Here is a 1998 Barth for sale. Did not know they were made in 1998.
1998 Barth

Happy motoring. sky

To those who I offended recently with a poorly worded post regarding late model Barths, here is what I was talking about. Your fine DP's are truly great coaches, but this has to be a textbook example of the decline of Barth. Still offended? Read the whole ad, look at all the pix.
If you still think I'm out of line, sorry, we're on different pages and always will be. I will still respect your opinion and promise never to dis your pride and joy again.

Yes this is a Barth but is it a BARTH? Look at the photos close, the quality of the cabinets is Home Depot or less, the the storage looks great, the area over the windshield is very un barth like. Could this be a Barth that was trashed or the original floor plan was changed? I see potential but at what price are you be willing to pay and how long to do the upgrades a Barth should have. With gas prices this high maybe it would be finished before the RV market returns. Just my ramblings.

The instrument panel is Chev., not Barth. I've seen this panel in pix of some commercial units. Do you suppose this is a commercial unit that has been remodeled into an RV?

All the Barths (in fact, all the motorhomes) I've seen use the engine manufacturer's instrument panel. Those with Cummins or Cats have some latitude in the placement of gages (and in some cases the gages themselves), but GM power seems to result in GM IPs.

The black speedo/tach/instrument cluster is almost identical to the panel in my Chev pickup.

As a side issue, my 84 has an instrument cluster lifted from a Chev truck, and a heater/AC control from a Dodge truck.

Does anyone know the origin of the heater control? I need it to chase down the manual for trouble shooting.

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As for DannyZ's concerns about hurting the feelings of late-model Barth owners, I think the concern is moot. The last couple of years of Barth production caused them to look like Any Other Motorhome, dispensing with the Barth characteristics that make the older Barths easily identifiable. And posts here seem to have illustrated that the traditional Barth obsession with quality may have been diluted as the line neared its finale.

On my '90 Regal SE, the instruments were Chevy, but the panel, the dash configuration, & the steering wheel were pure Barth. No factory P-30 panel had room for all the bells, whistles, wsw controls, light switches, engine hour meters, trans. temp. gauges, generator start switches, etc. that came with the Barth.

The instrument panel & dash configuration on this '98 is "plain Jane," compared to other Barth panels, & it's identical to at least one other panel on a commercial unit that was advertised on another thread.

A downgraded Barth panel, or a Chevy truck factory panel? I don't know, but it's not up to the luxury standard of earlier Barths.

quote:

Originally posted by sky:
Here is a 1998 Barth for sale. Did not know they were made in 1998.

This one looks like a 97.

Here are the answers to some questions I asked them.

I did not ask for the BTU rating of the AC, but that would be an issue for RVers who plug in or run the gen. That coach is getting a little long for a single AC. The genset is too small to run two airs.
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What are the numbers on the builders tag? It is likely located near the driver's seat on the wall or in or on an overhead cabinet. Vin-1GBLP37J8W3302138 MODEL- 9711-M0043-29FF-1C

Is the skin metal or fiberglass? FIBERGLASS

Is the roof metal or fiberglass? FIBERGLASS

How wide is the bed? 52”

What is the wheelbase? 178”

Tire size? 225-70-19.5

Does it have disk or drum brakes on the rear? DISC
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I have to give them high marks for all the pictures and the quick and accurate response to my questions.

I did not ask him to draw me a floor plan, but that would be next.

quote:

Originally posted by Crany Ape Auction:
Make/Model: BARTH 29F Year: 1998 Miles/Hours: 41514 Type: Bank Repo

VIN: 1GBLP37J8W3302138

Location: Jarrell, TX

Description: Bank Repo RV. This is a 1998 Barth 29F RV on a Chevrolet chassis powered by a Chevrolet 454 engine with automatic transmission. Features include an overhead TV, VCR, 6-disc changer, cloth sofa, compact hide-a-way dining table, Bigfoot hydraulic leveling system and generator (333 hrs). In the kitchen are a stainless dual basin sink, 4-burner stove/oven, microwave and refrigerator/freezer. The bathroom has a toilet, vanity sink and shower stall. Master bedroom amenities include a queen size bed, TV, mirrored dresser and overhead cabinetry. The engine starts and runs but the transmission has some slippage in high gear. This is located at our Jarrell, TX facility.
Estimated Repairs: The inside of the unit has some staining to the carpet, the latch for the bottom kitchen drawer and bathroom cabinets are broken. The two chairs for the dining area are missing. Outside of unit is slightly faded with the trim from the driver side is coming off. There is a small dent in the rear of the unit cracking the fiberglass. The transmission seems to slip in high gear.

Transaction fee ~ $500.00
Winning bid ~ $11,500.00 by blustem
Last bid made ~ 5/12/2008 12:04:00 PM
Reserve ~ The reserve has been met.
Minimum bid increment ~ $50.00
Bid start ~ 4/28/2008
Bid end ~ 5/12/2008 12:00:00 PM

Copied for history/tracking purposes

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
As a side issue, my 84 has an instrument cluster lifted from a Chev truck, and a heater/AC control from a Dodge truck...

Does anyone know the origin of the heater control. I need it to chase down the manual for trouble shooting.

Try this post from 2003

I have the exact same setup as yours Bill.

WOW! Twice in two days I get a seemingly daunting question answered.

Thank you.

Fiberglass skin? Fiberglass roof? I'm done commentating on this particular subject, but I feel a lot less guilt pertaining to some recent posts.

just a few questions...I have a 96 23 foot barth which was constructed to be a mobile office for the texas dpt. of weights and measures. you think this 98's dash is plain jane you auta see mine. The cabinets and hardware in my unit seem to be quite nice though and more sturdy than my brothers 2000 sportscoach pusher. My body is alluminum but the front piece that surrounds the windshield is fiberglass. I intend to be completely renovating the drab interior of my coach but is there anything I should be especialy carefull of reguarding quality?

I received this email from another member and thought I would post it here.

quote:

...Lots of talk about the quality of the late model barths (or lack there of). Would you consider this lack of quality mostly in the interior? I want to make sure if there is something I need to keep a close eye on that I am on top of it...

I can only answer for myself, My coach has almost nothing original on it since I redid the interior with Home Depot/Lowes particle board cabinets that were bought off of the floor. My cabinets were destroyed when I got it. But from what I can tell, they were of superior quality in 1991.

So, does anyone know when Barth changed...
...the rivet spacing?
...the type of exterior (ribbed, flat aluminum, fiberglass) panels?
...the custom dashboards to generic?
...the fiberglass roof? (I'm not sure about that)
...the fine woodworking and countertops?

I will preface this by saying, again, that All Barths Are Different.

Several years ago, we saw a very late Barth on a lot. I don't want to say the year, as I am not sure and don't want to tar other coaches. We looked at a Foretravel next to it first, then the Barth. The Barth was bigger than we wanted, but we took a look, anyway, just because it was a Barth.

It was disappointing from the git go. Before we even entered, the stairwell turned us off. It looked like a good home made job, not typical Barth diesel pusher quality. The interior was lower quality than we have ever seen in a Barth. The dash was a plain as a low end gasser. In the living room, for example, the overhead cabinet door hinges were visible, and were cheap plated stampings rather than the hidden European hinges on ours.

Outside, it was flat aluminum skin, but the rows of rivets were about twice as far apart as earlier ones. That would seem to indicate that the body ribs were farther apart, but I don't remember how well I checked. There would be little point in having ribs that were not attached to the skin, anyway. The wavines of the skin was obviously a reflection of the rivet row spacing, but may also have been from thinner gauge metal.

Everything about it seemed just run of the mill quality. Formica, etc. It had a different nose than the classic Barth, too. In fact, there was nothing to indicate it was a Barth, other than the name. It was priced about the same as the Foretravel next to it.

So, it didn't look like a Barth, which is personal and subjective. But, it did not have the quality of earlier Barths, which is very real.

The salesmen didn't know what chassis or engine it had, either. In fact, I'm not sure they even knew what day it was.

As far as ribbed vs smooth sides, I am not sure that is a quality consideration. During the good years, both were offered. I believe ribbed looks a little more classic, and does definitely have more strength. However, Barths are so strong already that the extra strength of the corrugation might not have any noticable effect. And, the extra strength of corrugation is in one direction only. The typical motor home flexing is more diagonal, due to flexing, anyway.

I have looked at a couple of Monarchs, and they seemed as high quality as the classic Regencies.