Perspective RV'er needing opinions

[Draffon]

First, Hello all!

I've been lurking around for several months now gathering information on what I hope will be my first foray into RV'ing. After reading many articles and opinions, looking at RV's in person, and driving a few I have narrowed down my choices a little. I know that I want a Diesel Pusher in the 36-40 ft range, late 90's early 00's, $30-40k price range. That is as far as I have gotten, now trying to narrow down a floor plan and other items, which brings me to my first question on the forums.

I would like opinions on a 2000 Damon Escaper, not sure if I'm allowed to post links if I am then I'll edit my post and link it.

2000 Damon Escaper

It's listed about 5-10k below NADA and the dealership has been sitting on it for a bit so I think I might even be able to get them down some more.

But more importantly than price right now, I would just like opinions on the Damon Brand and their Escaper Line.

Thanks in advance for any advice and opinions that you can offer.

JJ

[BarbaraOK]

Go look at some really good DPs made in the late 90s. See if you can find a Foretravel in that age range. Very well made and will give you years of excellent service. When you find one you think you like, check out the owners forums on iRV2.net and see what owners of those units have to say about them - but source of information about used coaches are other owners.

Barb

[bsinmich]

I never owned a Damon but did look at one when I was looking for my current MH. That was 8-9 years ago. There were pieces of trim just missing, spots where you could look from one room to the other through the wall cracks, and just not very impressive. That was a new unit. I went with higher quality and spent a little more.

[Schertz]

post error

[Schertz]

post error

[Schertz]

post error

[Schertz]

post error

[Schertz]

post error

[Draffon]

Many Many great responses and I'm grateful for them. A bit of info, I own a construction company in which we have 12 dump trucks as well as over a dozen pieces of Heavy Equipment for reference our Monthly Diesel bill is well over 40k. I only say that to say that I am very very very aware of the pitfalls of operating engines and equipments for long periods of time, our monthly maint/repair bills run upwards of 10-15k.

I'm really looking more fore opinions on the Damon Escaper in general and I have seen a few of those in this thread. The one we are looking at seems to be a good deal, but I will dig deeper before emotionally committing.

I'm still trying to find the best place to purchase one from, there are soooooo many options!

Thanks
JJ

[xctraveler]

We started in a 33 foot Damon gasser. Had a lot of fun for three years, towed twice! Anything that could fall apart did, no problem I can fix! We loved it so much we bought a Southwind gasser and enjoyed the h--- out of it for 8 years and 100,000 miles. Things were really starting to come apart the last 20k miles. Of course driving to AK will age it faster.

Just traded for the coach in the signature. Have driven 90 miles from dealer to home. Have already changed a light bulb, in the dealer's showroom!

[bsinmich]

As a prospective RVer I would remember to keep some money for future repairs that may come very soon. Read one in the Class A forum about a fellow who took one trip and has a $10,000. repair for a cracked head on his DP. Not everyone has this same problem but things do happen and it would be a shame if you sunk everything into the RV and then after 1 trip found you couldn't afford to fix it to use it. We all run this risk every time we take the MH out of the garage.

I agree with Sully above. When I was looking I saw one Damon that really looked great for glitz until you looked close and found missing trim on the inside, nothing lined up, you could look out through cracks, etc. This was a new one.

[Sully2]

To directly answer your question.... Damon's dont have high marks for quality...at all.

[CatandJim]

Hi Draffon, welcome to the forums. 🙂

You will find that people have strong opinions about brands... some like certain manufacturers while others seem to hate them.

When we were shopping for our motor home, we took our time and looked at a lot of units online and in person. We saw many different manufacturer's units in our price range, during that almost year long search, that didn't meet our criteria. We found our 2003 Damon last April. Both of us loved the floor plan, the condition it was in, and the negotiations started. We were happy with the deal, including what the dealer gave us for our travel trailer. A year later, 4,000 miles of trouble free travels, with only a few minor repairs to the house components, we are VERY pleased with our Damon. I find that to be quite satisfying, especially after some of the negative comments from a couple of posters when I first talked about our purchase on this forum.

Check it out thoroughly, if you like the floor plan, keeping in mind there will be some repairs and maintenance that need to get done and if you are happy with the price...go for it... no matter which brand you choose.

Good luck & happy trails!

[StanleyandIris]

Take a day to go look it over and test drive it. If you are mechanically inclined, great; if not, take a friend who is with you.

Test every system to make sure it works properly, inspect for damage/leaks/rust, etc.

Know ahead of time that you may need to put out an additional $3K for tires, depending on the age of the ones on the MH. Also know ahead of time, that like a 12 year old car, you will have issues along the way just because of the age of the unit and things like the water pump, fuel pump, fuel lines, etc., disintergrate with time. What may be fine today will fall apart tomorrow. It is the nature of the beast.

I recommend that you visit the website at PPL Motorhome in Houston, TX. It is a consignment dealer with a large selection of pre-owned units which you can 'see'. It will help you to get a good idea of what you can get on your budget and you may find that the Damon is the perfect match for you or that it isn't the best bang for your buck.

Iris

[joeprinter]

I suppose I would suggest, make sure you are really into RVing. When my kids were younger (now 24-26) we did the bumper pool 16 ft then A 27 foot. In High School the 27 foot set in the driveway a lot of years. Wife an I always knew when it was "our time" we wanted to full time, which is what we do now. With any investment of big $ it MUST be used. As mentioned above a entry level taken care of is better than a high end DP, that has been abused,a lot of hidden issues might be worth getting an independent unbiased mechanic to look at your purchase as well.