Damon Motor Coach Repair and the Workhorse Chassis Problem
Written by Structural Repair Lead, Structural and Frame Lead, OCRV Center. Reviewed by Claims Coordinator
In shortDamon coaches often ride a Workhorse W22 chassis that left production, under a body whose airbrushed graphics were never available as a kit. Both facts push a repair toward fabrication and booth work.
Can a Damon coach still be repaired?
Yes. Damon Motor Coach repair at our Yorba Linda facility relies on laminate repair, aftermarket chassis cross references and airbrush reproduction rather than factory parts. Rancho Santa Margarita owners of a Challenger or Daybreak get a scope that states what is sourceable before any teardown starts.
- Challenger and Daybreak are gas Class A coaches
- Many used the Workhorse W22 chassis, now out of production
- Damon graphics were airbrushed and are reproduced by hand
- Thor absorbed the brand, so there is no Damon parts desk
- Status
- Brand retiredAcquired by Thor in 2003, folded into Thor Motor Coach
- Chassis
- Ford F53 and Workhorse W22
- Graphics
- Airbrushed, reproduced in the booth
- Body rate
- $210 per hourLaminate repair and refinish
- Estimate
- $150Credited in full against an authorized repair
Last verified
Damon built a lot of coaches in the 1990s and 2000s, sold them at a price that put families on the road, and did two things that make the repair interesting twenty years later. It airbrushed its graphics rather than applying decals, and it bought a great many Workhorse chassis.
Both choices were reasonable then. Both mean an owner today cannot order the thing that is damaged. What an owner can get is a repair that reproduces the original by hand, which is work our booth and fabrication side do routinely.
The Workhorse W22 and where its parts come from
Workhorse Custom Chassis supplied a large share of the gas motorhome market with the W series, typically a big block gasoline engine on an Allison transmission. Owners liked them. Workhorse then exited the recreational chassis business, and the dealer support network that went with it evaporated.
So brake components, suspension bushings, steering parts and cooling components get identified by specification and matched to current aftermarket equivalents. Much of the driveline was shared with commercial applications, which helps considerably. The parts that hurt are chassis specific brackets and mounts, and those we fabricate when a search comes up empty.
Airbrushed graphics and how we rebuild them
Damon sprayed its swoops and fades rather than sticking them on, which looked better new and complicates a repair now. There is no kit to order because there never was one. Reproducing the pattern means measuring the geometry from the undamaged side, cutting masks, then laying the fade back in with an airbrush and blending the edges into the aged surrounding paint.
This is skilled booth time and it is the honest way to price it. The upside is that the result matches the coach rather than looking like a modern decal stuck onto twenty year old paint, which is what happens when a shop substitutes vinyl for the original spray work.
What Thor kept and what it did not
Thor acquired Damon in 2003 and eventually folded the nameplates into Thor Motor Coach, reusing the Tuscany name on a completely different coach. Component parts that were common across the group can sometimes be cross referenced, so appliances, slide drives and interior hardware are often obtainable.
Exterior structure did not survive. Damon cap molds, sidewall skins and window frames are not orderable, and no current Thor product shares them. Owners occasionally arrive believing a Thor dealer can pull a Damon cap, and it is kinder to say plainly that this is not how it works.
Deciding whether the repair is worth it
A Damon Challenger with a sound frame, a running drivetrain and a cracked cap is usually worth repairing, because market value is modest and so is laminate work. The calculation changes once water has been in the wall for a few seasons, because opening a wet sidewall on a coach of this value frequently costs more than the coach brings.
We give that assessment in writing before teardown, with photographs and moisture readings. On a claim, the same document is what an adjuster needs in order to reach a defensible decision rather than an estimated one.
Note
Moisture readings taken before disassembly are worth more than any argument made after it. On a coach with modest value, that single data set decides whether the file is a repair or a settlement.
Rates and our position
Body, laminate and booth work bills at $210 per hour with paint supplies at $55 per paint hour. Chassis and systems work is $260 per hour. Sourcing and diagnostic time is $285 per hour with a one hour minimum that is credited against an authorized repair. A written estimate is $150 and is also credited when you proceed.
We are independent. OCRV Center has no relationship with Thor Industries, Thor Motor Coach or the former Damon organization, and does not act for any of them. Every hour of this work happens at the Yorba Linda shop, because airbrush reproduction and laminate repair both need a controlled environment.
Damon Motor Coach lines we work on
- Challenger, the volume gas Class A nameplate
- Daybreak and Astoria mid range gas coaches
- Avanti, the shorter front engine diesel coach
- Essence and Tuscany diesel pushers
- Intruder and Ultrasport from the earlier catalog
Parts. Damon was bought by Thor in 2003 and folded into Thor Motor Coach around 2011, so there is no Damon parts desk. Some chassis and component parts cross reference through Thor channels, but exterior caps, skins and the airbrushed graphics Damon was known for are gone. Many Challenger and Daybreak coaches used Workhorse W22 chassis, and Workhorse left the recreational chassis business, so those components come from aftermarket suppliers.
What we see on this brand
- Airbrushed graphic fade and clear coat failure on sun exposed sides
- Front cap crack propagation from windshield corners
- Workhorse W22 brake and suspension component wear with scarce parts
- Sidewall delamination at older window sealant failures
- Slide room floor sag on wide gas coach rooms
Appendix: questions and answers
- Are Workhorse W22 chassis parts still available?
- Many of them, through aftermarket and commercial suppliers rather than a dealer network. Driveline and brake components were shared with commercial trucks, which helps. Chassis specific brackets and mounts are the hard items, and where a search comes up empty we fabricate to the original dimensions.
- Can a Damon Daybreak sidewall be reskinned?
- Yes, and on a coach this age it is usually the right answer. We open the affected area, replace wet or corroded framing, then bond and fasten new skin stock before refinishing. It costs less than chasing an original panel and it leaves a wall that is actually dry behind the paint.
- Did Thor keep any Damon tooling after the brand ended?
- Not in a way that helps an owner. Component parts can sometimes be cross referenced through group suppliers, but cap molds, skins and window frames are not available. We verify each item rather than assume, and we tell you which pieces are sourceable before you authorize the work.
- How do you recreate Damon airbrushed graphics?
- By measuring the pattern off the undamaged side, cutting masks from those measurements, and spraying the fade back in with an airbrush. Colors are matched to the aged paint rather than to an original formula, then the edges are blended so the repair does not end at a hard line.
- Is a Damon Tuscany the same coach as a Thor Tuscany?
- No, and the confusion causes real parts errors. Thor reused the name on a different platform years later. A parts search that starts from the name alone will return the wrong catalog. Send us the VIN and the serial plate photograph so the search starts from the coach rather than the badge.
Open a file on this repair
Tell us the vehicle, what happened and whether a claim is open. We will tell you what the scope looks like and what it takes to get you back on the road.
Or call (949) 799-3387