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2021 RD 260 Schwintek Slide Fail

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  • 2021 RD 260 Schwintek Slide Fail

    We bought a 2021 RD260 with the Schwintek in walls slide and, having come from a 20-year old sold rail rack and pinion, I was not impressed with the Schwintek system - it seamed weak.

    My assumptions were correct as within a week of getting the trailer the slide jumped an aluminum tooth and was miss aligned top to bottom - the top was out 2" while the bottom of the slide closed tight to the trailer body. We initiated a warranty service request and the unit was inspected and diagnosed with damage to the tracks, skipped tooth and needing new H columns and tracks. "Fast" forward 3-months the replacement parts arrive and were installed (in February - aint going nowhere in Canada that time of year!). Come May 2021 we use the trailer for 4-weeks and again the slide is out of aliment; this time the bottom closes tight and the top is out 1 1/2".

    "Fast" forward another 4 months and replacement parts have arrived at the RV dealer and were found to be broken and cannot be installed.

    My frustration is un-describable with getting a brand new trailer and only being able to use it for 35 of some 400-days, and counting. Do I have to wait another 3-months for the replacement to the replacement parts arrive?

    I don't know if this is deliberate sandbagging to hold off the shelf parts until the warranty runs or or not - we shall see....to be continued....

  • #2
    Haggis, first of all, I feel your pain and distrust of the Schwintek slide system. I also came from a trailer with an old solid rail rack and pinion system and into my first 5th wheel with a Schwintek slide. When we picked up that trailer and being a big skeptic, I asked as many questions as I could think of about the slide as I'm sure you did. The biggest thing that I got was the importance of keeping your finger on the slide in/out switch for 3 to 5 seconds after slide reached it's limit and stopped moving. I was told that this gives the controller time to sync the two motors driving the slide keeping the sides of the slide parallel. I even made a label at the switch to remind my self and my wife to hold the switch. If you have been doing this then probably the gears jumping a tooth on the rack caused too much distance for the controller to make up. I would recommend you calling Lippert directly and seek their advice as they are the manufacture of the system and have good tech people to help you, unlike most dealers who just put you off. Good luck. By the way, we only kept that trailer a short time and now have a GD model with no Schwintek slides!
    John and Karyn
    Hillsboro, Oregon
    2020 Reflection 150 Series 295RL

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    • #3
      As noted holding the operating button down for a few seconds after the motor stops is a good practice to keep the slide in-sync side-to-side.

      On the other hand a schwintek slide that is closed at the bottom and open a inch or so at the top (or open bottom, closed top) is a whole different issue. In a properly set up and functioning schwintek system there is no way for the top and the bottom to get out of sync. I’m not saying they can’t get out of sync as they obviously do. The reason the top and bottom shouldn’t get out of sync is there is one motor on each side. The motor turns a shaft that has two gears, one top and bottom, the top gear can’t move without the bottom gear also moving.

      When a schwintek slide is out of sync top to bottom one of the first things to do is take some measurements to verify proper room size and system installation. See page 9 in the attachment. The slide room needs to be square, tracks parallel, and the distant from the outer frame to the rack has to be correct. Also see page 10 for checking the bottom rollers. The rollers on the bottom carry the weight of the room not the track or rollers on the side.

      How the room can get out of sync top to bottom:

      1. Improper installation, top and bottom rack installed out of sync. This will be evident from the start, not an issue that develops.

      2. Broken gear tooth - may just happen, things do fail. Though it can be a symptom rather than the cause.

      3. Skips a tooth top or bottom - are measurements correct, see above. Is the room binding?

      4. Worked on a system that was out of sync top to bottom, broken gear, all measurements were correct. Upon removing the schwintek frame and racks from the slide for bench inspection found that the racks didn’t move freely in the frame. Was this a symptom or the cause? Replaced the system.

      Attached Files
      Colan Arnold
      2016 Momentum 397TH
      Full time since 2016

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