Slide Maintenance

[eagledad]

Hello,
We just bought a slightly used 2020 221RB first trailer with a slide. What should I do for regular service preventive wise. know to lube it, etc.. what type of grease, seals, etc.. ? Thanks

[Germanrazor]

Schwintek slide?

[howson]

Hello,
We just bought a slightly used 2020 221RB first trailer with a slide. What should I do for regular service preventive wise. know to lube it, etc.. what type of grease, seals, etc.. ? Thanks

The slide (regardless of type) was made by Lippert. They have extensive documentation at lci1.com

Most techs I've personally seen using a lubricant use dry PTFE. Nothing else. Many different brands available.

[eagledad]

Do you spray on track ? How much/often?

[Cate&Rob]

Do you spray on track ? How much/often?

Since you mention “track” . . . I expect that you are talking about a Schwintek slide. The moderators of this forum recently attended technical training sessions in Indiana. At LCI we learned “no lubrication is required on a Schwintek track”. The next day at Grand Design, we learned “always lubricate the Schwintek track with PTFE”. .

My take on this is that the LCI guys deal with “design intent” and the GD Techs deal with “what it takes to make it work” in the field. Personally . . . I always go with the GD Tech advice.

Rob

[Lonestar]

Since you mention “track” . . . I expect that you are talking about a Schwintek slide. The moderators of this forum recently attended technical training sessions in Indiana. At LCI we learned “no lubrication is required on a Schwintek track”. The next day at Grand Design, we learned “always lubricate the Schwintek track with PTFE”. .

My take on this is that the LCI guys deal with “design intent” and the GD Techs deal with “what it takes to make it work” in the field. Personally . . . I always go with the GD Tech advice.

Rob

This is really coincidental as I had been thinking about asking about current thoughts on lubing the Scwintek system. About a year ago I bought a can of the Lippert recommended lube. Shortly afterwards Lippert started recommending to NOT lube the system. I was wondering if most folks were still using the lube?? There has not been much discussion of this lately.

[eagledad]

Thanks for the help, This is first trailer with a slide so I don't what all the types of slides they are, I will have to run it out to look again but it is in storage, When I looked at it when I got it , I don't recall if there were cables, or a little piece of what is called a track towards the bottom the slide. I do while I was looking underneath slide, I seen rods with teeth on them , which I don't if that is it or just part of it, do I lube those as well? Sorry new to this?

[Cate&Rob]

Hi eagledad,

No need to apologize for being new to this . . . we were all there once. The slide mechanism that you describe as under the slide is a different system referred to as underfloor or through frame. This does require lubrication but it must be something that will not gather dirt. Again, PTFE is good for this. When you have a question, if you post a picture, this will get us started in the right direction.

Rob

[Jlawles2]

I wish they sold to the public, but a few years back I ran across an open gear lube that was waterproof, AND it skinned over like silicon so that dirt would not stick to it as easily. It was designed for the offshore market as a lubricant for their crane running gear. High tack so it did not drip (environmental).

This would be a great product for the through frame slides since it skins over after use, but goes back normal under use. A really innovative grease.

[eagledad]

Hi eagledad,

No need to apologize for being new to this . . . we were all there once. The slide mechanism that you describe as under the slide is a different system referred to as underfloor or through frame. This does require lubrication but it must be something that will not gather dirt. Again, PTFE is good for this. When you have a question, if you post a picture, this will get us started in the right direction.

Rob

Thanks, how often should I spray the teeth down? Also what should I do to the seals around slide?

[Hogdrv]

eagledad

This is a great video about slide lube, they have a lot of great videos and they are very short.
https://youtu.be/1h-GC2fnFds

Jim

[bogen2]

The slide mechanism that you describe as under the slide is a different system referred to as underfloor or through frame. This does require lubrication but it must be something that will not gather dirt. Again, PTFE is good for this.

I never lubricated my slide mechanism because the manufacturer states it is not required. But now I am getting a lot of squeaks and groans when moving the slides. I always thought it was odd that a metal mechanism did not require some type of lubricant.

Will any PTFE lube work or is there a preferred type? And should it be applied to the rack or the gears? Or both?

Bob

[hduring]

Watching Todd’s tech tip Tuesday has me confused. Our 337 has through frame and schwintek slides. The Lippert info I have says for through frame, use soap and water no extra lubricants/grease. We are to use dry lube (3 in 1 silicone) on the schwintek tracks. Are we missing something by not lubing/siliconing the through frame slides, we do check to ensure it is clean?

[Cate&Rob]

I never lubricated my slide mechanism because the manufacturer states it is not required. But now I am getting a lot of squeaks and groans when moving the slides. I always thought it was odd that a metal mechanism did not require some type of lubricant.

Will any PTFE lube work or is there a preferred type? And should it be applied to the rack or the gears? Or both?

Bob

Hi Bob,

This appears to be another “difference of opinion” between Grand Design technicians and LCI. (see post #5). Several years ago, we arrived at a Rally with a squealing slide that could be heard across the campground. The GD Techs heard this and doused the gears and tracks with CRC Powerlube. The noise went away. Whenever slide travel begins to make noise, I do the same and the noise goes away. One of the Techs commented that “ we use this stuff on everything!”. Now . . . I do the same thing!

Rob

[Carl2295]

I wonder if the change of heart from Lippert regarding the use of lubrication is that possibly owners were using the wrong type which caused its own issues. Maybe they figured using none causes less problems then using the wrong lube ?