i'm thinking about buyin a 1967 Barth camper trailer and it will need revamping inside. They say they don't know if the furnace works. Would that be expensive to fix. I'm just wondering what barth folks think about barth trailers.

Same quality of construction. It was a Barth trailer in 1969 that turned me on to Barths. It was a long ways above my pay grade then - size for size it cost about triple the stick-and-staple trailer I bought.

Your furnace is 40 years old, & not likely repairable. Technology has advanced. Check prices locally for a replacement.

Generally speaking, there's not likely to be a better candidate for restoration than a Barth, but you're going to spend some bucks on anything that age. Everything is likely to be 40 years old, so check your appliances, plumbing & wiring carefully.

Check underneath. Your floors are likely to be the only structural wood in the trailer; at least that is the case with motor homes. It can be frustrating to replace flooring. Been there, done that, but never on a Barth.

Always remember, any RV is an investment in fun, not a financial investment. For many of us, much of the fun is the work involved in restoration, but no one I know of likes to spend money.

Do a thorough check of what needs to be done, price out the stuff you'll have to buy (probably furnace and new tires at least) & decide whether your projected total cost & the hassle factor are what you want to invest, then decide.

If you go for it, & get 'er shined up, you'll have a unique object that will draw a lot of attention in any campground, plus something that may last another 40 years.

Just be sure you're ready for the cost & hassle involved in restoring & maintaining any 40 year old mechanical device.

If you are going to buy a trailer of that age, buy only an all-metal one, preferably all aluminum. That narrows it down considerably, and Barth is a good value compared to what else is out there.

I have suffered the heartbreak of structural dry rot on too many other used RVs.

thank you for your reply. sounds like good advice. The trailer looked sturdy, floor felt sound,but i'll look underneath as you suggested. I think I'd have to replace the furnace, and planned to probably replace the stove. I'm assuming i could buy replacement stove etc. It looked like it had new tires and was ready to roll. All the lights etc worked. The shower and toilet looked rough but worked.

quote:

Originally posted by cblakeman:
I'm assuming i could buy replacement stove etc. It looked like it had new tires and was ready to roll. All the lights etc worked. The shower and toilet looked rough but worked.

Yes, you have assumed correctly. You can buy just about any parts from stove to furnace.

When it comes to tires, read the date code on the tires and post it back here. Tires may look new, but unless you read and understand the code, you may be driving around on 10+ year old tires.

Here are 4 pictures of a 1967 Barth Trailer. I also have several more interior/exterior view of these trailers on the Barth CD from 1964-1979.



Do you have any pictures of the Barth that you could share with us? Do you know the SERIAL NO. of the trailer? It should look something like this.



Usually, the SERIAL NO. is also the VIN#.

OK, it's not a Barth, but there is a 1979 Airstream located here in Florida for cheap money. I'm all trailered out, but this would make a great utility trailer to tow behind a Barth. Perhaps someone attending the rally here could score a deal. Here is the ad:

1979 airstream travel trailer 18-20' - $800 (florida keys)
Reply to: sale-935475386@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2008-11-26, 5:30PM EST

cute metal rounded 18-20' travel trailer mostly gutted. needs new home i can deliver for an extra 100.00 thanx tom 305 942 3950

PostingID: 935475386

Before deciding on a motorhome, I looked at travel trailers - many of the Airstreams had significant deterioration of the frame.