Odd Slide Issue

[Todd_P]

The slide on my 2021 278BH is a Shwintek style and is even side to side but top to bottom is off by an inch at the bottom both extended and retracted.
When extended, it the out side edge is 1 inch lower than at the wall. When retracted, it is opposite. In short, the top seal compresses tightly both in and out but the bottom seal is always lightly touching.
It almost appears the room moves on an arc as if it is pivoting on the rollers.
Has anyone else seen this?

[howson]

Todd_P -- can you post a picture of the bottom of the slide showing the contact (or lack thereof) with the seal? I'd like to compare with how mine looks, which is also not compressed fully when the slide is in.

[Todd_P]

I'll grab a shot of it tomorrow when I am at the trailer again.

[Todd_P]

So today I had a chance to swing by where my trailer is at and tried to see what exactly is going on. For the first time since we have had this unit the slide closed completely and evenly all around after doing the synchronize procedure about 10 times. Unfortunately, it doesn't hold after opening it all the way and you have to resync again while retracting; resyncing while extended didn't prevent the need to resync on retract again.

A couple things I noticed:
When extending, the top of the slide tilts back a little over an inch (toward the outside) as soon as it starts to move.
It keeps this 1 inch tilt even after fully extending
While retracting, the top of the slideout tilts in at the 3/4 retracted point and remains level until completely retracted.

I am starting to think that either the vertical parts of the rack are flexing or not anchored adequately and slipping; either way it isn't good. I really cannot stand how the slide-out is not even and it is irritating to sit in.

[howson]

Todd_P -- hope this doesn't go into too much detail, but reading (and re-reading) your post what I'm guessing is that there could be two problems, or one that's driving both issues.

First, the Lippert In-Wall ("Schwintek") controller monitors a sensor on both motors (there's one on the left side and one of the right side). The signal is referenced as the "Hall Effect". The controller's internal counter is reset every time the slide is opened (or closed) if the extend (or retract) button is held after the slide stops moving. A typical manual entry:

Note: It is important to continue to press the slide-out switch for a few seconds after the room is fully extended until the motor shuts off. The control will sense that the room has stopped and will shut off the motor after a few seconds.

If you're holding the button appropriately each time, but still need to resync, something is definitely wrong. A properly working controller will reset if the button is held appropriately.

For the tilting, what I'd do is extend the room about 3/4 of the way out. Carefully (with your fingers) curl back the lower wiper seal and ensure the room is resting on the rollers. If there's a gap between the bottom of the room and one (or more) of the rollers...that's a problem. Lippert's Service Manual has this entry for inspecting the floor rollers:


The number of rollers depends on the size of the slide, but the diagram below is "typical".



Howard

[Todd_P]

I am tending to believe that the tilting or tipping of the slide-out is causing a bind on the system which is causing the motors to constantly become unsynchronized.
I'll have to check the rollers next. It would make sense that if they were too high or the room was set to low this would be the problem.

[Todd_P]

All the rollers touch the entire time, I spent a considerable amount of time testing measuring and observing exactly what was happening. I have found a couple measurements of concern and found that the room is far from square to itself. I am going to remove both H-columns re-level the room and square it to the opening. When I reinstall the columns, I am going to shim as necessary to keep the column and tracks square as possible to eliminate the bind points.. It all just appears the result of Good Enough Manufacturing.

[Yoda]

All the rollers touch the entire time, I spent a considerable amount of time testing measuring and observing exactly what was happening. I have found a couple measurements of concern and found that the room is far from square to itself. I am going to remove both H-columns re-level the room and square it to the opening. When I reinstall the columns, I am going to shim as necessary to keep the column and tracks square as possible to eliminate the bind points.. It all just appears the result of Good Enough Manufacturing.

You picture looks about normal to me. The slide roof needs to pitch out for proper drainage. When extended how are the inside measurements. Is it level from to back with the trailer level? how about side to side? On my unit, when in the TV cabinet tilts slightly inward, and when out it reverses slightly - maybe 1/2 a bubble off. Outside the side rail pitches more. It could be that the top drive sprocket is off one tooth too. I don't believe you need to take the whole thing apart to adjust. I would give Lippert a call and ask first.

[Country Campers]

Todd_P

Reading back at some of your responses I think I would recommend getting GD involved. Schwintek slides should not have any or very little rocking motion while operating, 3/4 to 1" as you explain is not good. The slide should also not move in an arc, this is ok for a thru frame slide but not for a Schwintek slide,

Brian

[Todd_P]

You picture looks about normal to me. The slide roof needs to pitch out for proper drainage. When extended how are the inside measurements. Is it level from to back with the trailer level? how about side to side? On my unit, when in the TV cabinet tilts slightly inward, and when out it reverses slightly - maybe 1/2 a bubble off. Outside the side rail pitches more. It could be that the top drive sprocket is off one tooth too. I don't believe you need to take the whole thing apart to adjust. I would give Lippert a call and ask first.

Unfortunately, the only way to adjust the vertical plane is to remove the H-Columns and re-time them.
On one side the top rail has a slight arc to it which I will have to straighten once removed if it is not simply sprung from improper installation and one of the lower rails isn't pressed up tight against the bottom of the slide. These manufacturer induced 'issues' could easily be eliminated with some good old fashioned attention to detail.

[Todd_P]

Both sides were not even close to being in time between the upper and lower gear rack. I am not exactly sure how it happened but I i'd put good money on it being because nearly half of the screws were broken!
The only thing holding the broken ones in was the foam adhesive tape behind the gear tracks and columns. I removed the motors and was able to manually move the room in and out myself and was surprised how smooth and easy that big heavy room moved! I didn't want to run it under power until I add the new screws to replace the broken hardware tomorrow; I put the supports back under the slide until then.
The picture is of the first three screws I took out and there was no resistance on two of them, you can guess which ones, they most likely broke from over torquing during the original installation.

[Lonestar]

Unfortunately, the only way to adjust the vertical plane is to remove the H-Columns and re-time them.

.

What is the process to "re-time" the H columns after you remove them?

[Todd_P]

My slide is fixed! It is square and level at any point along its transition from open to close and reverse. The motors used to always strain and the slide jerked, popped, creaked and groaned as it moved since the day we picked the trailer up. Now the slide operates much faster than it did prior and it is smooth the entire way. The motors do not strain at all and there is not rocking of the slide room as before.
One thing I noticed while doing this is the screws were wicking water in and already started to cause minor rotting; the trailer is only a year old.
If anyone takes anything away from this, I would recommend going one by one and seal all of your exterior screws. Back them out a bit apply sealant and re-tighten but be careful as a typical #10 screw has a max torque of 74 in/lbs.
Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to check all of the screws on you Schwintek system to make sure there are no broken ones either. If you find a broken screw, you will have to make a new hole about an inch away and seal up the old hole. For column screws , pre-drill just the column slightly bigger than the screw making sure you do not go deeper than the siding. The screw used is a 1" #10 pan head drill point
The job was not particularly difficult just involved and required a considerable amount of attention to detail. The only thing different I would have done if doing it over would be to pre-drill all the new holes and TIG weld up the old holes just for better aesthetics.
I am extremely glad I decided to tackle this much needed repair, I am absolutely certain the stealer or GD themselves would not have taken the time and care needed to properly fix the slide out.

[Todd_P]

What is the process to "re-time" the H columns after you remove them?

You have to remove or disengage the motor, remove the upper and lower gear tracks from the column, set the notched end of tracks against the gears and turn them in together. It helps if you have an assistant but can be accomplished with one person if you get creative.


The Lippert manual details it this way:
Re-Timing Procedure
The top and bottom gear racks on each side of the In-Wall Slide-out System are connected by a torque shaft
that runs from the upper bearing block to the lower bearing block. The bearing blocks and torque shaft are
mounted inside of the column. The column is fastened to the side wall opening of the unit. The timing of
the system from top to bottom is considered to be adjustment free, as it is essentially locked in correct time.
In the instance that the system is no longer in time, either the top or the bottom will extend farther than its
opposite. The following procedure will help to properly address the concern:
Note: If the assembly is still on the slide room, refer to the Assembly Removal Procedure on Page 4. If the
assembly is already off the slide room for repair, start at step 1 below.
Note: The re-timing process is made easier by taking the system to a work bench.
1.Pull one of the gear racks to remove it from the bearing block.
Note: Both gear racks will move. Be sure when removing the gear racks that they do not fall to the floor or
sustain any damage.
2. Finish pulling the second gear rack free if necessary.
3. When feeding the gear racks back in, start from the notched side. Gently start the gear racks into the
bearing blocks evenly.
4. Once both gear racks are engaged, use a tape measure and measure from the column to the end
of each gear rack. The measurement must be the same to ensure that the slide room will be timed
correctly.
5. Apply pressure to one of the gear racks. This will cause both gear racks to move together. At this point,
the gear racks will be back in time.

[Guest]

Video on mechanically re-timing the slide. Lippert may wish to change suppliers for screws as a Philips screw will typically strip out the wood or at the driver end before breaking off. This reminds me of the recall a few years ago when the main bracket screws were breaking off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7ooxh3IE8s

Jim