Slide room--Schwintek motor woes

[msw3113]

Prior symptoms were that the motor would rise out of its receptacle--against the retention screw--and stop moving the forward side of the slide. Sometimes I could remove the retention screw and manually nudge the forward end of the slide in or out until the motor could be wiggled back down into its receptacle. Re-installed the retention screw and we were operational again. Other times we simply replaced the motor.
Most recently the motor not only rose out of its receptacle but bent the locating pins. Another new motor (this is #4 or #5, I've lost track) and we're operational again.
Have any Schwintek gurus on these pages encountered this phenomenon? Is there a more reliable, permanent fix aside from replacing the "H-" column(s)? I've contemplated installation of a horizontal metal strap on the inside of the motor pocket to position a second retention screw, effectively 180 degrees from the OEM external retention screw.
We'd be grateful for any input.

 

[Primerump]

I'm no schwinteck expert, but just looking at those bolts suggests a vibration or torque issue loosening the retaining nuts. Are the nuts a type of locking nut such as "nyloc" or is there some other type on there ?
nyloc will fail if the motor gets too hot with use. a better locking method would be to use a locktite or equivalent thread locker. The mention of motor number 4 or 5 is rather concerning as it suggests an intrinsic design flaw. sorry I can't provide any real help..

 

[UTTransplant]

After a few years of hassle with the big Schwintek slide for our bedroom/bathroom, we finally replaced it with a VROOM system with its bigger motor and more robust gearing. Our issue wasn’t the same as yours; I think Schwintek just wasn’t up to the weight on that slide. The smaller bedroom slide has never been an issue. But I do agree that your issue seems to be something in the installation, maybe even a factory installation issue. Have you had a Schwintek specialist look at it?

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

On a recent RV venture I was noticing a lot of RV's have full size slides now, with newer ones having the "slim rack" rack drive visible. I'm having a hard time picturing these being any more reliable than the schwintek setup. It's easy to say to avoid any model that uses them, but you see very few that don't in the sub $250K range. It sucks to think the first trip you have to make in your RV is to a place to get a different slide drive fitted.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[msw3113]

I'm no schwinteck expert, but just looking at those bolts suggests a vibration or torque issue loosening the retaining nuts. Are the nuts a type of locking nut such as "nyloc" or is there some other type on there ?
nyloc will fail if the motor gets too hot with use. a better locking method would be to use a locktite or equivalent thread locker. The mention of motor number 4 or 5 is rather concerning as it suggests an intrinsic design flaw. sorry I can't provide any real help..

Those "bolts" are the locating pins that prevent the motor from spinning in place. They just sit in a receptacle with four holes, no fastening nut is used as there's not room.
"Intrinsic design flaw" is a very polite substitute for words I've used on this mechanism.

 

[msw3113]

...we finally replaced it with a VROOM system with its bigger motor and more robust gearing.
.... Have you had a Schwintek specialist look at it?

Vroom would be nice. From all reports, it would easily handle our slide and I would happily be done with the Schwintek hardware and its headaches. Alas, Vroom is too far out of our budget.

If I could find a Schwintek specialist, that would be great. I suspect that those persons are in rather high demand. So I did the next best thing by inquiring here.

 

[Heli_av8tor]

After 8 trouble free years with my Power Gear driven slides on my Pace Arrow I now have one Schwintek slide one the Tiffin. It’s the small bedroom slide so maybe it will be up to the task.

Check out the YouTube videos on Schwintek by My RV Works, Inc. It appears that he has tons of experience with them. He does recommend lubrication and explains what, how, and why. I got virtually the same advice from Terry at Precision RV in Red Bay two weeks ago.

 

[UTTransplant]

There is a great place in Red Bay, AL called Precision RV that does lots of work on Schwintek. They have a very good YouTube channel you should look up. While a lot is Tiffin specific, there is also a lot that is generic. And if you have any chance of getting there, they could identify what’s wrong. Whether they can fix it is probable, but not guaranteed. And note that not only is Vroom expensive, it requires cutting a piece of the slide off which is not for the faint of heart! So far we are happy, but this big Schwintek slide had been repaired twice and was still problematic. I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with Schwintek; ours was just too marginal in size.

 

[Heli_av8tor]

I discovered Precision RV and had them do some work. They were great to deal with. I won’t hesitate to use them again.
I didn’t know they have a YouTube channel. Thanks for the lead.

 

[UTTransplant]

And note that not only is Vroom expensive, it requires cutting a piece of the slide off which is not for the faint of heart!

This may not come as a surprise to many of you, but the statement above shows I can sometimes be an idiot. Changing to a Vroom slide does NOT require cutting off anything. That was for when we installed TrueToppers. Duh! And of course I read my stupidity too late to edit the original. Sigh.

 

[Heli_av8tor]

lol, sometimes things just blend together. You’re not alone.