Lets Talk Slide Outs

One of the things that I looked for when buying my used motorhome was what slide out system it had. I would not even consider one with a schwintek in it. No cable one either. It had to have a hydraulic, or a power gear. ( Which my Jayco has).. unfortunately now, I read that Lippert. (AKA : schwintek) bought Power Gear...

The original design of the Schwintek could handle the full wall slides. When Lippert got a hold of the system and started mass production...combined with the speed of install from the manufacturers, the system went to ****. I have the Schwintek system on three slides. I do have one giving me fits, but the nice thing about it, it is easy for you or I to replace, the whole system is about 50 lbs...thought the rollers under the slide are undersized and the screws holing the system together are of low quality...

Our last trailer had the BAL system on it...once again, very light and you or I can fix it if needed. The only problem, they are maintenance intensive. Whether they are in or out, there is always a set of cables under tension, which need to be adjusted every 90ish days or so. It is good to carry a crimping tool and cable ends, as they tend to brake off... I had to replace a motor on a slide, it took myself and a buddy about 30 minutes....then another hour for adjustment.

The older systems I don't think are very easy for the consumer to repair themselves.

Cale

Chuck_thehammer wrote:
$$$$.$$$.$$$.$$$.$$
second is weight.
third SPEED of assembly.

X2

And fix the issues as they come, so let the dealers have the problems.

$$$$.$$$.$$$.$$$.$$
second is weight.
third SPEED of assembly.

Yes weight is a issue on the newer systems but yet you see them on even the full wall slides, what has happen to the RV engineers as of late, do they even test them before putting it on the market or just to save $$ and put them out for the new buyers to deal with.

Weight.