As I sit basking in the warm Florida Keys sunshine, I am reflecting on my RV experience.

In a few more months 86Barth will be 30 yrs old. My first RV, I have owned it since March of 2011. It has about 125,000 miles on it now, about 35,000 since I got it. As you know, it has been an almost continuous project, with mostly satisfying results.

I now have almost five years behind me on this web site. When I first got the coach I knew very little about it. (It was here in the Keys, my maiden voyage was the trip back to Michigan towing the Toyota!)

I found this site and began researching. I spent several weeks lurking in the archives. Following threads of interest, I ended up reading all of Bill NY's posts, all of Bill h's posts, most of Danny and Rusty's, Nick, Mogan David, Tom, Jim & Tere, Mary Ray, Kevin, Marvin&Doris, and Moonbeam-Express. Got tons of information…

After a few weeks of research, to avoid asking repeat questions that had already been answered, I finally started to post my own. I was always pleased with the quality of the responses I got.

Having gotten so much from the site I have tried to return the favor by contributing what I can, posting my projects and travels. It appears I have become one of the more persistent Barth junkies, as I have now risen to among the top ten in terms of the number of posts I have written. It also appears somebody is reading them, too, since some have well over 10,000 views.

Many of you have followed my threads detailing my Barth projects and my travels. I always appreciate the feedback I get from the site. I have had some really good trips visiting with some site members, either at home or at Barth gatherings. As a group Barth owners have impressed me with their intelligence, skills, diversity, kindness and hospitality.

The Barth coaches were well made, usually you can fix them faster than they break. The best part isn't the coach, it is the support from this site. Between the highly skilled, friendly members and the rich technical archives, I know of no match to this site. I hope that I have helped make it better.

Things have changed over time, as they always do. Several of those named above are no longer regulars here. Some of the newer members have already come and gone as well, but we're collecting a few more keepers. Sometimes the day-to-day postings are borderline trivial, some ask vague frustrating or redundant questions, some are even rude. Lately things are a bit slow.

I miss Bill NY. I miss Bill h, whom I never got a chance to meet. I miss the others that have moved to other coaches.

I miss the Data Tag and Mapping projects, etc. As part of our archives, they need updates.

I encourage all our site members to update us with their info, projects and trips. We all live vicariously through these threads and they add to our remarkable archive of RV information. After all, if you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem. (Or, like I used to tell my Chemistry students, if you're not part of the solution, you're the precipitate!)

I look forward to more years helping with this site, seeing old friends and meeting more good people. Life is good with a Barth.

I too have benefited greatly from this site. I bought my Breakaway from my local Craig's List. I was not aware of this forum at the time. In fact, I had never heard of Barth. Simply, I recognized the construction as being remarkable.

Barthmobile has underscored my first impression. The writings have assisted me with numerous repairs and maintenance. And I am no longer intimidated by other issues that I expect will arise. THANK YOU Steve and all formerly mentioned contributors to this site. Undoubtedly you all have assured Barths will live on - and you all should be proud.

As a testament to the value of this forum to me, I searched "Breakaway" and have read all 2780 threads. I have saved all threads (or portions thereof) that I can later reference to address issues. (Thread drift occasionally concealed gems.) All saved discussions have been organized into fifty-four subjects. Further more, using "save as" function, I copied all onto my hard drive so as to be able to reference in the event internet is not available when needed. This undertaking took a long, long time. I truly enjoyed every minute.

I feel as I've come to know many of you personally, and occasionally seeing a few of you in pictures was fulfilling. I look forward, when my schedule permits, to meeting you in person. In the meantime, again, thank you all for your wisdom and time and kindness. I pledge to continue to contribute financially and with my thoughts to make this site available to all present and future owners. "Long Live the Barth" and this site.

Well said Steve. I have enough drama and sniping at work so I have been somewhat silent except for an occasional post or comment.

I also miss some who have moved on and some who have fallen silent. I enjoyed posting fully detailed posts but when the photobucket became more complicated I got frustrated. Again I have enough wildly complicated things going at work. Sometimes easy is nice. I've got all the photos and may someday take the time to post the projects I have completed.

Steve keep posting! I'm reading. Kevin if your still watching I also miss your very detailed and helpful posts. Don't let personal conflicts keep you from sharing. Always good to hear from Ed. Hope your getting everything back in shape from the ditch ride. Rusty we hear less from you since Nick went Foretravel.

Bill NY I look forward to you rejoining the conversation. Many of us miss you. Reach out to those that have offered and let them help catch us up on the Map and the Data Tag project. Everyone will benefit from the site not getting behind.

Barthmobile still comes up first thing when I open my browser. It will continue to do so for a long time to come because DBarth will be around forever.

Let's all get along and keep sharing the information that keeps Barthmobile a priceless resource.

Besides the great counsel I've received here, the striking up of friendships has been remarkable.

I check barthmobile.com every day and have also noticed a Hugh drop off on posts. I also surf other sites like IRV2.com. We have had our Barth for nearly four years now and have nearly switched to another brand a couple times but just can't seem to pull the trigger. We have looked and test drove newer coaches and decided the quality is either somewhat comparable at a high cost and many just do not measure up to our Barth. So.... We decided to keep it and remodel it. It has been over a month and we are nearly through. It is looking very nice. Just wish it was easier to post photos.

Okay...I'm in.
First, this is a GREAT list.
Second, this list commemorates a GREAT motorhome.
Third, if this list wasn't here, would Barths even be around or just junked because no one loved them?
I have been a genealogical researcher for 20+ years, worked with many lists, and can vouch for #1 with total conviction.
We have belong to car clubs for over 9 years until we moved but been in classic cars for over 30+ years.
We have owned 5 motorhomes, Winnebago (Class A Chalet, Class C Mini 621), Fleetwood (Class A Pace Arrow and Class C Jamboreee), the Barth Class A and been back and forth across the nation to where we know where we are by the bumps in the road...the Barth has it hands down: #2.
This is no substitute for the camaraderie of this list-if it disappeared, it would be a very sad loss in many respects. We've only had our Regal since last fall with no intention of parting with it. Our experiences have shown us how much quality counts. We have learned so much from the postings and experiences on this list-thank you.
Steve, your reflections had me reflecting as well as I sat on our Barth and being reminded of the simple pleasures in life and how sometimes, they are right in front of us-thank you.

This is truly a great website, with a lot of great information, and interesting people that I hope to meet one day. I am one of the many that has not posted in awhile. I will try and do better at that. I look at the site quite often, and truly enjoy it. I have sat down several times to post some of the many projects I have done on our Barth, but get frustrated with the photobucket process and give up. That seems to be a common problem. Others like Steve, seem to have no problem with it. One of these days I will sit down and figure it out. Till then I congratulate those that can navigate the picture posting process and look forward to more interesting posts.

We got our Barth in October of 2015. We are in love with it and have enjoyed finding this site. We have asked some questions and have learned TONS of information. I, also check the Barthmobile site everyday and always enjoy reading the posts.
It has been quite a learning curve and we are still figuring things out. We have put new carpeting in our living area and the bedroom-really nice. We are in the process of repairing our windshield wiper motor. I spent a few days polishing and buffing the wheels. We have encountered quite a few problems and have had some repaired, repaired some ourselves and are scheduled for more repairs in the coming weeks.
Now for some of the fun stuff: we took our first big trip in January down to the Anzo Borrego Desert area and stayed for 2 weeks. Loved it and a lot of people loved the Barth; a few even knew what it was!
I want to thank all the members who have posted and Steve for his help and advise. Also, on a different note-I see quite a few of the members are in the mid-west and Eastern part of the country and the meet-ups are back there. We will make it back to one of those in the future but in the mean time: "Hey Westerners, anybody up for a Barth get together out here?" We would love to attend and meet some fellow owners in person. Any suggestions on a location or interest might get the ball rolling.

Sheila

We bought our Barth in August 2014, and this site has been extremely useful. In general, very friendly and helpful folks.

Sheila, we are down in the East Bay in San Leandro. I have a mom and sister in Auburn! I'd be interested to see your Barth sometime when we visit the area, (or you could see ours if you are down here). Ours is the only one I've actually seen in person! A West Coast meet-up would be fun, although you and I are the only ones I know of.

There was PatNPat in Gilroy, but I was sad to read iin the last couple of days that one of the Pats has passed away. The other Pat has sold his Barth to someone I think in another state.

To Bill NY if you see this, here's another reason someone should continue the pin project...

Quinn

That's amazing-small world. We would love to show you are big baby. My Dad was a real RV aficionado and when I was looking to buy a motorhome 25 years ago, he saw a Barth! I lived in Oregon at the time and bought a 73 or 74 year Barth that was 22-23 ft. I can't recall for sure. I traveled around by myself for about 6 months and eventually sold it. In all this time I have only seen one other Barth in Death Valley. We are a rare breed, especially out in the West. I thought I had seen another Californian member post here and believe he had family in Rocklin. Maybe there are 3 of us! Let us know when you will be in the area, would be fun to compare notes.

Sheila

I agree with the Photobucket comments. The PB site is very slow, loading banners, etc, and it crashes sometimes. (otherwise VERY rare on my MAC)

I send the photos from my email to PB. Then wait a few minutes to be sure they are there.

Meanwhile, I have found it easiest to compose the message text and post it promptly. Then I reopen the message to "edit" window.

I then open a second window to retrieve the PB links. When PB gets done loading all the crap, I copy paste the IMG link to the Barth window, then repost it with the IMG links. It is often slow and mysterious, but usually works. At least if it crashes I don't lose the original text.

PB is a nuisance at best. Other than saving site memory it does return the photos in standard format, but I think we are losing some people in the tedious process. I'm not sure what other options exist but PB is not great, IMHO.

It is good to see our group are enjoying their coaches and the site threads.

(After all, the only reason I post my stuff here is so when I sell my coach there will be a bidding war and I'll make a fortune!)

Have Barth, will travel