Hi everybody, I'm a new barth owner and love it. I have an 85 Barth 28' regal with the chevy 454.
I'm having a couple of minor issues.
My generator runs like crud or stops running whenever the outside temp is above 90. The next morning when things are cooler it runs fine. I have noticed the fuel line should be replaced due to dryrot. The generator is an onam 5.0 rv genset. It has 145 hours an it but I think it is origanal. My rear ac stopped cooling and cycles on and off. I was told at some point the ac units were replaced. They look to be in good shape but older. One last item. The dipstick on the 454 is hard to get back in when checking the oil. It has a splice in the tube going to the engine and I have to take disconect the splice to get the dipstick back in. The splice does not interfere but aids in getting the dipstick to go in. I'd like to do something where I don't have to work so hard to check the oil. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Todd

If you have a front engine and have the small front hood to access the dipstick you can relocate the dipstick to the standard 454 location which is on the passenger side under the doghouse. Chevy sells the standard dipstick and tube. It would mean you have to open the doghouse each time you want to check oil level. On my pre-Barth SOB I did this and it was only a minor inconvenience.

quote:

Originally posted by todd ryan:
Hi everybody, I'm a new barth owner and love it.

Welcome to the forums Todd.

If you do as Tom K says, and I would recommend it, be sure to check the service bulletin regarding dipsticks used in p30 MH chassis.

There is one drawback to the standard truck dipstick location. A MH that overheats its transmission will have overheated fluid boiling out of the dipstick tube onto hot exhaust components. This has been reported a number of times.

Trannies usually overheat when the engine is really working hard, so a fire can result. Some sort of shielding or directing away of the fluid can make things safer. Best is to have a good cooler and watch the gauge.

Anyone know how hot fluid has to be to boil over?

quick answer, 400F, not really B.P. but close enough to raise eyebrows, long answer:
http://www-static.shell.com/st...icants/pz_header.pdf

Flash Point is 399°, which means that the gas expelled will ignite with an ignition source, but go out if the source is removed. Fire Point is 435°; the fire will continue even if the source of ignition is removed.

However, around 315°, the tranny's clutches and linings will be destroyed.

Actual "boiling over" (where the fluid expands to overflow) would depend on the location of escape routes, the tranny volume, and the fluid level.

Speaking of generators (crude segué back to topic ): I'm contemplating replacing the replacment Honda EV-4010 with an Onan diesel; I have excess weight capacity on the front axle. There's one on ebay, and tomorrow I'll measure to see if it'll fit. The Honda was bought used, and is need of an engine overhaul (it sat too long - but it was cheap).

Well, the Onan 6KW diesel won't fit...neither will the 5.5KW Marquis.

Not sure if this is worth mentioning Rusty, but when I had my MCI I bought a diesel 6KW generator (Kubota powered) that was previously used in an 18 wheeler application. What is noteworthy is that the engine and the generator were mounted side by side and connected via belts, like an alternator. I know with your ingenuity (or is that engine-uity) you might be able to craft a solution on one of those diesels. For that matter could you just re-power the Honda with a diesel power plant?

The larger gensets (over 4KW) tend to be too large to fit into the petite little cavity. The Honda that's in there now dis very well on a 20% overload (I tested it for an hour at 4800W), so capacity isn't the issue.

I'm gravitating towards just getting a new EV-4010 like what's in there. Rebuilding would be sensible if Honda parts weren't so expensive.

Hi Rusty, was that the Quiet Diesel 6000 on EBay? If it goes for anywhere the current bid (5:00 PM) that would be a steal.

It will not fit in mine either but I would make it fit if I found one here on the West Coast for that kind of money!

For me the height is the issue, but I think I could raise the floor to make it work!

That's the one, and it's fairly close to my lot in GA. But it just wouldn't fit.

Power Tech has a small 3K diesel they put together for the Sprinter based MHs.

Gasoline is fine - I'll keep looking for an Onan or Honda nearby. I think the Sprinter one is too small, but thanks for the tip - I'll look into it.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
The Honda is need of an engine overhaul

What's it need?