I'm not sure if this is technical or general.. so I'm posting here. You may have read in Barth for Sale that we sold our 1975 a couple of weeks ago. Well we're seriously looking at a 1987 Regal SE. We like the floor plan, the colors, and size, sure I wish it was a diesel, but my budget won't afford it.

Now to the question, it has 93,200 miles on it. Should I be concerned? If it were anything other than I Barth I wouldn't even consider it. I mean could you imagine 93,000 miles on a wood frame box? I realize the chassis is made for miles but think of all the railroad crossings, hills, potholes… you get what I’m saying….

What do you think?

Thanks to all who respond.

Gary

Hi Gary,

I think that I would be concerned with the drive train only as it comes to mileage. Of course, you have steering and chassis components to take into consideration. I would not worry about the integrity of the roof, or the walls. You don't have to worry about rubber roof degradation or wall laminate separation or bubbling. You generally don't have to worry about leaks unless there is an area around a vent.

You don't have to worry about the cabinetry coming apart or falling off he wall. (for sure).

So the shell of the motorhome should not be a concern, but there are plenty of things to go wrong but they are all fixable. If you buy a Winnebago or other coach and you have a crack in the roof or a bubbled side wall you might as well drive it to the dump. Well I guess you can fix the roof with that Eternabond tape but who wants to deal with that.

Somewhere around my messy office I have a news article about a couple with a Pace Arrow who was forced off the highway in Arizona. They didn't drive into a hole but just drove a few hundred feet into the desert, a bumpy ride for sure. When they came to a stop all of their cabinets had fallen off of the wall and their TV fell and critically injure the wife in the passengers street.

Now I wouldn't advise driving any coach out into the desert but I strongly suspect that a Barth would fair much better.

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Dave is right about the Barth body frame and cabinets. There is no wood to rot or shrink and no staples or brads to pull out or work loose.

My Southwind popped its windshield on 1 mph desert turn-arounds. The current owner had the right windshield blow inward at the bottom in high wind. Heck, even sitting still in high winds, it would creak and shift from a box to something from the set of The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari and back again.

I am sure there are some high mileage Barths whose owners will give testimony.