Full Wall slide dependability
Thinking about getting back into rv'ing. Have they now got full wall slides that are dependable and trouble free? I know it might depend on which brand. We are looking at Holiday Rambler 30' and Coach...
Forum Discussion
Just got back from Forest City late yesterday afternoon. We had the factory service department replace the original Schwintec extend/retract mechanism on our full wall slide with an "upgrade" to the Power Gear system.
It took about 10 hours to complete the job (8 hrs Monday and 2 hrs Tuesday). They brought out the coach at about 3:00 pm Monday so we could stay over night in it. The new mechanism was fully functional, but they still wanted to adjust a roller under the kitchen island and do a bit more cleanup work.
The new motors are a bit louder than the originals and seem to draw a bit more power. At this point everything is functioning "as designed" and is much smoother than the original. The new racks on the side of the slide have much deeper teeth as do the pinions. There seems to be a much better and more secure mesh between the racks and the pinions.
One noticable difference between the new and old mechanisms is the fact that you can hear the new motors schyncronize at the end of each stroke. Before when holding the swich after full extension or retraction there was a deafening silence. Now at the end of the stroke you can hear the motors check schyncronization and make changes if necessary.
The "upgrade was no longer completely covered by the factory. However after a conversation with our service writer Winnebago was willing to reduce the price by approximately 1/3 due to our previous experiences and attempts to repair it.
The slide was tested 6 times before we left and was extended again this morning so we could clean and winterize it before putting it back in storage. Hopefully the new system will be functional for as long as we own the coach. We kept our last one over 12 years and put on over 110,000 miles. This coach is a little over 5 years old and is just shy of 40,000 miles on the odometer. Time will tell.
It took about 10 hours to complete the job (8 hrs Monday and 2 hrs Tuesday). They brought out the coach at about 3:00 pm Monday so we could stay over night in it. The new mechanism was fully functional, but they still wanted to adjust a roller under the kitchen island and do a bit more cleanup work.
The new motors are a bit louder than the originals and seem to draw a bit more power. At this point everything is functioning "as designed" and is much smoother than the original. The new racks on the side of the slide have much deeper teeth as do the pinions. There seems to be a much better and more secure mesh between the racks and the pinions.
One noticable difference between the new and old mechanisms is the fact that you can hear the new motors schyncronize at the end of each stroke. Before when holding the swich after full extension or retraction there was a deafening silence. Now at the end of the stroke you can hear the motors check schyncronization and make changes if necessary.
The "upgrade was no longer completely covered by the factory. However after a conversation with our service writer Winnebago was willing to reduce the price by approximately 1/3 due to our previous experiences and attempts to repair it.
The slide was tested 6 times before we left and was extended again this morning so we could clean and winterize it before putting it back in storage. Hopefully the new system will be functional for as long as we own the coach. We kept our last one over 12 years and put on over 110,000 miles. This coach is a little over 5 years old and is just shy of 40,000 miles on the odometer. Time will tell.
