quote:

Originally posted by JEFFREY HARMAN:
Dave: I would expect that a valve job or rebuild would be in the near future for this coach. How much would that cost?

OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...........lovely opportunity to have Thorleys and a Performer intake installed if the heads are off for a valve job.

Shop around. Prices are all over the map. Some mechs think they have a license to steal when they work on a motor home. It is no different than a 454 pickup valve job.

Mine cost way too much be cause there was a fire in the engine area so I had to put in new radiator--everything.

To drop in a reman expect to pay around $4500.00 total. Maybe less if you have a friend. I would always suggest going with a Goodwrench crate engine. It has a great warrenty and GM backs it up.

A tranny overhaul is around $2800.00 I have been told.

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quote:

Originally posted by davebowers:
Mine cost way too much be cause there was a fire in the engine area so I had to put in new radiator--everything.

To drop in a reman expect to pay around $4500.00 total. Maybe less if you have a friend. I would always suggest going with a Goodwrench crate engine. It has a great warrenty and GM backs it up.

A tranny overhaul is around $2800.00 I have been told.

Ditto on the crate engine. I have built a lot of engines for various vehicles, but the crate GM engines offer a lot. I put one in mine.

That $2800 sounds high. The TH400 GM trans should cost no more to rebuild than the same trans in a car or pickup, as it is the same exact trans. The only difference is that some have a drum brake on the back which takes a few minutes to remove. I have rebuilt them myself, and it is not difficult, so a good honest shop shouldn't charge too much. It is amazing to see just how fast a good experienced mech (not me-I am slow) can rebuild one of those.

Dave -

Did you ever get the interior pictures scanned? I sure would like to see the interior.

Randy

Hi Prince,

I haven't got them yet. I did call and leave a message twice.

"Love the Musicology album"

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OK, I am not going to get mad.....I have taken my meds today.

This coach was originally posted on the Barthranger.net website. Bill H posted it here and I called this guy got the info and enhanced it because this "Barth's for Sale" forum is pretty successful. There are 30-50 coaches sold off of here every year. I called the guy to get some more info. After taking 10 minute to convince that there was no charge he told me to go ahead and put in on the website. I already had....The fact that the guys who run that website over there didn't tell the guy about this website is, in my opinion, immoral. They let this guy think that by putting it there he was sure to get a ton of traffic. They know that about 4 people look at that site each week and almost 500 look at this site each day. Actually the average is 472. Well, they tell this guy that I "stole" the ad off of their website site and that I was right up there with Dillinger and Capone. When all I was interested in was to get the ol' guys coach sold.

So the guy sends me this letter, instructing me to take his coach off the site, telling me that he has not authorized me to sell his coach.

Now you know what, I have been known to become heated at times. Got it from my dad, bless his soul. But in this case, I am assuming after talking with this guy on the phone today that he just doesn't know up from down, and has let somebody influence him. So ya know what. I am not going to delete the ad.

And, I have been told by more than one person that this is a really great coach. And, someone out there should buy it, and if you do just tell him you saw it on the Barth Rangers site. Hell, he'll never know.

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[This message has been edited by davebowers (edited October 07, 2004).]

Ya got the right idea! Do something nice for somebody who doesn't deserve it. That ought to confound them.

Just rememeber, no good deed goes unpunished!

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Dan & Suzy Z
'81 Euro 28

quote:

Originally posted by JReilly:
Bill thanks for the info on a tag ..It makes sence...I do have another tech sort of question... What is a "breakaway".. Sorry to bother you with this trivia...
Going to Indy this weekend to look at a 77 30 footer with the bath in the back and the 2 single beds in the aisle.. Not the perfect setup that I wanted (Wanted a 28 footer with Bed in back) but pricing and condition seem to be there...Anyway I am excited and looking forward to the adventure hoping to come home a Barht owner instead of a wanna be... Anything special I should look for or worry about with a 77 30 footer??? You can see it at http://adcache.rvtraderonline.com/3/4/7/75283047.htm
I sort of like the low maleage and it appears to be in decent shape...
Any insight you may have I would appreciate...
John Reilly

John, I can't speak too well to your Breakaway question. I have opened a new topic on that area. Hopefully, more information will appear.

As to the coach in question, I would not have a P30 that long without a tag. This, of course, is personal, but I am a handling and stability nut. Our preference is also for a rear bedroom. We like a double bed and we do not like guests trooping through the bedroom to get to the john. We do cold weather dry camping, and a center mounted full size bed is much warmer, being away from the walls.

Another issue, is that the rear bath most likely has a rear black tank. Could be a CG issue. The greater the overhang, the more sensitive the coach is to tail wagging. Put a toad back there, and it is even more of a concern.

I don't want to bag on P30s, here, but the longer the two axle ones are, the less stable they are.

I have a 29 ft barth I put 1200 miles on it last week. I went to down to Natchez Ms.vir hiway 61 most of it was two lane, come back on Instate 55, handle well to 65 miles an hour. I put air bags front an back hope I have ride heights set right. I got them from Bill H. The front I could read, the rear I could not see to good, but it run sturdy enough.I will get the alignment specks @ set them. good luck mine is a 1979 model James

I have to agree with Bill here. My 28 without a tag is as long as I would consider. Perhaps if you weren't doing a lot of traveling and were keeping the coach in one place most of the time this wouldn't matter, but if you plan on bookin down the road a lot you need to consider the framework.

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Dan & Suzy Z
'81 Euro 28

I agree with Bill on the tags. The two primary coach brands which added tags to 20+ foot coachs was Barth and National Dolphins. I have seen Bounders, Sportscoach and others which look like if someone stood on the rear bumper they would tip backwards. And apparently that wasn't too far off. It is hard to stear a coach which doesn't have the weight on the front wheels.

Deb and I have seen this coach in question here. It is a little rough on the exterior but I have to say that the interior looks really nice. And it as a ton of addons including (get this) 3 gas fired furnaces. It was made for Minnesota...

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In addition to Dave's point on weight, there is the issue of tail wagging. The more weight behind the rear axle, the more the tail wags. And a toad or a trailer really wags on a curvy downhill mountain road.

I have seen formulas on length to wheelbase ratio, and though they differ, they illustrate the point.

And, getting back to tag axles, the extra axle back there is pointed straight ahead, which helps straight line stability.

Question regarding gm crate vs. salvage. What about finding a wrecked duramax diesel with allison auto from a wrecked truck or gas 8.1 gas for that matter. Would they fit the motormounts and the doghouse of an '87?

Neither the duramax, nor the 8.1 will bolt up to the motor mounts. Nothing will interchange there. No wiring no accessories, nada. Serious nightmare unless you are a Master fabricator. The salvage truck would have to be purchased nearly complete, to swap over all the necessary stuff.