Tom,

Rig was very, very clean, but had its compliment of irritating cosmetics that were bothersome. The bumpers are actually stainless steel. Wouldn't want to replace them!!

I paid $62K three+ years ago and still feel it was the best Barth for the money even then. Times have changed!!

We just sold our house in NH and the down-in-the-mouth postmaster commented/questioned me "How much did you lose?". My comment was I may have lost $100K from market top, but where I buy next I will gain back $300K!!!

I'll take that deal anytime, it's all relative.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
Considering the care (and $$$) lavished on it, Corey's Monarch at $31K was such a steal. I actually considered buying it,

I must admit that I thought about bidding too, based on what everyone here said about it. I'm not suggesting that anything was wrong with the RV with the dealer's low selling price, it just seemed SO low which is not typical of dealerships.

Diesel maintenance does scare me a bit, and I've read accounts of $1000-1500 annually just for the basics. Unfortunately I may never be able to afford that kind of upkeep, and I like being able to do most things on my gas rig in my driveway.

I agree they sold it to low. Good for the new owner I suppose.

The only thing I've ever found to be more on the maintenance side of diesels is the huge volume of oil. Of course, that is offset by the lack of anything electronic to maintain as far as ignition. I would say diesels are less costly to maintain over the long haul. That is why all buses and big rigs are diesel after all.

quote:

I would say diesels are less costly to maintain over the long haul. That is why all buses and big rigs are diesel after all.

True, and the high number of miles those vehicles (and some RV's) travel annually. The power and air ride comfort of a diesel pusher is quite attractive- but with our weekend/vacation RV use at around 1500 miles/year, the upkeep costs don't really balance out.

At 1500 +/- miles per year, your expense would not be anywhere near $1000-1500 for up keep. It would only need 1 servicing a year ($250-300) and that's if you take to heart that you should change your oil once a year no matter what. And the savings in fuel milage would help offset the difference in servicing between a diesel and a gas model RV. Add to that the value that the diesel RV holds over a gas model and that the drive train of a diesel will out live a gas by 3-5 times the milage if maintained (serviced)......

Hmm, well that certainly is good to know! That may possibly expand my realm of possibilities for the next motorhome we buy... a Monarch perhaps??

Someone remind me, did any of the late model Barths have slides?

No.
I thought I read that in the final years the new owners of Barth had designed one with a slide but it never made it to production?

quote:

Someone remind me, did any of the late model Barths have slides?

No slides for a Barth, they knew better.

Why would you want to add huge cost, ruin the structural integrity, increase the vulnerable areas for water, insect and rodent intrusion, require heavier stabilization, decrease fuel mileage, decrease cargo capacity & restrict access while underway...........all to get a little bigger isleway when parked???

quote:

Originally posted by scottydl:

The power and air ride comfort of a diesel pusher is quite attractive-

The power part is all over the map. The larger diesel engines have a lot of torque, but the coaches are heavy. Of course, the larger gassers are heavy, too, and the available engine situation makes a diesel more attractive for larger coaches. But lots of gassers accelerate and climb better than a lot of diesels.

For an apples to apples comparison, look through old Motor Home Magazine tests of a the same coach on a W22 Workhorse and a Spartan chassis. I think it was a 34 footer.

No slides certainly is not a dealbreaker, as I don't have any now and am fine with that. But our Residency has a very unique floorplan with an L-shaped couch up front, which leaves a much more open living area (adjacent to 3 big bay windows) and not the typical "bowling alley" center aisle walkway that many RV's have. I'm not crazy about center aisle setups and at least a slide would open things up a bit. Many newer coaches I've seen with multiple slides are really intuitive in their designs and use of the extra space.

Yup,
You shoulda bought my old Barth. Air ride, 8.2 Cummins with good power, 10MPG, L shaped couch and two big bay windows.

To me, one of the biggest advantages with a diesel has to do with safety. While the air ride is nice the air brakes are a necessity.

With Hydraulic brakes you take the chance of overheating the brake fluid. Once it boils - you're cooked!

With air brakes you can never boil the air and the default position (loss of air pressure) is brakes fully applied. The reason buses, 18 wheelers and trains have air brakes is the much lower liability and safety requirements that are inherent.

This is the single largest benefit of a diesel in my mind, and a reason that non-air brake systems should be limited in weight.

Hey Corey, why don't you just tell us how you really feel about slides? I feel the same in a motorhome, but if I was going the 5th route I'd be looking. The upper scale 5ths are incredible inside when set up, and you don't ride back there when under way, so it's a wash to me. I don't plan on going that way any time soon, or ever, but I'm just sayin'.

quote:

Originally posted by Danny Z:
Hey Corey, why don't you just tell us how you really feel about slides? I feel the same in a motorhome, but if I was going the 5th route I'd be looking. The upper scale 5ths are incredible inside when set up, and you don't ride back there when under way, so it's a wash to me. I don't plan on going that way any time soon, or ever, but I'm just sayin'.

"Help. My slide goes out when I drive"

"Help. My slide won't go out when I park.

"Help. My slide won't go in when I want to drive.

Common pleas.

quote:

The upper scale 5ths are incredible inside when set up, and you don't ride back there when under way, so it's a wash to me.

No doubt the fifth wheel setup makes a difference. Bill pointed out that there are still mega issues with the structural integrity, but if you're no riding in it the biggest worries go away.

I had a Jayco Designer fifth wheel (fiberglass) without slides and the side wall started getting moldy inside. Turns out three of the wall studs were completely rotted out due to a leak in the roof molding. That rig was three or four years old!

From what I've read, other than high end bus converters, no one has a slide that is truly water/dust/bug proof. It just is too hard to get something that big to seal, especially after it has wracked down the road for 10,000 miles. I'll bet if someone rode back there they'd be scared silly!!