Bill alerted me that my old Barth has resurfaced. From my PMs it looks like she is in great hands and will be well loved up in Minnesota. I hope to see our new owner posting soon and encouraged it. They are already aware of what a great resource BM.com is.

From the postings (or lack there of) in the last few days, looks like we need some new blood, eh? Perhaps all our northern brethren have frozen keyboards?

Hi Everyone,

The keyboard's thawing, the blood is thinning and spring is in the air, well maybe not. We had a couple of days at or near 50 degrees and a whole lot of our snow pack has disapeared but snow is forecast for this weekend. I'd PM'd Corey with the story on his original Moonbeam-Express and then got wrapped up in a flurry of long days and short nights. For those interested here's a recap of our introduction to RV'ing, this great Barth and this excellent website.

We bought Corey’s and Cheri’s Barth Monarch from Day's RV in Corbin, Kentucky. We're completely new to RV'ing. My wife, Mom and I started looking into RV's last summer. My Mom lives with us and she and my Dad had a Class C back in the early 80's. We visited the local dealers and looked at everything from travel trailers to Class A Motohomes. We also hooked the laptop up to the TV and started researching RV's on eBay Saturday evenings. When I found Corey’s Barth on eBay I was absolutely smitten. I'm a car guy at heart and really liked the idea of a vehicle you can live in rather than a condo with wheels. I made a pest of myself asking the folk at Day’s a bunch of questions about the Barth. I wanted to bid on it but at the time we knew nothing about Barth other than they were no longer in business and my wife was leaning toward something newer with a slide out or two. We didn't bid. After the auction had closed and it appeared to be gone we found Barthmobile and realized that we'd really missed out on something really special. We thought it was gone forever and I sent an email thanking Stephanie and Josh for answering my questions. Stephanie asked what we were looking for and I emailed a full page list that was basically a pretty good description of a Barth. We started looking on line for other Barths and also at Wanderlodges. We were trying to schedule a visit to see the 92 Regency in Lake Shore Minnesota that’s listed on Barthmobile when Stephanie emailed telling me the winning bidder did not complete the transaction and asked if we were interested. By then Connie and I were on the same page, responded emphatically yes immediately and put in an offer the next morning. We settled on a price that was fair to both parties and we feel that we got a terrific deal on a great RV. Connie and I flew into Knoxville on a Sunday, Stephanie picked us up and we closed on Monday. We left Corbin 12:30 pm Tuesday after Rodney adjusted the door latch bolt. The latch was binding and the Barth managed to lock us in twice the first night. We pulled up in front of our home Wednesday afternoon about 4:00 pm after 1040 miles in 28 hours. It was an exciting fun and very purposeful trip. We got plates on it and put it in enclosed storage on Friday, a day before an ice storm hit. For some reason the AC compressor kicked in, locked up and broke the belt on the trip home. I noticed that in one of the Day's photo s the engine didn't have an AC pump. The one on it now looks to be brand new. We'll get it taken care of in the spring.
We have so much to learn and plan to stick pretty close to home this next summer. We are so thankful and appreciative of all the work and effort that goes into Barthmobile. This is an incredible website, a great group of enthusiasts and an invaluable source of knowledge, experience and insight for anyone who appreciates these great machines.

We also thank Corey and Cheri for taking such good care of their old Barth. It's a seriously cool fun and wonderful vehicle. With the slight drop in wind chill we are really starting to get antsy about spring and excited about bringing the Barth out of hibernation. As we get to know it, we’ll be bugging Corey and all of you from time to time as we try to figure out what work needs to be done and how best to do it to keep this wonderful old Barth in great condition.

Thank you everyone,
Wally and Connie

A couple photos of our first meeting and making friends at home.

Welcome aboard the good ship Barthmobile. You are now among friends!

The support and love you and your coach will receive here is second to none.

Do your very best to attend a gathering or two. You will gain memories for life and it's so cool to see the faces of those you've conversed with electronically.

I feel a little like you married my old girlfriend. Kinda want to thank you, but struggling as to if I'm jealous

Excellent first post and a great big welcome to Barthmobile!!!

2 things that might interest you - maybe not, but you'll hear them anyway.

You live about 15 minutes away from the founder of Barthmobile... And, the current "Host" of this site slept on your couch last year.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill N.Y.:
Excellent first post and a great big welcome to Barthmobile!!!

2 things that might interest you - maybe not, but you'll hear them anyway.

You live about 15 minutes away from the founder of Barthmobile... And, the current "Host" of this site slept on your couch last year.

Not to get too technical but actually it was year before last, 2009.

Nick

quote:

Originally posted by Nick Cagle:
Not to get too technical but actually it was year before last, 2009.

Well then, we might as well break Wally and Connie in the right way Nick.

Lets get right down to it shall we? Sunday, December 6, 2009

* 1 year, 2 months, 13 days...
* 38,016,000 seconds...
* 633,600 minutes...
* 10,560 hours...
* 62 weeks (rounded down)...
* 440 days...

...ago, I slept in your coach, on your couch.

Any loose change found in couch crevice WAS mine.

And if you have to give up couch space at a future GTG, you couldn't pick a better person. Hope you make it to one of our GTG's.

Let me see if I’ve got this straight. I’ve somehow managed to fall head over heels for Corey’s ex and Bill remembers to the exact millisecond when he slept on her couch. Sort of sounds like a plot line from Desperate Housewives doesn’t it. I didn’t have a clue that beginning a long term relationship with a vintage 26,000 lb bus could get this complicated. It looks like spending bonding time with our Barth and quality air time with the group at Barthmobile is going to be a lot of fun.
Bill you’re welcome to spend the night on Barth’s couch whenever you’re in the neighborhood just bring her some nice flowers and a good bottle of Rotella T.
We’re looking forward to meeting you all at some GTG’s or on the road over the years to come.
Thanks for the welcome everyone,
Wally

quote:

I didn’t have a clue that beginning a long term relationship with a vintage 26,000 lb bus could get this complicated.

Be careful who you call "vintage" as she is your ride home

Thanks Corey, probably ought not to call attention to her weight either or I will need walking shoes.

Heck, your Barth is Twiggy compared to my bluebird weighing in at 50,000 lbs!!

I'm not sure she'd appreciate being thought of as Twiggy, but you're right at only 13 ton she's really quite svelte and our first night on the road proved she can really trip the light fantastic under a moon lit sky.

Wally