Slide out rubber seals grabbing, silicone? Armorall?

[Bigdog3162]

Hello, I have a 2022 Reflection 280RS and I'm wondering about my kitchen side slide out which has a Schwinteck system . The rubber flange seals on the RV wall that allow the slide out to pass back and forth seem to be dragging against the slide out exterior walls and making the motors work harder than should be necessary. Should I be concerned? I treated these seals, both sides of the flaps, last August with the recommended RV rubber seal spray and a rag. I did the roof seals too, but they do not seem to rub as much with the roof material. I keep the slide out walls clean, but not waxed. I thought the wax might make the rubber seals drag even more. On the other side of the RV I have the rack and pinon slide out motor so there is no issue at all, works great, wish I had it on both sides. The Schwinteck side seems to struggle and fight the flanges. Maybe I'm just worrying too much but I had a Schwinteck slide out fail out of state a few years ago. What is everyone doing for this problem? Would waxing my slide out walls help?
Thanks
Rob

[howson]

Bigdog3162

I don't doubt the concern about the Schwintek, but am a bit skeptical that the wiper seals are causing the problem. An exception is if a wiper seal was jammed in between a roller and the mechanism....but that would be obvious and the seal likely torn.

Is the slideout an inverted or standard rack?

Regardless, inspect closely the area shown below for rough edges. (I watched a GD tech run his knife along the inside edge--lightly!--to feel for roughness.)



If there is damage--it will be obvious--then the shoe is damaged in the bearing block. Normal repair involves completely replacing the entire system.



Another item I've seen go bad is that white roller in the picture above that's under the rail. If it's not turning freely the system will bind. Might be hard to tell if the roller is spinning. Perhaps make a mark with a Sharpie on the roller and then watch it as the slideout is extended or retracted? The mark should come and go if the roller is working correctly. (I've never tried this but it should work.)

[Bigdog3162]

Bigdog3162

I don't doubt the concern about the Schwintek, but am a bit skeptical that the wiper seals are causing the problem. An exception is if a wiper seal was jammed in between a roller and the mechanism....but that would be obvious and the seal likely torn.

Is the slideout an inverted or standard rack?

Regardless, inspect closely the area shown below for rough edges. (I watched a GD tech run his knife along the inside edge--lightly!--to feel for roughness.)



If there is damage--it will be obvious--then the shoe is damaged in the bearing block. Normal repair involves completely replacing the entire system.



Another item I've seen go bad is that white roller in the picture above that's under the rail. If it's not turning freely the system will bind. Might be hard to tell if the roller is spinning. Perhaps make a mark with a Sharpie on the roller and then watch it as the slideout is extended or retracted? The mark should come and go if the roller is working correctly. (I've never tried this but it should work.)

Hi, I do not think we have the inverted rails on the 280RS. We did have them on the Imagine 23LDE and we had a slide failure on a trip. With that incident we noticed popping and skipping of the motors, and saw some aluminum shavings. We don't have any of those signs for our 280RS, it just seems to drag and I worry every time the slide goes in and out. I'll watch for the rollers too.
thanks!

[Calbar]

You might try a dry silicone lube in the portions of the track that howson has the red arrows. I had my Schwintec slide start to seem to labour more than normal and watched a master tech explain about the need to lubricate that portion of the track. I did that and now it works like new again. I do it every couple of times in and out. Just don't lubricate the gear portion of the track.

Rob

[StephenO]

Bigdog3162

I'm with Calbar on this one, putting dry lube on that portion of our slide rail made it run like new again. We had some hesitation in the movement of the slide and the lubricant took care of it. In terms of the rollers howson mentioned , I had read that if you pull the wiper seal back to expose them, you should be able to spin them with just your fingers. I've tried this on our trailer and can confirm this is the case, and it makes sense since the rollers do not carry any weight.

[Bigdog3162]

Bigdog3162

I don't doubt the concern about the Schwintek, but am a bit skeptical that the wiper seals are causing the problem. An exception is if a wiper seal was jammed in between a roller and the mechanism....but that would be obvious and the seal likely torn.

Is the slideout an inverted or standard rack?

Regardless, inspect closely the area shown below for rough edges. (I watched a GD tech run his knife along the inside edge--lightly!--to feel for roughness.)



If there is damage--it will be obvious--then the shoe is damaged in the bearing block. Normal repair involves completely replacing the entire system.



Another item I've seen go bad is that white roller in the picture above that's under the rail. If it's not turning freely the system will bind. Might be hard to tell if the roller is spinning. Perhaps make a mark with a Sharpie on the roller and then watch it as the slideout is extended or retracted? The mark should come and go if the roller is working correctly. (I've never tried this but it should work.)

Hi Howson! When and where do you look for the roller under the slide motor in the picture? I can't seem to see anything when the slide is out or in (?) Are you pulling the inside or outside rubber flange back to see it, and is the slide in or out when you look? At first I thought you were talking about the under slide flat rollers, but now I see the "drawer type" beveled roller in the photo.
thanks
Rob

[Bigdog3162]

You might try a dry silicone lube in the portions of the track that howson has the red arrows. I had my Schwintec slide start to seem to labour more than normal and watched a master tech explain about the need to lubricate that portion of the track. I did that and now it works like new again. I do it every couple of times in and out. Just don't lubricate the gear portion of the track.

Rob

Hi, can you tell me what kind of lube it was? I have spray silicone, but I need "dry"? I'm not familiar with that. Also, I should ONLY put a small amount in the channel where that black colored tracking glide "shoe" travels, correct? I won't put any on those gear tracks.
thanks for your help!
Rob

[Calbar]

Hi, can you tell me what kind of lube it was? I have spray silicone, but I need "dry"? I'm not familiar with that. Also, I should ONLY put a small amount in the channel where that black colored tracking glide "shoe" travels, correct? I won't put any on those gear tracks.
thanks for your help!
Rob

This is the one that I use and I only put it in the channel where the black coloured glide shoe is. Never in the tracks for the gears.
https://wd40.ca/product/dirt-dust-re...ube-ptfe-spray

Rob

[Bigdog3162]

This is the one that I use and I only put it in the channel where the black coloured glide shoe is. Never in the tracks for the gears.
https://wd40.ca/product/dirt-dust-re...ube-ptfe-spray

Rob

thank you thank you thank you!

[howson]

Bigdog3162 -- gently pull back the wiper seal and you'll see the white roller.

Bottom line on the Schwintek is that it must be kept clean and free from a build-up of debris. The linked spray that Calbar posted is a great alternative to CRC as the WD40 product is also a dry PTFE lubricant. That is the one and only lubricant I've ever heard a GD SRT (the guys that fix stuff in the field) mention in context of lubricating (most) of a GDRV, including the Schwintek. BUT--clean the area first BEFORE application of the lube. Then wipe down again (you'll be surprised at the amount of gunk that is on the rag).

[Bigdog3162]

Found this from Lippert despite what is said about not lubricating the Schwintek.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCelw4U3BDw&t=0s

[Lonestar]

Found this from Lippert despite what is said about not lubricating the Schwintek.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCelw4U3BDw&t=0s

I would sure like to get clarification on why the change of instructions on which lubricant to use. The CRC lube was recommended for a long time and now it is not. Why the change? There were lots of positive comments on improvements in slide performance after it's use.

[Country Campers]

I would sure like to get clarification on why the change of instructions on which lubricant to use. The CRC lube was recommended for a long time and now it is not. Why the change? There were lots of positive comments on improvements in slide performance after it's use.

As long as it is a dry lube then any brand should be fine. PTFE dry lube is what I use, not sure of what brand.

Brian

[Lonestar]

As long as it is a dry lube then any brand should be fine. PTFE dry lube is what I use, not sure of what brand.

Brian

Glad it works for you, but still wondering why Lippert went from recommending CRC to not lubing at all??

[howson]

Glad it works for you, but still wondering why Lippert went from recommending CRC to not lubing at all??

Lippert, to my knowledge, has never recommended lubricating a 5th wheel or TT Schwintek. The infamous video showing a Lippert tech lubricating a Schwintek was on a Class C motor home. The slideout was immediately behind the driver's seat. The lubricant's purpose was to eliminate a rattle so it didn't irritate the driver.

At least that's what I remember.

Regardless, lubricating the Schwintek is another of those topics where an individual with a question will discover there are different voices recommending completely opposite maintenance practices.

About the best I've seen is from The RV Works guy (YouTube) when he spoke directly to Lippert and said, essentially, that they are wrong and if they serviced these things in the field they'd "get it" why cleaning, along with a light application of dry PTFE is a good maintenance practice. That is my paraphrase from memory so it may not be 100% accurate (but should be close).

At the end of the day you'll have to make your own decision on what to do with your slideout.

If it's worth anything, the "shoe" tracks on mine get cleaned on a regular basis and then get wiped down with a clean rag pre-sprayed with PTFE. So far, so good. YMMV.