Thinking of purchasing a 1980 Barth 21' powered by a Chev 350 engine. Could anyone with the same type of Barth please tell me what they get for milage. Would also like to know if one could tow a small toad with this engine and how much it would reduce the milage.

Hi Nancy,

.....Not the answers you're looking for, but maybe of some assistance anyway:

My original Barth hunt was for a 21 footer. I chased down & inspected or inquired about five units - two were 350's and three were 454's, all with original engines. Perhaps the choice for Barth at the time was more a matter of available chassis inventory rather than power requirement calculations.....

Don't know a thing about towing needs, but unless you're fond of a specific unit right now, there's 21 foot 454's out there that would make the towing question moot. (Having said that, I see contractors with 350 Suburbans and pickups towing backhoes all the time......)

In my case (24'-454)I'm sure I have surplus power going up the tailpipe and I'd guess a 350 would even work for me in a non-towing mode.

....My 24' 454 on the flatlands so far this year is yielding about 7.3mpg, thanks in part to my scientific & judicious use of Marvel Mystery Oil. (I can just picture Rusty cringing about now Good luck in your project!

The 350 should be OK if it is in good shape. I used to pull a 28 foot fifth wheel with a 350 Camper Special truck. It had the gearing and cooling and did fine. That includes Indio To Blythe in 120 degrees. The toad will take away maybe one mpg. More in the mountains.

My '89 24' SOB got around 7.8-8 mpg when I got it. New plugs (Bosch platinum), wires, distributor cap, rotor, carb, and a running tuneup (on the spark advance) now yields 9.5-10 mpg at 62 mph.

My 79 21' Barth with a 350 gets from a little over 7 mpg up to 9.5 mpg depending on how and where I drive it.l The PO said he got 10 mpg and drove 55 mph. I've never driven it that slow. The lower milage was mountain climbing on Hwy 1 in northern CA. I've not tried to tow with it but bill h and my hotrod mechanic in Tx advise that with headers (it now has a single exhaust}, an Edlebroc intake, and hot dist, it will tow a reasonable amount. joe

With a Barth 25 running a 454, if I drive very carefully, always chanting; "never open the secondaries" I have done 10 mpg on the flat at about 60 or so when I ran it out from Nashville to Los Angeles. Well maybe 9.8 or so is what I really did but 10 is a nice round number.

On the 395 over the pass from Los Angeles to Reno or at 80 plus on the flat I found we are in the 7 mpg range.

Now for the good part; on the 395 Sherman grade I ran hard, fast and cool, the 454 is not to be totally dismissed. It can be fun passing most of what else is on the road.

With one of those gear vendor over drive things I'll bet with a 454 in our lighter coaches we can run at 10 mpg most of the time. Now this is a guess, I don't have one.

Tim

quote:

With one of those gear vendor over drive things I'll bet with a 454 in our lighter coaches we can run at 10 mpg most of the time. Now this is a guess, I don't have one.

Tim

If my SOB had the 454, I might have kept it, as I could pull a small trailer, and I definitely would've opted for the GV unit.

Thanks guys! Your comments are very interesting and also helpful.
We will make a decision on the 21 foot in the next few days. Our second option is to look for a bit bigger Barth.

Anyway thanks.
Nancy

Hi Nancy,
I think we averaged between 8 and 9 mpg in our 1972 22foot 'Toaster' during our drive from central Texas to N. California in March. (reported as 10 mpg average by previous owner) Ours has the 350 engine, and the '72 was one of the worst years for fuel economy. although we passed many trucks and a lot more SOB's on the road, a bit more power would have been welcome on one really long incline with a headwind, when we slowed to 45. I think we mostly drove between 50 and 70, trying to average around 60mph.

Overall, power was adequate with the 350 on the 22' body, but we haven't had a toad either.
geoffrey