This came via snail mail, and I scanned this in for our site. Here is a 12 page Barth Sales Brochure from Bill Beard.

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Here's the brochure - there is nothing I can find in it that shows it's for the 1978 line, but we picked it up at an RV show in Indianapolis in early January of 1978 and used it to help develop the floorplan for our '78 24'. We first learned of Barth at the show and realized immediately it was the only coach for us; all the others we looked at just didn't cut it.

I've edited the Vehicle Specs Sheet, so you won't have to read it sideways or read multiple text of the same thing.



Here are all of the available floorplans.

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This is a real piece of history. Well done......

Aren't those colors something else?????

Check out the clothes in the closet....the white patent leather shoes!!!

Also worth noting -- the carpet was short shag. Wonderful when camping in the woods!

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Originally posted by Bill B:
Also worth noting -- the carpet was short shag. Wonderful when camping in the woods!

Hey Bill... Thanks for the donation of this printed material to our site. Donations, such as this, are always a welcomed addition.

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there is nothing I can find in it that shows it's for the 1978 line

Not that it makes any difference (Especially for Barth ), but I think the Class-C pic narrows
it down a little....Chevy made subtle grill design changes in their vans between 77-78...This pic
is of a '77 chassis. So, pre-77 Barth production would be pretty early, and post-78 production
would be kinda late for this brochure.....

As to coach design & structural integrity, I doubt we'd see pics of most SOB's with a one-piece coach box
hoisted & suspended over the chassis. The SOP for others at the time was to screw, glue & staple
plywood, sticks & foam directly on the chassis rails and build up from there.....Like it's been said here
before - most of those coaches are in mulch piles or beer cans by now......

Enjoyable brochure!...and Thanks Bill for the format manipulation - much easier to view....

quote:

Originally posted by Lee:
So, pre-77 Barth production would be pretty early, and post-78 production
would be kinda late for this brochure.....

To dissect this brochure some more...

I am relatively sure that 1977 was the last year for the Class C. So, I think this brochure was probably made "Very Late 75" or early 1976 for the 1976-1977 model lines.

Class C were built from late 1974 to the 1977 model year. The 19'M was from 1974-1975 and the 22'M was for 1976-1977. It shows this in the brochure as a 22'M

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Chevy made subtle grill design changes in their vans between 77-78...This pic
is of a '77 chassis.

Looking at the Chevy Van front grills, via a google image search, it looks like this is a 76 & 77 grill as they appear to be identical. Can you tell the difference between a 76 & 77 grill?

Also of note is the bumper design. All of the coaches on the assembly line, and in each of the floorplan options page, had the aluminum, 3 ridge polished bumpers. These were first introduced in mid to late 1975 and then became the only bumper style by late 1976.

The only bumpers I see with the flat chrome plating design was on page 10. That page has the MICU Medical Unit, the Barth that looks like the one on its sign and the 21' comparison coach... all of these Barths look like the images were taken in 1975 or before.

Another note... Besides the 22M not being available after 1977, Barth used these same lengths (and probably floorplans) from 1976- to early 1980.

Please... If anyone wants to chime in with their info on what they have, post it here.

Does your floorplan - color/fabric scheme - lengths match these? Let us know.

By telling us what you have you are further expanding our knowledge base.

It would help for you to know where the brochure came from (info not included in the post). In late 1977 Barb and I agreed we had to either upgrade our original motor home, a 1972 Winnebago 18’ Brave, or upgrade to a somewhat larger unit. We saw an ad for an RV in Indianapolis on January 6-8, 1978, and decided to go see what was available. After spending most of the day Saturday exploring dozens of rigs, we were totally discouraged, but on our way out of the hall, we stumbled on the Barth display where a 24’ model was on display by the Barth dealer in Indy (who happened to also be a Kawasaki motorcycle dealer). The coach immediately attracted us, but it was closing time for the show so we decided to come back on Sunday for a closer look. That’s when we got the brochure and found out that we could put together a custom floor plan and choose our own colors for the upholstery, carpet, woodwork and other trim. The FP3 floor plan was in the 24’ on display, but we wanted an L-shaped dinette like the one in our Winnebago, so the one from the 34’ FP1 was substituted. How we got from there to delivery of the unit in July is another (long) story, but suffice to say that we were very pleased with the results.

In any case, Barth was selling 1978 models at that show, so the brochure pretty much has to be for the 1978 line, although some 1977’s could well be included.

Bill Beard
Barth Owner Emeritus (three of them)

quote:

Originally posted by Bill B:
In any case, Barth was selling 1978 models at that show, so the brochure pretty much has to be for the 1978 line, although some 1977’s could well be included.

I think the lack of a date code, in this instance, was on purpose. It was probably more economical to produce a sales brochure, like the one you supplied, for a group of years and then make up price sheets for the year in question.

I've been releasing Barth Sales Ads for 1976-1977 and the one from August 1976 asked "May We Send The New Barth Catalog" The two from 1977 states the 7 different floorplans but not a new catalog. Flat Chrome Bumpers.



I have another one from 1979 that states a 24 page catalog. But doesn't talk about floorplans. I'd like to get that catalog... (hint-hint)



None of the ones I have for 1978 mention the number of floorplan options but all of them show the ridged aluminum bumpers.

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Originally posted by Bill B:
Barth Owner Emeritus (three of them)

I love your signature profile...

We found a Barth brochure in our 1974 Class C and assume it is from that year. It includes mostly Class A units with just a short note for the 22M and says "see separate catalogue sheet for details". On the front cover is a huge Class A with Mt. Rundle (Banff National Park) in the background; I wonder if this was a Canadian brochure or if the US brochures used the same photo.

I find it impossible to post images on this site, but would be happy to email a scan of the brochure to anyone who is able to post it.

We have had problems with images for some time. Hopefully there will be some resolution soon. I have posted hundreds of images over the last few years but PhotoBucket is no longer working.

Thanks for your input so far. Good luck with your Barth project!

Optimistic travel destination...
Either the Barth was cut/pasted onto the photo, or it has flat tires on the drivers side.