Hi. My husband and I are looking at a 1974 21' (I think -- unless Barth made a 19'?). The owner is asking $4,000 obo. We're brand new to RV's, except for having had pop-ups for years, and don't know if this is reasonable or not. The more I read about Barths the more it sounds like it might be a good deal. EXCEPT -- the interior is pretty rough in places. The cushions look like the originals with 29 years of wear, the oven doesn't work, the floor is soft under the carpet in the kitchen area. Also, the dash air doesn't work (roof does). The owner says the 59,000 miles are original as far as he knows, but it seems to me that's stretching it. The engine cranks right up, everything looks nice & tight & solid, but for the basically cosmetic work that needs to be done. Would this be a good idea for a couple of total novices to tackle, and at what price? THANKS!!
Mary Lynn Roy

Hi Mary, I once purchased a 74 23' Apollo motorhome that only had 17K miles but had been sitting for a while. My wife and I spent countless hours remodeling and upgrading the RV. As a former mechanic I'm sure I saved thousands of dollars in repairs. As an electronics techincian I'm sure that saved me hundreds of dollars. The key to owning an RV (my personal experience) is to be able to maintain and park it on your property where you can work on it any time day or night. We had lots of fun with our RV. I bought it for $4700.00 and sold it for $5000.00 five years later. I estimate I invested $5000.00 into the RV. My humble opinion I would look for something in the 80's or maybe the 90's. Save up and look for something that doesn't need too much work. I just finally bought a 91 Barth Diesel. Although now I'm "tinkering" for fun rather than repairing and restoring. Good Luck!

I hate saying anything negative about any Barth what so ever. However, the only time I have found a true satisfied owner of a shorty Barth like this was a rich lawyer in New Orlean and he used it exclusively to drive between his home in N.O. and Florida. It is a great commuter van, but without seat belts and there is no sleeping accomodation really. It's just too short for most applications. But they sure are cute.

Yep, those are the one -- except they look quite a bit better even on the outside than the one we've looked at. Even the owner said the sleeping situation is pretty tight. We'll probably pass on it, but it sure does look like a fun one.
Thanks for your input.