Rack & Pinion slides question on our Reflection 303RLS

[Tonemeister]

Hello to all. Just purchased our first fifth wheel RV and during our PDI, dealer rep stated you should not “partially” open the rack & pinion slides, only open all the way-out & all the way in (similar to what Lippert states for their Schwintek slides). He also went on to say “rack & pinion” slides have 2 (two) motors per each slide, which I am not sure I believe to be correct. Can someone weigh in here and tell me the correct information. Don’t want to start out on the wrong foot with new RV! So is it safe then to open rack & pinion slide just enough to access say fridge, then close up again without having to extend fully? I appreciate any help.

[howson]

Hello to all. Just purchased our first fifth wheel RV and during our PDI, dealer rep stated you should not “partially” open the rack & pinion slides, only open all the way-out & all the way in (similar to what Lippert states for their Schwintek slides). He also went on to say “rack & pinion” slides have 2 (two) motors per each slide, which I am not sure I believe to be correct. Can someone weigh in here and tell me the correct information. Don’t want to start out on the wrong foot with new RV! So is it safe then to open rack & pinion slide just enough to access say fridge, then close up again without having to extend fully? I appreciate any help.

A thru-frame (electric) slide has one motor.



A Schwintek has two motors.

The only harm in not extending (or retracting) a slide fully is the bulb seals are not engaged. There are two sets of bulb seals--one set on the exterior of the camper (that are used to seal the interior of the camper from the environment when the slide is retracted) and a set of bulb seals on the interior wall of the camper (to seal the camper from the environment when the slide is extended). So leaving a slide half in (or out depending on your perspective) can lead to water, air, and/or bug intrusion.

A big no-no is using a slide that is not fully extended. They are not meant to be used when not fully extended. So no sitting in the dining area at a rest stop with the slide in--that's not good for the slide's floor since it is unsupported.

Some will argue with me, but stopping in the middle of extending or retracting is not going to be the end of the world (or the death of your slide). Doesn't matter if it's a Schwintek or a thru-frame (I'm going to catch a lot of feedback over the Schwintek). The key is once a Schwintek is fully extended (or retracted) hold down the button for an extra 3 to 5 second count to resync the controller. I always stop after two to three seconds when extending the Schwintek in my 315RLTS' bedroom to work my way around the bed to ensure there's nothing that will get caught when the slide fully extends. Once I'm sure there's nothing in the way, I finish extending it.

Hope that helps.

Howard

[StephenO]

Some will argue with me, but stopping in the middle of extending or retracting is not going to be the end of the world (or the death of your slide). Doesn't matter if it's a Schwintek or a thru-frame (I'm going to catch a lot of feedback over the Schwintek). The key is once a Schwintek is fully extended (or retracted) hold down the button for an extra 3 to 5 second count to resync the controller. I always stop after two to three seconds when extending the Schwintek in my 315RLTS' bedroom to work my way around the bed to ensure there's nothing that will get caught when the slide fully extends. Once I'm sure there's nothing in the way, I finish extending it.

Hope that helps.

Howard

I agree, you will get a lot of feedback about the Schwintek, including some from me

Fortunately I agree it can't be that bad for a Schwintek slide to stop before it is fully extended or retracted as it's part of the re-sync instructions from Lippert. I am paraphrasing, but to re-sync it clearly states to extend (or retract) ~6", stop, and then do the opposite motion until it stops. Rinse and repeat a few times until the motors stop at the same time. After that, fully extend (or retract) the slide and repeat.

If stopping before the system reaches the end of the travel is detrimental to it, I would have to hope that Lippert wouldn't say to do it.

[TedS]

I have stopped my through-frame slide in partial retract to make sure the trash can and cabinet drop surface are out of the way. No harm. I've also stopped the Schwintek part way to check that everything is clear.

[Tonemeister]

Thank you Howson for your answer....... "A picture is definitely worth a thousand words"......That diagram explains it 100%! Thats what these forums are all about, everyone is always so helpful. Unfortunately sometimes you learn from somebody else's mistakes, and hopefully at some point I can share some of mine & prevent someone else from going through what might be a costly mistake. Take care folks, and thanks again for the replies.

[Jlawles2]

The one big thing about any slide is to complete the operation. It might be in 5 steps, but complete the operation. I have found that by reversing the operation, the seals do not always flip back like they should.

On my 303, I have stopped each of the slides at various points. Always complete the operation before reversing.

[Cate&Rob]

There is no problem stopping a thru-frame under floor slide at any point. There is only one motor or hydraulic cylinder and it is not synchronized with anything.

The concern with a Schwintek slide system is that there are two motors that have to stay synchronized. The controller does this by counting motor revolutions in each motor. If you stop the slide mid-travel, one side may "coast" a little farther than the other. The controller does not know this because you have disconnected by way of the switch. When you start up, the controller thinks the two motors are still in sync. Do this a few times (with a slide that moves more freely on one side than the other) and the slide will not be parallel to the wall. Get far enough out of sync and the slide will begin to bind which will confuse the controller into thinking that you have reached end of travel. Best to follow the manufacturer's instructions and minimize mid-travel stops of a Schwintek slide (in my opinion).

Rob

[TedS]

I wonder how much motor lead/lag the system can synchronize if one side stops before the other at the end of travel. If the system must synchronize, it must assume one side stops as the other continues to travel until it stops. I guess the motors do not travel at the same speed most of the time and need to be resyncronized. No rev counting must take place.