Lippert - Schwintek slide

[Butcher]

There are a lot of people that appear to know more than the factory. I tend to follow the factory recommendations. There are too many clowns out there that appear to know what they are talking about but really do not.

I've always suspected thought the Schwintek system is ok, but the amount of load that it is moving is too heavy or does not slide well.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

There are a lot of people that appear to know more than the factory. I tend to follow the factory recommendations. There are too many clowns out there that appear to know what they are talking about but really do not.

I've always suspected thought the Schwintek system is ok, but the amount of load that it is moving is too heavy or does not slide well.

Part of the problem is that the factory has radically changed their policy: they used to say "Don't lube the Schwintek", now they say "Do lube the Schwintek". Plus the techs from Grand Design will also give differing opinions. Just got to figure out who to believe is correct, or whether any of them are.

 

[Butcher]

I get that the factory changes their procedures. I've seen that where I used to work. 40 years working with Mercedes, I tend to know what works and what does not. Working at the same dealership for 24 years, I tend to see how long repairs last. I still would not trust many mechanics because they tend to not stay around long enough to see the damages they have caused.

I still believe that the Schwintek is the place I would rest my hat on when it came to maintenance procedures.

The wear/tear/damage I have seen on videos, sure seems like the mechanism is over loaded. I can see lube helping, but when aluminum is shearing, there is something else that is causing it. Kind of like a fuse. Fuses rarely ever go bad. When they blow, there is a problem. I've always thought it was weird that people say 'It was just a fuse that caused the problem.'

A simple 'look see' when you are camping can surely let you know if the wear is extreme or not.

Remember, I'm just another clown on the internet that is playing in this circus.

 

[Soundsailor]

My tech recommends lubing. We had a block wear out but the track had been lubed and it survived.

 

[Kwan59larry]

There are a lot of people that appear to know more than the factory. I tend to follow the factory recommendations. There are too many clowns out there that appear to know what they are talking about but really do not.

I've always suspected thought the Schwintek system is ok, but the amount of load that it is moving is too heavy or does not slide well.

I hear ya!

 

[Kwan59larry]

Part of the problem is that the factory has radically changed their policy: they used to say "Don't lube the Schwintek", now they say "Do lube the Schwintek". Plus the techs from Grand Design will also give differing opinions. Just got to figure out who to believe is correct, or whether any of them are.

I guess you have to sometimes figure things out for yourself.

 

[Kwan59larry]

I get that the factory changes their procedures. I've seen that where I used to work. 40 years working with Mercedes, I tend to know what works and what does not. Working at the same dealership for 24 years, I tend to see how long repairs last. I still would not trust many mechanics because they tend to not stay around long enough to see the damages they have caused.

I still believe that the Schwintek is the place I would rest my hat on when it came to maintenance procedures.

The wear/tear/damage I have seen on videos, sure seems like the mechanism is over loaded. I can see lube helping, but when aluminum is shearing, there is something else that is causing it. Kind of like a fuse. Fuses rarely ever go bad. When they blow, there is a problem. I've always thought it was weird that people say 'It was just a fuse that caused the problem.'

A simple 'look see' when you are camping can surely let you know if the wear is extreme or not.

Remember, I'm just another clown on the internet that is playing in this circus.

Yeah, unfortunately I could not find what caused it, neither could the service tech. I honestly believe it was our fault for not sinking the motors on both side by holding the button in or out after the slide stops. I believe it got out of wack and I learned later after the fact that on a schwintek system you should always hold the switch for at least 3 seconds after it stops to sink the motors. They never told me that at the dealership when I purchased the trailer, ugh!

 

[Kwan59larry]

Yeah, I will definitely be watching closely and cleaning as well. It’s hard to believe it shouldn’t be lubricated. It would be like an engine without oil. I’m just happy I was able to do the work myself rather than pay someone a couple of grand to do it. If I remember right, the parts were under $500. They’re after market parts, we’ll see how long they last.

 

[Tom Traveler]

Yeah, I will definitely be watching closely and cleaning as well. It’s hard to believe it shouldn’t be lubricated. It would be like an engine without oil. I’m just happy I was able to do the work myself rather than pay someone a couple of grand to do it. If I remember right, the parts were under $500. They’re after market parts, we’ll see how long they last.

We had one living room slide act up. One side did not seem to have enough power to keep up. It was at the end of a cloudy travel day, so probably had low battery voltage (2 FLA batteries). We waited after hooking up shore power for the converter to top off the batteries and it worked fine. Now after I park, I hook up shore power and start the converter/charger first. Then I unhook, level (hydraulic 6-point level-up), and run the slides. That has helped. The wires in the motor/control cables are very small so probably have a lot of voltage loss.

 

[Kwan59larry]

Yeah, the things y

We had one living room slide act up. One side did not seem to have enough power to keep up. It was at the end of a cloudy travel day, so probably had low battery voltage (2 FLA batteries). We waited after hooking up shore power for the converter to top off the batteries and it worked fine. Now after I park, I hook up shore power and start the converter/charger first. Then I unhook, level (hydraulic 6-point level-up), and run the slides. That has helped. The wires in the motor/control cables are very small so probably have a lot of voltage loss

Yeah, the things you learn as you go.

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Over the last couple years researching shwinteks just to be prepared in case it does have issues...so far mine has been bullet proof.
Reiterate the holding the button on extend and retract and extra 3 to 5 seconds after the slide movement is done - every time!
Don't ask it to work extra hard by storing heavy items within it..like your supply of campfire beer.
Don't try to run without the battery installed or a weak battery
I'll just add if you choose to lubricate....make it a dry lube. Or you will be creating problems over time.
Most recommend just lubing the shoe area, not the gear track.
Eyeball the track area from time to time to make sure it is clean.

 

[Butcher]

like your supply of campfire beer.

I would need an additional truck.

I would agree with the ideas of lubrication. It does seem to make common sense, but......

Why would the factory say no to lubes?
I suspect that it attracts dirt and that would be additional maintenance. Maintenance is not something people do a lot of. Once the dirt is present, how would you clean that out? Sure, maybe the track might be easy, but what about where the gears are?
The lube might effect the rubber seals. Like many, a little bit is good but more is always better. Once you get so much lube it's highly possible that the wrong lube would ruin the rubber seals. Another issue.
I have not gutted my tracks yet, but it might be possible that the drive gear is some type of self lubricating type [brass/bronze].

Again, I don't know but there is a good reason why they would say no lube. Adding lube might work, but long term, it might not. Many of the techs that might think lube is good may not know what the long term effects are. Both the RV and techs come and go.

I am in the camp that the room is too heavy, the rollers are not very well made [hard to roll/not enough], or any manufacturer that thinks slides are good, have not read the Schwintek manual. That is how I will approach my long term use of the Schwintek slides on my 29RS. I hope to have ball bearing rollers and metal plates for the rollers to run on this year on my main room. If that goes well, I will convert the lightweight bedroom slide to rollers [since it has slide blocks now].

 

[NB Canada]

Part of the problem is that the factory has radically changed their policy: they used to say "Don't lube the Schwintek", now they say "Do lube the Schwintek". Plus the techs from Grand Design will also give differing opinions. Just got to figure out who to believe is correct, or whether any of them are.

I believe the techs do not have a clue. They guess just as much at things as we do

They definitely have flip flopped on lubing schwintek slides.

I wouldn’t follow Grand Designs advice on much
Imo the Schwintek slide failures have more to do with auto leveling systems than anything else and they recommend you level first then deploy slides

I would need an additional truck.

I would agree with the ideas of lubrication. It does seem to make common sense, but......

Why would the factory say no to lubes?
I suspect that it attracts dirt and that would be additional maintenance. Maintenance is not something people do a lot of. Once the dirt is present, how would you clean that out? Sure, maybe the track might be easy, but what about where the gears are?
The lube might effect the rubber seals. Like many, a little bit is good but more is always better. Once you get so much lube it's highly possible that the wrong lube would ruin the rubber seals. Another issue.
I have not gutted my tracks yet, but it might be possible that the drive gear is some type of self lubricating type [brass/bronze].

Again, I don't know but there is a good reason why they would say no lube. Adding lube might work, but long term, it might not. Many of the techs that might think lube is good may not know what the long term effects are. Both the RV and techs come and go.

I am in the camp that the room is too heavy, the rollers are not very well made [hard to roll/not enough], or any manufacturer that thinks slides are good, have not read the Schwintek manual. That is how I will approach my long term use of the Schwintek slides on my 29RS. I hope to have ball bearing rollers and metal plates for the rollers to run on this year on my main room. If that goes well, I will convert the lightweight bedroom slide to rollers [since it has slide blocks now].

it has everything to do with dirt attraction imo. There really isn’t any need for lube as it is a slow moving gear in an aluminum track. No heat and no wear really

I have never lubed mine and my slide works perfectly but I also ensure it is only level on its wheels before I operate the slide ,no stabilizing. I think the auto leveling is the biggest issue with slides. Just my opinion of course
My slide has the fridge and under dinette storage so it isn’t light

 

[TimtheToolMan]

Correction to my previous post. I should have said that CRC Power Lube with PTFE (Teflon) is a dirt magnet. It is not a dry lubricant (it never dries/stays oily). I was not talking about CRC PTFE Dry Lube.

I was not concerned so much to the cosmetic dirt but that the dirt can be mostly sand. Think sandpaper...

Brushing parts (can easily be done inside camper) when they are dry with a small brush and is pretty effective at removing loose sand that is there but may not be obvious, unless wiped with a damp cloth.

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

I agree with Butcher's concerns and as of now I have not lubed my shwintek. But I have armed myself with hopefully useful knowledge to deal with it if it fails. Forewarned is forearmed and all that.

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

I would need an additional truck.

Lol. We need to meet up for a campfire.....