Forum Discussion

garyemunson's avatar
garyemunson
Explorer II
Dec 03, 2016

Schwintech slides

I am also trying to be proactive and be prepared for the day one of the 3 slides on my 2015 Winne decides not to retract. With the slide in, I can pull back the rubber gasket and see the bolt they say needs to be removed to lift the motor up and disconnect it from the gear drive shaft so the slide could be manually pushed in (yes, I know both sides need to be done). My question is, when the slide is out, the interior slide 'flange' covers the gasket preventing access to the bolts and motors. All the You-tube videos show the technicians doing the bolt thing, lifting the motors, and pushing the slide back in and reengaging the motors to lock it in. The videos are done with the flange already removed and no mention is made of taking it off. I see no way to get them off. Anyone know how it is done?
Class A
  • azdryheat's avatar
    azdryheat
    Explorer
    Dec 04, 2016
    I believe you can pull away the outside seal to accomplish the same thing.
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    Dec 04, 2016
    1. The "Bolt (it is a SCREW)" is removed from the OUTSIDE. There is NO inside screw/bolt.
    2. The only time you need to manually retract or even manually move the room is when it fails extended, which gives you access to that motor screw
    3. That screw is NOT mounted to the motor, it is inserted into a cavity cut out of the motor case to prevent the motor from lifting UP. The motor is still free in its mount to wiggle.
    4. The BEST way to manually retract is, to find and note where your control modules are. Each module has a motor wire connection(2). Disconnect each motor connection, get 3 or 4 people and manually PUSH the room in. Takes muscle, but it can be done. Once retracted, reinstall the 2 motor plugs. That keeps the room locked.
    5. IF this is not what you can do, remove that motor screw pop the motor UP out of its mount and disconnect the motor from its harness. Put the system in override and then retract the room using the other motor. Stop every 6 inches and manually pull the end IN that has no motor or have someone pushing from the outside as you use the other motor in override. Doug
  • georgelesley's avatar
    georgelesley
    Explorer
    Dec 04, 2016
    We use slide lock bars to hold ours while traveling. If or when it fails. I will loosen the motor or motors that are binding as suggested, then I think with the one motor and/or by turning the the locks I should be able to get it in and keep it locked for travel. The lock bars are not technically needed but extra insurance is nice to have.
  • garyemunson's avatar
    garyemunson
    Explorer II
    Dec 04, 2016
    Thanks for all the great info! I see that those type slides have been around now since at least 2007 and that in the beginning, the failure rate was very high. I'm now keeping an eye out for slides like these when we are at RV parks and so far haven't come across anyone who has claimed to have had a problem with them. My career was elevator service and up until the 80's elevator door motors were at least as big as an average compressor motor but soon were replaced with ever-shrinking gear motors. At first, us service guys couldn't get replacements fast enough to fix the dead elevator doors but as the years went by and we returned the carcasses for post-mortems, the small motors kept getting better and better to the point that they became a non-issue and it was a rarity to find a failed one. My Winnie is a 2015. I'm assuming there are people on here who had problems with Schwintecs and those who haven't. Do the replaced motors seem to be better quality now?
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    Dec 04, 2016
    garyemunson wrote:
    Thanks for all the great info! I see that those type slides have been around now since at least 2007 and that in the beginning, the failure rate was very high. I'm now keeping an eye out for slides like these when we are at RV parks and so far haven't come across anyone who has claimed to have had a problem with them. My career was elevator service and up until the 80's elevator door motors were at least as big as an average compressor motor but soon were replaced with ever-shrinking gear motors. At first, us service guys couldn't get replacements fast enough to fix the dead elevator doors but as the years went by and we returned the carcasses for post-mortems, the small motors kept getting better and better to the point that they became a non-issue and it was a rarity to find a failed one. My Winnie is a 2015. I'm assuming there are people on here who had problems with Schwintecs and those who haven't. Do the replaced motors seem to be better quality now?


    There are MILLIONS of Schwintek slide systems in use. The Motors have been the same for about 5 years. The 300 motors(95 present of the schwinteks) are the same except for the wire connections on the motors. The other 5 percent are the 500 rpm motor systems. The system (motors/wiring/electronics) have been updated(better) for at least 5 years from the original. The Mechanism (except for tiny plastic pieces) has NOT changed in 10 years. The main problem in the first few years was NOT the Schwintek system but the OEM's installs. ALL the system does is move the room out and in. The floor support and rollers and slide box and cutout of the RV are the OEM's. Running the wiring to the Slide mechanism is the OEM's job. The failure is rare now and usually caused by the improper installation of the OEM. Doug

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