We bought a 1975 rear bath model last November. So far other than the minor aches and pains of sitting for 2 years the coach has been great. The floor plan is (from rear) bath, twin beds, kitchen on left, dinette on right, drivers/passenger seats up front with a drop down bed over it. We have a family of 5 and there�s not a bed big enough for my wife and I to sleep comfortably. That�s were you guys come in, have any of you seen/done a revision to the twin beds to make one of them a full sized? I�ve been looking at different couches (flip/Jack-knife) I think that�s viable option.

Just thought I�d ask the experts�

Gary

Gary , I am still on the hunt for my Barth...looking at about six....with a couple of warm irons in the fire. We looked at one with the layout you described for our family of five. The idea you have is the best but kids will always be climbing over you to go to the can.
If it could be done....and I want input from an experienced RVer....why cannot the gaucho bed over the front seats be expanded to say 54". Picture this....drop down current size gaucho..then have flipover or slide out addition...perhaps extra part resting on galley counter?
Food for thought,
George

You could bridge the gap between the beds with plywood at night. Either use your two twin mattresses or one double mattress. Tell the kids to use the john before you put it up at night. Otherwise, they have to crawl under your plywood. That would be a little better than over the bed with you in it.

Most gaucho bed hardware will accomodate a larger bed base. I seem to recall that I had one that was 48 inches.

I have made a plywood bed to lie across the driver and passenger seat for a smaller child. Don't know your floor plan, but in mine a cot can be put where the two swivel chairs are.

Gary , Interestingly enough I got a call today from someone who heard I am looking for a Barth. This fella has the same model as you...We are going to see it this weekend.
Dave sent me some floor plans for these 73-75 25' models and I wondered if a guy could put a double bed behind the dinette with some narrow bunks across from the bed? Would that leave a 12" isle between the sleeping quarters. Would this work? You have the machine in question.
I like Bills idea of just making a huge bed in the middle but I gave up trying to negotiate with the grape sized bladders on the girls.
Thanks ,
George

Hi Gary, I had the same challenge with a 74 Apollo I used to own. If you lay a piece of plywood across your existing bed, you will notice a slight elevation in the mattress. You may find this annoying. I chose to use two 3" wide strips of (i sprayed mine black) 1/8" steel and screwed them to the bottom lengths of the existing beds. This way when I dropped my plywood filler in, it was level all the way across. I also went to a foam distributor and purchased three pieces of dense 6" foam. I left the center board loose so you can lift for storage access. You might decide to Cut the center piece about 3" shorter than the sides so you don't bumb your shins as easily on the edge. I also cut a dowel rod to use as a support to hold the center board open when cleaning or packing underneith..just drill some indentations in the bottom of the center board to make it adjustable..consider velcro for your remotes and flip down cup holders since you'll lose your center vanity (if u have one) like I did. The simpler the better..

Great ideas!

George I hope you find the right Barth! (in the near future). I think what we've settled on is to purchase a flip/jack-knife couch and mount it behind the kitchen (in place of the twin bed). My wife thinks this will allow another travel option. Right now choices are sit at dinette or lay on bed. The couch would be nice to have. Then we�d modify the opposite twin bed and make it a bunk bed. By my layout design we�d have 14� to walk through. Plenty of room for the girls to get to the bathroom�no climbing over or under. This also lets me keep the dinette up at all times-- I'm an early riser and would like to have a place for coffee and camping world magazine in the am. Or gives the option that the dinette could be made into a bed for those times when a friend comes along.

The only stipulation is this will be a winter project. The boss says no modification until camping season is over.

Anybody got a good Jack-knife couch for sale?

Gary

I really agree with the dinette up all the time....just a good place to get away. What are your estimated open dimensions of the flip bed? That idea seems really smart as I remember that the original beds back there are really uncomfortable to actually sit on.

I've found a "Teal" (I'll have to have it recovered) one at http://www.rvsurplussalvage.com/ under the furniture heading. When folded out it will be 44". This gives an 11" passage way to the bathroom. My plan is to put it on the drivers side, that way if I ever do add the bunks I'd have a full wall on the passenger side to work with. My concern is blocking the window when the couch us up. It will come halfway up the window....

This weekend we're off to Holiday World in Southern Indiana. I hope "Bessie the Barth" is looking forward to the trip as much as my daughters are!

Gary

Gary ,
Did this reno work out for you?
We are still on the Barth hunt and I monitor this site daily...amazing the
knowledge of and spectrum of participants.
George