We are considering purchasing a 1991 31Ft Barth Regal and would like to know if anyone has any information about this year and model. This will be our first Motorhome and since you are the experts we would appreciate any information you might be kind enough to share with us.
1991 31ft Regal, what an extraordinary coach you will have, if it has been well cared for. A Regal should have either a Chevy 454 or a Ford 460 engine. I would like the Chevy better because you will have the p-30 chassis with the 4 wheel independent suspension, but substantially less storage than with the Ford which will have the Oshkosh/John Deere chassis. but may be a basement model with much more storage. Tell us more about the coach. Don't worry about the infrastructor. "91 was still the glory days for Barth and still one of the best coaches made..
Here is what I know. It has a Ford 460 engine with 48000 miles, basement storage, 2 AC w/heat, trailer hitch, 6.5KW Generator, Full Kitchen w/conv.micro, Ice Maker, Washer/Dryer, Built in Mixer,Walnut Cabinets, TV/VCR, Split Bath, Skylight, Back Up Camera, Monitor Panel, Hydraulic Leveling Jacks, Electric Step and Awnings and to top it off we live in New Mexico and are flying to Florida to check it out and hopefully drive it home. The current owners are the 2nd owners and in their 70's. It doesn't have Steer Safe. Do you recommend that we have that installed? Any other recommendations?
quote:
Originally posted by davebowers: 1991 31ft Regal, what an extraordinary coach you will have, if it has been well cared for. A Regal should have either a Chevy 454 or a Ford 460 engine. I would like the Chevy better because you will have the p-30 chassis with the 4 wheel independent suspension, but substantially less storage than with the Ford which will have the Oshkosh/John Deere chassis. but may be a basement model with much more storage. Tell us more about the coach. Don't worry about the infrastructor. "91 was still the glory days for Barth and still one of the best coaches made..
What a great sounding coach, Do your self a favor and have the engine inspected by a truck (not car) mechanic. A rebuild is about $6,000 and a replacement is $9K+.
Because of the Oshkosh/John Deere chassis which has a straight axle on the front you may want to invest in Bilstein Shocks. Best dear is from www.eshocks.com. $76.00 each vs. $100+ elsewhere. Steersafe or something like it is a great idea. I will give you great feeling of security as you drive on the highways and byways. Especially 2 lane roads. Good luck and send a pic for the gallery.
Originally posted by davebowers: What a great sounding coach, Do your self a favor and have the engine inspected by a truck (not car) mechanic. A rebuild is about $6,000 and a replacement is $9K+.
Because of the Oshkosh/John Deere chassis which has a straight axle on the front you may want to invest in Bilstein Shocks. Best dear is from www.eshocks.com. $76.00 each vs. $100+ elsewhere. Steersafe or something like it is a great idea. I will give you great feeling of security as you drive on the highways and byways. Especially 2 lane roads. Good luck and send a pic for the gallery.
Thanks, I will take your advice. I will send a pic when I get back from the trip.
quote:
Originally posted by davebowers: What a great sounding coach, Do your self a favor and have the engine inspected by a truck (not car) mechanic. A rebuild is about $6,000 and a replacement is $9K+.
Because of the Oshkosh/John Deere chassis which has a straight axle on the front you may want to invest in Bilstein Shocks. Best dear is from www.eshocks.com. $76.00 each vs. $100+ elsewhere. Steersafe or something like it is a great idea. I will give you great feeling of security as you drive on the highways and byways. Especially 2 lane roads. Good luck and send a pic for the gallery.
I have a 1989 31 foot Regal on the John Deere, now Freightliner, chassis. Sounds similar except mine has a rear bath and twin beds. We like it very much. We have a Banks Power system on it which helps on the hills and solves any manifold problems. I agree that you should consider Steer Safe and Bilstein shocks, especially on the front. I had an incident of violent shimmy at about 30 miles an hour. In checking with Freightliner Custom Chassis, they indicated they had had some problems. They said that the steering assembly should be checked to be sure there is no play, the alignment checked to be sure it is within specs, and that bad shocks might contribute. I did all that and then put on Bilsteins and drove to Florida and back, about 2500 miles, with no reoccurrence. I have about 55,000 miles on mine. Good luck.
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Posts: 13 | Location: Camdenton, MO, USA | Member Since: 08-08-2005
Last year in March 2000 our family did exactly the same thing . We flew from Santa Fe to Florida and drove our 1987 Barth Regal home. The previous owner had been taking the coach to the wrong places for repairs. He had the wrong battery isolator installed and whoever replaced the spark plugs on the 454 chevy engine didn't know that you remove the front tire and access the front left two plugs from the wheel well. With 97,000 miles it is doing very well. Questions or help call Ted 505-983-8927
Posts: 8 | Location: Santa Fe,NM | Member Since: 01-22-2001
Last year in March 2000 our family did exactly the same thing . We flew from Santa Fe to Florida and drove our 1987 Barth Regal home. The previous owner had been taking the coach to the wrong places for repairs. He had the wrong battery isolator installed and whoever replaced the spark plugs on the 454 chevy engine didn't know that you remove the front tire and access the front left two plugs from the wheel well. With 97,000 miles it is doing very well. Questions or help call Ted 505-983-8927
Posts: 8 | Location: Santa Fe,NM | Member Since: 01-22-2001
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