Finally registered yesterday and just wanted to kick-off my participation. I found this site in late April after I saw my first Barth. I was on my way to an out-of-town business appointment. Driving down a rural, secondary road (at the posted speed limit of 70 MPH), this beautiful metal beast caught my eye. It was parked in a fenced goat pasture, facing the road. I could see a sign in the windshield, but didn't have time to stop. I made sure I took the same route on my return trip that evening. I called the phone number on the sign, made an appointment and well, you can guess the rest...
This '89 Regal 28 was posted on this site in March. The owners also have a big Southwind w/slider. When we were driving away with the Barth, they looked like they were saying goodbye to an old friend. With two young kids, we are looking forward to many mini-vacations to come.

Welcome Phil, My wifes mother lives in san marcos tx and we spend a lot of time in your area.We like your weather in december better than ours here illinois. Good luck with your barth I hope you enjoy yours as much as we do ours. jerry & terri

Hi, Phil, and Welcome. I'd be willing to bet that the time will come when their old Barth will look better to them than the Southwind. I can attest that Fleetwoods do not age well.

We're going to your neck of the woods for Memorial Day. It's another trip to New Braunfels and Camp Huaco Springs for some sippin and toobing. Enjoy your new Barth!

Hey, Phil! Welcome, and I second that about the longevity and construction qualities of the Barth... Another member said lesser units were built with "stick and staple" construction, man, he's right!

Congratulations on your new ride!

Keep the sunny side up...

-- Dute

Thanks, folks, for the warm welcome!

Hi everyone, I two just bought my first motorhome and it's a bart! I had no idea about what a following they had until I began researching them. I am proud to be part of the family! My bart is a 82 and has been sitting for many years. We bought it two days ago and were driving it home, the brakes locked up and we had to have it towed. We are trying to get it ready for Memorial day but not sure. I am really excited about getting it up and going. It only has 26k miles on it...what a shame it hasn't been used the way it was intended. We will remedy that.

Noticed the part that says,"My bart is a 82 and has been sitting for many years. We bought it two days ago and were driving it home" If it had been sitting for many years, what did you DO to prepare it for moving? We have one in the same situation, and are Afraid to move it. Don't know where to Begin, trying to get it going again - without damaging something. It is in a storage lot, so can't do anything too extensive until we can it out of there and into a service facility - all miles away. Any hints or clues to help bring a Barth back to life on the road?
(signed) Nervous Nellie

Good luck. You'll need a little of that. I would find a jack and jack up the coach at each corner and spin the wheels to make sure that everything is free and sounds good. I would look at the tires real close to make sure that they are road worthy. Check the brake fluid and brake hoses that run to the wheels to see if they are not cracked. Check all the fluids including the transmission, cooling, engine, generator and the rear end. Check the belts on the engine make sure that they are tight and not worn out.. Check the radiator hoses to see if they are cracked. Maybe a check of all the lights(brake, headlights, turn signals and tail lights). If it is set up to tow a car, maybe you should think about a car to run for help or parts. Take a good tool set with you if you plan ow doing your own work. When you first get it going I would drive it around town for a little to see how things go. This rig might surprise you. We bought an old Barth that had set for a long time and we jumped in the thing and went on a road trip of a 1000 miles with no problems. There will always be problems that show up even after you get it home and think that everything is just fine. One other thing, I would get a new battery for the starting system. Maybe you borrow a battery for the coach. Check the voltage at the battery and see what the volatge is without the motor running. It should read about 12.5 volts. When you start the motor check the voltage again. It should read 13 to 14 volts. That will show you if you are getting charging voltage. You'll need that to keep the battery fully charged to be able to start the engine. If you have the powercord plugged in you should be getting a charge on the house battery but not the starting battery. I hope that this help. There are other posts on what to do. Type in the search area what you are looking for and you will more thn likely find it.

I purchased a Barth last year and being a mechanic a checked it out. I did everything mentioned above before it left the lot and still had a problem.

On the tailshaft of the transmission the emergency brake siezed onto the pivot pin assembly. This resulted in the emergency brake dragging. After I got home I soake the linkage with WD-40 and beat it free. So after you get it started release the emergency brakes by putting it in neutral and watch to make sure the the emergecy brakes "fully release"

I have a 1991 33' single axle 460 with a c6 transmission.

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