Wow That is one heck of a check list. I printed it out and have it on a clip board. I will be sure and take it with me. I am an electronics technician by trade but have been in the repair business in some form or fashion for as long as I can remember. I was a boiler tech in the navy for 6 years and got pretty good at spinning a wrench. Thanks to everyone for the responses, it has been a huge help easing my mind so to speak.

Consider the coach to be a house on a vehicle. Both have needed upkeep. The house needs a roof, windows, plumbing, heating, AC, electrical appliances, etc. The vehicle needs engine, driveline, brakes, suspension, and fuel system maintenance, and tires, lights.

When you add it all up it can be overwhelming. OTOH, with a house you often get 20 yrs from roof, furnace, appliances, etc. A well maintained chassis will require only periodic lubrication, brakes, and tires.

If all of these things are OK, you can get good satisfaction and value from even an older motorhome. If you do not inspect well, it can wind up a horrible money pit that never quite gets used and enjoyed.

The Barth aluminum hull is a great start. If chassis and interior are good, I believe they are better than most coaches of their age.

That said, inspect carefully.

I sold my 85 31 footer for $7000. To be honest I would gladly pay $10,000 to get it back. It was by far the nicest coach I have ever owned. Drove like a 31 foot cadillac. I would sell my 75 in a heart beat to find something like this one. I must agree on careful inspection. I lost my starter bolts and nearly lost the gas tank on the way home! Good luck with your new barth!

That checklist is a good guide. Check Date code on tires. Even if they have a receipt check the codes 7-10 year old tires are at there max Go to DOT website to see how to read codes . The wear doesn't matter its the age. They may have set around for a few years before installed. They are a major expense. just factor this cost in. On a 84 Barth expect some bad spots in the paint. Check the 1" steel tubing that forms the frame around the bottom edge of the coach. Most of the time these will be rotted thru. This is due to the chemistry of the aluminum and and steel. This is common on most Barths. Check storage compartment for bad rust. Beware that owning a Barth could make you a Barthaholic. It has infected many on this site. Most would take a 30+ year old Barth over a 2 year old stick and staple. They were the best built coaches of there time. If it has the Barth manual with it that is a plus. One advantage owning a vintage Barth is this website for info and the great members that are part of it. Priceless...... Good luck

I honestly think I already am a Barthaholic. I can't quit going on line and looking at them and reading all the posts about upgrades and mods. I just never had any desire to try and update a 1987 winnebago or some such other rv, but I am already dreaming about a 454ho motor someday. So it's not a matter of if I will get this Barth but where I will get MY Barth. Geesh I think I have the condition....

Well I think I got a fair deal. It is a 1984 32 foot royale.
The motor ran great all the way home. Had a small battery issue when we stopped for food. ( Dead battery ) But I used jumper cables to restart and made it the rest of the way home. There is almost no rust apart from inside the battery compartment and it's only a spot about the size of a deck of cards. The tires were actually brand new ( He had purchased them last year and it even has a new spare as well ). Generator starts quick and runs great. I did have a odd an motor issue. I pulled my 2017 Grand Caravan GT back on a tow dolly, not sure what the combined weight of both was, But I could tell it was back there. As I was coming up the steeper hills and I had to push the gas almost all the way down the engine would miss fire just once, like a plaugh sound then a back fire, then would run fine. It would only do this on a steep hill when I really had my foot in it, other wise it ran and sounds great. I will order parts for a tune up and see if that helps. Oh and it came with all the original manuals and paper work. She needs a good cleaning inside but everything is in working order, except the step doesn't come out when I open the door. Need to investigate that

If you need a new step motor it's a ford window. I got one off a mercury station wagon a few years ago.

Congratulations on your new to you Barth. Sounds like a nice one.

My 454 does that stutter when the carburetor filter needs changing. Needs lots of fuel when it pulls hard.. Welcome aboard!!!

Congrats! that sounds like a great deal you got and compared to new motorhomes, well, not many coaches have the Barth quality!

You have one of the longest P30 single axel. Curios what wheel base is. Our is 195" on a 31'. Have seen 32' on Ford/John Deer chassis ebut not on Chevy. You were most likely past gross weight. If installing new plug wires. buy good quality. Heat from exhaust manifold play hell on wires. Congrats on your new coach.

I will measure the wheel base when I get home and let you know. The caravan only weighs 4,483 lbs and the tow dolly was a two wheeler I think it weighs about 700 lbs.

I just measured 195 inches from center to center of the rim. Strange when I look up P30 I dont find a 195 inch wheel base. I do see 190 listed.

The "Bison" reference could be from the horse trailer company called Bison that is in the former Barth factory in Indiana. When we toured the factory much of the equipment from the Barth factory was still being used for building the horse trailers. But there are no Barth Bisons unless you have the first
Tere

Congrats on new coach. Step issue could be wiring or a switch. Our switch had to be selected on dash for the step to work automatically when key is off & you open the door. I worked the opposite way as well. If you don't flip the switch the step will stay out even when driving. That's how ours on old blue got torn off one day. It should be automatic. Key on step in, key off step out.