Schwintek Slide Poll

[XBoater]

I believe it is a dry lube spray that is not supposed to collect dirt and dust.

[cpoo]

I did not with my 2015 35g. I kept them well lubed. I now have the 38Q with the new system and from what I have experienced so far they are louder on the in and out but straight and powerful. So I hope they continue.

[DickNiehues]

We bought a 2015 Meridian and on the first long trip (3000 mi), schwintek slide failed 1st night stop. Back moved out 3" and jammed, front of full wall slide was still moving out when I noticed the back had stopped. Could not get slide back in at rear bottom, front went in ok. Finished trip with slide out 3" in rear bottom of the slide. We had just traveled over 80 miles of very rough road. The MH came with just one screw jack for the full slide, back is very difficult to get to. I think the rough freeway damaged or caused the gears to jam on the back slide mechanism. It took 6 men to unjam the side at Transwest RV. They installed a new mechanism and said it was poorly installed at factory, who knows for sure!
With difficulty I now use 2 jack screws to secure full slide when traveling. So far no problems, going south in a month.
Dickniehues

[poppopc]

We had been fortunate till yesterday! Had to move from our favorite park and home base in Grapevine, Tx. Park was flooding from heavy rains.second time in five months. DW. was moving the drivers slide in and it quit. Grinding to a halt. Thought we has escaped the schwintek nightmares. Guess not! Did get it in, by pulling and pushing, while the DW. ran the controls. Now trying to find someone to repair it in the Ft.Worth area. Winter plans are now on hold. Just love the RV industry. Can't or won't make a apointment. The old cliche " bring it in and we will get to it when we can"! Just venting! UGH!
SEE SIG!

[Pushrod]

Our 2015 40R had the drivers side slide started skipping teeth being brought in. It. Is the slide with the heaviest cabinets and counter tops. Luckily I had help to push it in to the home position, then cut our trip short to get back to the dealer for repair. I have since traveled cross-country for about 8k miles, so far, so good, although it will make a faint clicking noise before it is seated in. Have notified the factory so we can have looked at when we get home. I think the problem was either caused or exasperated when traveling, on rough (Calif) hi ways, and the slide was moving around in the "in-home" position. There was a lot of creaking and snapping noises going down the road. Too much weight for a poor design. We were traveling this summer with another 40R, and a 40U, who both had to divert to Forest City, for Schwintec slide issues. They had to wait a week, getting in line behind 8 others with the same slide problems. Fingers crossed, hoping for the best, anticipating the worst.

[Dfreiberger]

I guess I am in the crap as well. 2015 Adventurer. Noisy slides got shimmed by the dealer. Now the slide starts to hang up during the last three six inches of travel. Took it to the dealer who tried to synchronize the motors and it only got worse. Left it at the dealer for further troubleshooting just to find out they are going to replace two motors and the slide tracks. Time to complete - approximately 2 weeks. Oh, and my warranty just ran out two weeks ago. Have extended warranty which should cover parts but not adjustments; go figure. SUCKS!

[Robmat]

Originally Posted by Dfreiberger

I guess I am in the crap as well. 2015 Adventurer. Noisy slides got shimmed by the dealer. Now the slide starts to hang up during the last three six inches of travel. Took it to the dealer who tried to synchronize the motors and it only got worse. Left it at the dealer for further troubleshooting just to find out they are going to replace two motors and the slide tracks. Time to complete - approximately 2 weeks. Oh, and my warranty just ran out two weeks ago. Have extended warranty which should cover parts but not adjustments; go figure. SUCKS!

My Sunova's driver side long slide failed two months out of warranty but because I had it in for a slide issue before the warranty was over they are covering it. My slide failed when it was out and when manually pushed in did some considerable damage to trim and flooring. I brought my Sunova to the dealer on August 12 and was told they were backed up and it would be 10 to 14 days before they could get to it and then it would be a couple weeks to get the parts in and a couple weeks to do the repairs (6 weeks). Well As of today it's been 16 weeks and I am still waiting . . . I've been told the slide was fixed three weeks ago now they are waiting for the flooring guy to come in and replace the torn floor and two pieces of trim to come in that they were shorted in the original order. When I dropped it off I was told that I will be reimbursed for the road service that came out to get the slide disconnected and pushed in. Although I had a lot more work done and it may have been an excuse but I was told most of the time was waiting for parts to come in.

[poppopc]

I don't believe the " Type" of lube is the problem. It is the design!!, I have lubed religiously. With silicone. We were fortunate. Went 2.5 years and just under 30,000 miles before we had a problem. Parts are on order. 5 hrs. In the shop just for diagnosis. Then schwintech, Winnebago, and our extended warranty going back and forth. My thing is , it will be replaced but the same thing. How long will this one last??

[dezrtracr]

In theory, the Schwintek design is fine. The problem is that the design requires tight tolerances. To maintain proper distance between the gear motors and the tracks, the slide boxes must be square, the tracks must be parallel, and the motors & shafts must be shimmed properly. Some manufacturers do a better job than others. The same tolerances are required whether the slide is 5' long or 30' long. Since tight tolerances are more difficult to setup and maintain on a large slide, that is why the Schwintek system has been more of a problem on the large slides, although smaller slides can have similar problems. The new Power Gear In-wall slide is similar in operation as the Schwintek, but much more forgiving in tolerance requirements. The gear rack is pinned at the inner and outer slide areas and the pin is in an oval slot which allows the gear rack to maintain proper mesh with the drive gear. I always make sure I am level before opening the slides, as my coach has three small Schwintek slides. So far so good, crossing my fingers though...

[jharrell]

Originally Posted by dezrtracr

The new Power Gear In-wall slide is similar in operation as the Schwintek, but much more forgiving in tolerance requirements. The gear rack is pinned at the inner and outer slide areas and the pin is in an oval slot which allows the gear rack to maintain proper mesh with the drive gear. I always make sure I am level before opening the slides, as my coach has three small Schwintek slides. So far so good, crossing my fingers though...

I just took these pics of my full wall Powergear slide from the inside with slide retracted for comparision. You can see the track is somewhat flexible and ends up nearly 3/4" away from the slide where it goes through a guide that holds it against drive gear.

Seems like a better design as far as tolerances and jumping teeth goes but only attached by 4 screws on each end it seems. Have had no problems yet, but have only had it a couple months.

[XBoater]

Now all they need to do is create the retrofit...

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by MutinyGuy

Has anyone NOT had a problem with a Schwintek slide in their MH?

Just picked up our 2013 Adventurer from the factory maintenance facility yesterday. The main reason it went in was to repair the full wall slide. This is the second time we've had problems, but talking with the technician at length I think we now have a permanent fix.

The main problem was the slide was not going in level front to back. The front was always lower causing the lower front corner to bind before it was fully closed.
The "fix" included adding 2 rollers to the kitchen island, removing the second to the rear roller in the bedroom, and replacing all 4 rack mechanisms on the ends of the slides.

Originally there were 8 rollers attached to the wall beneath the full slide. In our case the 7th roller was too high causing the slide to tilt forward as it closed. By removing it the slide now is level through the entire extend and retract cycle.

The new rollers below the kitchen island are attached to the island itself and roll along the vinyl flooring when extending and retracting the slide. This helps evenly distribute the weight. It also puts less strain on the gear and rack assemblies since there is no longer several hundred pounds of counter, cabinets, and contents cantilevered 4 feet from the gear and rack assembly.

With the island fully supported the entire surface of the gear teeth remain engaged in the rack. This almost eliminates the possibility of the gear skipping teeth on the rack and allowing one or more racks to come out of time.

So far the full wall slide has only been extended and retracted 6 times since the repair. It's the best the slide has performed since the motorhome was new.

Granted it was disappointing that we had problems, however at this point I feel Winnebago has more than stepped up to the plate and addressed the issue. I urge anyone with similar problems to contact the factory service department and talk with a service advisor. I'm certainly glad we did, and look forward to many more years of reliable service from our motorhome.

Thanks, Winnebago.

[Robmat]

After 17 weeks in the dealers repair shop I was called yesterday that my Sunova was ready and today I picked it up. They replaced the slide mechanism, replaced the tracks and much of the trim around the W/D, Refrigerator, stove along with much of the sink peninsula trim, and replaced sections of the vinyl flooring. I have to say they did a great job. You can't tell the difference in the flooring they did a great job patching it and the sink peninsula now rides on the floor nicely. They seemed to use the same tracks on the side of the slide or at least new one that are the same as the old ones on it (they are identical to the ones on the bed slide which they did touch). The interior as well as the exterior trim around the slide looks the same as when we got it new. Totally covered under the warranty. Colonial RV, in Lakewood, NJ did the work and aside from the long time it took which they blamed on getting parts I find the work exemplary. Hopefully it will last as long as own the Sunova.

[Wsufans]

Winnebago finally sent me a set of "slide locks" by American Technology Components.

They apparently jam between the coach side wall and the flange on the slide.

Hopefully the flange and sidewall will handle the load.

Yes the full wall slide is the problem. The "brake" in the slide motor isn't up to the task for such a large load from the full wall slide. Being an engineer this to me is a major design flaw. Everyone involved top to bottom must have known this to be a problem from the very beginning and chose to ignore it. I have a hard time believing this they didn't know initial testing and the first units off the line would have shown the problem. Yet they turn a blind eye and keep shoving product out the door.

Attached is the pair Winne sent me. There were no instructions so....

Looking at the units both ends have screw threads so it seems like you place the large flat end on the wall then spin the center until it expands enough to hold the slide tightly in place. However, you need to make sure you remove them before attempting to put the slide out!!!!!!!!!!!! I will make some sort of warning flag and add it to my check list.

Found this picture on the net.

[MutinyGuy]

I have been using those same locks that WGO sent me for the past year. They solve the moving while driving slide creep. I installed both of mine near the bottom of the slide. Just remember to remove them b4 engaging your slide.

[530ktm]

I made a couple of those out of 1 inch dowel with a rubber cap on each end and then just wedge them in on both ends. Only a couple of bucks to make these and they work just fine at preventing slides from moving when the should not be.

[powderman]

Originally Posted by MutinyGuy

I have been using those same locks that WGO sent me for the past year. They solve the moving while driving slide creep. I installed both of mine near the bottom of the slide. Just remember to remove them b4 engaging your slide.

It might be a good idea to tie a flag onto the wall switch so you or someone else doesn't forget and cause damage. It only takes one time to forget and ruin your day.

[MutinyGuy]

Originally Posted by powderman

It might be a good idea to tie a flag onto the wall switch so you or someone else doesn't forget and cause damage. It only takes one time to forget and ruin your day.

Yep, I have a sticky note that is over the switch so I can't miss it!

[poppopc]

Got the MH. into a dealer. Parts are ordered. Have cornerstone extended warranty.
Had to take to dealer for a "evaluation"! Yes was broke! Submitted the repairs to cornerstone. They wanted a independent inspection. Back to dealer.ok, ordered parts. 7-14 day delivery.so not really sure when they will arrive, what with Christmas and New Years. Guess my question is, what can I expect after the repairs? Is the repairs going to be the same as original. Can I expect the same problem down the road. Don't suppose there would be a upgrade???

[530ktm]

Originally Posted by poppopc

Got the MH. into a dealer. Parts are ordered. Have cornerstone extended warranty.
Had to take to dealer for a "evaluation"! Yes was broke! Submitted the repairs to cornerstone. They wanted a independent inspection. Back to dealer.ok, ordered parts. 7-14 day delivery.so not really sure when they will arrive, what with Christmas and New Years. Guess my question is, what can I expect after the repairs? Is the repairs going to be the same as original. Can I expect the same problem down the road. Don't suppose there would be a upgrade???

I think the repairs if done by a good source should be better than original, at least that is the way I was informed. Supposedly, mine was not shimmed correctly from the factory which put additional load and stress on the guide wheel. It seems I have heard this before regarding incorrect alignment, etc. from the factory. Mine has been working perfectly for the last 10 months now and I watch it like a hawk when it goes in and out to make sure everything is even and in sync. Good luck with yours.