Hello all-new here and honestly had never heard of a Barth until yesterday. I have been searching for an ice cream truck or vehicle to convert into an ice cream truck for a while and I found what I believe is a 24 foot Barth. It is a 1977 and I really don't know much more about it except that it has 100k or so miles and the interior is kinda roached. I also believe it may have been a police? vehicle of some sort as it has some decal shadows that say "command center". I really like the looks of it and size wise it is perfect for what I am looking to do. Basically my questions are as follows:

1.Ice cream truck freezers are rather heavy (around 800 pounds or so) and I will probably be installing at least that weight in other equipment so I need to know if, with the interior mostly gutted, there is any issue with one of these hauling around about a ton of weight?

2.Are there any issues to be considered in cutting a hole in the side for a serving window? I would probably be cutting from about the top of the door level to the floor if possible to allow the freezer to be loaded that way before installing the window. This particular Barth does not have a window in the passenger side-it has 2 doors.

Those are my main questions but please feel free to answer any I did not think to ask. I appreciate any input of any kind and I thank you in advance for your assistance.

There may be other suggestions. I suggest a header over the window to support the roof where you remove the side.

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Save the area you remove someone here may need it to replace an area on another Barth.

Best bet would be to weigh the stripped coach, then check the data tag for GVW rating to see if your equipment would make it over gross. For local use it should take the load.

You might be able go with larger tires/springs to boost the load a bit.

Keep us posted, sounds like an interesting project. Send some photos if you can. We would be especially interested in a shot of the data tag to add to our database. good luck

If I do end up going this way I will definitely be salvaging whatever I do not need and making it available to the members here.

As for the header over the window that is my plan if I go with this vehicle. I'll probably be building a sturdy frame around the whole hole and making sure I keep everything structurally sound.