On most other sites about older motor homes there are ongoing Q&A about the engine/chassis problems and how to repair same.....Here the major questions seem to be "broken pleated shade" and brake lights: Why the lack of shade tree mechanic correspondence???

Anyone know anything about adjusting a Paloma water heater? Mine blows itself out when the water is turned on and off in our water-saving showers. If we let it run and waste water, it is fine.

I can offer one on an engine problem; my first-run GM 6.5L TD blew a head gasket; four cylinders were scored. A step-by-step procedure follows:

1. Take coach to Mike Owens
2. Call Peninsular Diesel
3. Open checkbook
4. Write checks
5. Pick up coach from Mike
6. Stop by Wal-Mart for peanut butter, jelly, and day-old bread

I hasten to add, Mike is a true "shade-tree" mechanic. He's very, very good (he has a superb diesel mechanic on staff), but he has his shop at his house. His first words, before agreeing to start on the coach were, "If one of the trees falls on the coach, I don't want to pay for it".

Because the engine had to be dropped down to replace, we rented a backhoe, and he dug a hole, pulled the coach over it, and dropped the old engine. Pulled the coach forward, got the old engine out of there, dropped the new engine into the pit, pulled the Barth back, and hoisted the new engine into place.

Actually, I've done so many miscellaneous things to StaRV II (and it was extremely well-kept before I bought it) that I don't think twice about it.

But here's a list (I've owned it since 1/30/06):

2/06 New Rear Tires
2/06 Replace step light with red
2/06 Engine box lift struts
2/06 Scotchgard chairs
2/06 New genset muffler and resonator
2/06 Refurbish battery compartment
2/06 New house batteries
2/06 Repair door lock
2/06 New docking lights
2/06 Refurb windshield wiper arms, new blades
3/06 New Taillight Lenses (incl reflective tape)
4/06 Replaced radio Pioneer AM/FM/CD
4/06 Installed Radio switch
4/06 New TV antenna inside stuff
4/06 Replaced windshield wiper/turn signal switch
4/06 Repair Air Horns (Leak in piping, bad solenoid valve connection)
4/06 New wheel simulators
4/06 New driver’s Soft-Ascent window shade.
5/06 New A/C compressor
5/06 Fixed vacuum leak in heater controls
5/06 Changed transmission fluid (Mobil Synthetic Dexron III)
5/06 Flushed cooling system; filled 50/50% DexCool/distilled water, 20 oz NAPA Cool, Cap. 4.5 gal
6/06 Front wheel balance
6/06 Front end alignment (OK)
6/06 Repacked front wheel bearings
6/06 Made Blackout Curtains (Front)
6/06 New Silver Star Headlights
7/06 Installed Mag-HyTec transmission pan - S/N 4274 – 9.5 qts. Mobil Synthetic Dexron III (no torque converter drain)
7/06 Installed Transmission Temp Gage
7/06 Installed Mag-HyTec Differential Cover S/N 297 – 6 qts. Amsoil 607
7/06 Chassis/Steering Lube Mobil Synthetic Grease
8/06 Installed new black water valve
8/06 A/C compressor replaced under warranty
9/06 Flushed cooling system, final flush with distilled water
9/06 Installed high capacity water pump, thermostats/housing, and throttle bracket; new lower radiator hose (NAPA 7224), new crankshaft pulley, new Dexcool/distilled water 50/50
9/06 New Crankshaft damper/pulley GM part 12557345
9/06 New air filter Wix 46144
9/06 Cleaned radiator
9/06 New power cord pass-through
9/06 Reseat far left cabinet door over bed
9/06 Removed rivet stubs left rear awning hook
9/06 Rewired step light
9/06 Replaced black water valve remote
9/06 Fixed bathroom sink leak (loose collar)
9/06 Replaced and reinforced door strut bracket
9/06 Repaired entrance door pull
9/06 Replaced radiator cap
9/06 Replaced suspension spring bushings and shackles
9/06 Tightened rear view mirrors
10/06 Repaired undersink doors
10/06 Installed curtain rail at bathroom bulkhead
10/06 Cleaned carpets, treated with Teflon finish
11/06 Replaced wiring to lower step light
11/06 Pulled heads; left cracked, OK. Right magnafluxed OK. New glow plugs, tested and reset injectors. New head bolts. Resurfaced exhaust manifolds. Renewed bearing seals on turbo. Cylinders 5 through 8 scuffed.
12/16/06 53,658 Miles: Replaced engine, new, from Peninsular Engines – 18:1 compression ratio. New non-wastegated turbo, new injector pumps and high-pop injectors. Rated at 230 HP. New oil cooler and fan. Installed ISS Pro EGT sender and gauge. Later – to be replaced with VDO system.
12/29/06 Replaced city water pressure reducer
1/15/07 Replaced fresh water tank drain line and ball valve
1/16/07 New converter – Progressive Dynamics 9260C
1/16/07 Connected block heater – moved outlet, new pigtail
1/16/07 New CO detector in bedroom
1/16/07 Installed vent shade in bathroom
1/16/07 Repaired shower door catch
1/16/07 Added foam stabilizers to 6-way outlet in kitchen
1/27/07 Replaced pyrometer with VDO complete system
2/8/07 Fixed leak in fresh water tank drain (fitting partially split) – added SS hose clamp and new elbow and aviation sealer, redid drain line
2/10/07 Installed new shelf in shower
2/10-14/07 Step – removed rust, acid treated, filled pits with 3 apps JB Weld, sanded. 2 coats cold galvanizing spray, three coats white epoxy paint. New cover
2/13-14/07 Ordered parts for used EV-4010 Honda genset.
2/18/07 Sewed and installed divider curtain.
2/27/07 Repaired left living room window blind tilt gearbox
2/27/07 Reconnected light for nav light flasher switch
3/3/07 Replaced front aisle light bulb
3/3/07 Installed new front CO detector

Only major work left is to install the new/used Honda liquid-cooled genset (which is quieter without a muffler than the Kohler Klunker LPG genset is inside the Barth's nose and with a resonator and muffler - measured with a sound-level meter). Awaiting construction of the gaso tank from RDS Industries and the Honda Shop Manual (used Honda genset needs some minor repairs).

Geez Rusty, I am sorry I talked (guilted) you into buying that baby.

What would you have done with all that time and money anyway.

I have absolutely no regrets. Most of the stuff has been routine and relatively minor.

The '97 Safari Trek 28' I contemplated had a later version of the engine, which was actually worse than the one in my Breakaway. And despite the looks of the itty-bitty wheelbase, the Spartan chassis handles far better than the P-30 on the Trek. And Maggie and Casey can easily pop into the bed with me (in theory of course, since they're not spoiled).

I expected to have to replace the engine eventually (LT 2 years), and the timing worked out fine (fortunately, I have the buck$ for that sort of thing). I'd have preferred deferring the replacement until this year, because I missed taking StaRV II to a star party because of the swap, but as that was only 60 miles from here, I saddled up the van and made day/night trips.

And the timing of the engine issues was fortuitous, because I had a prior chance to look at 32' Regencies, which had heretofore been my "Dream Machine" for when I had a driveway I could get one into. But having seen three Regencies of that size, it became obvious that StaRV II had more basement storage than anything less than a 36' Regency, and that was far more than I needed for the not-spoiled Maggie, Casey, and me.

And since, with the new engine, my fuel economy is improved by 20%, (despite the 25% increase in HP and torque) the cost will be paid off in six or seven years, since I do 15-18K+ miles a year. And I have a current production 230HP MilSpec engine replacing the 190HP stock mill...wanna drag?

quote:

Originally posted by Doug Smiley:
Here the major questions seem to be "broken pleated shade" and brake lights: Why the lack of shade tree mechanic correspondence???

Really? Wait until it gets warmer out!!!

Do you have a particular problem with something that needs attention? If you use the search feature you'll gleam a lot of information about a host of topics.

Be it cosmetics, electrical, or mechanical, if it's happened to a Barth it's probably posted in here. This site answers questions from the history of DARKNESS (Dark Suckers) to what's BURNING (BurningMan) and a non sexual reference to MALE 2 MALE plugs. Ask away and chances are good you'll get an answer.

Looking at Rusty's do-list I don't feel so bad. mine shows 71 items completed in 4 years, most minor, a few major, & the list remains at about 12 items uncompleted. It seems every time I check one off, another is added.

Hi Doug,

Over the last 7 years this site has collected well over 20,000 searchable pages of data. I am confident that there isn't one square inch of any Barth which has not been covered at least twice. I just search the term "oil pan" and got well over 100 responses. "Shade tree mechanic" returned 50. I suspect as Olroy says at least half of the coaches are in storage and half of the others are maintain by "check book mechanics". That leaves Rusty, Bill H, NY Bill, Olroy and a few others which will change a transmission in a Walmart parking lot with a pair of pliers and a screw driver.

Me...I pay to have my windshield reservoir filled.

So, Rusty, once you get that genset in there, you will sell that coach to me, right? There's more storage space in the 32' then you think.

Of course I'll sell it to you - unless someone coughs up the $125,000 asking price before....

So tell me again why I would want to own one of these things. The older I get the less things are in focus. I also need to justify this to my wife and get her permission, approval, blessing, keep the peace, a gold star... you know...

Doug, you have by now figured out that we have a bunch of fun along with distributing information. But as an owner who owes the entire positive experience of owning an 81 to this site and it's resident experts, I have to attribute your dissatisfaction with a lack of knowledge about and experience with this site. Of course not every technical question will be posted every day, but the search area will find anything about anything if it has ever been discussed. And it has.
One thing that I like about this site is I can ask about "pleated shades" or anything else, no matter how silly it may seem to some, and the guys will always give it their best shot. This means a lot to an owner who has to do a lot himself.

quote:

Originally posted by devolo:
So tell me again why I would want to own one of these things. The older I get the less things are in focus. I also need to justify this to my wife and get her permission, approval, blessing, keep the peace, a gold star... you know...

Because..."You're worth it!"

Not to mention unless you can take one quarter's dividends from your stock portfolio and write a check for a Newell or Prevost, this is the next best thing. Barths don't fall apart faster than they can be maintained.

Despite the length of the "things done" list I posted, that's it (Many of those were upgrades or mods, not repairs). Only the installation of the new genset, derusting some areas, and rerouting the cruise control cable at the throttle, awaits my attention.

quote:

So tell me again why I would want to own one of these things. The older I get the less things are in focus. I also need to justify this to my wife and get her permission, approval, blessing, keep the peace, a gold star... you know...

'Nuf sed, Dave