This site was started back in 01 as an alternative to the then existing Barth Ranger group. (Recall that the newest Barths were less than 5 years old then.) The Ranger group consisted of mainly higher end, newer Barth owners. They never developed a functional website, many sold their coaches and bought newer SOBs. For some reason, some Ranger group officers were hostile to this site and there was minimal interaction between the groups. The Rangers failed to evolve and dissolved a few years later. This site has continued to the present.

I appeared here in early 2011, when I acquired my 86 Regal from a relative. Rather than start out with foolish questions, I spent about 3 weeks researching the site. It was/is a remarkable rich source of technical information on the Barth coaches and their respective chassis. At that time, there were many charter members still active. Many were remarkable gurus on a myriad of subjects. If you Google popular RV topics, you will likely hit on a Barthmobile topic. Considering the very small number of Barths and even fewer who posted threads, this is a testimonial to the content here.

I read all Bill NY's posts. All Dave Bowers, Rusty's, all Bill h's, all Nick Cagles and others. Excellent stuff.

Amazing talent. I have had the pleasure of meeting numerous of these Barth people. They are who made this site what it is and helped it endure. For me they are the best reason to have stayed around here. I have tried to contribute as well. (Must be working, several of my threads now have over 50,000 views!)

Ten more years go by and things have changed, as they always do. Many of the older members have moved on to other coaches, some have passed away. I sold my beloved 33ft tag axle 400hp Regal and bought my 97 Monarch. The youngest Barth coaches (like mine) were built in 1997, pushing 25 yrs old. Almost no first time owners, we are all dinosaur custodians now. Many of us know more about carburetors than computers. (What is a timing light for, anyway?)

Fortunately we have a few new members who are active and appreciate cool old mechanical projects.

This all begs the question, "Who are we now?" I am on the site regularly, usually daily, but judging from the time delay for responses to posts and polls, not that many are here. Perhaps the Facebook site is the future for some.

This becomes relevant when we try to decide what changes if any are needed for the site. I grew up with vacuum tubes, then transistors, then integrated circuits. I can tell you more about how computers work than how to run them, though. I get some amusement from the discussion of browsers, PCs, etc. My old Macs always work...

I am out of date concerning computer technology and social media. I believe there are some topics worth discussion but I am not sure what suits me is what current members want. I have seen discussions concerning posting pictures here on the site, the chatroom, Map the Barth project, etc.

As always, there are trade offs. Can we afford to operate without ads? Do we expect Bill NY to continue to operate on contributions only? Do we need higher security?

All good questions which I cannot answer. I am extremely grateful to Bill NY for his continued operation of this internet haven for me and our members.

I encourage other members to discuss what they like (or dislike) about the site and to help make it suit our members, whoever they are!

Have Barth, will travel

Pretty new member here. This site is directly the reason I own a Barth. I'm a classic car guy who is still in my 40s raising a family , and it was obvious when we began considering a motorhome for family fun time it would be older, as the prices of newer models are insane. Besides, the older vehicle in general are much more interesting. Lol
Found the site by way of Googling to find out what the heck a "Barth" was after seeing one that got away on Facebook Marketplace.
It it weren't for this site and the information on it, I would not have known the quality that is Barth and would have probably gave up on the motorhome dream.
Pretty much read every thread on the site over the last few months before signing up, and then contacting Duane about "88" when the wife told me she thought it would be a good idea.
Would love to see the site more active- I enjoy mindless blather when I have time, with folks of similar interests- and really appreciate all who contribute and keep it available.
Looking forward to enjoying the site and the coach for many years, Lord willing.

I enjoy this site and check it often throughout the day . At any time someone may need information that you have experience on . It's a great place to learn about our coaches . It's also nice to read about adventures and upgrades .
More pictures of projects would be nice . I Believe most folks would be ok with helping financially to keep it going , I know we are glad to help .

I too am one who checks the site daily. We sold our 93 Barth Regency in 2014 and bought the 99 Foretravel we now own. I still know more about the Barth than I do after 7 years of ownership of the Foretravel. Which by the way is for sale because we want a much smaller unit for the future. I really enjoy the Barth group and have made MANY lifelong friends at the many GTG's we have organized or attended.

Nick

Thanks gentlemen! These quick responses prove we have a few very regular members, both long timers and some new ones. As we get more responses it will be interesting to compare our outside interests in addition to Barths. Hope the feed back helps us all enjoy the site more.

For what it's worth in regards to pictures, I use https://imbb.com for image hosting. Use it on several boards...really easy, just upload your pic and then grab the code to post it. Totally free so far and it seems to work great for me.
Might be something that would help with our postings.
I know I love to look at pictures. Hey, I'm from Arkansaw, that's how we reed...
But I'm far from computer literate. On the information superhighway, I'm driving a model A ford. The one with a blinker on nonestop.

I also check this site almost every day. I even throw in a comment once in a while. I bought a used motor home a long time ago. It was a 1977 model well used but, it looked pretty stable and a priest was the present owner. The price was right. This "bus" looked like it had enough components to allow me to be able to get my dear old nineties something dad out of the cold Pennsylvania winters with reasonable comfort and economy. The blue and gray "bus" was a ?? Barth ??. A google search produced little info with the exception of this wonderful site.
I would like to complement Steve on his exceptional introduction to this forum. A little history of the site can cause us to appreciate the effort that the "sung" and unsung contributors have offered for our great benefit.
Everyone should be aware of all that Bill of NY has done to keep this going and to his behind the scenes helpers.
I have had the good fortune to have met and enjoyed the company of a few of the members of Barthmobile. Danny and Susie Z, Nick,Steve VW, Rusty, Richard P. and a few other names that escape my aging mind at this moment. Here's to many more years and contributions and friends for this site.

So here we are, like our Barth's mostly an aging population. My opinion on evolving this site is perhaps a bit bias even as a fairly recent member 2017. This place is kinda like the US Constitution, why screw with a good thing! If not broken why fix it, also can be applied to our timeless machines. All right a heated floor, TBI's, radial tires, insulation and LED lights are all good things use them if you want them. Therefor if a piece of technology can improve the site and not affect the basic structure, go for it.

The thing I never try to forget is it is the comradery that makes us what we are, it's the folks, have yet to meet anyone that has not added to the group. Well,,, the exception might be someone for Kentucky over Iowa in the citrus bowl!!!

I've only been around here for 20 years or so, and am only on my second Barth, but I'll stick my nose in anyway. My first and main bitch is the hassle or impossibility of posting pictures. We're not in the 90s any more! Back when we had a couple hundred members and a few of them contributing a few bucks now and then, I could see that it was prohibitive to have folks posting pics without limit. We now are in the thousands, and the interweb is vastly improved, so why can't we just have an easy way to post pics without being computer nerds?
The vast knowledge available here is priceless, and I wouldn't want anything to compromise it, but I don't know how to make it better.

This site has been great. We bought our 92 breakaway in 2006. The reason was we wanted to do Alaska in 2007. I wanted a Diesel and Marleen wanted a bed room. Needed to keep it as short as possible due to taking the ferry up. Found our needs at that time with the Barth. When we returned to Yuma in the fall of 2007 we put both the 45' Newell and the 30' foot Barth up for sale. We still have the Barth and it will last us until wife says "no more".

2002 I was working away from home in Circleville, Ohio and had to go to Chillicothe one afternoon. On the return trip I stopped at a campground to check the possibility of moving my camper there and avoid the poor motel options. The owner wanted to trade my camper sight unseen for this 35? foot MCC Barth,and he kept sweetening the deal. I got back to my office, looked up Barth, found the site, called Dave Bowers and had a great visit. He gave me contact information for upgrading the front end, I followed up but found it was no kit but a drive in and leave it. Pass! Found the site fun, systems are similar with the exception of ignition protected systems on the boat. I've had the fortune of meeting several members over the years. We met Gary and Marleen Carter as they were returning home, the Barth was for sale and we were interested. Turns out he needed an ignition solenoid before continuing the trip. I'm not sure how long it takes to be that familiar with the systems but I was awed. Liz and I very much enjoyed the visit, loved the coach and realized 2 engines and one gen-set was probably approaching maximum maintenance capacity and the boat was staying! Gary we are glad to have met you and glad you have the result you preferred.

I have to believe that buying an 86 Regal was a one life changes. I owned other MH in the past, but in pre internet times. Finding Barthmobile.com I got sucked into the website. Reading post all the way from the begining I started to learn so much about Barths. After going to our first GTG at Milford in 2009 and meeting Bill N.Y, kin of Bob Barth, former employees, and other members I found I was a a Barth Junkie and not newbie. I have met so many owners and learned much from members that I never met. I miss old members that have passed and hoping to meet new members in the future. Don't know where this site is going in the future but I have enjoyed finding it over 12 years ago.

As a Class C owner I find that I have very little in common with the Class A owners on this site. However I appreciate the whole Barth thing, and am fascinated by the amazing projects that some of you take on. Personally I think the older, smaller Class A toasters are the best looking units (no offense to you big guys!). As for posting photos, I find it very easy to use the "Attachment: Upload On Our Site" link at the bottom of the posting text box, provided I shrink the photo both in file size and physical size with Photoshop first.

I like many others have known of this site well before owning a Barth. Have owned several rvs, gm bus, revcon, GMC, winie,and finaly found a 93 breakaway at a fine price. Reason for the Barth -quality (for the rv industry) and what could be simpler than a 12 valve Cummings powered vehicle. I too check in almost every day, speak sparingly, am 80, physics background (tubes to processors), was an electrician and trouble-shooter of all things based on physics. IE jack of all trades and master of none. The Barth will likely be passed on with my estate one day as it is not going to be sold by me. And I do really appreciate the shared knowledge and helpfulness of the members here. john canning

Back to the question of cost . I have no idea what it cost to run this site yearly . An average of the amount would be helpful so we know what Mr Bill is faced with and we can be sure to help enough that there is no financial burden .

Hopefully we get to do more happy motoring next year .