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Tov61 · 09-12-2019, 05:04 PM

Looking on the internet at a 2007 Damon Astoria Pacific, 51000 miles on the MH. It looks to be in good shape. Anyone here on this site familiar with this MH brand? How would this MH compare to a Fleetwood Bounder for instance or a Winnebago Journey? Any help will be appreciated. thanks

L Tovrea
Albuquerque, NM
Vietnam Vet

Oregonpharme · 09-12-2019, 06:31 PM

The basic coach should be on a Freightliner Chassis with a 300 horse Cummins engine, if I understand correctly the model you reference. Damon and Four Winds merged in 2003 to become Thor Industries, and many of the design features carried over.

As far as the quality goes, it is a much higher quality coach than either of your comparative referenced units, and like all coaches the maintenance and condition will dictate the relative value. As a notation, it likely has the 2000 series Allison transmission and that should be checked by a qualified Allison Service Center, again one that is well cared for lasts a very long time, but one that is not can be an expensive proposition (and that is true of any coach with the series transmission)..

Tov61 · 09-13-2019, 08:43 AM

Quick question about the XC Raised Rail chassis on the Damon. Have you had issues with wandering? I have a Workhorse W2 and it took time and money to get the coach to drive and handle comfortably, How is the XC?

powerboatr · 09-15-2019, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tov61

Quick question about the XC Raised Rail chassis on the Damon. Have you had issues with wandering? I have a Workhorse W2 and it took time and money to get the coach to drive and handle comfortably, How is the XC?

nope.

tire pressure to high will cause some of this.
overall the chassis is a pretty good, zero chassis related problems now for ten years

Tov61 · 09-28-2019, 03:09 PM

Thanks for all your help. One more question - do you happen to know the tire size on this unit?

Jzack · 10-05-2019, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tov61

Thanks for all your help. One more question - do you happen to know the tire size on this unit?

Tires should be 255/70 R22.5.

We've loved owning our 2008 Astoria 3776 for over a year now. Excellent coaches for the money.

One nice thing about a 2007 is it won't have a DPF system on the exhaust like our 2008.

fagnaml · 10-07-2019, 04:44 PM

Tov61 --

Apologies for a late response. Before purchasing a "new to us" 2016 Ventana LE 4037, the wife and I owned a 2007 Damon Astoria 3774 for four years. It was our first-ever motorhome and size upgrade from our 30 foot travel trailer. We needed the extra space as additional grandchildren arrived. We purchased the Astoria on consignment for $60,000 from PPL Motorhomes in Houston.

Our Astoria was previously owned by an elderly couple who only drove it 5,000 miles between early 2007 and when we purchased it in 2015. Initially it required several repairs due to sitting unused for most of its life. The cost of those repairs were mostly covered by the extended warranty plan I purchased when we acquired the Astoria.

After the various repairs were completed, the Astoria was very enjoyable to drive and use for weekend adventures, LSU football games, etc. Our Astoria was built on a Freightliner XCR (raised rail) chassis which was great for providing ample storage. It had a Cummins 300 HP, 5.9L ISB "pre-DEF" engine coupled to an Allison 5-speed 2500MH transmission. The Astoria was a bit under-powered by the 300 HP engine.

This past April we traded our Astoria for a 2016 Newmar Ventana LE because our Astoria had VINYL graphics with some full-body paint. We learned that after 7-10 years many vinyl graphics will have dried-out, crack, expose paint through the cracks and simply look terrible no matter the amount of care they received. After being over 12 years old, the burgundy and black vinyl graphics on our Astoria suddenly and almost totally developed significant cracking. The cost to replace the graphics plus the cost of other upgrades we desired (i.e. replacing CRT television in bedroom, mounting a satellite antenna to the roof) didn't make sense when the "book" value of the Astoria had fallen to ~$45,000.

I think the Pacifica package for the Astoria comes with full body paint thus no vinyl graphics to worry about. Highly recommend getting a full inspection of the Astoria you are considering to identify any problems and have the current owner pay for repairs. Bottom-line, a Damon Astoria would be a great choice especially if it would be your first-ever motorhome.