Another Schwintek slide question

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
ceemike

ceemike

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 19, 2009
Posts
607
Location
Pennsylvania
We're looking at a new 2014 Itasca Sunstar 35F. It has two slides, an approximately 16 to 17 foot main slide and a smaller bedroom slide.  Both are powered by the Schwintek slide mechanism.  I've read many posts about the ongoing problems with the Schwintek products, and the supposed improvements that Schwintek has been making to correct the issue.  Is there a production date after which Winnebago started using the newer mechanisms?  I really don't want to buy this rig and start having troubles right off the bat.
 
I think there have been ongoing tweaks and improvements to the mechanism since maybe 2012 or so.  I wouldn't be too concerned about it, if it doesn't work properly they can always fix/upgrade the mechanism.
 
I have not had any issues with the Schwintek Slides on my Winnebago Aspect. Granted my slides are a bit smaller than the ones noted but they are in heavy locations, closet full of clothes, dinette with under booth storage, and the stove top, microwave, cabinet, and couch wall...all very heavy locations. I do not lubricate the slides whatsoever, but I do make sure the slide mechanisms and areas around the seals are clean and free of any sort debris that might get wedged in the cogs and/or slide. 

 
ceemike said:
We're looking at a new 2014 Itasca Sunstar 35F......
Click to expand...

ceemike,

Been there, done that with the Schwintek Slides, we've had both good and bad experiences.  April '13 we bought a new unit that I dumped after fighting the slide problem and it had been in the shop for 4 1/2 months of the five months I'd owned it.  Keeping the fingers crossed, I traded it for a 2014 Itasca Sunstar 35F and have had no problems with the slides in the eight months I've owned it.  After the prior disaster I'm quite pleased with Itasca.  A couple of things I have learned in the process is first and foremost, make sure your unit is level before you move the slides, make sure you are clear to move the slide and don't stop in the middle of opening unless it's an emergency and don't over load the storage bins above the couch and table with a lot of heavy items.  Since we got the larger refrigerator we store can good under the couch in Wally World Sterilite 7.5L plastic bins. Any time we are moving the that slide, we move the bins into to passage way to keep that weight off the slide.  Just an added note on edit, the first unit that I had problems with on the slides was not a Winnebago/Itasca product.
 
9uc said:
I traded it for a 2014 Itasca Sunstar 35F and have had no problems with the slides in the eight months I've owned it. . . . we store can good under the couch .  . .
Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies.  I'm happy to hear that John (OM) & Stan are not having problems with the slides in their 2014 Winnies.  I realize it's a very small sample, but it's better than nothing.

Stan, I didn't realize there's storage under the couch. Is it easily accessible? Is the sofa a jackknife?
 
9uc said:
ceemike,

Been there, done that with the Schwintek Slides, we've had both good and bad experiences.  April '13 we bought a new unit that I dumped after fighting the slide problem and it had been in the shop for 4 1/2 months of the five months I'd owned it.  Keeping the fingers crossed, I traded it for a 2014 Itasca Sunstar 35F and have had no problems with the slides in the eight months I've owned it.  After the prior disaster I'm quite pleased with Itasca.  A couple of things I have learned in the process is first and foremost, make sure your unit is level before you move the slides, make sure you are clear to move the slide and don't stop in the middle of opening unless it's an emergency and don't over load the storage bins above the couch and table with a lot of heavy items.  Since we got the larger refrigerator we store can good under the couch in Wally World Sterilite 7.5L plastic bins. Any time we are moving the that slide, we move the bins into to passage way to keep that weight off the slide.  Just an added note on edit, the first unit that I had problems with on the slides was not a Winnebago/Itasca product.
Click to expand...

I get the weight... and the level.... but why not stop mid run?  My coach has these slides and I haven't had it very long.  I have noting to comapre it too, but they seem ok so far......
 
ceemike said:
Thanks for the replies.  I'm happy to hear that John (OM) & Stan are not having problems with the slides in their 2014 Winnies.  I realize it's a very small sample, but it's better than nothing.  Stan, I didn't realize there's storage under the couch. Is it easily accessible? Is the sofa a jackknife?
Click to expand...

blw2 said:
I get the weight... and the level.... but why not stop mid run?  My coach has these slides and I haven't had it very long.  I have noting to comapre it too, but they seem ok so far......
Click to expand...

Yes, the couch is a jack knife style.  There is a latch at mid point on the front couch.  Slip fingers in the slot, release the latch and lift the top edge as though you were going to fold it out.  Lift the top the couch and the front piece lifts off.  It's  a hook bracket in the middle and on both ends.  Roughly a six inch high by the height and length of the couch space that 5 of the Sterilite containers will fit. 

The rational I was given by the tech who tried to repair the previous unit was that the starting and stopping of the prior to hitting it's stops on each end can cause a misalignment of the slide meshing with the gear that moves the slide.  The first unit was so misaligned at the factory that there was chewed up track shavings all over the place.
 
Stopping mid way can cause the motors to become out of sync with each other resulting in one side of the slide to be further in than the other - which can be corrected following the re-sync procedure (but can also be quite surprising). I believe that a major cause of problems earlier on were that some folks didn't realize the slide could become out of sync, and in some cases, the operator - not realizing the problem, or not knowing what to do, would continue to run the slide in an offset position potentially causing damage to the slide. The longer the slide, the more difficult it is to determine if the slide is out of sync, because you can't see both ends at the same time, which may partly explain why larger slides seem to have had more problems

Bottom line... it is important to keep the switch fully depressed while the slide travels in or out, and to keep the switch fully depressed for a few seconds afterwards which allows the controller to recognize the end point and automatically re-sync.
 
streamcamper said:
Stopping mid way can cause the motors to become out of sync with each other resulting in one side of the slide to be further in than the other.....
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum, I'm relative new myself.  Thanks streamcamper, for a far better and detailed explanation.  Anyone having these systems really need to get as much info as possible.  After 4 1/2 months in the shop, and the unit, including all the body damage from an improperly installed slide and damage that occurred prior to leave the factory, was declared repaired, the techs still had not gotten the motors and slide tracks in sync.  When closing, the front end of the slide would seat first then the rear about a second and a half later.  Then when slid out, the rear would move first, then the front.
 
Syncing is generally an issue only with mechanisms that have multiple motors. Slides as long as 14 or so feet typically use one motor with a single lonnnng shaft to drive multiple gears. Unless one of those gears jumps a cog (highly unlikely), they are always in sync. Slides with two or more motors, however, are prone to motor sync issues.

Of course, if the slide is not installed correctly, or if a repair alters the factory gear alignment, all bets are off.
 
Gary,
I think what was mentioned as far a syncing in regard to the Schwintek slide system means that the forward motor and shaft be synced with the rear motor and shaft. The Schwintek system  uses one motor for the front of the slide and another for the rear of the slide. Each motor drives an upper gear and a lower gear, thereby requiring the front motor to be in sync with the rear motor so that the slide comes in evenly.
 
CFSUNRISE said:
Gary,
I think what was mentioned as far a syncing in regard to the Schwintek slide system means that the forward motor and shaft be synced with the rear motor and shaft. The Schwintek system  uses one motor for the front of the slide and another for the rear of the slide. Each motor drives an upper gear and a lower gear, thereby requiring the front motor to be in sync with the rear motor so that the slide comes in evenly.
Click to expand...

On a few occasions I have stopped my Schwintek Slide(s) mid opening/closing. The system does not instantly stop but it decelerates slowly to a stop, I would think that it would be difficult to get the system(s) out of sync.
 
I have stopped mine several times already mid way.....
I have also noticed it coming in a bit unevenly a few times too.
Caused by me?  perhaps.  Before this thread, I never saw anything to tell me I should do different.

There is a video on Youtube by schwintek, that talks about what to do to re-synch.  it's simple to just cylcle them in and out against the stops a couple times according to the video.
Each side has it's own motor and they are not connected, so I think that unless they were so grossly out of synch to cause the gear to pop out, there wouldn't be much of an issue..... but then I am very new to all of this and it seems that there is a history.....
 
Well, the unit we were looking at has been sold :( and the dealer doesn't have another of that floor plan (he did offer to sell us a 2015 35F for the same price but Winnebago made some changes to the bedroom & rear bath that we don't like), so we won't be getting a new coach right now, but I want to thank everyone for their replies.  It sounds like the problems with the Schwintek slide rooms have been solved so we don't have to eliminate Winnebago products from our search.
 
ceemike
Did you possibly ask your dealer if he could maybe locate a 2014 for you? I don't know if you are aware but the front cap and dash have been completely redesigned for 2015 on the Sunstar/Vista. Keep looking, there a few 2014's out there just a matter how far you want to go.
Good Luck
Fred
 
I think what was mentioned as far a syncing in regard to the Schwintek slide system means that the forward motor and shaft be synced with the rear motor and shaft.
Click to expand...

Right.  I made the clarifying comment about syncing requirements because sometimes we hear from people who are worrying [needlessly] about their slides getting out of sync, when they have only a single motor system anyway.
 
Oscar Mike said:
On a few occasions I have stopped my Schwintek Slide(s) mid opening/closing. The system does not instantly stop but it decelerates slowly to a stop, I would think that it would be difficult to get the system(s) out of sync.
Click to expand...

I had stopped my O/H bunk from lowering mid way to avoid an obstruction and noticed that one side coasted to a stop further than the other, which caused the 2 sides to become out of sync. I think what happens is that when you release the button, the controller no longer receives feedback from the motors, so if the motors coast to a stop at different rates, the controller doesn't know this and assumes an incorrect zero point. In other words, the controller thinks the system is aligned when in fact it isn't. Usually stopping mid way wouldn't be a problem, however there may be situations where there is more drag on one side than the other which could cause different deceleration rates. For example, there could be an obstruction such as bag or package, or their could be excessive weight such as someone sitting on a sofa while the slide is actuated. Understanding the system, any system, is key to long term reliability. Regards...
 
I have a 2014 mini winne and has been in service since I bought it April 24 2014 for slide problems so far no fix. Find a different mh save yourself time,money and frustration
 
Our 2014 Adventurer 38Q experienced problems with all three slides. At least I thought they were problems. Kitchen slide (Schwintek)....lower rear corner protruded 2 inches when closed. Other corners flush. Made a grinding noise when operating. Lippert said it wasn't a synch problem or both rear corners would protrude. Said it may be a bad installation by Winnebago requiring removal and reinstall meaning paint and body work would be needed. Bedroom slide also making frinding noise but seemed to work OK. Lounge slide is Power Gear.....when opening, a loud bang is heard at end of travel. Seems OK otherwise. Took it to a Winnebago dealer for service on August 16. Wow! took four weeks for them to submit for work approval to Winnebago/Lippert. Wishing I lived nearer to Forest City. I think we hear about problems with systems much more often than those working well. After all, these forums are to learn how to resolve/avoid issues. I choose to believe that there is not a systemic problem at Winnebago or Lippert. I am amazed at how much of the original and after market parts are now produced/owned by Lippert.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,511 (members: 29, guests: 1,482)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,974
Posts
1,388,516
Members
137,723
Latest member
CarlSpackler
Back
Top Bottom