40DB: 8 sleepers, a 13 ft 6 in roof, and a 100-gallon black tank
Every size figure sits at the top of the family. The 40DB is 7 of 7 by unloaded weight at 16,110 lb and by GVWR at 18,850 lb, and it shares the longest length, 43 ft 10 in, with the 39FL. It is rated to sleep up to 8, a figure only the 37MD matches. The pin does not follow the rest: 2,925 lb is 4 of 7, and 18.2% of unloaded weight is 3 of 7 by lowest share. GVWR minus unloaded weight leaves 2,740 lb, 4 of 7.
The first tradeoff is height. Heartland lists the 40DB at 13 ft 6 in with the air conditioner, 3 in taller than the 13 ft 3 in of five siblings, which leaves no margin under a 13 ft 6 in limit. The tanks run against the family pattern: 100 gal black, 50 gal more than the five plans with 50 gal black tanks, and 50 gal gray, the smallest gray tank in the lineup, for 225 gal in all. And Heartland's equipment list marks the standard 3,000 lb tow hitch with 4-way pin "N/A 40DB", so this plan does not come with the hitch the other six carry for towing behind the trailer.
The second tradeoff is one the available drawing cannot settle. Heartland's 2026 brochure prints the 40DB too small for its labels to be read, and there is no current Heartland page for the plan. Where do eight people sleep on four slides? The king mattress in the family-wide equipment list accounts for two. The 37MD reaches 8 with a Murphy-bed room, a trifold sofa with a flip-up bunk, and a hide-a-bed sofa on Heartland's current drawing, but whether the 40DB does anything similar, and what its DB code stands for, has to be seen on a unit.
Heartland's 2026 Bighorn brochure, spec table and equipment list →Four things to confirm on a 40DB walkthrough
- Start by finding all eight sleeping places. Note which are fixed beds and which convert from seating, since the brochure gives the rating as a single number with no breakdown.
- Count the seats at the table against eight sleepers. Heartland's family-wide list gives the roll top table two free-standing and two folding chairs.
- Look at the back of the trailer and confirm there is no tow hitch, as the brochure's "N/A 40DB" note says, before planning to pull anything behind it.
- Outside, have the height measured on the unit. At 13 ft 6 in with the air conditioner, the published figure uses the whole of a 13 ft 6 in clearance.
Two ways to compare the 40DB's eight-person rating
1 ft shorter, 460 lb lighter, and 220 lb lighter on the hitch, with GVWR 750 lb lower and a margin 290 lb smaller, on the same four slides. Its tanks are 87 gal gray and 50 gal black, and its roof is listed at 13 ft 3 1/4 in.
Open record →Same 43 ft 10 in, rated for 4Bighorn 39FL465 lb lighter with GVWR 855 lb lower, yet 165 lb heavier on the hitch, the heaviest pin in the family. It has one more slide, sleeps 4 fewer, and carries 74 gal each of gray and black.
Open record →40DB published specifications, 18,850 lb GVWR
40DB: height, hitch, and an unreadable drawing
All figures are from the spec table in Heartland's 2026 Bighorn brochure (Rev. 2/26), last checked here on 2026-08-15, including the 13 ft 6 in exterior height with the air conditioner, the only Bighorn height above 13 ft 3 1/4 in. The "N/A 40DB" note on the tow hitch and the mattress and table items are from the same brochure's family-wide equipment list, read again on 2026-09-26. The brochure's 40DB drawing is printed too small for its labels to be read, so this record describes no room positions. The slide count is from RVUSA's 2026 spec guide. Heartland footnotes that some specs at the time of print may include estimates.