Hi and thanks for providing this forum.
I am a recently retired Manufacturing Engineer with 30+ years aluminum and composite experiance in the aerospace industry (Rockwell, Boeing). My wife and I are tired of spending our hard-earned American dollars supporting the motel industry in this country and plan to join the community of motorhome tourists. The Barth Motor Coach as a classic design intrigues me very much, being the owner of old Chevys, antique and modern Harleys, an Avanti II coupe and and being an airplane guy. I am quite capable of restoration and upkeep for a motorhome and am looking for a short wheelbase model to start with, just for my wife and I, 20-24 ft overall length. I have a shop to work indoors and to store, so I would like to buy a good original coach to polish up to use for traveling and show off. If there are any suggestions from you owners for the various Barth models to look for or avoid and weaknesses or costly options to watch out for, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance,
Steve Griffin

Steve, welcome to the forum.

In the 20-24 ft Barths I would say any post 80's Euro or Regal P-30 (Chevy). 88 and newer should give you electonic fuel injection. I have no complaint with my 86 Qjet.

BB 454 if you plan on towing. 6.2 diesel if you just want the mpg.

There was a 22' 6.2 for sale in Woodstock N.Y. that look well taken care of.

There are no 2 Barths that were built the same. If you check the for sale and sold fourm it will give a good price range.

If you scan the Data tag forum it give you some insite as to the # of shorter coaches built.

Due to windsheild issues (can't find them) I would stay away from any pre 73.

Welcome, Steve. You are going to fit right in. There are other members with similar backgrounds -- engineers, pilots, classic auto guys, etc.
My daughter is living my dream of being an engineer with her Bachelors from Cornell and Masters from Georgia Tech. Never the less, like you, I did have a 1978 Avanti II.

At this stage, I am a former (short term) Barth Breakaway owner. downsized from diesel pusher towing car trailer to class B towing cycle trailer.
Some of the prospective owners have been concerned about being a very long distance from an interesting Barth for sale. With so few on the market, you might have to drive across the country to get one. One the other hand, there are a couple for sale now with 1000 miles of you.

You will find this site to be a wealth of information. It has a superb webmaster and many very knowledgeable contributors.

Thanks.
I have seen the warnings in this forum about the early winshields. Too bad about that, since the short windshield and eyebrow looks retro-cool.

Did Barth keep records for what layout, colors, equipment, etc. were installed on each unit?

I see that many of the coaches for sale, especially the older ones that lived outdoors, have had interior updates (fabrics, paint, replaced appliances). Did Barth use quality appliances which are still servicable or is it just cheaper to replace?

I have never actually touched or even seen one of these coaches in person, so I am handicapped to judge from photos whether any given unit is a potential purchase. And as you stated, it could be a long drive to find out that lo-res photos were used in a sale ad on purpose. Is there any credible resource for surrogate inspection of far-off coaches for sale? Even if just for an initial thumbs up or down before pursuing further.

I don't mind driving somewhere to pick one up to drive home, but it could get costly and time-consuming to drive all over the country for inspections. I have only been watching out for a couple of months, but haven't seen anything really attractive for sale within 500-600 miles of my home.

We are not in any huge hurry, but you have to start somewhere to get anywhere.

Thanks again,
Steve

Minimal records from Barth are available. You should certainly order the CD's from Bill. The brochures show the typical original fabrics and carpet.
Appliances are usually typical off-the-shelf RV grade components. While most are serviceable, at best you will have the performance of vintage appliances. IMHO you can benefit from newer, more efficient appliances rather than perform major repair or overhaul of the OEM.
Some members are willing to eyeball a coach for you at little or no fee, when it is much closer to them than you. Personally, I cannot recommend an independent fee-for-service inspector. think you would be better off with a Barth owner do it. Most of the members are smarter than I when it comes to the technical stuff. But, just taking a lot of good pics can be very revealing and helpful.