Kmehr
Adventurer
Wanted to start a new thread to document my new truck and camper combo. Not many Juno 8.5s out there, so hopefully this can be informative to those shopping.
The camper: coming from our Jayco 7 sportster, we knew we wanted more space since we now have two kids and had zero when we got the Jayco. We were going to make the jump to a travel trailer when we found out #2 was on the way, but went in one last blast in the Jayco and decided we didn't want to trade the self contained, go anywhere quality of the truck camper for the campground life. Enter the Juno 8.5. The tent room is a total game changer. Even though so far only our dog sleeps out there, the extra space that it gives your gear (baby gear is never ending) is huge. Im very pleased with the Outfitter quality, its a HUGE step up from our Jayco in every way.
We ended up ticking just about every option box except the AC. It's still camping after all. I went with 2X 100ah lithiums from Renege, and 2x 175W panels since we spec'd the microwave. I really had no idea how much power that would end up using, but the solar has been way overkill. In the AM the lowest I've seen the batteries get is 87% charge, and that's with lots of microwave, furnace, fridge and two straight days of rain. The insulation is also very good. It's only gotten down to the 40s overnight on our two trips, but the furnace is very strong and runs infrequently. If it got really cold, I'd probably fold up the tent room as it is not as insulated as the rest of the camper.
weight- loaded full of water but not much gear inside, the camper weighs right at about 2,700lbs. That's with about 44 gallons of water, two full propane tanks and all of the tools, utensils etc that stays in the camper full time. I can definitely feel it. Loaded with my family, dog, food and gear for a three day trip we're in the 3200-3400lbs of payload ballpark. For the square footage you get, compared to comparable hard sides, it's probably 1/2 the weight of something like a Wolf Creek, Lance etc.
The truck: Last year when I was set on a travel trailer, I upgraded my 2005 Dodge 2500 cummins, nv5600 to a brand new 22 Ram 2500 crew cab cummins. I sure miss my old 05 in a lot of ways, but man the new trucks are sooo nice nowadays. Plus being an auto, my wife will drive. The quietness, smoothness and interior comfort make a tremendous difference in driver fatigue, which I appreciate so much more now that I have kids and value safety and "push it" less than I used to.
In hindsight, I should have bought a 3500, but at the time I didn't know I'd want/need the payload. My 05 really wasn't much different than a 3500 so honestly I didn't think a lot of it. Plus when I hauled the old Jayco on my 22, you couldn't even tell it was back there (loaded weight around 1,800lbs excluding people/dog) When I loaded the Juno for the first time, I immediately realized I'd moved into the big leagues. The truck squatted way down, but still some usable travel before bump stop engagement. The real difference was the inboard location of the coils. I made it about 15 miles down the interstate before pulling over because the side to side rocking was absolutely unsafe. Luckily I installed my Timbrens from my old 05 and it immediately took care of the issue. It was dead level and gave the truck the lateral support it needed. If you're using a 2500 to haul a larger camper, consider Timbrens or airbags that mount in the bump stop location as mandatory. I may end up trying airbags in the future, or maybe even some HD coils to see if I can place less load on the auxiliary supports and get a bit of ride quality back. Big bumps on the Timbrens are still HARD.
I also added Falken Wild Peak AT3Ws in 285/75r18s on the factory wheels for the increased load rating (4,080lbs per tire). The Transforce ATs that come stock on these Rams are good tires...if you never leave the pavement and never drive on snow or in the rain. They're some of the worst snow performance tires I've ever driven on, and the hydroplaning in the rain was unacceptable. so far I'm really liking the Falkens. they've pulled me through some pretty deep mud already without flinching.
I have since added a Hellwig Big Wig rear sway bar, as the lean around corners was still more than I was comfortable with. It made a really big difference, and I've only got it in the middle setting. (they have 3 stiffness settings). I wouldn't call this mandatory necessarily, as I might have gotten more comfortable with the rig simply with more seat time, but it increased my confidence a LOT on the highway. It's a 75mph cruise control, one hand on the wheel level of comfort again. Our last 400 mile trip encountered some of the hardest winds I've driven through and it didn't phase the rig.
The last piece of the puzzle is going to be shocks. The OEM shocks just get overwhelmed, and this is most apparent off-road in off camber situations. The bigger sway bar probably actually makes those type of situations worse (I'm exploring making some quick disconnects front and rear after I try the new shocks), but when you hit a one wheel dip, it will rock side to side and ill have to hit the brakes and come to a stop to end the rocking. It also happens front to back some as well. I've got some Fox 2.5s custom tuned from Accutune Offroad on order, with the DSC adjusters that I'm hoping will take care of the issue. I'll post a review once I get them. I had King 2.5s custom tuned from Thuren on my 05, and it was nice, but honestly the leaf sprung rear is just really apples to oranges compared to the coil rear I have now. I thought long and hard about a Carli setup with the R2 rear coils, but ultimately decided I wanted to avoid lifting the truck unless I needed to. I probably would have gone with another set of the Thuren tuned Kings, but their lead time is still several months out and camping season would be over before I got them. Accutune appears to have a really good reputation in non-Ram platforms, their customer service has been great in answering my questions, and the DSC adjusters are really appealing to try and balance unloaded and heavily loaded ride. Should find out in about 3 weeks!
Thoughts on 3500: I'd really like to try this camper on a 3500. The payload of an identically built truck is 4,100lbs and I'm really curious now if the leaf springs themselves are inherently that much more stable than coils with Timbrens/ Airbags. My understanding is that most of the 3500s (maybe all?) don't have a rear sway bar either. The shock issue I think would be apparent on both as they use the same size shocks. The air assist sure does sound cool.
The camper: coming from our Jayco 7 sportster, we knew we wanted more space since we now have two kids and had zero when we got the Jayco. We were going to make the jump to a travel trailer when we found out #2 was on the way, but went in one last blast in the Jayco and decided we didn't want to trade the self contained, go anywhere quality of the truck camper for the campground life. Enter the Juno 8.5. The tent room is a total game changer. Even though so far only our dog sleeps out there, the extra space that it gives your gear (baby gear is never ending) is huge. Im very pleased with the Outfitter quality, its a HUGE step up from our Jayco in every way.
We ended up ticking just about every option box except the AC. It's still camping after all. I went with 2X 100ah lithiums from Renege, and 2x 175W panels since we spec'd the microwave. I really had no idea how much power that would end up using, but the solar has been way overkill. In the AM the lowest I've seen the batteries get is 87% charge, and that's with lots of microwave, furnace, fridge and two straight days of rain. The insulation is also very good. It's only gotten down to the 40s overnight on our two trips, but the furnace is very strong and runs infrequently. If it got really cold, I'd probably fold up the tent room as it is not as insulated as the rest of the camper.
weight- loaded full of water but not much gear inside, the camper weighs right at about 2,700lbs. That's with about 44 gallons of water, two full propane tanks and all of the tools, utensils etc that stays in the camper full time. I can definitely feel it. Loaded with my family, dog, food and gear for a three day trip we're in the 3200-3400lbs of payload ballpark. For the square footage you get, compared to comparable hard sides, it's probably 1/2 the weight of something like a Wolf Creek, Lance etc.
The truck: Last year when I was set on a travel trailer, I upgraded my 2005 Dodge 2500 cummins, nv5600 to a brand new 22 Ram 2500 crew cab cummins. I sure miss my old 05 in a lot of ways, but man the new trucks are sooo nice nowadays. Plus being an auto, my wife will drive. The quietness, smoothness and interior comfort make a tremendous difference in driver fatigue, which I appreciate so much more now that I have kids and value safety and "push it" less than I used to.
In hindsight, I should have bought a 3500, but at the time I didn't know I'd want/need the payload. My 05 really wasn't much different than a 3500 so honestly I didn't think a lot of it. Plus when I hauled the old Jayco on my 22, you couldn't even tell it was back there (loaded weight around 1,800lbs excluding people/dog) When I loaded the Juno for the first time, I immediately realized I'd moved into the big leagues. The truck squatted way down, but still some usable travel before bump stop engagement. The real difference was the inboard location of the coils. I made it about 15 miles down the interstate before pulling over because the side to side rocking was absolutely unsafe. Luckily I installed my Timbrens from my old 05 and it immediately took care of the issue. It was dead level and gave the truck the lateral support it needed. If you're using a 2500 to haul a larger camper, consider Timbrens or airbags that mount in the bump stop location as mandatory. I may end up trying airbags in the future, or maybe even some HD coils to see if I can place less load on the auxiliary supports and get a bit of ride quality back. Big bumps on the Timbrens are still HARD.
I also added Falken Wild Peak AT3Ws in 285/75r18s on the factory wheels for the increased load rating (4,080lbs per tire). The Transforce ATs that come stock on these Rams are good tires...if you never leave the pavement and never drive on snow or in the rain. They're some of the worst snow performance tires I've ever driven on, and the hydroplaning in the rain was unacceptable. so far I'm really liking the Falkens. they've pulled me through some pretty deep mud already without flinching.
I have since added a Hellwig Big Wig rear sway bar, as the lean around corners was still more than I was comfortable with. It made a really big difference, and I've only got it in the middle setting. (they have 3 stiffness settings). I wouldn't call this mandatory necessarily, as I might have gotten more comfortable with the rig simply with more seat time, but it increased my confidence a LOT on the highway. It's a 75mph cruise control, one hand on the wheel level of comfort again. Our last 400 mile trip encountered some of the hardest winds I've driven through and it didn't phase the rig.
The last piece of the puzzle is going to be shocks. The OEM shocks just get overwhelmed, and this is most apparent off-road in off camber situations. The bigger sway bar probably actually makes those type of situations worse (I'm exploring making some quick disconnects front and rear after I try the new shocks), but when you hit a one wheel dip, it will rock side to side and ill have to hit the brakes and come to a stop to end the rocking. It also happens front to back some as well. I've got some Fox 2.5s custom tuned from Accutune Offroad on order, with the DSC adjusters that I'm hoping will take care of the issue. I'll post a review once I get them. I had King 2.5s custom tuned from Thuren on my 05, and it was nice, but honestly the leaf sprung rear is just really apples to oranges compared to the coil rear I have now. I thought long and hard about a Carli setup with the R2 rear coils, but ultimately decided I wanted to avoid lifting the truck unless I needed to. I probably would have gone with another set of the Thuren tuned Kings, but their lead time is still several months out and camping season would be over before I got them. Accutune appears to have a really good reputation in non-Ram platforms, their customer service has been great in answering my questions, and the DSC adjusters are really appealing to try and balance unloaded and heavily loaded ride. Should find out in about 3 weeks!
Thoughts on 3500: I'd really like to try this camper on a 3500. The payload of an identically built truck is 4,100lbs and I'm really curious now if the leaf springs themselves are inherently that much more stable than coils with Timbrens/ Airbags. My understanding is that most of the 3500s (maybe all?) don't have a rear sway bar either. The shock issue I think would be apparent on both as they use the same size shocks. The air assist sure does sound cool.
