Slide out stuck in

[Ahobby]

Hi,
I have a 2018 Grand Design 2400BH. The slide out is stuck in. When I go to extend it only one side will move a couple of inches. I found the control panel and it indicates a short in one of the motors. My question is, can i access the slide motors from the outside when the slide out is all the way in?
Thanks
Cindi

We are having the same issue with a 2019 2500RL. The issue came up as we were setting up for a week long camping trip, we followed the steps in the troubleshooting guides online and when that did not work called the dealer who walked us through the same procedures. Still was not able to get the slide out. We ended up taking it to the dealer for service, that was 30 days ago and still waiting on a new wire harness to come in. The Schwintek slide system may be light weight, but weight savings is not worth the hassle of not having a reliable override process if the slide is stuck in.

[Guest]

Once the wiring harness is unplugged from the motor to disable the motor position brake, it will still be very difficult to push the slide. So at least two people working in unison and pushing or bumping the slide in bursts should result in it moving a little at a time. Even with my motor disconnected, we would push in bursts and the slide would move about one inch at a time. This alternating method of pushing the disconnected side and motoring in the other side eventually provided the clearance to access the motor. My slide was stuck out so accessing the motor screw was easy.

This is a nice compact system but it certainly is not the best thought-out system in gaining access to the motor. Had the design been done with a sealed motor below the slide, the motor could easily be replaced with the slide in any position.

Jim

[steve&renee]

First go to the slide controller and unplug one of the motors and very briefly run the slide out and in... unplug the wire to the bad motor. Have a few folks push out on the side with the bad motor with the wire disconnected while intermittently overriding the controller and operating the good motor side... If you manage to get the slide out to expose the bulb seal on the outside your can disconnect the motor by the following method...

From outside the rig, pull the bulb seal back and you will see the motor retaining screw. Remove this screw then from behind the flip seal that is next to the bulb seal, carefully pry the motor up and out of the bearing block. Be careful that the bearing block does not come up with the motor. If it moves up with the motor, pry it back into place while also prying up on the motor. Once this is done, go inside and with some help, override the system while a couple folks push on the side with the bad motor that you disconnected. Keep the slide straight where you can do this in short durations on the switch and while pushing on the other side. Once the slide is in a position to swap out the motor from the inside, the repair can be made.

Does anyone else think the above procedure for service/repair is a big joke? I'm still unclear on proper lubrication of the darn system. Seems everybody but Lippert concludes it's impossible to lub from inside the RV. I think Lippert owes us some more videos.

-Steve

[Guest]

Does anyone else think the above procedure for service/repair is a big joke? I'm still unclear on proper lubrication of the darn system. Seems everybody but Lippert concludes it's impossible to lub from inside the RV. I think Lippert owes us some more videos.

-Steve

Not sure which procedure your referring (maybe that we have to do all these gymnastics to change a motor?) to but the slide can be lubricated from the inside as well. You need to pull back the flip seal to access the gib, and bearing block. Both inside and outside.

Jim

[Ahobby]

Does anyone else think the above procedure for service/repair is a big joke?

-Steve

Yes it is a joke. We are planning on upgrading from our TT to a 5th wheel soon, but will not buy anything with a schwintek slide system unless there is a major design change that allows for a reasonable override process with the slide stuck in or out. I know all slide systems have their issues, but some others have a reasonable way to get the slide in or out when there is a motor or wiring failure. If GD keeps using this slide system without a design change to allow for reasonable override then we will not be buying a Grand Design.

[steve&renee]

Yes it is a joke.

The hydraulic slides are every bit as bad IMO. We were actually trying to break camp our first year out and the hydraulics wouldn't come in due to a loose electrical connection. Talk about sheer panic. I got them working by messing with the (original) 50 amp breaker. That wasn't the problem, but in futzing around, I ended up reestablishing the loose connection.

The way you manually override the hydraulics is by sticking a hex end drill bit (or similar) upside down into your drill or driver, then inserting the hex end into the top of the hydraulic pump. I still don't know if you have to disengage something else before you start the drill up.

[Country Campers]

Related but unrelated, if my batteries were dead or my main shutoff were off (the one I added not the factory one), does that mean there’s nothing holding the slide in? This is unlikely, but would be good to know.

So I did find out some info on this question.

The drive ratio on the drive motor for the Schwintek slide is 300 to 1. This is huge and with a small gear on the end of the motor , about 1" diameter , this makes it very very hard to manually push a slide. Therefore when there is no power to the motor it seems that it would take quite a bit of force to move a slide. On a side note I have re-wired my battery so the only thing that has power all of the time is the trailer brakes. I usually travel with the battery disconnected from the entire trailer except the brakes and the tow vehicle. With this state there is no power to the slides the keep the brake on the motor engaged. I would assume that all others that have re-wired a battery disconnect or added one will have the same items that do not have power while traveling. Just thought I would pass this on.

Brian

[ncitro]

So I did find out some info on this question.

The drive ratio on the drive motor for the Schwintek slide is 300 to 1. This is huge and with a small gear on the end of the motor , about 1" diameter , this makes it very very hard to manually push a slide. Therefore when there is no power to the motor it seems that it would take quite a bit of force to move a slide. On a side note I have re-wired my battery so the only thing that has power all of the time is the trailer brakes. I usually travel with the battery disconnected from the entire trailer except the brakes and the tow vehicle. With this state there is no power to the slides the keep the brake on the motor engaged. I would assume that all others that have re-wired a battery disconnect or added one will have the same items that do not have power while traveling. Just thought I would pass this on.

Brian

Sounds good. With that kind of reduction, I doubt it would be an issue.

[Cindi Oney]

Please follow-up with how the dealer gets the slide out--it will add to our knowledge base. TIA!

So, here is the solution to our problem with the slide out stuck in. There is no way to reach the motors when the slide is stuck in. We tried cutting all power to the coach and pushing it out! DOESN'T WORK!! I finally found a mobile repair guy who came and had it operational pretty quick. The controller kept indicating a short between the motor and the controller. NOT IT! Turns out in the under the slide out wall there is a cover that can be removed, there this is a gear cable and a bar that runs vertical. That bar a become dislodged and slid down out of place. They took a pick and a sledge hammer and tapped it back into place. It isn't a permanent fix, I'm saying to operational until it happens again, and it will. If that bar shears off then the slide has to be opened up and repaired.

I'm still amazed that there isn't a way to get the darn slide out manually! Its a poor design and I hope in the future Grand Design comes up with a better solution.

Cindi

[howson]

So, here is the solution to our problem with the slide out stuck in. There is no way to reach the motors when the slide is stuck in. We tried cutting all power to the coach and pushing it out! DOESN'T WORK!! I finally found a mobile repair guy who came and had it operational pretty quick. The controller kept indicating a short between the motor and the controller. NOT IT! Turns out in the under the slide out wall there is a cover that can be removed, there this is a gear cable and a bar that runs vertical. That bar a become dislodged and slid down out of place. They took a pick and a sledge hammer and tapped it back into place. It isn't a permanent fix, I'm saying to operational until it happens again, and it will. If that bar shears off then the slide has to be opened up and repaired.

I'm still amazed that there isn't a way to get the darn slide out manually! Its a poor design and I hope in the future Grand Design comes up with a better solution.

Cindi

Any chance you took pictures that you can post? If not, is that cover that can be removed in a place where you can take a picture and post?

[TucsonJim]

Wow Cindi - That's the first time we've heard of this failure mode on the forum. Thanks so much for sharing the details.

Jim

[steve&renee]

...
Turns out in the under the slide out wall there is a cover that can be removed, there this is a gear cable and a bar that runs vertical. That bar a become dislodged and slid down out of place.
...

Yes. I'm with howson , a couple pictures of this cover would be really good information of a lot of us. This is the first I've heard of this kind of access, and these mechanics. I wonder if this is a different model of Schwintek slideout than others we've discussed.

-Steve

[gbkims]

I noticed in the latest In-Wall (Schwintek) service manual there's a notch in the H Column for the motor to help removing/installing the motors.
I wonder if the cover was the wipe seal being pulled of the H Column to access the motor and bearing block?

[Tigger1]

We have a 2017 Reflection. Literally our first trip out our slide motor broke off the drive shaft and we couldn't push the slide out. All the way in NFLD from Ontario, bunks were blocked by slide so kids had no access to their beds or clothes. Manual override didn't work. Had to complete trip with slide always in, kids sleeping on the floor and visiting laundry mats to keep them in clean clothes. Service guy came to our home to fix it, had to pull down the finish on the underside of the trailer.

That’s good that GD had the service guy come to your home. Glad they fixed it!