So last night I went to start the Barth and the chassis battery was now reading 11.5 volts so the starter would not engage so something drained the battery. I had charged the chassis battery the day before then I charged the coach batteries yesterday when I came home from work. The charger was on for about 4 hours before I went out after dark to start the Barth.

So now I turned on all the interior lights and it wasn't long before I noticed the light dimming slightly and coming on fully, just as it did when we got to the campsite to pick up the Barth. That's when I heard the battery charger clicking and dropping out. So anyway I thought about it a little and came to the conclusion that all those lights on must have been taxing the coach electrical system. Hell yeah, I had a 40 amp draw with all those incandescent bulbs burning. So my battery charger also began clicking and dropping out. So I got that problem solved. Too many amps and not enough juice since my charger was only putting out 6.5. amps before it tripped. But anyway the new 60 amp converter arrives Friday and I'll test out the systems again.

So there's a battery isolator somewhere that charges the chassis and house batteries? Maybe that sucker is going bad or one of the house batteries. Very interesting, very very interesting.

Anyway I'm gonna try and wire in the 50 amp receptacle today and get that out of the way for Friday's arrival of the converter.

Stay tuned

I drove into the driveway and what to my wonderment did I see? A great big box with what appeared to be Christmas wrapping and a great big bow. Well not really It was my Converter...yippee-ki-yey. I felt like a kid receiving gifts, but this time I had to pay for them Anyway I checked on the charge and the meter was still at 6 amps and the batteries were warm. So off comes the center battery. One cell had low fluid level but still covering the plate. I put the charger on the left battery and it was showing 3 amps so the center battery might be bad.

So with the batteries disconnected, I proceeded to remove the old heavy converter and install the new one. That was easy. Now if only I can get the jacks to work

Today I removed the rest of the batteries for inspection. The left coach battery had three dry cells. Refilled with distilled water and will put them on a charge tomorrow. Maybe I can save them. The chassis battery looks good. All cells were full. I put that one on a charge.

I ordered the rest of the tires from Tirerack. They're coming from Indiana and the guy said I could have picked them up and save the 200 dollar shipping charge. Go figure.

I finally got under the Barth and looked around. Lots of weird stuff down there. I found the emergency brake for the drive shaft. I think that's what that weird round thing is. And I found the fuel filter that looks like an oil filter. Found the LP gas lines. Steel pipes looks good. Rubber hoses, not so much.

So now the headers, what to replace them with. I haven't a clue. And the pipe after the collector hookup has a hole in it. Where do I get new pipes?

Thanks everyone for all the great help.

Thanks for all the updates. Your enthusiasm has amazed me since the first phone call. I had no idea what a Barth was when I acquired it. It was meant to be for me to pass it on. I learned and did a lot in my foster experience. Very satisfying to know it's found a forever home.

By the way, have you tossed around any names for "it" ?

Any thoughts about doing anything with the mural?

Well it's sitting in my driveway so I am committed to it, and that long drive there and back taught me to appreciate it. Not to mention my wife nagging me about getting it ready before Halloween. LOL It'll be our first camping trip. The trip will be short but rewarding mainly because I no longer have to sleep in a tent. Heck, a shoe box would have been a big improvement so this RV is a complete GOD send and decadent luxury. I shall pamper it until my credit card runs out. LOL

I tossed around some names and came up with these:
Mobile Man Cave(MMC)
Barth Beast
Lady Barth
Teally Barth

The mural stays. I like it.

So I was looking around the web for NEWAY Tag Axle information and came across this PDF on maintaining the thing. This is right from the factory that made it. It is full of information on how to maintain it, adjust it, fix it, including the brake system, bearing adjustment and repacking.... everything

Here's the URL to the PDF:

http://truckroadservice.com/ba...aintenance_Files.pdf

Thanks for the info! Technically the axles we have are the TA5 version which is similar but heavier duty rated. I have yet to find anything on the TA5 axle.

You are about 3 years behind me on the Barth project. Got mine in March of '11 many projects since. Do a search for my posts, most of them are concerning projects on our nearly twin coaches. Good luck!

The info is from Bill N Y's database.

I should have recognized the truckroadservice link...

quote:

because I no longer have to sleep in a tent.

Too bad the name "PAST TENTS' is already taken by Kevin

Anyway the MMC wouldn't start so I charged up the battery and the next day it still would not start. The starter would spin but would not engage. Luckily that starter was only 45 dollars so I zipped one in (I wish) and now the sucker starts right up.

I serviced the water heater and it works ok. I worked on the three furnaces. The bedroom furnace has a flaky sail switch but it runs and heats ok. The other two I'm getting no spark but the gas valves are opening as I'm getting gas smell out the exhaust.

I moved on to the inside, cleaning the A/C covers and installing new filters. Installed some LED lights here and there. It's starting to get bright in there.

So now I'm under the Barth looking at the tag axle air bags. I found a leak in the compression fitting. Removed it and teflon'd it back in place. No more leaks. The drive axle so far no leaks but the bags are empty so the leaks are elsewhere. One bolt holding the upper bag has sheared off so I have to remove the bag and replace the bolt.

I removed both air compressors and installed a Viair air compressor and hooked it up to the existing tank along with a 85-110 pressure switch. It looks real nice in front of the passenger tire. That thing's gonna get filthy down there.

I put in a new coach battery cause the other one would never fully charge. Those damn old converters are battery killers. Well the systems are slowly coming back online and I'm having a good feeling about my Barth, but there are times when I wish......oh man. It's all good though.
Well that is all for now. Stay tuned for more exciting Barth news.

quote:

Originally posted by jumanjii1:
I'm under the Barth looking at the tag axle air bags. I found a leak in the compression fitting. Removed it and teflon'd it back in place. No more leaks.

Congratulations on your good fortune.

It's been a while since I've updated here so here goes.

Well the Barth has settled in for its long winter nap but I start it every weekend and put a load on the generator. All is well in Barth land.

So we took it on our first camping trip back in October and the looks I got when I drove that thing into my camp site. People were like, they never saw anything like it and everyone that past by took pictures of it and asked questions about it. They loved the paint job and loved the mural of the chopper. Everyone thought I was a chopper pilot, LOL. I was really amazed at the interest people had of the Barth.

OK So I fixed the stinky toilet issue. Just needed a new rubber seal and I washed the toilet inside and out. Good as new and no more stink.
I replaced the faucet too and got a new shower head and shiny hose.

In the kitchen I installed a new faucet, those hanging goose neck types with the spray nozzle. It's a monstrosity but it looks good.

I worked on the stereo, replacing blown speakers here and there and put in a micro computer up there in one of the front cabinets and hooked it up to the TV. Works great.

Top side I replaced vent caps and re-installed the ladder. The windshield was leaking so I re-caulked the sucker. No more leaks.

Tire rack took my money but couldn't deliver the 4 tires. They were on back order for 2 months so I got 2 Samson tires for the Tag Axle and called it a day. They were only $135 each so I just pray before I drive off and it seems to work, LOL.

The lifters have been noisy from the start so an engine treatment of 2 quarts of ATF should get those suckers freed and clean all the internals too.

And I broke my foot at work in November so I've been out of work for a while. Just went back to work January 5th. Just in time too as my wife was trying to turn me into a cleaning and cooking machine. The nerve.

Toodle-Loo

Looks like you are making good progress! Good luck with your projects.

quote:

The lifters have been noisy from the start so an engine treatment of 2 quarts of ATF should get those suckers freed and clean all the internals too.

DON'T use ATF - change the oil/filter a couple of times and use Rotella T. The need is for detergency, which the motor oil has and the ATF doesn't (and the ATF also lacks other important additives).

I can't believe it's been more than a year since I last made an entry. It's been a quiet time for the Barth. She's been resting but I'm never too far away from her. I run the engine and generator once a week. I took her out camping once last year but the toilet issues have returned with a vengeance. Investigating I found that the sanitary tank is not right under the toilet but is back a foot or more so the plumbing has to turn back then down into the tank where the droppings plop down on a slanted ledge of the sanitary tank and just piles up there until the muck reaches the pipe and starts to clog up the line. Very strange indeed. So because of the 2 elbows, when the tank moved forward which it did as the tank just rests on 2 hangers, so this action broke one of the ABS elbows and causes it to leak. The tank is also cracked so that needs repairing too. So one morning while out camping, the back A/C unit started leaking and the water made its way to above the head liner and created a great big bulge of 3 or 4 gallons of water. What a nightmare that was. Anyway after vacuuming all the water out, I sealed the A/C temporarily until I can replace the whole rusty heap. And not to give all the limelight to the rear A/C, the front A/C starts leaking as well. But a wad of Butyl around the gasket took care of that. The gasket was flat as a pancake and would not compress any more. A new gasket took care of that. The next item was the stereo. A few of the speakers were cracked so I replaced them. The stereo was noisy so I rewired it and made the proper connections to hot and ACC so now the time is correct and my presets are being saved. Even the cigarette lighter wouldn't work, but it is now. Next the vacuum lines to the A/C and fan switch were shot. New lines took care of that so now the defroster and front vents and down firing vents all work as designed. The water heater stinks like rotting eggs and was told that a solution of vinegar and water would do the trick. Well it didn't and it still stinks and my wife refuses to shower in there. Did I mention that I love my Barth!

So new shocks are in order so I ordered a new Steering Damper shock, the MONROE 555944. I'll start with that and will be installing it this weekend. I installed new plugs and wires and newly painted valve covers (RED), and adjusted the valves. A new return spring for the carb and reworked all the vacuum lines. How the hell do you adjust the timing! Must be with some trick mirrors. LOL

It's weird, there are these two red hoses that used to run from the coolant lines to a heater blower box under a kitchen cabinet. Must be original cause there's a dash switch, low and high for it that still works. Those hoses are also connected to the water heater to keep the water hot while driving. Do you really need instant hot water as soon as you pull into your camp site!!! What decadence.