Direct drive slideouts
Wondering if anyone can give me some advice/info on the slideouts that are powered by the small electric motors via a sidewall mounted track. We are looking at a used Cruiseraire that has opposing s...
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The motors are "stepper" motors, which means they have an encoder allowing them to stay in synch.
The problem with my main slide-room was wear in the gear racks. It's a neat looking CNC Aluminum track, but it seems to be softer than the drive teeth. This causes them to wear, until it starts chattering, and eventually binds up.
I think for most RVers, it will hold up fine. But I'll open my slide room 2-6 times in a days as we make stops, or change campsites. One problem is the bathroom isn't accessible with the slide room in, and getting into the back bedroom requires climbing over the dinette, which means it run in and even for snack breaks or changing clothes.
Overall, its the one issue I'm most concerned about with the trailer, long term. If I continue to see issues after the next factory visit, I'll probably sell the trailer. The last thing I want is to pay for R&R of the main slid out twice a year to replace the gear racks.
The other slideouts in the trailer did not have any problems, presumably because they are much lighter, until the left-rear slide room got soaked during a monsoon storm in the mountains. The seals can't seal up tight against the gear-racks, so heavy rain (7" that night) combined with 60+ MPH winds, pushed the water in at the most exposed corner. This seems to have cause some swelling, as now that slide-room (along with the baggage door) now bind.
I don't know that the Schwinek system has any more failures than other slide-systems, but the fact it requires removing the slide-out completely to replace the gear-racks means its not a DIY repair.
The problem with my main slide-room was wear in the gear racks. It's a neat looking CNC Aluminum track, but it seems to be softer than the drive teeth. This causes them to wear, until it starts chattering, and eventually binds up.
I think for most RVers, it will hold up fine. But I'll open my slide room 2-6 times in a days as we make stops, or change campsites. One problem is the bathroom isn't accessible with the slide room in, and getting into the back bedroom requires climbing over the dinette, which means it run in and even for snack breaks or changing clothes.
Overall, its the one issue I'm most concerned about with the trailer, long term. If I continue to see issues after the next factory visit, I'll probably sell the trailer. The last thing I want is to pay for R&R of the main slid out twice a year to replace the gear racks.
The other slideouts in the trailer did not have any problems, presumably because they are much lighter, until the left-rear slide room got soaked during a monsoon storm in the mountains. The seals can't seal up tight against the gear-racks, so heavy rain (7" that night) combined with 60+ MPH winds, pushed the water in at the most exposed corner. This seems to have cause some swelling, as now that slide-room (along with the baggage door) now bind.
I don't know that the Schwinek system has any more failures than other slide-systems, but the fact it requires removing the slide-out completely to replace the gear-racks means its not a DIY repair.
