at this time for this year and model.
The 27Bh model had a separate master bedroom area with the kitchenette and dinette between it and the bathroom. The extra beds were at the rear of the trailer as well. It did not look that comfortable to be in but a bit on the crowded side.
2005 Forest River Salem Brochure
We only found one website that collected old brochures for RVs of all years. Unfortunately, while it had a nice collection of 2005 models the owners did not have one for the Forest River Salem, any model.
They may not be able to find one either as we have done multiple searches and only sales websites come up and those sites do not add the brochure into their advertising. In our search, we came across a discussion forum that had one member saying he had a brochure but that was back in 2009.
There may be a copy of one somewhere but it is not listed on any of the websites we have come across. It doesn’t matter the model number, most websites only deal with the more recent Salem models made by this company
2005 Salem Travel Trailer Specs
We can give you the specs for the 27BH model from 2005. It is 28 feet long and sleeps 8 people. There is one slide to it and it had a payload capacity of just over 3706 pounds. The GVWR was rated at 7530 pounds with a dry weight of 4740 pounds.
The tongue weight reached 530 pounds and there was one 21 foot awning you can use. The Salem 31 was roughly 32 feet long but it was already sold so the dealer did not place any more specs on the advertisement.
There is a 23 footer for sale in Arizona but the owner only listed the length and the price with a few features. NADA lists a lot of different models of the Salem for 2005, too many to place here. This link will take you to those specs and some trailers are missing important data.
For the non-toy haulers, you should get all the weight capacities, lengths, number of slides, and so on. Given the lack of information on this model of the travel trailer, this is going to be the best we can do.
2005 Forest River Salem Weight
When you look at the NADA web page on this travel trailer, you will see a wide range of weights for each model. There were quite a few made by Forest River at that time and a more modern model, 2022, had over 150-floor plans. The weights are going to be all over the place.
For the different Salem models for 2005, the 5th wheels were 6000 pounds and up. The heaviest one we saw in that list was the M-325BHSSE and it reached almost 9000 pounds.
For the travel trailers, the range went between 3950 to 10,000 pounds. The heaviest was the M-381RLDS model and it came with 2 slides and was 40 feet long. With over 30 models to look at, you can get the weight capacity you need with ease.
To get any more information about specific trailers, you need to click on the serial number and enter your zip code. But that effort is not going to turn up too much more information on the specs.
Finding a 2005 Forest River Salem For Sale
From the research we did, you will find some on sale. Most of the dealers we saw ads for had only one model to sell. Then you had to be quick as they were marked sold by the time we saw them.
One website only had a 2003 model then it jumped to something like 2014 or 2015 models that were on its lot. You may have to do a lot of searching of Craigslist or local classified ads to find a model in good shape that is for sale.
As we reported earlier, one was for sale but it was in need of a lot of restoration work. Other websites only had more recent models for sale and you could use the Forest River website to find dealers near you and see if they have any trade-ins are on their lot.
The pickings seem to be slim on the internet as most people want to sell the more recent versions as they can get a better price for those models.
2005 Forest River Salem Value
The value is going to range depending on who you are talking to. The motivated seller is going to have a lower price or be more willing to negotiate than a seller who is not motivated. The one in need of repair work was being sold for $10,000.
One of the ones we saw that was already sold was priced between $17,000 and $19,000 and the one in Arizona was priced at $6500. Those prices should give you an idea of what the value of the trailer will be.
If they are in top shape, expect to pay in the low to mid $20,000 range. We saw one for sale in New York State that was going for about $11,000 and it looked to be in great shape. It weighed roughly 7500 pounds and had a 3600 approx, cargo capacity. It is 28 feet long also.
The value is what you are going to put on it when you see it and test out the features and plumbing, etc. The seller may have some sentimental value that you have to work through to get to the real value of the trailer.
Download The 2005 Forest River Salem Manual
This link will take you to a website that specializes in magazine formats. It is a 2005 Salem owner's manual and the pages are easy to navigate. You may be able to download it as well. You have to look at the controls to see what options are available to you.
It has been said that Forest River only carries the last three years of any model they sell. That means the earliest manual you can get through them is 2020. But it is worth a shot to contact them to see if that information is true or not.
They may be able to direct you to a website that has manuals for downloads. Or you can check the Forest River discussion forums to see who has one they can put online or a link to a website that has them.
For being a 2005 the Salem travel trailer is very difficult to get information about.
Some Final Words
While Forest River made a lot of models of the Salem travel trailer, they either did not go over well or the owners are so satisfied with them that they do not want to get rid of their trailer.
It is very difficult finding information on this option. It was difficult in 2009 and it is still difficult today. Talk to new and used dealers to see if you can get more information on this travel trailer model.
