Hello all,
We have been looking at RV's for a few years now and I now know that most of the new stuff is junk unless you spend several hundred thousand dollars. We are currently thinking about building our own house out in the country. While the house is being built we were thinking about living in an RV. We have two kids ages 4 and 9. Will a Barth hold up to the wear and tear of everyday living for that long? We would keep after the house was built for vacations and such. Has anybodty here tried this. I have seen a few Barths with the swing down bed above the driver. Did they only make these is the early model?

Thanks,
Bill

I would think a Barth would "hold up" as well as anything built, but at the risk of raising the ire of some, I personally would investigate a 5th wheeler with slides for this application. 1- Cheaper to buy
2- Not a motor vehicle with inherent expenses
3- Lots of room
4- It will be a static living space while building the new home so why use a vehicle that really needs driving to maintain the engine and drive train?
5- If you get it right, you should not take much of a beating when the house is up and you want to switch to a Coach for vacations. Then, of course, you should buy a Barth.
This is the first time I've ever recommended a 5th or any SOB for any reason, but this is a different situation than what we normally deal with around here.

I agree with Dan; a fifth wheel or tow behind with slideouts is a lot more practical.

I would look for a tow behind travel trailer that has not had much use but has depreciated a lot. There are lots of them sitting out there. Another trailer vote here. Sadly, few of them have the quality construction of a Barth.

A fiver is more likely to have been used more. I've had one fiver and several tow-behinds, and I think a tow-behind would offer a little more for the money for what you are going to do. Maybe you could find an old Silver Streak or Avion. They were well made, and don't have the cult prices that an Airstream has.

Now, if you think you will keep it after the house is built, go with a fiver over a pull behind. With a proper truck, they are so much safer to tow that it outweighs all else.

For all the reasons they put forth, I vote with these other guys on the tow-behind rather than a motor coach for your present purpose.

Whether you go for a used 5th wheel or a standard trailer, the most critical point, IMHO, is to avoid evidence of water leakage overhead or underneath. All RVs will leak. Most standard RVs are "stick & staple" construction, with particle board floors. Sticks rot, & particle board dissolves in water. Been there, done that.

The older they are, the more likely rot will be present. Water stains anywhere in the overhead or the sides are warning signs, as are spongy floors.

Absence of wood framing is the advantage of the Silver Streak & the Avion (& the Barth as well). Two more possible older brands are Streamline, & Boles.

Just for the heck of it, I checked rvtraderonline for travel trailers for sale in Florida. There are a gazillion 2005 model trailers, probably surplus FEMA trailers, typically bunkhouse models designed for families, advertised as designed for extended living, priced under $10,000. There were so many pages of them I didn't get down to older ones or other brands. Such would be a good alternative for your construction period, & perhaps more livable with kids, than a standard RV, but not much use for anything but a guest room after your house is built.

I'm with El Segundo Bill on the fifth wheel as a better alternative for future RV travel.

You have lots of options, and an RV is a practical solution for your construction period. I had similar plans many years ago, but fate took us off in another direction.

Friends of mine just did exactly with their kids. They had been living and traveling in a Bluebird for several years, then bought land in the lower Sierras and built their home.

What they did was to first put in utilities and septic. Then pour a concrete slab and permanently roof it over - making a really tall carport, as it were.

They lived in the BB on site while building the house, and have it garaged there now, between trips. It's also their guest house.

They use/d a largish screen room attached to the BB's roller awning for an enclosed outdoor living area. The kids slept out there most of the time. You could think of it as a sorta more comfortable and roomy slideout.

I think this was a pretty elegant solution to their similar situation.

I'd suggest looking at www.gsaauctions.gov and look in the "trailers" category. It appears that FEMA is selling hundreds of them in Indiana. They've been selling hundreds more that look more lived in down in Louisiana. Maybe there is something suitable.
Matt

Let me add my two cents worth if I may. I totally agree with everything that has been said but I'd like you to consider something else also. While using an RV for weekend getaways and the occasional two week vacation can be a wonderful thing, living in one can be just the opposite. I just bought a motorhome that I will pick up on Wednesday, May 23rd. Most of my co-workers think I'm making a mistake in getting a motorhome without a slide. I don't feel I need the room that a slide provides for those weekend getaways and short vacations. What I need is the quality that a Barth will give you.

For full time living, I have to recommend just what everyone has said here and by that I mean something with a slide and without a motor. With two small children, you will need as much room as you can get. You will all most likely be suffering from cabin fever if you try and live for an extended period in an RV with such limited room. With two little kids, that won't take long. It could even put a strain on your marriage, not to mention stress for the kids. If you have the opportunity to stay in something for a few nights to see how it works out, that would be great. It would have to be long enough for the novelty to wear off for the kids.

I've never owned a 5th wheel, what am I saying, I've never owned a motorhome either. I do know, depending on where you live, you'll absolutely need an RV that is well insulated. This is especially true when summer has past and cold sets in again. As far as 5th wheels go, I'd recommend a good used Teton. To look at their website, see tetonhomes.com. If you go with a tag along (trailer) Avion was mentioned and they are pretty nice from what I've heard in the past. As I've said, I've never owned an RV but my dad has certainly owned a few from slide-in campers, 5th Wheels, Class C's and Class A buses. He and his wife were fulltime for several years and loved it but it was just the two of them.

I might be shot for saying this but, you might also consider a used mobile home instead. They can be had fairly cheap and they will certainly give you more room. Take good care of it and you can probably get most of your money back when you're done. If it was for just the two of you, A Barth or another type of RV might work but I don't recommend it with kids for long term.


Good luck with whatever you decide.

quote:

Most of my co-workers think I'm making a mistake in getting a motorhome without a slide. I don't feel I need the room that a slide provides for those weekend getaways and short vacations.

I have always thought slides were overrated. We have lived in our 30 ft Barth for 6 weeks with no need for a slide, except for the dog being underfoot. But he would get underfoot in the hangar for the Macon.

We occasionally visit friends in their slide out RVs, and certainly enjoy the feeling of spaciousness, but that is all. We have not noticed any other real benefits. But, that is an individual thing, as much emotionally as practical.

Monday mornings in Talledega always bring about a few SOBs whose slides refuse to go back in, and you're not going ANYWHERE until it does. I'll leave the meaning of SOB up to you in this case.

quote:

But he would get underfoot in the hangar for the Macon.

Aviation Trivia Time: The Moffett Field hangar for the Macon was 1140' long, 308' wide and 198' high, enclosing 351,000 sq. ft. (8 acres !)

With just the right ambient temp and humidity, condensation would cause it to rain INSIDE the hangar on a clear day.......

For a few years, my airport had a spare prop from the Macon on display that was on-loan from tha Nat'l. Air & Space Museum....The workmanship of the wood joinery and finish would have impressed Stradivari......

(How's this for a new high in Thread Drift?..)

Returning the thread to the subject, then immediately veering off course again, climate is indeed a factor in the desirability of an RV with kids. So much the better if they can spend most of the time outside.

The idea of a used mobile isn't bad. Decent used single-wides can be had for a song, but they're more difficult to place & remove than an RV.

On the subject of kids & weather, when I came to Seattle to help establish a new Federal regional office, we temporarily held forth in a barn-like loft furnished with cardboard desks left by a recently departed temporary Census Bureau office.

Most of the top brass were recent imports like myself, and my boss came in fuming one rainy morning. I strolled over, and asked what's up. He shot back, "My wife finally decided that if she doesn't send the kids out to play in the rain, they'll never go out to play at all."

People learn to cope.

Thanks for the advice guys. We are going to build in the Texas hill country around Burnet. We have located about 14 acres and will build there. Summer heat will be the main problem. I always like to buy quality stuff, even if it means buying used. It is just hard to find good quality fifth wheels with bunks. Most have a living room in the back. We still have time to decide and maybe find something decent for temporary living.

Bill

Have you considered renting? You could try out a 5th wheel, a Class A, both with or without slides and various floor plans without having to commit to an investment. You might work your way through these options until you find something you can live with not only while the house is being built, but for travel later.

Mike