The 1989 Barth we just got has some softness in the area at the one lower corner of some of the windows. It seems dry, but soft like the fibre board backing is disintegrating a bit - likely from dampness in the past. I don't know how serious this is and how soon we should fix it, or what is involved. Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks

I think if you pull the window interior frames you will get a better look at the problem. You will probably find they are square drive screws that come out very fast with a electric or cordless driver. Mark the top of the frames to make it faster in putting back. Do not tighten any until all are in, this will allow you to pull the frame out a bit to find the holes.

After I get a look at the damage, then what? Do I piece in new board, cutting away the damage? Is this a big endeavour or can I do it myself?
Thanks
Linda

Is the wall covering coming off? You can take a hair dryer and without getting it to hot rid the areas of moisture, but having not removed a wall section and not seeing such I can't tell you your next step. Maybe if is not to far gone you could try some glue and some type of clamping to hold the wall while drying. I have had some good results gluing. Spread the loose areas and get the glue down into same then clamp. Maybe a board across the coach thus using the other wall as your backing, and some carpenter shims to apply the needed pressure. Hopefully others will offer ideas too. Good luck for sure. Dale

The wall covering is not coming off - but I noticed a screw near the lower corner of one window was loose and when I touched the area it felt a bit soft - so I tried other windows with similar results on some of them - it isn't presenting a problem as they look fine and only one lower corner is affected (as far as I can tell by touch) but I was concerned. I downloaded a web-page which referred to 'dry rot' and it indicated that it can spread 3 to four FEET in any direction from an area. Thus I don't want that to happen - so I thought I might be wise if I addressed this problem right away and save later problems. To look at the areas, they are fine and to touch I can tell that sometime they must have gotten wet - but are dry now. The area is somewhat softer than the hard areas, but not presenting a problem - just that I noticed that they are a bit softer.
I guess I will have to take a peek and see if I have a lot of damage or dry rot by removing the inside frames. Thanks for that suggestion as I wouldn't have known to do that. I wasn't sure if particle board (mdf) could rot like real wood. The walls around the windows have a finish laminated on to the particle board. The finished side which is laminated on is very thin, but the particle board seems to be about 1/4" thick.
Thanks again,
Linda

Sometime in the past my little window in the bathroom must have had some some leakage or condensation. It caused a little wrinkling on the wall paper. If you have real softness that you can feel with a finger, I would certainly do some more investigation and replace the soft spot. Which is no big job for guys like Dale and Bill and a few others. For me, I call someone and say, hey take care of this will you.

[This message has been edited by davebowers (edited October 07, 2003).]

Hi Linda, such a beautiful coach, have you determined if the water leak(s) have been sealed? Things may be dry now but how about getting out the hose and doing some testing for leaks? Also you might want to have a peek at all your plumbing inside the coach to check for leaks. Hook up your hose to the coach and perform a pressure check.

I am assuming that it isn't leaking now as the weather here has been wet for days. Today is the first dry day we have had in a while. We hooked up the house hose to the water today and turned it on and we found no leaks in it. We have found some good surprises too - the previous owner had a cracked plastic septic tank so he replaced it with one large stainless steel tank - which is for grey water too. Not sure if it is a good idea to have both in one, but it is large and we won't have to worry about cracks in our cold winters! The softness is my main concern right now. We have figured out the generator, the over/under drive, found out where the switches are for lots of things -but still looking for the inverter, and have been basically sitting in it most of the day - trying things out, having a cup of tea and chatting about all our planned adventures. It has been worth it just to have all these dreams on our horizon. My husband is very pleased we bought this particular motor home. We had been looking at a bunch and he was leaning towards a Class C but I liked the bigger Class A ones we saw. We considered a PaceArrow, a General Coach and a Glendale, but each had a problem or something just didn't meet our expectations so we kept looking. Just by chance I saw the ad for this Barth and because it was nearby where we live, we took a drive over and we bought it within 30 minutes. Bit of an impulse decision, but we were so pleased with it, we jumped. We weren't sure if it was a wise decision, but after some of the ones we saw, we weren't sure that anything even half decent would have appealed to us. We viewed one advertised as a mint condition 'diesel pusher' with lots of great options, and well maintained. We arrived to view it and it was home-made and not well! It was a real Beverley Hillbillies special - even the furniture was home-made and I think it weighed about three times what our Barth weighs. So, needless to say, this Barth was such a pleasant surprise. I remembered seeing similar MH on the highway and remarking - "Now THAT is a motorhome" and that was our first reaction to the Barth. Now all we have to do is figure out everything and get anything fixed that needs it - and off we go to Arizona and CA this winter!

Your Barth is 14 years old. Now if all you have is a little softness at the lower corner of a window, and the wall covering isn't separating, and it isn't leaking now, and there's no evidence of further damage, I'd say you bought a real jewel. It's probably caused by condensation, which will always be with you anyway.

If you pull that window frame now, you'll likely find some rusty screws. You'll want to replace them, and when you do, you'll find the substrate is rotten, or what boatwrights call "iron sick," and before you know it, you'll have the whole damn wall pulled out, and a big mess on your hands, and you'll spend all your time trying to make a 14 year old rig like new again, and you'll never get a chance to enjoy it.

I've been playing with old boats, and cars, and airplanes, and rv's for 60 years, and I've gotten into more trouble trying to fix minor flaws that don't affect safety, performance, or appearance, than you'll have in a lifetime with that Barth.

The operating rule should be, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Live with it for a little while. Watch to see if it gets worse. If it doesn't, you'll get used to it. If it does, then fix it. For now, just enjoy.

Been there, done that!

What a nice story. Gob bless you and your family. Too isn't it nice to have such a great friend as "BARTHMOBILE.COM"? You made a wise choice for sure. Just for the fun of it how did you learn of this site? Happy motoring. Dale and Sharon Smith

To Olroy: Thanks for the advice - it seems like a logical approach. I was a bit leary of not doing something if it would prevent greater problems later. On the other hand, I definitely don't want a make-work project that could end up in major renovations. Overall, that is all we can find wrong with this coach physically. There is a bit of paint flaking here and there from the dark blue parts, but that is only cosmetic and it still looks good. There aren't any dents, and other than re-sealing the roof just to make sure it isn't leaking from the top, I can't see much else to do. After we take it on a few test trips in Ontario, we should know if it is as sound mechanically as we hope.

To Dale & Sharon Smith:
We found the Barth site the same day we bought the Barth. I came home all excited about our find and emailed my brother. I told him it was a "Barth" and that I was sure he would be impressed with it. He did a search on the net for 'Barth' (because he hadn't heard of the make either) and he found the site and sent the address to me. By the way, he is suitably impressed by the photos and he is impatiently waiting for us to visit him so he can see it.....he is contemplating a purchase of a Barth now too.

Linda, congrats on your new purchase, you have many fond memories ahead of you. outside of an actual hole leak (which i doubt) moisture damage can come from condensation,window channel drain holes being plugged,or loose frame allowing moisture to seep in. i would check the drain holes outside the lower channel and make sure they are free of dirt buildup. if plugged this allows water to build up during rain and overflow into the window slide channel and seep in. i also would pull the inside frame and caulk all around the main frame of the window and then reinstall the inner frame using new screws if old are damaged. you are basically resealing the outside seal from the inside. this is a very easy job and should not disturb the panneling. i also would leave the panneling and wallpaper alone if it looks o.k. and isn't causing problems.
mike

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mike foster
83-35' regency 8.2 detroit towing 98 cherokee classic 4x4

Suggest you look at epoxy penetrating products...Sure work great at stabilizing wood on boat problems....Try: www.rotdoctor.com

There's also many other proprietary systems out there (West Systems, etc).....Good luck...

Lee
Brand-new Barth owner of a "vintage" Barth, effective today!

We have some wrinkling at window corners, but no other indications of a leak. I wonder if it isn't just age. New wall covering is coming, so we will see.

Anyway, I have had good luck with wood hardener made by Minwax. Just penetrates and hardens the wood.