Hi All, new to the forum and just purchased a what I was told is a very rare Barth 5th Wheel. From what I was told there was only 2 made. If anyone has any information I’d love to hear. My plan is to park it on our property and use as an air bnb so I was going to completely redo the inside and had no plans of ever traveling with it or keeping it original. I guess one of my questions would be, would this trailer have more value “as is” to a collector and should I maybe find something else to make into an apartment or should I just go ahead with my original plan. When I purchased I had no idea what a Barth camper was we just really liked the fact that it looked cool and was an all aluminum construction. Anyway thanks for allowing me in the Forum and any input would be welcome. I’ll try to post a photo of it.

Wow! Welcome to the site!

That thing is cool. And very rare indeed. Is there any Barth ID info, on the tongue or plate inside? In general, Barth made trailers from 1964 to 1969 and coaches from 1970 on.

It would be great to find out the date of production and how it is numbered. I don't think I've seen a 5th wheel before! Not sure if that improves its collector value.

As for value, old RVs are not hot sellers unless in pristine condition. Being aluminum it has higher scrap value than the fiberglass or wooden ones. OTOH, if you do want an older RV, aluminum is usually very durable. Might make an interesting retro bnb for the illusion of "camping".

Good luck with the project!

Thanks so much for the info! I’ll post serial number when I get home this evening. It did come with a cool binder with how the Barth campers were made. Kinda cool to go through and see how they were actually framed etc.

Not an expert on old Barth values, if you leave the outside alone, except for maybe a very expensive polish, I would guess the interior is your option, would not detract from the collector value at all. That is of course if there is any collector value.

Thanks for the Responses here is the ID tag

KUHL old rig. Good luck with your project.

Sorry about that

wow. There is only one other 5th wheel I found:
https://www.barthmobile.com/eve...&s=7031072951&cdra=Y

Not the same unit. It looks home made.

Your tag number is not in any sequence we have. 3500277 might be 02/77 build date, number 350? Maybe 35 ft long? Very rare. looks like factory.

The one Steve posted looks like a after market modification.

This one looks absolutely factory. The continuity of the siding. The wrap around front window is the same as most trailers I’ve seen. It is a cool looking rig. To bad the headroom in parts are to short for me

The guy I purchased this from owned a dealership in Jersey that sold Barth campers. Barth had them build 2 5th wheels to their specks. So in a way it was a “home built” And as far as he know this and one other (on this site) we’re the only ones built. I’m pretty sure he built the other one as well. I have to say it’s pretty well constructed. The wiring up front is immaculate. The roof had a leak but doesn’t seem like it has done much damage. Floor seems very solid except in the back “trunk” area is rotted pretty bad. My plan is to tear out the ceiling and walls and hopefully keep the insulation. From what I’ve seen so far the insulation is in good shape and all the aluminum has been coated with a rubberized vapor barrier. That’s about all I know about it until I start tearing the inside apart. There is a few Barth logos that came with it that were probably supposed to be put on the body at some point.

Also it is 35’ long

quote:

Originally posted by MarcF:
Sorry about that

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Thanks for getting that done so fast. I would have sent you a Private Message but you may not get private message capability for a while.

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This site has been here for 20 years and I have never seen a fifth wheel like yours.

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The members here would sure love to here more about your find. Read thru so previous posts found here, and tell us more about your one of a kind Barth fifth wheel.

Steve, I had the same thought about build date but according to the time lines only motor homes were produced in the 1970's?? Still pretty neat, nyet?

For the serious geeks lurking among us, follow the link
https://patents.google.com/pat...82603A/en?oq=3282603

This is for the trailer not a 5th wheel, which fits the timing of the patent and gives credence to the two off theory of a later 5th wheel market test.

Nice piece of history