Hello, all...

The Doroughs told me about this forum.

I formerly fulltimed for several years with a pickup truck and travel trailer. Then I settled down at a place that requires high clearance 4WD. I got a small cheap slide in camper for the pickup and towed the 4WD. However, I realized I don't care to live fulltime in such a small camper even if I CAN take it more places than a larger rig.

Now, I don't want to travel without the 4WD. It is just too fun and useful. I love exploring back roads. I'm a boondocking kind of gal.

I thought about a Class A, but none except the Barth and the Bluebirds are built well enough or have high enough ground clearance. (I like to go to some pretty primitive places. Right now I am in the research stage to see which rig might better suit my needs.

I prefer diesel for the better mileage, and definitely need something between 28 and 33 ft and probably $30k tops unless the rig is perfect.

This forum has some wonderful information and I've been perusing the message archives and for sales to see what models might suit my needs, e.g. length, floor plan.

I've been a member of the RV forum at rvforum.net since the decade ago when it was in Compuserve. Those folks are now family. I hope to learn lots here and meet some great folks!

Jayne

Hi Jayne - a Barth may just be the coach for you. The experts here will have all sorts of suggestions I'm sure. I too am an rvforum.net regular, same username there as here.

quote:

Originally posted by ZuniWolf:
I thought about a Class A, but none except the Barth and the Bluebirds are built well enough or have high enough ground clearance. (I like to go to some pretty primitive places. Right now I am in the research stage to see which rig might better suit my needs.

I and definitely need something between 28 and 33 ft and probably $30k tops unless the rig is perfect.

We are in somewhat the same place, and limited ourselves to 30 ft tag for that reason. Of the gassers, I would suggest either a 28 single axle or a 30 tag for wheelbase and rear overhang reasons. A 30 non-tag would have overhang issues.

quote:

I prefer diesel for the better mileage.Jayne

Be sure and check ground clearance. I haven't actually measured, but have the idea that a P30 has more ground clearance than a Breakaway. A member here will soon tell us for sure, as he now owns one of each. I don't have the numbers memorized, but the longer wheelbase of some of the BKs could get you high-centered more likely than a shorter-wheelbased gasser of the same OA length. And some of the shorter BKs have a lot of overhang. The whole thing is a balance between overhang and wheelbase.


I can tell you that lifting a P30 is not hard. Any good off-road truck place should be able to do it. Be aware of overhang issues, as well. I have had more overhang situations than ground clearance situations. Except for knocking off the fershlugginer genset muffler. Sometimes I have to use my ramps to get in or out of overhang situations.

Level ground clearance, wheelbase, and overhang all come into play when figuring the terrain the coach can handle. I'd guess the Breakaways have at least as much ground clearance as the gaso-powered on the P-30/32 chassis. The diesel pusher engine is much easier to work on than a puller.

The very short wheelbase of my 28' Breakaway makes it pretty agile in tight quarters, but I don't tow anything with it. I don't know that I'd want to tow with the short wheelbase, but Sniboy (Smith Hicks of Santa Fe, NM) tows an Outback with his.

I've taken my Breakaway into some pretty rustic terrain. I go to many astronomical observing sessions, and only one of the seven this year had paved parking. The others range from unimproved fields to dunes in the Nebraska Sand Hills.

Some of the Breakaways have marginal power (mostly the Cummins 5.9L TD @160 up to 230 HP - but good fuel economy; a few have the GM 6.5L TD @190 HP, and fewer, a smattering of other engines) for towing, especially in the mountains. The GM 6.5L TD Breakaways are difficult to fit with an exhaust brake.

Guys,

Thanks for your great responses! Like many things, there are trade-offs, e.g. ground clearance VS overhang. I am in the learning stage with class A's so need some of these things pointed out to me.

A rig that can go to star parties sounds like it would work well for me. 28-30 ft is abouht right. The smallest Bluebird is 31 ft and that is pushing the lenght limit for me.

Scott, I was researching the archives in rvforum.net and found a 2006 message from you. You were *considering* buying a Barth.

I appreciate the input and will keep my eyes open!

Jayne

quote:

Originally posted by ZuniWolf:
28-30 ft is abouht right.

Jayne

The 28 foot gas Regal was one of the most sold Barths. Most of the 28 ft Regals had a full-width rear bath with a walk-through bedroom with twin beds.

So, you gotta think about whether that layout suits you or not.

Another issue for off-roading is the vulnerability of the dump chute and valve to damage. This becomes an issue if located behind the axle, as with a rear bath. The farther aft, the greater the likelihood of damage on dips, etc. Been there.

Perhaps when you narrow things down, members here can post photos of theirs.

The dump outlet on mine is the middle compartment between the axles. The valves themselves are well up out of the way. Mine are both electric - handy, because the black water's on the passenger side, the gray, on the driver's.

The short wheelbase tends to protect them well.

The prior owner of mine installed rollers on the rear skids to protect both the skid and the pavement if they hit.

I guess I'm a computer dinosaur. I put several old fashioned "grins" in my previous posts (using the "greater than" and "less than" signs and a "g". Surprise, they don't show up in this forum format.

It looks like the 28 or 30 footer Breakaway or Regal will do the trick for me. I prefer the bed in the back - my 75lb black setter/newfie mix sleeps with me so a twin bed is a bit small. I wouldn't mind somehow putting a full size bed where the twins are ifthere if it wasn't major re-engineering involved. I could leave a path around it to get to the rear bath??

Did all the shorter Barths have the angled kitchen sink with no real counter space between the stovetop and sink?

Jayne

quote:

The prior owner of mine installed rollers on the rear skids to protect both the skid and the pavement if they hit.

A friend of mine has a 32 ft Jamboree class c. I've suggested he do this, as he has dragged the back of his rig several times with big damage resulting.

Jayne

quote:

It looks like the 28 or 30 footer Breakaway or Regal will do the trick for me. I prefer the bed in the back - my 75lb black setter/newfie mix sleeps with me so a twin bed is a bit small. I wouldn't mind somehow putting a full size bed where the twins are ifthere if it wasn't major re-engineering involved. I could leave a path around it to get to the rear bath??

I'm not looking or measuring, but if you put a 48 or 54 inch bed on one side, and cut the corners, you could sleep against the outside wall and the dog could sleep on the inside part. The cut-off corners might not be a problem. Perhaps a member with twin beds could post a photo with measurements or with a yardstick lying on the bed up against the partition. We had a 48 inch corner bed with a cut-off corner that worked OK for both of us, and we are large. Even our 75 lb Airedale got up there with us for his nighttime cuddle.

quote:

Did all the shorter Barths have the angled kitchen sink with no real counter space between the stovetop and sink?

To start out, All Barths are Different. As soon as you think you have it figured out, an exception comes along. But, you gotta give up something to have a short coach. Counter space is one. Heck, I have seen some long Regencies with just a two-burner cooktop and no oven. Ours has one deep sink, which takes up way less space than a double, leaving more counter space. At first, Susan kvetched, and I bought a double sink. But, before I got around to installing it, she decided she was unwilling to give up counter space for a double sink.

Many have the swing-into- place countertop extentions. This pic isn't great but you can see the extention hanging down off the end of the counter. When lifted into place, it provides a bunch of counter space but severely limits access from the door to the front of the coach. We use it to wash dishes and prep meals, other than that it's down and out of the way.

My '77 29 foot coach has a double sink with two "butcher block" inserts to use as cutting board and food prep counter. After reading all the postings displaying the reverence with which so many people regard the Barth it saddens me to be facing the sad prospect of parting out or scrapping my motor home. I believe it is very restorable but the only person that showed some interest appearently lost the urge when I told him it hasn't been run for over 5 years. The township zoning people are pushing me to remove it. I guess I'll be asking some of you experts re. the chronology of disassembly and offer items that my be useful to others looking for authentic 1977 parts.

Bill,

Thanks for the suggestion on bed corner cutting. I have seen it on some floorplans where both the bed and the bathroom share the back end. Didn't even think of it for this application. Yes, if someone with twins could do the yardstick thing so I could get an idea of it, I'd really appreciate it. I am looking at a Barth with twins, and that is about the only hangup.

Dan, thanks for the picture of the flip-up. I know space is really a trade-off in the shorter rigs. I"d happily give up two of four stovetop burners to get more counter space. I'd still need an oven, though. Dorough's Barth is a beaut, but not for me because there is no regular oven.

I too thought I couldn't live without a double sink til I "remodeled" a 1955 8x31 trailer and put in a single sink. It came with one and my budget is tight. I've learned to use a separate dishpan to do dishes with if I need it.

My Arctic Fox travel trailer has two feet of open space between the sink and stove, so I got spoiled.

Jayne