2023 Outfitter Juno 8.5

kmehr

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Jul 6, 2019
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Thought I would go ahead and start a new thread dedicated to our brand spanking new camper, a 2023 Outfitter Juno 8.5.

Hauling it on a Ram 2500 Cummins. Has Timbrens (mandatory if you're looking for a camper this size on a coil rear truck!), which it handles well. When I bought the truck, I was pretty much set on the move to a travel trailer with our 2nd son on the way, then we went on a final trip in our old Jayco and remembered all the reasons we went with a truck camper in the first place. If I had pulled the trigger on the Juno first, I would likely have gone to a single rear wheel 3500 with the auto-level rear air suspension, if for no other reason than the sticker on the door. That being said, with the Timbrens on my 2500, I can't really imagine there's much difference at all. The rest of the truck is identical to a 3500 which has a 4,000lbs+ payload. Plus the rear coils ride really really nicely unloaded. The Cummins doesn't even break a sweat.

Eventually (when I get it put back together), the plan is to flat tow my 1970 FJ40 behind the rig.

Specs for the camper- 2x175W Renogy panels, 2x100ah Renogy lithium batteries, microwave, extra fan, Torklift steps, Yakima roof tracks, pull out bunk over the dinette, gray fiberglass. Other than that, standard features.

Weighs right at 2,660lbs with a full tank of fresh water.

After the first trip, we're loving the camper. The extra tent room is a game changer. While both of our boys are a little too small to sleep out there right now, it makes a great play room in the rain, and our dog had a nice time sleeping out there. The extra overall width compared to our Jayco was really nice on the rainy two day trip. The toilet and shower are sooo nice and scored a bunch of points with my wife.

I went with the microwave since we have little guys who eat a lot of chicken nuggets etc and sized the solar thinking it would eat a ton of power. Probably went about 3 times the size I needed. Batteries were still at 89% in the morning after cooking, using the furnace etc and it being a really rainy could few days ahead of time.

I'll keep updating as we use it more, and include lots of pics!

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A great upgrade from the Jayco for sure! It looks amazing and a great way to get the family out to play. It couldn't have been delivered at a better time to take advantage of the summer.

Enjoy!!!!!
 
That pop-out bed is a nice feature. If I still had kids coming along with us, I'd be down for one of those. Our kids are all grown, so enjoy them for the short years you have them at home.
 
got another trip in for Father's Day weekend. Loving the camper! I installed the Hell Wig Big Wig rear sway bar and it helped a ton with on road body roll. Now I'm dealing with some scary rocking side to side and backwards and forwards while off-road, especially in off camber situations, so I've got some big shocks on order from Accutune. going with the custom tuned Fox 2.5s with the DSC adjusters. Quite spendy, but they work with the OEM springs, and im hoping the DSC adjusters will allow me to balance camper control with unloaded comfort.


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Realize I haven't updated this thread in a while! I got 5 trips in last year, including a week long elk hunt. Am loving the camper. My only real complaint with the design is the grey tank fills up FAST at only 16 gallons. Seems like two showers and you still have plenty of fresh water but the shower drain is backing up.

My other regret beyond way overbuilding the solar system (and neither is much of a regret) is the yakima tracks. I thought I would put bikes up there, but I didn't understand how tall that would make the rig, just how high off the ground you are when standing up there (about 10ft!), so I really don't know how I'd really even get anything moderately heavy like a bike up there. I do have a plan to build a small receiver frame to put a bike rack on the rear, so stay tuned for that.

The DSC/Accutune shocks completely fixed my off-road bounce issue, I couldn't be happier with them. The ride is subtly better than stock but definitely have a lot more control. Also Accutune was great to work with and they have excellent customer service.

I am making one more suspension change- have ordered the Super Springs Super Coils for the rear. I guess color me one of those "should have bought a 1 ton" guys... I don't really like how the rear suspension seems to be riding completely on the Timbrens with the camper, as the big bumps feel pretty brutal with no give. The Super Coils are advertised as having a 2,475lb payload for each spring, and being progressive so won't affect unloaded ride much. They are also OEM ride height. My hope is that a heavier rated spring will take some of the burden off the Timbrens and they can be in a lighter springs rate compression zone, but still provide the necessary stability lacking from the inboard coil design. I may end up needing to down size the Timbrens to something lighter, but time will tell. Timbrens plus HD coils may make things wayyy too stiff. Or who knows, my bigger shock may provide enough stability I don't need the Timbrens at all. Thuren just released a quick change "boogie bump load control system" that looks pretty dang sweet, though $$$.
 
Nice to see those happy "thumbs ups" and you out using your new camper with your young family. It looks great! Congrats! :)
 
Wanted to do a quick review of the Super Springs SSC-52 HD coils for the Ram trucks as I don't really see anyone who has tried these out and talked about it on the internet. I previously was using stock rear springs and Timbrens. This worked ok, but the Timbrens were from my 2005 dodge so weren't exactly the right size, plus anyone who has installed them on the coil spring trucks knows the rear track bar mount on the passenger side makes it a giant PITA to install. Also the Timbrens don't give a great ride empty and I was tired of my spine compressing when I hit a decent size bump to make them contact the axle. May not have been the case with that actual (shorter) Timbrens designed with for my truck. Finally, was hoping to get a bit more articulation Offroad to make things feel less tippy, TBD on that front.

I just installed these with my Outfitter Juno 8.5 and went for a run down the interstate. nice and stable. The stock springs on their own started wobbling at 65mph and I had to slow way down to get it to stop. Very scary stuff. Not the case at all with the supersprings. I would say that the driving feel is very similar to the stock springs and Timbrens when loaded., which is nice and stable, no white knuckle etc.

I also have Accutune 2.5in custom tuned shocks, and I'm sure they make a huge difference in taming side to side movement. These were critical for me, as Offroad on the stock shocks, I would get to wobbling so bad I would have to come to a complete stop to keep the truck from rocking back and forth and front to back. The shocks totally fixed that issue and as a bonus, didn't require lift springs like Thuren/Carli.

The rear of my truck was up 3/4in over the stock springs and Timbrens, but they may settle a little with time. I did not tell much if any difference between stock vs. superspring ride quality when unloaded, which is great. I was worried they'd be crazy harsh, but not so, the progressive setup really appears to work. They sag about 3/4in less than the Timbrens did when loaded with the empty camper.

Additionally, I have the Hellwig Bigwig sway bar in the rear and that improved handling a lot. So this isn't a totally naked review of stock vs. Super springs, but compared to Timbrens and airbags, I would say these are a great replacement alternative to those as they handle the weight well (my camper is around 2500lbs empty, 3300lbs wet with people etc). Hope this helps others out some, and if you're like me, appreciate fewer tasks to undertake to change the truck from empty mode to camper mode! Truly a set it and forget it setup.

Install was also easy- let axle hang, remove bottom shock bolts, one track bar bolt and just swap them in and out.
 
pics from the most recent trip.
 

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Recent trip update- did a little two day trip, about 100 miles of driving and can report back that the SuperSprings are where it's at! They may be a little stiff on the road compared to stock, though if there is a difference, it is very subtle. I can probably make some shock adjustments to compensate for that, just haven't played with them much. I'd also say the ride is a little more "floaty" at high speed, but still very stable. Off road is where they really shine vs. Timbrens. The articulation at 20mph and lower feels like triple (and very well may be) that of the Timbrens. The ride is so much smoother and the rig feels so much less tippy and top heavy when off camber. Highly recommend this combo- DSC shocks and Super springs over Timbrens/airbags. Set it and forget it solution and now all I need to do for camper vs. unloaded modes is change tire pressure.


Also had my sister along this time and the Juno is really great for having the extra adult space. My little guys are still sharing the dinette, so it was great to have the whole tent room for the extra adult.

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