I am going to look at a 29 foot 1998 Barth today for 11K. I am sorry but the owner purchased it from a bank repo and doesnt know much about it so info is scarce. I have seen it and it looks pretty sound. any and all input would be helpfull.



GREG

"29 foot 1998 Barth today for 11K."
Price is right unless it has something seriously wrong. "Monarch-style" paint & body panels, and apparently a widebody but the open front grille and inboard tires say it is on a gas-engine chassis (?). Please get the VIN, and more details.

Price sounds pretty good for 29', 1998, in today's market. Be sure to check it out well, repos often have been neglected.

Most of us have spent a lot of money making our coaches fit our desires. The average seems $5K, plus or minus.

As a rule, engine-wise, diesels are more expensive to bring up to snuff, & maintain than gas. The easiest to maintain, (IMHO) because of commonness & availability of parts at your local parts house, are the gas-powered Chev 454s on the P-30 chassis.

In any event, it's unlikely you'll be able to go camping immediately. Odds are it will need some maintenance & updating.

Good luck!

THANKS FOR THE HELP. IT IS A 454 CHEVY WITH 42K MILES. YOU THINK ITS A MONARCH THOUGH?

"454 CHEVY WITH 42K MILES. YOU THINK ITS A MONARCH THOUGH?"
No, it's not a Monarch, as Monarchs had Spartan Chassis and Diesels. Anything built in '97 is sort of a "Red-Headed Stepchild" as we say back home; it was probably built to order.
Note: The peeling paint above the windshield is only the clearcoat and a good coat of polish will probably cure the looks.

NADA does not show a 1998 29 foot with Chevy power. They do show a Ford powered unit that size, so someone probably special ordered the Chevy powered unit. The NADA value for the 29 ft. Ford power is Low retail $18,340 and average retail $22,090.

Should be a great buy!!!!

Nick

A Widebody Gasser?

Could this be an elusive Aristocrat?

We need the vin and data tag number. Please take a picture of these for us.

This is the tag we're looking for. You can usually find it around the back of the drivers head behind the curtain rail or even in an overhead cabinet above the driver.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill N.Y.:
A Widebody Gasser?

Is this widening strip narrower than others?

quote:

Originally posted by Nick Cagle:
NADA does not show a 1998 29 foot with Chevy power.
Nick

Small point, but neither NADA nor Kelly shows a 30t any year, and I own one and have seen at least two others. One other one was not special built, but was built by Barth without an order, and was shown at RV shows, and ultimately sold at an RV show in CA.

I have run across other models that were in Kelly but not in NADA, or vice versa.

I'm gonna guess that the narrow center strip doesn't indicate a widebody, but rather the all-FRP nose cap - the A-pillars look narrower than my Breakaway, so Barth may have had to "fill the gap" to use the standard windshields.

quote:

I'm gonna guess that the narrow center strip doesn't indicate a widebody, but rather the all-FRP nose cap - the A-pillars look narrower than my Breakaway, so Barth may have had to "fill the gap" to use the standard windshields.

Y'all are very observant. On closer inspection, the fiberglass front "bumper" panel is different from a Monarch; the fog light openings different, shape different, etc. And yes, the center widener is narrower than the widebody, as are the A pillars. Similar mirrors, but mounted on the side instead of the front (maybe because the body is narrower?). Soooo.. not a widebody after all.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
I'm gonna guess that the narrow center strip doesn't indicate a widebody, but rather the all-FRP nose cap - the A-pillars look narrower than my Breakaway, so Barth may have had to "fill the gap" to use the standard windshields.

quote:

Originally posted by Gunner:
Soooo.. not a widebody after all.

Yep, just different A-Pillars pushing the windshield farther outward. Odd...

Both my monitor and my eyes are low resolution, but I can't see any rivets on the side skin.

Do I see a circle drawn around some glass damage on the driver's side?

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
Both my monitor and my eyes are low resolution, but I can't see any rivets on the side skin.

The same was said about Tom Loughney's '98 Monarch - but it's definitely all-aluminum.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
Both my monitor and my eyes are low resolution, but I can't see any rivets on the side skin.

The same was said about Tom Loughney's '98 Monarch - but it's definitely all-aluminum.

Is the skin riveted or bonded?

Tom's is riveted - they just don't show up in the photos. This one, I don't know. Bonding is always a possibility; I used to demo and sell American Aviation products, and all their airplanes featured bonded construction - as did the GMC motorhomes of the '70s.