We did it. We are now proud owners of an antique Barth, a 1972 twenty two foot gem. It is on a Chevy P30 chassis with a 350 engine. We flew out to Arizona and drove it back to Kentucky—a total of 1,752 miles. The trip was uneventful except for some wind that the old steering had me struggling to keep it between the lines.

Now, where should we start on renovation? Items that need attention so far are:
Steering—very sloppy
Suspension—unit seems to sit lower than it should. New main leaves or air units? What about shocks?
Drivers side windshield—ran into a rock on trip to Ky; also leaks, gaskets all need replacing
Driver and passenger seats—very uncomfortable on long trip
Cruise control—difficult to hold at a reasonable speed; wants to keep creeping toward 65 to 70

The interior is in excellent shape. Everything works; new Dometic frig, new A/C and 4K gen, and water system. Fire Marshall check for electric and gas passed with flying colors.

The exterior is another matter. The roof coating is flaking off; where the unit has been painted, the paint is flaking; and the aluminum need cleaning and polishing. What do I need to restore the exterior?

I realize what I have listed is not a short term project. Just where should we start?

Roy

Welcome to the group. I too have a 22' Barth. Sounds like your unit is in much better shape than ours. I changed my seats because the ones that were in there were so uncomfortable on long trips. I found a couple seats at a swap meet that someone took out of another motor home. There are a lot of after market seats around. Did your engine have any heating problems? I'm always watching the tremps on ours. Dennis

Hi Roy and welcome. Any relation to the Gatlin Bros. Love those guys.....

Congrats on the new project.

Steering After you make sure the major structure is in place, (check wheel bearings) etc. Consider a new Bell crank as well as Airlift 1000 airbags and make sure your steering dampener is in operation.
Suspension If the rear is low consider Helwig Helper springs in the rear or in the front new coil springs and then of course you can add Airlift 1000 airbags on the front for under $100 if you do it yourself. I know that more will chime in here but I do not believe you will benefit from airbags in the rear on a 22 foot coach.

Drivers side windshield P/N DW731 should cost under $300 hopeful under $200 installed. If someone quotes more keep looking.

Cruise control If you solve this problem let me know I have the same problem. I don't like to use it because when I turn it off it speeds up for a second and freaks me out.

By the way there are a ton of other ways to spend your money other than the ones I mention above. I am sure our apt team here will help you spend your retirements easily enough. And if they don't come through I have many more suggestions.

God Bless and again, welcome

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[This message has been edited by davebowers (edited May 27, 2004).]

[This message has been edited by davebowers (edited May 27, 2004).]

Roy, you need to bring your suspension up to the manual's specified ride height. I have sent you a copy of the charts from my manual. It is for mid-eighties, but I believe it should be close for your year. The rear can be brought up by air bags, re-arching, new leaves, or helpers. However, there is not a lot of room for the helpers on a P30.

The front can be brought up with air bags, new coils or a transverse helper from Hellwig.

After the ride height is correct, both front and rear, get a good alignment job. Search this site for specs.

Bilstein shocks work really well on P30s. I am not sure your year has a steering snubber. Search this site for steering stabilizer topics.

If your idler arms are loose, as they probably are, roller bearing replacements will be the fix. Check ball joints and tie rod ends, too.

P30s are not noted for great handling, but they can be improved. The good news is, with your short length and lighter wieght, you will have a very good handllng P30 when you are done.

Hi Dave,
I have observed this site for over a year and it is THE BEST website that I have seen. You do a wonderful job.

Yes, the Gatlin Bros. are distant cousins. Five Gatlin Brothers settled Gatlinburg, TN and some moved west along the southern TN border. Some went South to MS, Gatlin Bros. went on west to Eastern TX, and my great grandfather ended up in Western KY. So we are 4th or 5th cousins.

Thanks for the info. I will get started on my search for parts. I will keep ya'll informed.

Roy

Roy,

Something to keep in mind ref: registration & tags........KY has a Historic Vehicle plate available for any vehicle over 25 years old....The rules are:

"Any person who owns a vehicle that is (25) twenty-five years old or older which is used primarily for exhibition in shows, parades ,tours and other special uses but not for general transportation."

.....TOURS, SPECIAL USES & NOT for general transportation should certainly apply to a Barth in most cases.......

There is a one-time $53.50 fee and NO expiration or renewal!