1983 Jayco Sportster 7 rebuild

I ordered a "sandwich"-panel: PU-foam between two layers of fiberglass, reinforcements for the hanging cabinet in the kitchen + tubes for light and roof vent wiring. Since i import BundutecUSA-Campers now i was glad to get enough material of their Aluminium roof framing profiles with my last camper order. Unfortunately this fall i will not find the time for the job.
Using some Dekalin glue for sealing and bonding needs temperatures in the 50´s. My "shop" in our old barn is not heated and temperatures dropped the last week.
 
It’s gotta be hard not to pull the trigger on a new one if you’re importing them now. Those are so nice! Then again you did a great job on yours during the remodel.
 
@kmehr
It is really hard....but my "best of all wifes" told me that i will be back on the market if i sell the Jayco. :rolleyes:

I am actually looking for a longbed 3/4 or F150 Supercab with HD payload package under 10k$ after selling our F250.

I have seen a lot of camper production lines and their products. They do a really good job at Bundutec and especially on shortbed trucks they have the best weight distribution ever.

I consider a BundutecUSA Sable for our next truck. Maybe i extend it to 8ft if i find a longbed again. The advantage would be that i always have one on display even when the Demos are sold out.

To all the "midsizers" here. I got 2 great Campers, a midsize Version of the "Wild" 7ft with wet-bath and cassette toilet and a narrow BushBaby für switzerland that has a total width of only 6ft.
 
Hit my 24th night in the camper this weekend with my late rifle elk hunt. Buddy and I spent 4 nights in northwest Colorado chasing the wapiti. Unfortuneately we ate tag soup, but we had a great time and saw some beautiful country. Overall it didn’t get that cold at night except the last night (about 5 degrees) and we stayed very comfortable. I did tuck a layer of reflective floor underlayment insulation under the canvas straps all the way around and I think that really helped contain heat tremendously. Best part is it was only about $10! I Velcro’d some to the ceiling as well but that stupid Velcro just won’t stick to the insulation very well.

I learn more about it every time I use it. The good is the solar setup, even in winter has been great for keeping everything going and the furnace will a little albeit ugly insulation can keep it comfortable even to very cold temps. I did have a 20 degree sleeping bag so that helped too.

The bad is that I definitely need to redo the angle of the tie downs. With the old setup the camper never moved, but this way, on an off camber section of off-road dirt, she shifted a solid 6 inches sideways and I thought we were going over!

Looking to the future- I certainly lust after a new camper. I’m worried about the longevity of everything given the amount of fairly intense off-roading I keep finding myself doing. I’m just waiting for the trip where we get to camp and the top won’t lift because the lift system snapped or some wood torqued too much on the road getting there. Further, our family is growing, we’re expecting our first child at the end of February and will definitely need some more space. I think the ultimate dream is to throw a flatbed on the ole dodge and plop down cash on a hawk flatbed model. We’ll just have to see!

Hopefully some pics will post in the next post of the trip!
 
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That's a perfect trip, save the tag soup....

Heading out next weekend with a buddy here in Ohio for deer. Not a long trip but hopefully will be a great get away in God's Majesty.

Congratulations on getting her out regularly. That's what they are for.
 
Good luck! Hope you put
More meat on the freezer than I did. Growing up in Kentucky I hunted white tails religiously but I’m still a novice elk hunter. Every season is a learning lesson though! I found the most important thing hands down in being in great cardio shape.
 
kmehr said:
Good luck! Hope you put
More meat on the freezer than I did. Growing up in Kentucky I hunted white tails religiously but I’m still a novice elk hunter. Every season is a learning lesson though! I found the most important thing hands down in being in great cardio shape.
Hahaha.....yes sir

The lure of the elk bugle has called me for years, but I have yet gotten serious enough to plan 6-9 months in advance to workout for a real trip west. Good luck to you as well if you have a chance to get back out.
 
corybrown50 said:
Hahaha.....yes sir

The lure of the elk bugle has called me for years, but I have yet gotten serious enough to plan 6-9 months in advance to workout for a real trip west. Good luck to you as well if you have a chance to get back out.
Well if you ever get serious enough and want to come to Colorado, reach out and I’ll give any advice I can!
 
Perfect timing finding your page. I'm in process of getting my own 7 and should have full possession by the end of the weekend. Your information is really going to help me as the two of ours are very similar. Now I just have to figure out the dang picture issue! Ha Ha Ha Ha!

GH
 
Haven’t updated this in a long time because unfortunately haven’t camped since that last elk trip!

The good news’s is it’s because my son was born in Feb ‘21 and he’s got a little brother on the way this coming January.

Also good news is we took him out for his first camping trip this weekend- went to the great sand dunes and he absolutely loved it. IMG_0386.jpg
the smile on his face when he woke up and realized we were still camping said it all!

After sleeping with him in between us, I think the sportsters days are numbered though. We’re just going to need something a little bigger, especially with the second guy on the way. Looking very hard at the Outfitter RV pop tops. They look very well made and have some really awesome features. The Juno model with the fold out rear tent room is dreamy!

I also got a new truck! ‘22 ram 2500 cummins. We absolutely love it. So smooth and quiet, plus my wife will drive it since it’s an auto! Anyways, enough jabber and get to some photos:

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Looks awesome and happy to see it get some quality family time use.

I'm still trying to work out a bunk bed set up. I've been thinking about utilizing the "disc-o-bed cot" system for my kids. My original design failed miserably. My kids are almost 9 and 15 though. Much larger than yours. My almost 9yo boy though is 100#. Right now I'm getting mine cleaned up for a trip with the men at church for "ManFest" this weekend. That seems to be most of the work she gets to do, hunting trips a few times a year. I did finally install proper tie downs for this trip on my "new to me" truck. I'm looking forward to seeing how it handles, both the truck and the tie downs. I've got mine in an 07 F150 FX4 with a 6.5' bed with the supercrew cab. I can't imagine how much better the 2500 diesel handles it, that must be a dream!!!!

Congrats on the coming addition to the family!!! Good luck!
 
I am glad you all can enjoy your campers. My Jayco 8ft is still waiting for me to find the time to install it´s new roof. ( BundutecUSA-style ) I got a 2018 F150 and installed our Demo Fiberglasscamper "Made-in-Russia" on it.
Two pics of my actual "Equipment"

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Cory,
we are starting at around 880 lb with basic equipment but it can also be delivered as empty shell.

This particular one was built for a midsize ExtCab truck like my Isuzu ( A 2015 Colorado has the same frame. I added timbrens of the Colorado in my company truck )
It was built for the french importer and then delivered to me. I would have ordered some details different.

To fit the F150 i had to lift the camper 5 inches and push it back 2.5 inches to free the fold down entrance door.
The campers features huge storage, 1-burner-stove/sink, electric water heater, diesel heater, 100 Amp-hrs Lithium-Battery with B2B-30 Amp Charger and 160W of Solar. Actually there is no shorepower-charger but this is a 30-minute install.
14 gal Stainless water-tank but i would prefer the plastic tank to save on weight. The funny thing is an indoor shower with shower curtain between galley and storage. You only need a bucket for the grey water.

Camper dry weight is around 1000lb

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But i will end hijacking this Thread now. Everyone interested can PM or E-Mail me. We are looking for business partners in the USA too.
 
Well we just put a deposit down on a new outfitter Juno 8.5 today. To say I’m excited is an understatement! Will probably start a new thread as we move along. The jayco has been awesome but we’ve just outgrown it…
 
corybrown50 said:
CONGRATS!!!!! That is super exciting!!!! How is it set up for 4 people?
Yeah! it's probably actually setup for more than 4 people. The cabover bed is north south and a queen size, then there is a convertible dinette, there is a "hide-a-bed" pull out that pulls a single bunk out over the dinette, and then the real coolest feature of the camper is the fold out rear tent room that has a 72in by 48in sleeping area.

https://www.truckcamperadventure.com/in-the-spotlight-outfitter-juno-8-5-pop-up-truck-camper/
 

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