help...i thought i was in the market for a vintage airstream...i saw this 89 barth for sale on the side of the road and fell in love..however, i know nothing about them and even less about diesels...this barth is 31 feet and has front cummins 250 with an allison transmisson with 60k miles...the interior is fantastic with a rear bedroom, corian counter and leather couch...the exterior is also in great shape...my questions concern the running gear...the engine noise is very loud driving down the road...some of the exhaust manifold studs have broken and the levelers retract slowly or not at all without physical help...also, i have no idea if this engine can pull my horse trailer (7,000 lbs)...i am sold on the barth but not sure if this is the one...i would appreciate any advice about this model, the general market value, and anything else i should check...i fear the interior/exterior condition and the incredible design of this motorhome may cloud my judgment...thanks for your help...joewin

Hello, and welcome to the forum. This sounds like an interesting coach. Be sure and send us some pictures, even if you don't buy it. Do you know if the Cummins is an 8.3 or 5.9? There should be a tag somewhere.

If the coach has a Cummins in front, it's the first front engine diesel Barth I've heard of. Time to call on Dave's encyclopedic knowledge of Barths for more info.

[This message has been edited by olroy (edited June 09, 2005).]

There is a bunch out there. One had a Cummins triple nickle V8, a whole bunch have the 6.2, one had a big tall Cummins up front. The driver must have felt like he was in a cell. There wewre some pullers with the Iveco diesel. I have a picture of an 80 37 ft diesel puller, but no info on the engine. There are more, but I can't recall the details. It seems that Barth would build anything a customer wanted.