I don't see any post on this.Aside from serious speed bumps,dips can make serious scraping noise.Shocks and oil pan seem vulnerable.I there a stock protector for a Cummings 8.3 out there?My suspension air bags inflate properly.Maybe its only a problem in my area.Thank you wally van-isle

quote:

Originally posted by Mogan David:
Wally, the post above does not indicate what model you have. So, I looked at a number of your previous posts. I found this:
"8.3 Cummings,with all the goodies,6 speed Allison,etc,etc.wally 34 ft barth monarch in pristine condition(not for sale)"
Is it on a Spartan Chassis? If so, I would call their customer service people (here in MI) if I were you. In fact, I am so close that I would go there.
When I had Complete Truck Repair do a THOROUGH inspection of my current coach, they found marks where the front tires had rubbed against the top of the wheel house -- essentially the floor of the salon. Furthermore, other owners have noted that the floor bottoms out onto the front tires when the air is dumped out of the suspension.

Moggan thanks for your prompt response.Further probing would be greatly appreciated Wally Van-isle

quote:

Originally posted by wally povajnuk:

quote:

Originally posted by Mogan David:
Wally, the post above does not indicate what model you have. So, I looked at a number of your previous posts. I found this:
"8.3 Cummings,with all the goodies,6 speed Allison,etc,etc.wally 34 ft barth monarch in pristine condition(not for sale)"
Is it on a Spartan Chassis? If so, I would call their customer service people (here in MI) if I were you. In fact, I am so close that I would go there.
When I had Complete Truck Repair do a THOROUGH inspection of my current coach, they found marks where the front tires had rubbed against the top of the wheel house -- essentially the floor of the salon. Furthermore, other owners have noted that the floor bottoms out onto the front tires when the air is dumped out of the suspension.

Moggan thanks for your prompt response.Further probing would be greatly appreciated Wally Van-isle

Mogan it is on a Spartan chassis thanks!

I always worried more about the bottom of the fuel tank on our Breakaway contacting something on the road,(only 7 1/2" clearance. Always thought that the engineers at Barth could have come-up with a better design. Did have a blanket one time hitch a ride wrapped-up on the bottom of the tranny. Saw it in the middle of the road somewhere in Florida, made a comment about it to the wife as we passed over it. Thought no more about it until stopping for the night and discovered a now very tattered blanket sticking our from under the rear of the Barth. Had bypassed the fuel tank but snagged the tranny.

I'll bet that homeless guy will never sleep in the road again!

I have this friend… he had AC covers on both ACs when he left MI 2 years ago, planned to remove them when he got south. Well… they were both gone when he got to Florida.

Hope nobody got one over their windshield, I don't remember any horns blowing. Oops, I mean HE didn't hear any horns. At least it wasn't dirty diapers...

Before I completely hijack this thread, I am wondering if Wally has weighed his coach. I think many of the coaches are almost fully loaded when built and some DPs are almost overweight in the back. The 8.3 engine is heavier than the 5.9 for sure.

Also, over the years it is amazing how much extra weight we end up carrying. When I got my coach it had at least 200 lbs of extra stuff hiding all over the coach. Removing the extra stuff and running water tanks empty helps, symptomatic cure but at least you'll know if the suspension is OK or may need beefing up for your needs.

quote:

That is what drove me crazy

Now; that explains it all!

quote:

Originally posted by MichaelR:
I always worried more about the bottom of the fuel tank on our Breakaway contacting something on the road,(only 7 1/2" clearance. Always thought that the engineers at Barth could have come-up with a better design. Did have a blanket one time hitch a ride wrapped-up on the bottom of the tranny. Saw it in the middle of the road somewhere in Florida, made a comment about it to the wife as we passed over it. Thought no more about it until stopping for the night and discovered a now very tattered blanket sticking our from under the rear of the Barth. Had bypassed the fuel tank but snagged the tranny.

Thanks Micheal R no one supports me on baarth network.Have you ever tried there chat line?What a joke !It is always the same 3 4 5 cronies,putting outsiders on hold with Rusty as master of ceremonies.Wally Van-isle

quote:

Originally posted by Mogan David:

quote:

over the years it is amazing how much extra weight we end up carrying

When I sold the Pleasure-Way, my friend and I spent a long time carrying things from the many, many small storage places into the house. When I finally had all but the few things I was giving the new owner, we had covered the floor of an otherwise empty bedroom.
I weighed it once w a partial tank of gas, partial tank of LP, empty plumbing...7500#
As I recall it was nearly 5000# on the TWO rear 16" tires.

I think I had counted 17 doors and drawers inside the little PW. Being a normal size 1T van shell, that left precious little people space. That is what drove me crazy staying in it more than a couple days -- like a prisoner in a cell.

Atta -boy Mogan!wally van isle

quote:

Originally posted by Mogan David:
Wally, I'm sorry you feel like you get no support on the forum. There is only so much we can do... especially those of us who are CRAZY

Thanks for admitting that you are Crazy I always thouht so.Wally

Hi Wally,

Sorry for the late response to your post. We've been dealing with some family health issues.

I think you and I have pretty much matching Barth Monarchs. Might be twin sisters.

Tonka is a 97, 34 footer with an 8.3 Turbo Cummins and an Allison 6 speed on a Spartan IC chassis. She has a three cylinder diesel generator hung over the front axle.

She has low profile Goodyear RV tires that I run at 100 psi.

We run with full fuel and propane tanks, and our freshwater between 1/2 to full depending on where we are staying. When traveling we only hook up to power. We don't tow anything.

On Tonka the lowest points that will ground first are the muffler for the generator, rear shock mounts and the right front corner of the transmission pan (channel plate).

As far as I've been able to tell from looking, the shock mounts and generator muffler have never scraped.

However, two years ago she got bouncing at slow speed on a badly frost heaved road coming into a small town and touched the right front corner of the transmission pan. This scrape in combination with an apparent casting flaw caused the pan to seep slightly. We had Allison replace the pan.

This scrape was due to an unusually and exceptionally bad road condition and driver error (my not seeing it in time to be able to slow way down to a crawl).

Based on our experience with Tonka, if she was scraping like you say yours is, I'd have her suspension checked out by someone who knows Spartan suspensions.

Based on our experience with our very similar Barth, I don't think your Monarch should be scraping.

When I get her out of storage next month, I can measure some of the clearance and chassis heights for you to compare if it would help you.

Good luck with Tonka's beautiful sister.

Thanks,
Tonka's Wally