OK you guys and gals. Carol and I have done it now. We bought the Staggs' coach in Marion, IN and drove it home to Port Townsend, WN. It is a 1986 28' with a 454. The engine run great, it did run a little warm for the most of the trip. The temp was always over 190 degrees and would climb to 215 degrees when climbing. It didn't ever seem to make any difference if I kicked the two factory cooling fans on. The transmission temp would get a little over 200 degress when pulling. I'm not sure if this is high or not. I plan on pulling the factory air off of the coach. The big condessor in front of the radiator has to stop some of the cooling air for the engine. I read that where that might help with the cooling. The alternator started to make noise in one of the bearings and I replaced the unit in Montana. I got the alternator from a NAPA store. When we were coming down the mountain pass I felt the coach slide around in the ice. I thougt that it felt funny, so when I pulled into the parking lot to look for a NAPA. I checked the Honda that we were pulling and one of the pins came out of the tow bar that went into the square tubing. It was only being pulled by one side. Somneone was looking out for us. Dave said that he would pray for a safe trip for us and I think that it worked. I'm sure that is why the coach was sliding on the ice One problem that someone can maybe help me on is the water pump for the domestic water. There is pumping water back into the storage tank. I'm not sure just why. I will dig into the problem. There is also water that runs out of the bottom of the pump. I will check the pump to see if I can fix this one or if I have to buy a new one. If I have to buy a new pump, which one do you think is the best bet? The one that is in there now is the type that has a belt driven piston pump.
The next problem I found was the coach battery isn't getting a charge from the isolator. I'm not sure just why. The batteries are Sears type deep cycle and are fairly new. I will try a load test to see if they are good. I will try a test of the isolator that the Chevy manual shows to check and see if the isolator is good or bad.
Where is the air pump for the airhorns? My airhorns don't work.
One of the windshield motor arms has a lot of slop and I think that I will have to replace it with a new one. Maybe I can just replace the shaft that comes out of the gear box on the wiper motor. Where is a good source for parts for those things?
As you can see, I've got a little work to do and lots of time to do it. My youngest son told me not to worry about fixing this Barth because I'm retired and have nothing else to do. Thanks for the help.

Congrats on your new Barth. I might be able to help on the air horns. Mine had a vacuum air pump located in the driver's side rear of the doghouse. The air storage tank was in the front passenger side behind the headlights. It can be accessed by removing the antifreeze recovery tank and cutting the strapping that holds the tank. The solenoid on the tank is probably clogged with crud and will have to be cleaned. You can go to the Hadley Air Horn website for detailed cleaning instructions. I replaced the air pump with a new electric, teflon coated tank, and solenoid. The air horns are great when someone tries to cut you off or merge onto the freeway at 20mph. Good Luck

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Eddie Chevalier
'85 Barth Regal 28' P-30 454
'91 Honda Accord/'87 Yamaha YSR 50 Toads

Dennis - congrats on your new rig.

I had the same problem with water pumping back into the tank. My theory - the autofill valve was stuck. I cycled the autofill switch on the control panel a half -dozen times, or so, and the problem seemed to stop.

I've got lots of problems with our new rig too - bought it in Jan. in Prescott, AZ, drove to Yuma. Heater control valve didn't work, nor did engine a.c. or cruise control. Speedo quit just outside Yuma. That was the best day of our first week.

Spent the better part of the next 6 wks. getting it in shape to travel. Came home with only one incident - front arm fell off the Zip-Dee awning coming down from the Siskiyous. Thought I had a blowout from the noise it made. Simple to fix, but a hassle.

Two big projects remain - fix leak in fuel fill hose. I'll have to cut out the bottom of the black water holding tank compartment, and remove that tank to access the fuel fill hose.

Interior needs lots of work. All the veneer edging on the cabinets is loose, gas struts are all shot on the overhead doors, woodwork is dull and dingy..

Still lots of small stuff too, but those are the biggies.

We're nearby to you in Sequim. We'll have to get together one day and compare notes.

I tried to E-mail in Sequim and I couldn't send a message. My phone number here in Port Townsend is 360 379 8310. Give me a call and like you say we'll get together and talk Barth's. Dennis