Schwintek RV slide mechanism

I had a motor short-out without prior warning on my bedroom slide. Dealer was able to fix that, but it took 4 of us to be able to force the slide closed. My two rear bedroom slides have no had any problems.

My 14' superslide has had ongoing problems, so far requiring 2 trips to the factory. The system is no no good for large, heavy slides. I can see gear wear again, so I'm sure the system will need to be replaced again, sooner rather than later. I've also had trouble with it being unable to open the slide in very cold weather.

Laberj45 this is what I have found as well. To others Google Schwintek slide problems. You will have plenty to read and can make your own conclusions.

I myself will not purchase a RV with this system.

I owned a 2017 Miramar 34.3. It had a 30 foot superslide. Unfortunately it was manufatcured incorrectly with a Lippert Schwintek 2 track system. It was supposed to come with a 3 trax system. It was remanufactured - but continued to work improperly. I have had more experience than I want with the Schwintek system and have found the following:

The slide is just too large and heavy for such an electric motor system. This type of system that Thor uses is cheaper and lighter - but has a high likelihood of malfunctioning (as any honest service tech).

Any full slide wall system, in my opinion, should have a hydraulic system. Smaller slides can get away with the Schwintek electric components.

I've bad no problem at all with the Schwintek system in our camper.

Google Schwintek and you will get tired of reading about all the problems. That said I am a firm believer that it has more to do with how well the system was installed than the system itself.

My brother had fits with his for close to two years with the slide once tilting outward at the top looking like it would fall out of the trailer. It broke teeth off the gear rail. Sorry, I looked for the picture and couldn't find it. He could not get it to retract fully because of the angle and had to drive home with the top jutting out about 5". The dealer eventually removed the rails and the drive motors and all the seals and replaced them with new. The installation must have been done properly because he hasn't had any more issue in the two years since.

Mine has been trouble free. Note read the owner's manual Owner's Manual. The most important part is on page 4 where it says this:

3. Press and hold the IN/OUT switch (Fig. 1B) in the OUT position until the room is fully extended and stops moving.
Note: It is important to continue to press the slide-out switch for a few seconds after the room is fully
extended until the motor shuts off. The control will sense that the room has stopped and will shut off the motor after a few seconds.
4. Release the switch, which will lock the room into position.

No. 3 is the important part, when moving the slideout in or out, hold the button a few seconds after the slideout stops moving. This is how you ensure the motors stay timed.

Howdy!

I've read enough problems, and talked to those that had them that I chose to stay clear of them when we researched buying a new RV.

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

mine has worked correctly from new. I agree with this comment made earlier:

"One thing they don't like is stopping partway in or out. Let them fully extend or retract without stopping. "

I have a 2001 FunFinder 210WBS purchased new at the beginning of camping season in 2000 so we have used it for 7 seasons. The mechanism has worked flawlessly all this time. I did have a related problem that damaged the floor of the slide. Fortunately I was able to repair the problem before there was too much damage.

Here's what happened. There are three nylon rollers under the slide's floor that provide support as the slide moves in and out. One of these was impacted with caulk so that it did not turn. Instead the slide just skidded over it eventually damaging the floor of the slide. So if you have a Schwintec slide I recommend that you inspect these rollers to make sure that they are not doing damage to your slide floor. They are easy to see when the slide is extended. This is also a good time to examine the underside of the slide.

Never had an issue with ours in almost 5 years. The bathroom was blocked by the table so we had to slide it out about 2' when we stopped at rest areas.