2022 260RD Slide Wall Issue

[VinceGruenwald]

Good afternoon. We have a 2022 260RD and the slide wall appears to be buckling inwards near the top of the slide. I've attached a picture. The inward buckle is more significant on the slide wall where the refrigerator/pantry sits. Presumably more weight on the slide is on that end. The schwinteck slide is still functioning but starting to make more noise.
We are the second owners of the RV and purchased from our local GD dealer. We've only used the RV 3 times.
I contacted GD customer support and since the structural warranty is non transferable they refused to cover the repair.
I'm looking for suggestions on how to approach this. I think the issue will continue to get worse unless it's addressed. There are several of us with this issue on the 260RD facebook forum. Other owners are having the wall fixed by the dealer, the wall replaced or getting a new 2023 model. But they are covered under warranty.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[howson]

VinceGruenwald -- the repair, IMO, is beyond what an owner can tackle. I agree (not that it matters) that the 260RD's wall and this particular large Schwintek slide are an issue. (You'll note that new 260RDs have a thru-frame slide, not a Schwintek).

No doubt you don't want to read this next bit of input...so please don't shoot the messenger: take it back to the selling dealer and trade it in for a new model with the thru-frame slide. They'll swear up and down they didn't know about the older 260RD's issue (with the Schwintek)...but keep an eye on the length of their nose as they continue to tell you that story.

Otherwise, continue to pursue Grand Design (using patient persistent) and politely refuse to accept "no" as the answer. If at all possible, try to get the trailer back to the factory service center in Elkhart, IN. I personally would not leave the repair to a dealer unless they've got a proven track record with repairing a 260RD.

Note it's not possible to change from a Schwintek to a thru-frame slide mechanism after-the-fact.

Remember--I'm just an owner like yourself. I have no formal connection with the company other than as a volunteer moderator on their forum. The opinions in this post are mine and mine alone.

Howard

[VinceGruenwald]

howson - Thank you for the response. I have noticed that the latest 2023 models have the rack and pinion which hopefully will work better for such a large slide. There was a poll done in the 260RD FB site a while ago and around 40% of the respondents had gone through issues with the Schwintek slide.
All that said, i'm reluctant to trade this into the dealer for a 2023 model for a few reasons. First is that the dealer will make more money, then GD will make more money and finally the dealer will unload this RV onto yet another unsuspecting buyer and the problem will persist. That doesn't feel right to me.

[Cate&Rob]

There is an aftermarket replacement for the Schwintek slide mechanism. I have no connection with this company or any firsthand knowledge, but I have read positive reviews. Might be something you could look look into. https://vroomslidesystems.com

Rob

[VinceGruenwald]

Cate&Rob Yes i'm very familiar with the vroom system. Our original plan was to replace the schwintek system with vroom. That is, until we found out the wall was buckling. The problem is both the vroom and schwintek system attach to the wall of the RV and the wall is actually failing.

[Cate&Rob]

VinceGruenwald

You are in a difficult situation. I would be with the advice from howson Howard in post 2. Polite persistence with Grand Design. It seems that you have one of their products with no way to make it workable. If the front line at Customer Service can’t help you, ask for your case to be elevated to a supervisor.

There is nothing that this forum, as a group of owners, can do to help your situation . . . but, we are very interested in where this goes.

Rob

[VinceGruenwald]

Cate&Rob
Thanks for the advice. I will continue to pursue this with GD. If anyone has any tactic that has worked with GD in the past, let me know.
I also received the attached fix to a bowing slideout wall. This is something another owner came up with. I'd be interested in the groups assessment of this technically. It looks like it could work but I'd be concerned with water intrusion from the outside over time. Obviously doing this is a last resort if GD doesn't come through.
Wall bow fix.pdf

[Jlawles2]

With lots of silicone and possibly butyl tape, the outside should not be an issue. Not much different than some of the other penetrations in campers.

[Cate&Rob]

The pdf in post 6 is an interesting installation. There looks to be a lot of compression flex in the fasteners with what looks like multiple rubber washers. I wonder if these through bolts go through an aluminum frame or just the foam cored wall ? What is the wall flex that needs reinforcing ? If it is the wall vertically beside the slide, these reinforcement bars don't appear to have any attachments except top and bottom. It would seem that more through bolts would be a better way to reinforce this wall.

Rob

[VinceGruenwald]

Cate&Rob The two through bolts go through the header of the slide wall. You have to drill a bit to find where the header is. Or maybe a stud finder. I think the attachement of the slide itself to the slide wall is with the header. Although i've not seen the wall exposed at all to confirm this.

[Jlawles2]

Instead of guessing where the header is located, you can contact GD with the VIN and ask for the wall drawing.
Or set the thermostat down in the 70 range about midnight and get up early to see the lines on the side of the camper if there is any moisture in the air. Mine will sometimes do it if the humidity is high enough without turning on the AC.

[Johio]

Greetings all. I didn’t want this to be my first post but here it is. We have a 260RD, purchased 08/11/2022. On August 4th 2023, after setting up and extending the slide I noticed the slide room was not level and the facia didn’t appear plumb. Upon further inspection I fount the interior wallboard wrinkled and buckled outward. Not related but on the same trip, water was dribbling from the underbelly at the propane hose penetration when my wife was in the shower. I took the unit to General RV in Akron, Ohio. The service writer and technician said they had never seen a similar structural failure. With the slide room out, I picked up on the corner of the slide room and the technician observed obvious flexing at the header, indicating a structural failure. General RVs shop inspected the unit and determined it needed to go back to Grand Design. I have a slot on 12/13/23. I have been communicating with Daniel Carr. In our initial phone conversation, Mr Carr was insistent that the 260RD does not have structural problems, I referred to my findings on the forums, to which he replied that Grand Design does not recognize anything on the forums. After that conversation I decided to have all correspondence In emails for documentation purposes. A little background on me. While not an engineer with a degree, I have built three aluminum boats of my own design and am an industrial mechanic. I understand structural forms. With that said, when my wife and I looked at the 260RD, we really liked the floor plan and purchased it. It is my opinion as well as many others,that the Schwintek slide system is adequate for small, shallow slide outs. Despite my opinion, I put my faith in Grand Design and their engineers. My good friend, who is a highly respected RV tech and owns Mustard Seed Garage warned me of the system, saying the slide was too large and heavy for a Schwintek system. Lippert recommends a maximum weight of 1000 pounds. The slide room itself, the sofa with three adults and the double door refrigerator full of food is well over 1000 pounds. Of course this was after I purchased the unit. He does warranty work for all manufacturers, including Grand Design. I firmly believe that the structural failure of the walls root cause is Grand Designs use of the Schwintek system. The fulcrum of the load is at the H track fastened to the floor. The cantilevered weight relies on the coach body sidewall for support. Simply inadequate support for this load. The 2023 260RD was reengineered with a rack and pinion slide system to mitigate this issue. With my research and findings I reached out to Mr Carr and requested engineering drawings for the existing structure as well as the engineering drawings for the “approved repair”. I also asked for the repair process including bonding of the interior and exterior wall, and cosmetics. I will post screenshots of emails in their entirety when I get a moment. My objective is to get my situation resolved and help others with theirs. I want to be a brand ambassador for Grand design, not a brand basher. I have hopes of an escalation to higher management at Grand Design, which Mr Carr states he will not do. (You will read for yourself in the screenshot of the email)

[Country Campers]

Johio

We appreciate your issues that you are having with your RV however I would like to point out a few things in your post. 1 is that I am not sure how much weight is on the slide but I do know that 3 adults in the sofa should not "ride" the slide while operating. 2 the email that you posted a pic of you should remove your name and phone number, unless you would like it to fall in the hands of spammers, and we also do not need a bunch of email correspondence posted here between you and Grand Design. 3 this site is "owners helping owners", Grand Desing does not monitor this site and there is really no way that we can help escalate this issue. We hope you get the issue resolved and report back as to how it was resolved.

Brian, Moderator

[Johio]

I wanted to add separately that we are not disgruntled owners. A bit disappointed that we lost the rest of our camping season but we do understand that unfortunate situations happen and no one is perfect. Up until the sidewall failure we enjoyed our RV immensely. My sister and her husband purchased an Imagine due in part to our recommendations. It’s not if or when a situation arises because they do, it’s how it is resolved.

[Johio]

No one rides in the slide while opening or closing. The unit is leveled and stabilized before opening. Sorry I wasn’t clear on that.