I recently purchased the 89 Regal located in Sarasota. I am new to Barths. I have owned other motorhomes. My coach did not come with any manuals. How can I get these?

My unit has a mach coleman a/c. Newer unit. It does not seem to cool the coach as I am used to. It works and cools but not on real hot florida days. Anyone else having this problem?

I have 3 batteries on the passenger side compartment. I assume two are the house and one is the engine?

Anyone replace there old style locks with simple key locks?

The shocks on the coach look like they are oem. What are good replacements? The coach rides ok. I have read their are good after market replacements?

Anyone replace their carpet with wood flooring? Was their a lot of noice increase inside the coach?

I assume the 89 regal is r12 on the coach air. Is it easy to upgrade to r134. What have folks used on the board?

Any good after-market efficiency features used for the 460 engine?

I am interested in adding solar. Anyone have success with this on your barth. I have considered 1 120w panel. Thoughts?

Is there a supplier of market lights and turn signal lights?

Thanks.



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Jamie in Florida

OK, here goes, one by one:

Q: I recently purchased the 89 Regal located in Sarasota. I am new to Barths. I have owned other motorhomes. My coach did not come with any manuals. How can I get these?

A: My Barth does not have a manual as such for the coach. I have a binder from Barth with a sheet recording the components and their serial numbers, and little manuals for all the components, including the chassis owners manual from chevrolet. There is a hand drawn electrical diagram that is not very informative.


Q: My unit has a mach coleman a/c. Newer unit. It does not seem to cool the coach as I am used to. It works and cools but not on real hot florida days. Anyone else having this problem?

A: 28 feet is about the limit for one AC. Although, I just came back from a week in Bradenton, and it wasn't very hot. The Coleman is, I believe, a two speed unit. They can ice up their condenser on low if it is humid. Get a good thermometer and measure the temp at the in and out air of the unit. I seem to remember that you should have 40 degrees difference, but check with an expert to be sure.

Q: I have 3 batteries on the passenger side compartment. I assume two are the house and one is the engine?

A: Yup. The ones tied together at the positive posts are probably the coach batts. Batteries is a whole subject, but I recommend Trojan deep cycle 6 volt golf cart batts. If you have a clearance problem, there are a couple of tricks. My free opinion on the chassis batt is Optima from Sam's.

Q: Anyone replace there old style locks with simple key locks?

A: I dunno

Q: The shocks on the coach look like they are oem. What are good replacements? The coach rides ok. I have read their are good after market replacements?

A: Lots of Ford guys like Monroes better than Bilsteins.

Q: Anyone replace their carpet with wood flooring? Was their a lot of noise increase inside the coach?

A: Noisier, colder in winter. Prettier, but more work to maintain. Hope you don't ever have a water leak.

Q: I assume the 89 regal is r12 on the coach air. Is it easy to upgrade to r134. What have folks used on the board?

A: My preference is to remove the condenser and not use the dash air. The roof air cools better and uses less fuel from the generator. The generator likes to be run. Generators seldom wear out, they just get cranky from lack of use.


Q: Any good after-market efficiency features used for the 460 engine?

A: I'm not a Ford guy, but I love Thorley headers, turbo mufflers and a cold air duct for the intake. I use dryer flex duct. I have never heard of an unhappy Thorley user. Banks is good, too, but overpriced and over hyped. MSD 6A and timing control to optimize for gas, temperature, altitude and hills. Gear vendors for economy and hill climbing. Tach and vacuum gage.

Q: I am interested in adding solar. Anyone have success with this on your barth. I have considered 1 120w panel. Thoughts?

A: Solar is great. A 120 watt panel is a good start, and might be enough. Everyone is different as to their usage. When you install it, leave room for another one just in case.

Q: Is there a supplier of market lights and turn signal lights?

A: Market lights? Do you mean MARKER lights? These guys are good:

http://www.pmlights.com/

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/C...S=on&Go.x=11&Go.y=12




Now that you've bought it, replace all the belts, hoses, fuel filters, and plug wires. Especially the fuel lines, all the way back. My preference on fuel hose clamps is to use two Corbin style clamps at each hose end, very close together, but 90 degrees apart. I have seen way too many engine fires from the worm screw clamps allowing a leak later. Having a V12 jag, I am (sadly) quite experienced here. As for radiator hoses, be sure the lower one has a spring inside. NAPA does.

Check the dates on your tires. Be a Nazi on tire pressures.

Have the brake fluid flushed.

Hope this helps.

[This message has been edited by bill h (edited May 17, 2003).]

Ditto on everything Bill said. We have a 28 foot Chevy just like yours. The one AC is not enough for hot humid weather. You need a good box fan to blow cold air into the bedroom area. I am going to have another AC installed in the bedroom. You should have 50 amp service which is enough to run both and you probable have either a 5.5 or 7.0 KW generator which will run both. We put a fantastic vent fan http://www.fantasticvent.com/ in the bathroom for more air movement. One of the big problems is the number of windows in this coach you really need the AC help and window tinting really helps.

In addition to all the great advice from Bill I would add; Check your oil twice as much as you think you should and keep an eagle eye on the temp gage.

And most important of all; HAVE FUN....

Note on the Fantastic Fan: first time I used the FF to move air, I didn't have adequate window openings. Noticed a very strong gasoline-engine smell in my closet. Seems that the new fan pulled so much air it was drafting through the generator compartment and inverter enclosure.

Locks: I replaced the door lock (that big square one). Which others are you looking at changing?

Shocks: being frugal I went with the generic Gabriels (sp?) from Advance Auto (about $75 for rears) and they seem to work fine. Next, add the air bag suspension components on both ends. It works!