Hello. I have been talking to the owners of this 77 Barth(http://barthmobile.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6441087061/m/9141064461)
Barth Motorhome and Iam thinking of purchasing it. The owners are not very knowledgeable of the workings of the coach. I am a Auto Mechanic by trade but work mostly on European imports and have no expeerience on Motorhomes. I cant afford the diesal pusher I would like but I am looking for a well made older unit that I can use my mechanical knowledge to restore it. This unit has a 454 and TH400 transmission that I think would be relatively inexpensive to rebuild.
I have a few questions:
Does anyone have an idea what chassis this unit may be built on?
Did they have air bag suspension in 77?
I assume it is lighter than most coaches of the same size because of the aluminium cunstruction, is this true? If so what do you think it weighs?
Any other advice or recommendations would be welcomed.
Thanks. Neil.77 Barth

Neil,

I have a '78-24'......in answer to some questions:

1. The chassis is a Chevy P-30
2. By comparison, a 24' chassis has a 12.3k gvwr (158" wb)
3. Front air bags were standard, with coils in front, leaf in rear

quote:

Originally posted by Neil T.:
I assume it is lighter than most coaches of the same size because of the aluminium cunstruction, is this true?

Nope. The Barth is built stronger so is heavier than the stick and staple motor homes. The cabinets are solid cherry or oak instead of pukkie-board, for example. I dismantled and gutted my living room and bedroom completely, and it was all solid, straight grain wood. No low cost materials anywhere. No staples or nails, even. All screwed together. By an American craftsman, not an illegal pickup laborer. Barth also usually used a heavier version of the P30 chassis than much of the competition. Does this coach have 16 inch or 19.5 inch tires? The larger tires indicate a heavier chassis.

The best thing about an old Barth, is there is no wood rot, since the body is all metal. The only wood is the cabinetry and the floor.

quote:

Does this coach have 16 inch or 19.5 inch tires? The larger tires indicate a heavier chassis.

It has the 16" tires... And as far as an update, Our Barth is running like a champ this year. Maybe it was just taking a winter nap? John did some Spring "tuning-up" and golly, it's running like a champ! Gotta LOVE a Barth... So loyal!

Hello, I bought this Barth on 5/06 and have been lurking for a while now. I just wanted to post an e-mail I sent to the previous owner about my jouney back home and how it a doing now. Barthmobile has been alot of help over the last two years.


Amy,

The Barth is doing good, we used it 5 or 6 times last year. It is still a work in progress but I have it in good running shape with everything working.

The trip back from Indiana to South Carolina was interesting. I left late so I was unable to get tires installed like I had planed on. It had obvious fuel starvation problems right from the beginning. I fought this the whole way back but I found if I kept both fuel tanks full it did OK. The main battery cable shorted out and caught fire before I got out of Kentucky. I was able to pull off a rest area and disconnect the cable before the whole thing went up. A little duct tape and insulation off the water pipes and I was back on my way. In Tennessee the transmission started slipping badly. I pulled off for gas and almost didn't get going again. The trans slipped through the mountains but I was able to baby it and made it to within ten miles of my house before I had to stop at a traffic light at an exit ramp. The Barth stalled and the starter failed so I couldnt get it started. I had to get it towed ($100) so I have no idea if the transmission would have made it the last ten miles. I was mostley worried about the rotted tires but never had a problem. Tell your husband the fuel starvation problem was a combination of rotted fuel hoses and faulty fuel change over valves. I now have two electric fuel pumps (one for each tank) and all new fuel hoses.



What I have done so far:



Reman transmission.

Sealed roof.

Two fuel pumps.

New Carb (Edlebrock)

New ignition wires (second running problem)

Tires.

Brake master cylinder.

Belts.

Repaired dash A/C (need it here)

Replaced all plumbing.

Repaired Black water tank.

Fan clutch

Repaired a bunch of wiring

LP service valve

Removed and cleaned heater

Repaired dash gauges.

Shocks.

Starter.

Many, many hours spent fixing things.



All in all I am glad I bought it but I don't know if I would fly to Indiana again to do it.



Neil.

Yo, Neil: Do you care to post your approximate (sum total) cost to bring it back to current condition? Other prospective Barth buyers will be interested.

quote:

Originally posted by Gunner:
Yo, Neil: Do you care to post your approximate (sum total) cost to bring it back to current condition? Other prospective Barth buyers will be interested.

Gunner, I have not added it up on purpose, it would ruin the fun. I think I have about another 3K in repaires not including labor of course.

Looking for the Fuel Starvation Topic?

This topic has been moved to Fuel Starvation Issue - Moved per request