My Dad purchased his Barth Regal 34' in 1989. Due to his declining health, it sat unused, outdoors, from 1998. He passed away in 2007. It has 25k miles and 744 engine hours, some mice and a roof leak that recently was resealed.

I have just begun restoration and am overwhelmed by the complexity of the systems. I am an amateur mechanic at best. Although I have all the original manuals, operation of the systems, such as electrical, LP and plumbing is poorly described.

Recently, I installed new Michelins and have had the coach at my local GMC truck center for about a month.

Present major issue is the LP system. I filled the tank but cannot get the propane to flow to the range pilot. I will be posting pictures and detailed questions.

I have not yet tried out the plumbing system.

The forums on barthmobile.com have been very helpful, but often leave me guessing due to the individual nature of each coach and my lack of general understanding of some of the issues.

I really need a mentor who owns a model similar to mine. I would sure like to compare notes.

Hopefully I will be able to get this Barth in a condition that will let me confidently take it on trips.

Steve

Sorry, I didn't include the specifics:


1989 Regal 34’
Side entry, floor plan A
Spartan chassis
5.9L 190 HP Cummins pusher
Allison transmission
Onan generator
8808-3555-34RDS-A

Steve

Steve,

It's a bit overwhelming at first, but almost everyone here has dealt with that feeling until they spent the time and effort with each system in order to get confidence.

Try to think of the different pieces as independent systems. The chassis, the suspension, the drive-train, the heating system, the refrigerator, etc.

What you quickly realize is that each system is similar or identical to any other class A RV of that era. The Barth portion is just the aluminum house part and the interior. Even then, most parts can be chased back to something else they came from (i.e. ignition switches, lights, lenses).

If you don't have any experience with plumbing or electrical, it will be more difficult. Consider buying some books, like Time-Life, on the basics. It would be great if you could find a mentor, but there is nothing so complex you can't get there on your own. Nothing in a coach is built around magic, it operates within the realm of basic physics. Complex systems, like a refrigerator, can be swapped out wholesale - so I wouldn't spend time worrying too much about how they work.

If all of it is too daunting, you can go buy a new coach every two or three years so you are constantly under warranty A well sorted used RV is usually a lot less trouble and a well informed and capable RVer is the only recipe for happy motoring

Since it sat for so long, and you can't get flow for the propane, i would suspect that the pressure regulator is bad.

Welcome Steve, a fine coach. You've come to the right place for answers. The search feature will hook you up with anything we've ever discussed. Also, at the top of the tech page is a pic of a torn down coach. Mouse over any part, such as air conditioner, and click, same thing.
And of course, just ask. I think some of these guys are just looking for questions to answer, and if one doesn't know, another one will.
As to the propane, if you're pretty sure the valves are open, you may not have bleed the system yet. To do this, turn on a stove burner with a lighter going next to it. It can take a minute or 2. After a while it should light and stay burning. Sounds like a way to blow yourself up but it's not, as long as you keep the lighter going.
My 2cents worth on plumbing, make sure you have a pressure regulator at the campground water hook-up. Some are built into the fixture, or you can buy one that hooks to the hose at the fixture for about 14 bucks. Campgrounds can have crazy pressure issues and you can blow an internal line and have a real mess.
These are just a couple things of thousands you'll find out from this site. Good luck!

Your father chose a very nice coach! I have an 86 33 ft tag axle gas puller so we have little in common but our names!

Keep checking this site. You can learn much and jump in with questions when needed. The experience base here is enormous. If you have original manuals there may be some who would like copies.

Remind yourself: You could spend a fortune on a "newer more reliable" coach, but someday it will still break and you'll be stranded, clueless. Or, you can make the investment in time and learning your old well-made rig. You will spend time and some money on this trail but you will truly OWN your coach and there is comfort in this knowledge.

Try bleeding the air out of the propane line as Danny suggests. I have to do this whenever I haven't used the system recently. Eventually the pilot would purge the air but it takes forever. Just run the burner to clear the air quicker, then light pilot.

Thanks everybody for your encouragement. I've already spent a lot of time searching and reading barthmobile.com for info about mystery switches, sun-faded taillights, exterior compartment locks, generator, overhead compartment door hinges and lots of other things.

All the past discussions have been extremely helpful.

I try to bleed the propane line this morning. I tried it yesterday but no propane came out. Maybe I didn't wait long enough.

make sure the "gas sniffer" (propane detector) is turned ON, it should be by the entry door and can get easily switched off by mistake.

quote:

Originally posted by Marvin+Doris:
make sure the "gas sniffer" (propane detector) is turned ON, it should be by the entry door and can get easily switched off by mistake.

That was part of my confusion. The manual shows a different gas detector/switch than was actually installed at the side of the entry stair well.

I turned on the one by the entry (the alarm went off when it detected free gas while I was having the tank filled) but I was searching all over for the kind of detector/switch that was described in the manual.

I suppose there is only one?

quote:

make sure the "gas sniffer" (propane detector) is turned ON, it should be by the entry door and can get easily switched off by mistake.

They usually beep like crazy then go either on or off based on the sniff. The lights indicate if on or off with green and red. My old Barth would shut this device off if I turned off the coach power and I'd need to recycle it which was irritating.

As Danny stated, once you are sure you have that device on, your stove is the simplest thing to determine gas flow. You did turn on the gas valve at the tank, right????

Lots of progress this morning, thanks to all of your suggestions.

1. Propane is flowing and stove burners and pilot are lit.
2. Both furnaces are operating. One had a wasp nest in the exhaust port. The other had a stuck blower wheel which tripped the breaker (just required some manual turning, then worked fine).
3. Water heater fired, but I turned it off immediately because there is no water in the system (more below).
4. Dometic refrigerator lit but is not chilling. That may be because the coach is not level. It is making gurgling sounds and the exchanger coil is warm. Should the coach be level to make the refrigerator work? Should it work on shore power if it is not level?
5. Still trying to get the Sharp microwave to turn on.

I would appreciate any suggestions on filling the water tank. Do I just hook it to a garden hose and fill?

Somebody mentioned using a pressure regulator when connected to street water line. My first question is how do I properly connect to street water? With the same garden hose?

Once I fill the water system, I will need to winterize because winter is coming here in Wisconsin.

However, I have questions about the water system heaters:
1. There is a toggle switch overhead to the left of the driver's seat. It activates a blower into the water service compartment. Is that part of the furnace system. Is there a thermostat for the water service compartment or is it only controlled manually by the switch next to the driver's seat?
2. There is a toggle switch with a neon indicator light over the exit door. I have read that activates an electric blanket on the water tank when connected to shore power. Is that correct? What is the point of this heat source if the tank would freeze while on the highway?
3. There is an electric fan heater in the water service compartment that is plugged in to a thermostat receptacle. (It has not been cold enough for me to test this yet.) Will this operate while on the highway and protect the tank from freezing.

Those are lots of questions for now. I will post a separate message about the roof AC/heater units.

Thanks so much for all your help.

quote:

4. Dometic refrigerator lit but is not chilling. That may be because the coach is not level. It is making gurgling sounds and the exchanger coil is warm. Should the coach be level to make the refrigerator work? Should it work on shore power if it is not level?
5. Still trying to get the Sharp microwave to turn on.

I would appreciate any suggestions on filling the water tank. Do I just hook it to a garden hose and fill?

Somebody mentioned using a pressure regulator when connected to street water line. My first question is how do I properly connect to street water? With the same garden hose?

Once I fill the water system, I will need to winterize because winter is coming here in Wisconsin.

However, I have questions about the water system heaters:
1. There is a toggle switch overhead to the left of the driver's seat. It activates a blower into the water service compartment. Is that part of the furnace system. Is there a thermostat for the water service compartment or is it only controlled manually by the switch next to the driver's seat?
2. There is a toggle switch with a neon indicator light over the exit door. I have read that activates an electric blanket on the water tank when connected to shore power. Is that correct? What is the point of this heat source if the tank would freeze while on the highway?
3. There is an electric fan heater in the water service compartment that is plugged in to a thermostat receptacle. (It has not been cold enough for me to test this yet.) Will this operate while on the highway and protect the tank from freezing.

If the fridge is lit and getting the heat exchanger warm, you must be level and it should get cold. It takes a long time! Is the freezer getting cold? Unless it's just the pilot that's lit. If the burner is lit it should give a little roar of a sound. If on shore power, it should get cold by AC.

I think with winter coming you might consider not filling the potable water system as you will then need to drain it all. Either way you should get RV anti freeze in your drains before storage.

Water Tank: There should be two external fittings for water; both should have standard female hose fittings. One is for the tank, the other is for constant srvice (bypassing the tank and water pump).

Toggle switches:

Above the driver's seat: This is the usual place for the engine block heater switch; customarily this will have an indicator light. It's odd that it operates a fan in the water compartment.

Above the door: This could be the electric water heater, the heat blanket for the water tank, or even the engine block heater.

Water service compartment heater: This is probably 120 VAC (certain if it's plugged into a standard duplex outlet). It will operate on the highway if the generator's running if it's 120 VAC.

Photos would help.

If the fridge is lit and getting the heat exchanger warm, you must be level and it should get cold. It takes a long time! Is the freezer getting cold? Unless it's just the pilot that's lit. If the burner is lit it should give a little roar of a sound. If on shore power, it should get cold by AC.

I think with winter coming you might consider not filling the potable water system as you will then need to drain it all. Either way you should get RV anti freeze in your drains before storage.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Corey. I will give the refrig a longer try, both on line current and LP. And I believe I will hold off on the water system until spring.

The coach seems to be very much like our 30' Breakaway, albeit four feet longer. If it has the original engine you will not be able to bump the HP as easily as the later 5.9 (like our replacement RECON engine). Our newer 5.9 has the "P" pump. With the added weight four feet brings, I suppose your "performance" is rather sluggish. I am going to look into changing the fuel plate or whatever it is the do to squeeze out about 230HP. I am finding 190 inadequate, especially for towing.