- ASTORIA 3679 (1)
- Daybreak 36 (1)
- Tuscany 4055 (1)
Damon rvs for sale in Nokomis, Florida
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2008 Damon Daybreak 36
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Nokomis, Florida
Category Class A
Length 36
Posted Over 1 Month
2008 Damon Daybreak 36,
2006 Damon INTRUDER 37
$72,900
Nokomis, Florida
Category -
Length 37
Posted Over 1 Month
2007 DAMON ASTORIA 3679,
2008 Class A Motorhome by Damon -Tuscany 4055
$125,000
Nokomis, Florida
Category -
Length 40
Posted Over 1 Month
Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE 2008 Class A Damon Tuscany Motorhome This is not your generic ad to sell a motorhome with the usual “excellent condition, driven only on Sundays, low mileage and taken good care of “ description. It will have a lot of information about the life of this motorhome describing any problems, fixes and other related issues, if you take the time to read this. The alternative is to go to a dealership and talk to the local salesperson while viewing the recently washed motorhomes available. Without viewing EBay as a source of sellers, we did carry out this alternative and visited these dealerships in the state of Washington on Sunday (usually). The salesperson had his list of motorhomes and pricing on paper in his back pocket. When we found what we wanted to consider, we found the information available was the same as that which we found in the cabinet above the driver’s seat. The salesperson had very little to add at this time. When we tried to start it, the battery was flat and we had to have one of the service people to boost the batteries. This indicated to us that these vehicles were not taken care of while just sitting in the parking lot verses be used by an owner. We recently went to a dealership where the manager stated that they start the engines of all vehicles every week (usually Saturday). We revisited the dealership on Saturday and found no such activity. Let’s face it, dealerships try to make the vehicle look pretty but will not put any activity toward the vehicle unless the vehicle is purchased and that the purchaser has authorized the dealership to check out the condition of the motorhome. When you think of it, why would anyone agree to purchase a vehicle without knowing the condition of the motorhome? And then have to pay for it? Of course, this does not include the repair of any problem or out of adjustment condition that the dealership has found! Just a bit of a conflict of interest wouldn’t you think? It’s like asking a roofer if you need a new roof! It is our intent to demonstrate that this motorhome is in running condition and well maintained at all times. We live in this motorhome 6 months of the year and store it properly for the balance of the year. Further the potential purchaser can ask any questions and get any further pictures and further information they want. Further it is strongly advised that serious consideration include a test drive and demonstration of all functions of this vehicle before purchase. When we purchased we stipulated that the engine be tested for any diagnostic errors and verify it’s safety with a complete safety check. We paid for this BUT we did not purchase it until it passed every mechanical test. Further to it’s purchase, we had the dealership demonstrate that all functions worked. They fixed any light replacements and had the Freightliner authorized repair center carry out a complete test of the hydraulics. There was a small leak in the dash meters and it was replaced for free (a cost of $350). What is also a good selling feature for us here was that the motorhome had a complete warrantee on the Freightliner chassis and such things as air leaks in the dashboard were covered at no cost to the owner. One important thing, which we also checked, was the warrantee on the Cummings engine and Allison transmission. They follow the new owner for the prescribed number of years. This Class A motorhome is a full coach length of 40 feet. The power pulling capability is established on a Freightliner XC-R raised chassis and driven by a Cummings 360 hp diesel (ISC-360) and Allison 3000 MH automatic transmission. The vehicle was purchased from a motorhome sales company out of Mount Vernon Wa in 2010 with 3400 miles on the odometer. The original mileage before sales was already 2500 miles as it travelled from Elkhart In to Washington State. The motor coach was manufactured by the Damon Corporation and considered their flagship motorhome. Since it was purchased in 2010 and is a 2008 model (Damon Tuscany 4055), Damon refused to honor any warrantee issues with the coach. This affected the assembly and material associated with it’s manufacture. There was a concern earlier with our purchase as we thought we were the first purchaser. The history had the vehicle go from one dealership to another and as such, Damon refused to honor the one year warrantee. After a few hate mail exchanges, we gave up on Damon and picked up any issues ourselves. This is not unusual for new motorhome purchasers, as we have rarely found in our travels, anyone happy with warrantee issues and the motorhome manufacturer. The only real concern was the condition of the driver and passenger seats. More will be said on this later. Fortunately Damon did offer help in various areas of the motorhome such as electrics and slides. Any systems added to the motorhome, such as the elevating jacks system by LCI, had to be directed to the manufacturer of the system. Let us break down the next subjects into four distinct areas: 1.What we liked about the motorhome (why it was purchased) 2. What features have changed since our ownership 3. What corrections/adjustments were done 4. Storage/Maintenance 5. Outstanding Issues 1. What we liked about the motorhome (why it was purchased) a) Obviously we purchased the motorhome because of the features we wanted. It started with 5 slides. The only locations, which do not expand, are the small 4’ hallway and bathroom areas. The bathroom has two doors, one led the bedroom and the other led to the kitchen. The hallway affords travel to and from the bedroom without passing through the bathroom. Many motorhomes used the total space for a bathroom, which meant you couldn’t go to the bedroom if someone was in the bathroom. Now you can. b) The kitchen and living room are separated by a mini wall, which separates the living room from the kitchen. There is a separate TV in each room. Both the driver and passenger chairs pivot and provide Lazyboy type comfort in a living room setting. The passenger has an electric ottoman to raise up your legs. c) The bedroom has a queen size bed that is extremely comfortable with a window opening at the head for both occupants. A separate air conditioner/heat pump is operated with a remote control. The remote control also controls the gas furnace/heat pump functionality. d) The motorhome is full of solid maple wood cabinetry with storage galore. Each room has drawers in all locations as shown by the attached pictures. e) The kitchen table is not a bench like configuration with two matching hardwood chairs and matching window material on the seats. The bedroom has a storage area under the bed and contains the Dirt Devil central vac accessories and two additional matching chairs that fold up, for visitors or additional members of the family. f) The kitchen contains a ‘below the counter’ double sink ideal for two people. The countertop space is limited but can be managed. The countertop is Corian with smooth edges and also covers the stove with additional Corian pieces. The stove pieces are not used very often as we utilize the three-burner stove regularly. The bathroom countertop is Corian as well, with built in sink. g) The kitchen has a large viewing window to add light to the room and allow easy viewing from the circular kitchen table. It had also a full size refrigerator with a great ice maker. h) The floors in the living room, kitchen and bathroom are tiled with 18” off white terrazzo-like tile in a diagonal pattern. The remaining flooring areas are done in a short tan carpet. i) The outside motorhome colors are covering the full motorhome with a pleasing warm merlot sand color combination. It makes the vehicle have a look of elegant respectability. j) The cargo space is large and accessible for all our things k) 10,000 lb. hitch was capable of towing our car on a hauler. Our car could not be pulled directly and vehicle needed to have this capability. The motorhome has pulled our vehicle for 6,000 miles. The car hauler is sold separately. A brake control manager is included with a portable GPS. l) The condition of the motorhome with continuing warrantees. 2. What features have changed since our ownership a) Satellite System The satellite system that came with the motorhome was disconnected. The dome on the motorhome was never updated due to the inability to track new satellites without replacing the hardware. Although new systems are easier to use, they are limited to seeing the satellite from the fixed motorhome location. One must position the motorhome to ensure satellite visibility. An external dish can be moved around the motorhome to be clear of obstacles. Picking this choice, an external dish is presently used. b) Entertainment System Although the satellite system could be considered as part of the entertainment system, for the purposes of an explanation, it has been chosen to exclude it here. The original entertainment system came with an RF switching/selection system with standard F type cable connectors and 5 built in speakers. A powered subwoofer was located in the lower area of the entertainment center. The system now uses a Yamaha audio receiver RX-V467 with a Polk Audio powered 12” subwoofer. The entertainment system also includes a Sony blue ray DVD player. All devices connected to the Yamaha unit via a HDMI interface. The 20” TV in the bedroom is a conventional type connecting back to the main entertainment center via RF cable. It has been configured to view DTV with the local cable company’s converter box and remote. A LCD TV can replace this conventional TV with little work. We found its quality acceptable without a larger LCD TV. An IPOD connector is attached to the front radio for MP3 music while driving. 3. Corrections and Adjustments a) Living in a motorhome 6 months of the year will allow you to improving and adjusting the way things operate. This also allows one to provide better maintenance procedures, as there is more time to carry them out. One of the first things we did after the purchase was to grease all nipples below the chassis with lithium. When doing this, it gave us a view of the undercarriage. Any rust areas were repainted. Any wires that were observed as dangling were secured to the chassis. Some empty light sockets were capable of holding a light. A light was added to increase visual safety while on the road. This was found at the lower rear sides. We noticed a grease seal had broken and needed to be replaced by the dealership (at no cost to us). A brake component failed during another trip causing poor breaking. This was corrected at the Freightliner dealership at no cost to us. b) The refrigerator was updated with a promotional recall by an authorized repair center. The interior light, fuse holder and thermistor were replaced by us, as the refrigerator was icing up too frequently. c) The shower stall received some esthetic corrections and the showerhead cable was replaced with a higher quality one as the old one kinked over the summer. We have noticed that the same components are common to a lot of motorhomes as they buy their material from the same supplier. The use of plastic is over done and deserves better material consideration. The screws in the shower were brown steel and looked good at the start be needed to be replaced with stainless, as they rusted. Silicon was applied carefully to the edges between the aluminum glass supports and the plastic shower walls. d) The toilet seals were replaced after trying to keep water in. When improperly closed, the plastic grooves and rubber seal fail to mesh. The replacement through a 3rd party supplier was simple and economical as compared to using the “ RV replacement/repair centers”. e) A septic valve was replaced (outside) as it leaked. The process was simple but required a good cleaning first, to avoid unwanted smells. f) All slides have had the top inside covers (wood) removed to adjust and lubricate the tension the chain links, which control the inward and outward movement. Each cable was lubricated. g) The bathroom door to the kitchen has been switched around so that it opens into the kitchen. This makes it less crowded in the bathroom when someone is there and the door is opened. h) Automatic Jacking system (LCI) has had an issue with going down and going up. It was realized that the reservoir must maintain a certain level of transmission fluid to work properly. Also it was found that if there is too much slope on the slab and the engine has not turned off for a long enough time, you will run out of jack length. Due to a certain length of jack, one may need to add blocks to the bottom of each jack to allow it to work properly. Each jack has been cleaned and lubricated at least once a year. i) All batteries have replaced the old Interstate batteries in 2013. Sitting around at a dealership has taken its toll and due to some starting problems, their replacement was imminent. Six new chassis 6-volt batteries by Interstate and 2 large 12-volt diesel starting batteries by Interstate, were installed. Once a year at the start of our vacation, the batteries are check for water levels and distilled water is used to top up the levels. 4. Storage & Maintenance a) Exterior full body paint has been waxed twice since purchase and wheels have been covered with white plastic covers at all times for UV protection. b) All wood cabinets and wood surfaces have been annually cleaned and protected. c) All exterior storage doors have been adjusted to fit the best they can, while their hinges are lubricated using silicone lubricant. c) 360 hp engine and Onan generator have been started once a month and allowed to increase and decrease in rpm to vary the load. The Onan 7.5KW generator powered both heat pumps and refrigerator, when operating. Chassis batteries were allowed to discharge for an hour to exercise their capacity. The automatic power management system watches the use of power and will not allow the electrical system to overload. d) The generator has had the engine oil changed according to the scheduled time limit. e) The roof has been coated with an aerospace protectant for rubber, polymer plastic type surfaces, once a year upon entering the storage phase. f) Each plastic device on the roof has been cleaned and coated with plastic protectant. Both roof vents for the septic system have been replaced as they crumbled after a few years of heat and sunlight. g) A complete motorhome cover by Goldline, is used to cover the motorhome during the storage phase. The first cover purchased, began to deteriorate as straps failed, seams tore and the material degraded. We ordered a new one at the cost of returning the bad cover to the manufacturer in California. This year we were pleased that only one fastener failed. We won’t send it back at $70 for a fix. An alternative fastener will be used this year. This is included in the sale of the motorhome. h) Protection from bugs and mildew has been mitigated each year with different deterrents and has been successful thus far. Since it is stored in Florida, mildew is minimized by the reduction of humidity and rain ingress. i) A real example of a warrantee issue was the driver and passenger seats. After noticing cracks in each seat, we contacted the Damon Corporation. They have a Warrantee department disguised as Customer Service. The best they could offer was a wholesale cost for the material of each seat. The upholstering would have to be paid for by the owner-us. They gave us a number to call for the material and the end result was that no one knew what Damen was talking about, so this avenue was not considered. Fortunately Flexsteel who used Damon’s bad material in upholstering these chairs, allowed us a significant reduction in price for the material as they accepted some blame for using the bad vinyl material from Damon. The new chair material was applied and the seats are now as good as new. Flexsteel in our opinion is #1 in helping us out and will not stiff you like manufacturers like Damon. 5. Outstanding Issues a) One issue we have with the motorhome is the rear camera. It works most of the time but sometimes cuts out. At the time of this ad, the problem remains outstanding. b) The window in the door has a broken seal and will show some moisture. This is probably due to the repeated closing of the door over time. It was present at the time of purchase but it was felt that this was not a high priority. Summary The motorhome is being sold by us - private owners, who have cared for this vehicle since 2010. It is believed that it is in better shape now than when we was purchased. This has been realized through enjoyed living and constant care both inside and outside. Even the main diesel engine hasn’t been broken in yet. Should you need any pictures or explanation, please contact us through the email process. Due to the expense of this vehicle and the commitment from both the seller and buyer, payment will be made at the complete satisfaction of both parties. Thus the buyer we need to see the motorhome at their convenience and ownership transfer will need to be discussed. A company brochure to show all the features and specifications of the 4055 Damon Tuscany class A motorhome can be email to prospective buyers upon request.
