We just purchased our first MH, and it happens to be a 1973 Barth. My spouse and I have been looking for a older trailer to refit, restore or play with, then we found this Barth. And, what a find it is.

It has a few problems, but is in pretty good condition for being 42 years old. One of the main problems is, while I drove it home from Jackson, MI, it runs rough and needs a good tune-up. It backfires a bit on acceleration and the exhaust leaks near the manifolds. I see the exhaust leaks are common with 454's, and the comments I have read give some good options, but I'd like to hear from other owners how to solve the problem more permanently. Otherwise, it handles well and I got it up to 70 mph with little trouble.

Also, I was electrocuted when looking the Barth over at the previous owner's, but I assumed this was because their plug in was not grounded properly. Any ideas about that?

There's much more to ask and say, but I'll save that for later. Right now, I am excited to get started on this project and hope to enjoy many years of traveling retro-Barth style soon.

Welcome to the Barthmobile site! You have come to the right place. There is a wealth of good information and people to help here. Use the "Search" feature and you will find advice, photos and discussion. If you can't find what you need, ask and we will help if we can.

If you get a chance, send us the info on your coach data tag. It helps us keep track of production years and numbers of coaches made. The data tag is often right behind the driver's seat.

You did not give the details of the electrocution problem. I assume you are talking about the AC system.

Did you touch an appliance or the frame/chassis of the rig?

Sometimes accessory appliances like lamps can have the AC wires reversed which will "hot-up" the outside of the base or metal body of the thing.

The first step is to check the polarity of the AC outlets with a polarity checker that plugs in to the wall socket. It they all are correct there is a shorted wire in the system that is touching or is worn through the insulation.

A few more details about this experience would help a lot.

Don

I'm shocked you were electrocuted! Okay, enough of that.
I have a '76 21 footer i'm bringing back. After hours on the web I found a printed circuit board here in West Sacramento. It is a plastic sandwich that fits behind the dash gauge cluster with copper trails going to the various locations. They can be repaired with care and fingernail cement. You will have a difficult time finding replacements. Commercial Speedometer in West Sacramento, near Harbor Blvd. is the greatest!!! Ted

There are commercial trace-repair products; one of the earliest I used is for rear window defrosters. I have some specifically designed for PCBs, but neither those nor the former may be flexible.