Slide stuck - Reflection 260RD (150 Series)

Soundsailor

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While our 260RD has a Schwintek slide, I don't think our problem relates to that mechanism (I've inspected the tracks and there is no sign of damage there). The past few times I've extended the slide, a loud sound came from under the slide on the side closest to the rear of the trailer. It sounded like something cracking but since the camping season was almost over here in NH, and the slide was going out, and there was no issue with retracting, I decided to wait until after our last trip (today) to investigate more. While the slide went out with difficulty last week, I could still get it to retract today and bring the coach home. But when home I went to extend the slide so that my wife could access the bedroom. At that point, the slide made even louder noises and finally became stuck (won't go out or in) about 6 to 12 inches out.

I'm guessing that something under the slide box has jammed up the slide. I'm not sure, but I believe my model may have rollers there, one of the rollers may have failed.

How would I get access to the area under the slide box to test my theory? What other suggestions do you have for things to look for? I'd like to try to find a solution myself before resorting to taking the coach to my dealer. While I'd prefer to get the slide in before such a trip, is there any downside to traveling with the slide out a few inches?
 
I towed my previous camper from west Texas to California and back to Dallas with a slide out 4 to 6 inches due to a camper wall failure. No issues (although I didn't have to tow in rain.)
 
Further information. The Lippert slide-out troubleshooter says:

"Obstructions
Check outside the RV for possible obstructions: tree, post, car, etc. Check inside the RV for any obstructions:
luggage, furniture, open cabinets, etc. Also check for smaller objects that may be wedged under the floor or
in the sides of unit. Remove obstructions before proceeding."

I've inspected the interior and exterior, and there is no sign of obstruction. I was able to get my borescope through the gap in the seals under the slide, but I couldn't see much. How would I "check for smaller objects that may be wedged under the floor?"

After cycling the slide in and out with what little movement I could get, I could finally get the slide mostly in. This helps, but I need to do winterization soon which will be difficult if I can't get to the bathroom.
 
Maybe put a flat bar in and slide around and feel for something different from one side area to the next, to see if something is broken and or stuck, that might be able to be freed up with a T type bar to pull an out somethint.
 
If i had to replace a broken roller and it was plastic, i would do what ever is needed to find or have a machine shop make an aluminum one with barring's so it wont brake again. And do all the rollers when in there.
 
Rollers generally are near outer wall to maximize slide movement and I believe pretty durable themselves, but I have not done any research on related roller failures.

The surface that the rollers roll on might be more likely to fail.

As I was writing this,Slide roller wear and tear - I just did a search and this may be useful, if you have not already seen it. Grand Design Owners Forums

I recently saw some else add a plate to bottom to an ORV and he had good success. Slide roller potential damage - iRV2 Forums
 
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Rollers generally are near outer wall to maximize slide movement and I believe pretty durable themselves, but I have not done any research on related roller failures.

The surface that the rollers roll on might be more likely to fail.

As I was writing this,Slide roller wear and tear - I just did a search and this may be useful, if you have not already seen it. Grand Design Owners Forums

I recently saw some else add a plate to bottom to an ORV and he had good success. Slide roller potential damage - iRV2 Forums
Yes, it could easily be the OSB failing instead of the roller. The sound I hear is like wood cracking.
 
I have had good luck redoing wood in areas that get punky but something like a wood window with the bottom only that was neglected, can be made better than new, by taking epoxy resin and thinning it to get multiple coats on said wood to soak it up, then it hardens very nicely, never to be a problem again. Sand, stain or prime and paint, all done.
Just thin out nicely and keep applying till it wont take anymore, letting cure between coats.
I still think of the trick when i see a lower wood garage door that is on its way out, but could still be saved.

The stuff at the lumber yard in the pint or gallon, with extra hardener, and thin out with,,, i believe turpentine.
 
My mobile tech is coming next week, that resin idea sounds good. We'll have to get at the OSB at the bottom of the slide first.
 
I plan on doing something like Guardian Plates on my Schwintek system. I also plan on replacing the rollers with ball bearing rollers [something I will make].

With the plates, the room will be moved up. Sure, just slightly [depending on the thickness of the plate] but is that enough to throw out the alignment? I know RV's are not that exact and they probably have tolerances but does anyone know if adding a plate will cause issues?
 
Interesting that the support rollers do not have ball bearings. You might consider asking Schwintek support if there could be an issue if the slide moves too easily, as the motors may require more load to hold slide in place while traveling. Doubt that it is an issue but...

It looks like the Guardian plates maybe (?) .048" (18 GA 304 stainless). This sounds pretty thin, but I hope that Guardian has the right knowledge/experience.

Whether raising slide this amount will affect slide alignment will depend on where the slide is positioned now or as you repair it. There appears to be some variation as built. Raising may improve or hurt fit.

Swintek trouble-shooting and installation documentation specifies where Schwintek parts are to be located. This is just off the top of my head so take with a grain of salt: The side guide rollers (not lift rollers that you are changing) should spin when rotating with a finger (this makes sure that they are not carrying vertical weight). The rollers under slide should have slide weight on them and should be carrying all vertical weight. Not in the trouble-shooting, I think: An indication that side is too high or low, the wear marks from pinon on racks should have wear marks on the vertical teeth and not contacting the u-shaped tracts on the top and bottom of teeth areas.

This last previous comment may not be especially helpful before repair since the slide likely has dropped some and caused mentioned marks.

You may need to reposition racks and/or shim bottom rollers. Proper fitting is critical for Schwintek reliability. I have only inspected and measured the slide and have not done any related work myself.
 
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Interesting that the support rollers do not have ball bearings. You might consider asking Schwintek support if there could be an issue if the slide moves too easily, as the motors may require more load to hold slide in place while traveling. Doubt that it is an issue but...
I've worked with factory engineers in the past and without a doubt, they were never helpful on what you could/could not do. Since the motors move until they don't [the the control module shuts off the current] there should not be any difference with the load.

I purchased a new guide roller so I can use the dimensions to make my own. It's just a round plastic rod with a hole in the middle. There is a metal pin that the plastic rides on. The pin is supported at the ends by a metal bracket. The bracket has holes where you can bolt it to the body/frame.

Considering that this is not going to be used 24/7, I am certain it's like everything else in the RV world, it's good enough to last a few cycles. These units are certainly not designed to last 10+ years in a 24/7 environment. I just feel that the Schwintek system is not really a bad idea, just under rated. If you can free up the friction that the system has to overcome, I think it would not be so loaded and maybe even last a long time.

Of course, I am probably dreaming, but it's always a challenge when I try to butcher someone else's ideas.
 
You likely are correct that Lippert would not help you because you are customizing the design. Also, the techs (likely not engineers) would not know the design well enough to answer the question that I raised. The Schwintek part of the design appears to be working fine but it sounds like the Grand Design slide bottom support maybe questionable.

I agree with you that the motors should see less load when a new ball bearing roller set is installed. They also should roll easier since they are contacting a metal surface. That is not my concern, but I like your idea in trying this!

My concern (which I do not expect to be a problem) related to when you are driving around a corner, likely shorted drive motors (not powered but shorted by controller) help keep the slide from coming out. The slide, as mentioned above, will move easier so the unpowered shorted motors may have trouble keeping the slide from sliding out. Of course, I do not know that this is possible, but some Schwintek slides have been reported to move out while on the road.

I wish you the best of luck and hope to hear about an improved design from you as you progress!
 
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The motor assembly has a planetary gearset. That alone changes things up a bit when it comes to how much resistance there is.

My bedroom slide has no rollers, just a slide bar. I believe Schwintek says this is a no no, but manufacturers do it.
 
While our 260RD has a Schwintek slide, I don't think our problem relates to that mechanism (I've inspected the tracks and there is no sign of damage there). The past few times I've extended the slide, a loud sound came from under the slide on the side closest to the rear of the trailer. It sounded like something cracking but since the camping season was almost over here in NH, and the slide was going out, and there was no issue with retracting, I decided to wait until after our last trip (today) to investigate more. While the slide went out with difficulty last week, I could still get it to retract today and bring the coach home. But when home I went to extend the slide so that my wife could access the bedroom. At that point, the slide made even louder noises and finally became stuck (won't go out or in) about 6 to 12 inches out.

I'm guessing that something under the slide box has jammed up the slide. I'm not sure, but I believe my model may have rollers there, one of the rollers may have failed.

How would I get access to the area under the slide box to test my theory? What other suggestions do you have for things to look for? I'd like to try to find a solution myself before resorting to taking the coach to my dealer. While I'd prefer to get the slide in before such a trip, is there any downside to traveling with the slide out a few inches?

This video may help
Also, if you go to the Lippert website they have a lot of good troubleshooting videos In-Wall® Slide-Out | Lippert Customer Care Center
 
I had to have repairs on both of my Schwintek kitchen slides on our 390rk-r. On one of them only one half of the slide would open and it was found that the motor that controlled it stripped. This was possible due to it was installed misaligned. The second slide always made a cracking noise when opening or closing it. It finally was sitting on top of the wall and the wall actually moved in and out until it snapped back. Our mobile RV tech found that was also not installed correctly. He had to raise the slide and correct the rollers so the slide moved in and out smoothly. Bottom line, find a good RV tech to check the alignment of the slides.
 
While our 260RD has a Schwintek slide, I don't think our problem relates to that mechanism (I've inspected the tracks and there is no sign of damage there). The past few times I've extended the slide, a loud sound came from under the slide on the side closest to the rear of the trailer. It sounded like something cracking but since the camping season was almost over here in NH, and the slide was going out, and there was no issue with retracting, I decided to wait until after our last trip (today) to investigate more. While the slide went out with difficulty last week, I could still get it to retract today and bring the coach home. But when home I went to extend the slide so that my wife could access the bedroom. At that point, the slide made even louder noises and finally became stuck (won't go out or in) about 6 to 12 inches out.

I'm guessing that something under the slide box has jammed up the slide. I'm not sure, but I believe my model may have rollers there, one of the rollers may have failed.

How would I get access to the area under the slide box to test my theory? What other suggestions do you have for things to look for? I'd like to try to find a solution myself before resorting to taking the coach to my dealer. While I'd prefer to get the slide in before such a trip, is there any downside to traveling with the slide out a few inches?
I have the same system on my 2670mk. I had similar noise(s) and then a very loud pop. I believe initially the gib rivets broke. I didn’t find this out until after the loud pop. I investigated the track, motors and bearings blocks. I found after inspection that a bearing block had broken the shoe finger off of the bearing block. After inspecting all of the h channel's I found that three of them had gib rivets broken on them. I replaced the bearing block and all the broken rivets and resigned the motors. Works nice and smooth on both of my slides.
 
@Soundsailor I have a 2022 280RS which had a 10 foot long, 2 foot travel kitchen slide. It broke when returning home from our first trip. The dealer repaired it under warranty (which took weeks). I also took the free Lippert online training for the slide learning that the installation tolerances are extremely tight. A new installation could easily fail. I concluded that the trailer designers overloaded the engineered capacity of the slide. I decided that my slide was a stranding event waiting to happen and scheduled the installation of a Vroom slide. We planned a trip to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone, then traveled to Tucson for the slide replacement ($4500, June 2023). The Vroom slide has performed well. I can operate it within 5% of level and can stop/start mid-travel with no issues. Vroom plated the box under the rollers, installed new motors, mechanicals and travel stop brackets inside the interior trim. The controller, switch and wiring was reused. A person with a trailer being retrofit in the adjacent bay had been stranded for 2+ weeks waiting for his warranty process repair. I have to slide for access to my refrigerator and this retrofit has facilitated using the slide at stops for lunch and for buying groceries during travel.

I didn't think I'd ever get satisfaction from GD so I took steps to keep this poor engineering application from frustrating our travels. My truck and trailer were new and this retrofit was about 3% of my capital cost (excluding travel expenses). I didn't want to fight the issue for a decade during our prime retiree travel years.
 
Just an update: As I reported in a different thread, my mobile tech has been out, and he was able to get the slide to go out. One trick he used was to pulse the slide-out button. This moved the slide out an "inch" at a time, avoiding the jamming that holding the button down created. Based on some of the feedback above, I had become convinced that my issue was under the slide, but it turns out I was wrong and that it was related to gear wear. He showed me some very fine metal particles trapped in the track. I had inspected the track myself, but these old eyes missed that telltale sign. The good news is that there doesn't appear to be any major damage, the fix will replace some of the drive components. I'll report more here after the installation next week. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some pictures.
 

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