There I was...going to Denver this past Saturday cruising down I-25 at 70 MPH. Suddenly, I heard a tremendous racket that sounded as if it was coming from the roof. I looked in the rear view mirror and to my surprise; there was an air conditioner shroud with a scary resemblance to the one up front on top of my Barth. I pulled over to the side of the road and climbed up the ladder to check it out. Sure enough, my front A/C was now a convertible. The shroud was now laying in ruin about a mile behind me on the side of the road. Luckily, God was either watching out for me or someone behind me (or both) because nobody got hit by it as it did its own impersonation of an airborne ranger.

I was on my way to show my new Barth to my Allegro Bus loving father. After a short visit, I climbed up onto the roof to make a closer inspection. I found I had been lucky once more since there was one more piece of metal lying on the roof that easily could have become airborne and caused an accident.

Upon inspection of what was left, it appeared that the front mounting plate screws (5) had fallen out. It further appeared that this allowed the front of the shroud to be beaten into submission by some rather fast moving air over the top of the coach, leading to complete failure.

I now have a new shroud purchased at Camping World for $107+tax. PPL had the shroud for $128, $33 for the shroud extension and $0.23 per screw if memory serves. I don't know what shipping would have been - $40?

Bottom line: I will periodically get on the roof to check and see if everything is mounted the way it is supposed to be. Assuming the info I was given that it is okay to walk on the roof. This inspection will not only save me money but, more importantly, it might save someone's life!

P.S. My father loved our new Barth!

"Assuming the info I was given that it is okay to walk on the roof."

You'll know immediately after the next heavy rain.

We had one of those, no leaks. Wahoo!