Schwintek Slide Mechanism - 2014 Itasca Ellipse

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John Canfield said:
Get Winnebago Owner Relations involved; there is no excuse for the dealer to cut you off.
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Is "Owner Relations" different than "Customer Service"?

I talked to Customer Service at Winnebago a couple of months ago & the "tech" told me they weren't aware of any problems. I talked to another "tech" in Customer Service a couple of weeks ago & he said lubricating the gibbs at the motor was the solution & I should do that before calling them again. Others have tried that remedy & it didn't help & Schwintech told me that was not the solution.  I can see no way lubrication could fix the problem as I know it. My dealer is notorious for not returning calls at every level & I'm not sure I can convince them to talk directly to Lippert since they seem to be inclined to do what Winnebago says & so far they don't seem to have a clue. Its very frustrating, especially when securing the motor & rod is the obvious solution. If my MH was not still under warranty I would waste no more time with them, but I shouldn't have to pay someone else to fix what is clearly a warranty issue.
 
Have my first schwintech issue (3 month old coach) lower back edge will not retract all the way, didnot have this issue when I took  the coach in for service when I went to pick it up it did
 
  Aaaaaaaaarrrrgh, I should not have logged in this late at night; after reading this entire sequence I want to kick my Itasca 34B, our Camping World dealership and the VP of Engineering at Winny. Our 34 B has had the same slapping and cracking noise as described in these posts. I'm picking it up for the third time from CW next week and am even more nervous about whether the thing will sound better when driving on moderately rough roads. Not sure what the dealer truly knows about this problem from the folks in Forest City, but the dealer folks have danced around this issue enough that I was suspecting a more global problem than just my unit.
For years I have been reading about Lippert design quality issues and frankly if I was smart enough to check out the source of the Schwintek products I might have bought a different brand.

However, nothing is as good or as bad as it first seems,so I'll wait a bit before I buy some Bose noise canceling headphones
 
I got our 2013 Adventurer back yesterday after having the full wall slide replaced.  The Tech told me the electric  motors were larger and the rod supporting the motor was more sturdy.  I elected to not do the slapping noise fix until I see it is necessary. Still a little squeaky occasionally but no slapping noise on trip home.
 
Alex, you should be fine  . On mind they replaces the complete assembly.  They did not  add the stps or tubes as they call them but replaced the Pv board which reads the current and determines the stop. 5 volts I a.m told . Seems to be fine at this time.
 
Well, I put mine back in the shop today for the fix to secure the motor so it can't vibrate back & forth & cause the slapping noise. It took many phone calls to the dealer, Winnebago & Lippert to get the dealer on board with the fix. I have been promised it will be fixed before the weekend when I have told them I am picking it up fixed or not. We'll see.

The service tech told me today that Lippert has told them that they are engineering some new replacement parts for future repairs of the problem. They may do a recall on them because none of the "fixes" so far have been more than temporary. He also said that Winnebago admitted to them that the "lubricant fix" they have been doing & advocating lately to customers (including me) would only last a few months at best!
 
I just wanted to share my personal experience. We are absolute RV newbies. We picked up our brand new 2014 Thor ACE at the dealer and the Lippert Schwintek slides all worked perfectly. When we arrived home with the coach, we attempted to extend the large slide and it stopped after it went about 4 inches out. Since we were such newbies and we live 160 miles from the dealer, we spent a lot of time on the phone with the dealer, Thor and Lippert. Once we finally worked through a troubleshooting scheme, we determined that one of the motors had gone bad. BRAND NEW 1 day old coach!

We finally got the slide in and took it back to the dealer. After about 10 days, it was fixed by replacing the motor on one side of the slide. Apparently the Thor ACE 30.1 uses a 300 series motor which our repair tech thought might be a bit weak for the size of the slide. We offered  to pay the difference to upgrade to the 500 series motor but were told by the service manager that they (Thor) would not authorize purchase of the 500 series motor on a warranty fix.

Since then, all has worked well. (2 weeks and one trip) Good Luck!
 
Welcome!

Like I mentioned several posts ago, you folks with the Schwintek mechanism are apparently beta testers for Schwintek in motor home applications (their market was 5th wheels.)  They will work through their design and engineering issues but it will take a while.
 
John Canfield said:
Like I mentioned several posts ago, you folks with the Schwintek mechanism are apparently beta testers for Schwintek in motor home applications (their market was 5th wheels.)  They will work through their design and engineering issues but it will take a while.
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Yes, it seems to be constantly changing. First the foam around the motor which worked pretty well for me for a while & then gradually the noise has been coming back. Next, the "lube the motor gear" fix which I currently have & it has gotten rid of the noise but Lippert, Winnebago & my service manager all agree it is also only a temporary fix at best. Then the screw to stabalize the motor which Lippert has now apparently decided may damage the motor & so has stopped using. And now, as of today, a metal screw with a T nut to stabalize the motor. My service manager ordered some through Winnebago (because a warranty repair) to be drop shipped & overnighted from Lippert. He has agreed to have his head service tech come to my house & install it when they get it Monday since we are leaving on a trip & they have given me such a hassle so far. I'll report on how that goes after I put some miles on it in the next couple of weeks.
 
My October/November issue of the WIT Club News contains a Service Tip from the Pros showing how to lube your Schwintek Slide Mechanism to eliminate the popping noise.  It's on page 27.  They suggest using CRC Industrial Power Lube with "PTFE".  It also has photos showing where to spray the lube. 
 
I ordered the lube and per instructions sprayed it on. Did not work.  Re applied the lube and still did not work. Don't think this is a fix.
 
jimlaurielucy said:
I ordered the lube and per instructions sprayed it on. Did not work.  Re applied the lube and still did not work. Don't think this is a fix.
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This is not a lube fix from what I have seen and heard - this is a serious design problem from several different perspectives. 
 
tomnnva said:
This is not a lube fix from what I have seen and heard - this is a serious design problem from several different perspectives.
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For what its worth, my dealer just fixed mine with the lube but they did more than just spray it on - they put a lot around the gibbs. It did work on my 20 mile drive home but they came to my home yesterday & did the new "screw & T nut" fix since all agreed the lube is only a temporary fix. We'll be on the road Friday for the next couple of weeks so I hope to report it stays quiet for the trip.
 
RLSharp said:
Can you explain what "gibbs" are? Thanks.

R
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The gibbs are two spacers that look like heavy bolt nuts & fit on each side of the torque shaft next to the gear to keep it from moving back & forth laterally when the motor is operated.

There is a good Schwintek video of this on YuTube.
 
Cass Sumrall said:
The gibbs are two spacers that look like heavy bolt nuts & fit on each side of the torque shaft next to the gear to keep it from moving back & forth laterally when the motor is operated.

There is a good Schwintek video of this on YuTube.
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I found several YouTube Videos on the Schwintek system but can't locate the one which shows these spacers/heavy bolt nuts on each side of the torque shaft. Can you provide a link to this specific video? Thanks.

R
 
RLSharp,

If you click on the WIT Club News link in my previous post and go to page 27, you will find a clear photo that shows the gibbs.
 
RLSharp said:
I found several YouTube Videos on the Schwintek system but can't locate the one which shows these spacers/heavy bolt nuts on each side of the torque shaft. Can you provide a link to this specific video? Thanks.

R
Click to expand...

5th video from the top if you go to YouTube & type in "Schwintek".
 
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