*I think I stated it improperly in the video not thinking in the video - to manually close a schwintek you need remove the motor from the wall (which may require popping the fascia off the slide to access), then manually push it in/out as needed. Which can be a chore for sure. But that's how it's done. Sorry about that!* _-Uncle Josh, the RV Nerd_
In some cases removing the power plug from the controller module will do the same thing my manual says, but I have not done it myself to confirm it. -Dave, the other RV Nerd.
Our slide failed one side last trip this spring. The manual said you disconnect the motor plugs from the controller which allows manually moving the slide, pushing from outside or pulling on inside ensuring both sides are done evenly. Once fully retracted, reconnect the motor plugs, note which plug is motor 1 and motor 2, which renengages the motors to act as a brake so the slide doesn't extend unexpectedly. My motors were both turning, but dealer found the torque tube/shaft which runs from bottom to top gears rails had slipped down out of the top motor coupling. This required an expensive replacement of that sides H column
@@blanewampler9081 I had heard that before as a hard failure. My fix was for two motors out of sync. In the early days of 2014 manufacturers were using this slide system even on huge full-wall slides. They eventually sold to their clients years later the new Power Gear system at dealer cost to upgrade to the new system, especially after Winnebago paid $500K to a couple after a lawsuit of a unsquare slide and 6 dealer failures to fix it.
You didn’t mention the controller override on Schwintek systems that I had to use for two years until I had the system replaced with a Vroom system. I recommend all owners of a Schwintek system to find the controller and learn the override procedure. My slide is 15 ft long and had 3 rail system that failed quickly. I agree that it’s a fine solution on small slides but was totally underpowered for mine. The Vroom replacement is expensive but works beautifully.
Josh, you have no idea how much I myself and I am SURE many other people totally appreciate the very informative and educational content of this video! I truly mean this. I have yet to see ANYONE ELSE put that most Important info out there. Thanks so much from a future RV purchaser. I did not know ALOT of those facts. THANKS BOB LITTLE!!
14 years, and about 700 nights on in our Evergreen Everlite with 2 R&P slides bumping and rocking down the road on at least 200 individual trips, many in excess of 500 miles each way, and our 2 slides have performed perfectly! I couldn't even imagine buying a vehicle with a slide that ISN'T this type. INCREDIBLE RELIABILITY!
Hi Josh, my wife and I own a 2005 TrailBay 27DS, bought it brand new in December 2005, it has a rack and pinion system, in all these years we have never had an issue. The Montana fifth wheel we are currently looking at has rack and pinion on the big slides and the Schwintek system on the bedroom slide. I’ve throughly researched all the different systems used and these are the most durable and problem free systems. Your video confirms my research.
Have had numerous cable type trailers. I can work on them easily. Motor changes etc. Never had any problems with 4 trailers. Lack of User common sense is usually cause of many problems.
I have 2 Schwintek slides in my 2017 Thor ACE. Just as you pointed out, the lightweight contents and small size of the bedroom slide contribute to its continued successful operation. The larger slide, which contains the weight of the entire kitchen and dinette, has been a recurring problem since the unit was purchased in 2017. It has cost thousands of dollars in repair bills as well as harshing our buzz on more than one occasion. My advice: If you are purchasing an RV, new or used, heed Josh's comment regarding the size and weight. Schwintek slide work best when they are small with very little weight inside the slide area.
Good Morning Josh. I am here to give you "feedback" per our experience with issues we are having with a Schwintek slide. I hope to give you the "Readers Digest" version. After 3 episodes with a malfunctioning slide(small bedroom), the "information/instructions" given to us(by dealers) was to hold the extend/retract switch 5-10 seconds AFTER the slide stops. We did that and had recurring failures. I called Lippert after the 3rd failure, talked to a technician/customer service rep) and his guidance was to release the extend/retract switch within 1-2 seconds of the slide stopping. The SAME TIME FRAME as you are suggesting thus I now have two recomendations that are the same. This is encouraging news to me . This unit is a 2021 Jayco Greyhawk MV29. This unit would normally still be under warranty if it were not for us being the second owners. I appreciate what you do for the RV community and especially the "Newbies" community such as myself.
As a Pilot, I rely on 40-50 year old Cables every time I fly. When designed correctly, cable systems are awesome. Like most things, the engineers try to shave cost and weight, that's when you get into issues I imagine.
@@397coney7 No, they get Inspected every year. They are in Excellent condition because they were appropriately sized for the task at hand. Besides, when you are talking aviation, you would not believe the cost of new parts.... If it is not a typical wear item and it does not need replaced, it's not getting replaced.
Wanna know if there's a pilot in the bar? He's the guy at the end of the bar yelling "I'm a pilot" 😅😅😅 Brought to you by your friendly neighborhood A&P mechanic. 😉 Err, and pilot I guess.
Josh: Yep! Your honesty and candor has again convinced wife and I, slide outs are, for us, a deal breaker. For those who have them and love them, may you enjoy them for all your future travels and camping trips. Respectfully, W.S.
I agree, but so many folks want them thus we have few choices except very small or basic Rv's. They increase livability, but add weight, cost, complexity and potential leaks.
Bought a Grand Design Imagine with a Schwintek slide for the dinette and fridge. Worked fine for the first few trips, but eventually the heavier end (refrigerator) track and motor locked up and the slide wouldn't open. Went to the dealer and the issue seems to be a combination of a heavy slide (pushing the limits like you mentioned) and the slide box installed mis-aligned by just enough to cause issues (fraction of an inch). Going in next month to have the slide box realigned and the slide mechanics (track, motor, gears, etc.) replaced. Thankfully this is a warranty claim - but makes me nervous about long term use.
My part just came in and i dropped it off Wednesday for the exact same thing. Imagine 2400bh. Bottom corner of fridge looked like it was kinking when i tried to slide it out. They also said it was misaligned
Thanks for these videos! I have a schwintek system and we are on our second year of camping. About 22 camping trips so far. Never had issues yet but I never liked how weak the motors seemed from day one. We have a dinette and couch on our slide out and it is about 16’ long. To put less strain on the motors, I usually have my wife push the button and I gently push on the slide as it’s going out and the motors sound a lot happier. Kinda don’t wanna replace them motors and I think this process has lengthened their lifespan.
Great video on the different slide systems! From personal experience with dealing with a Schwintek slide system the first thing to be aware of (at least on my unit) is that the entire weight of the slide is carried by the RV wall structure. In other words the slide "floats" over the floor. I have seen a couple of interesting things happen with this system: There are a number of interesting youtube videos from RPOD owners who's laminated floors sagged over time due to a lack of outriggers installed on their units. This allowed the wall to sag, causing the slide to drag across the floor as the slide sagged as well. I personally had the lower outer slide rails separate from the exterior wall on my Lance trailer as the self tapping screws stripped out. (If you check the lance owners website you'll find this is a common occurrence). The fix is to drill through the wall and install re-enforced nut/bolt hardware. You are right that the schwintek slide system should only be used for light slides.........the super dinette I have is too heavy in my opinion for the schwintek system. And no storing of cast iron cookware in the slideout dinette drawers. Should the Schwintek slide fail to operate................There is a locking screw that holds the motor in place that can be removed. Then you can slide the motor up disengaging it from the slide system. Do that on both sides of the slide and the slide should be able to be pushed in manually. You will then need to put a 2 by 4 or something similar on the inside top of the slide to hold it in while you travel as the motor brakes will no longer hold the slide in. This should at least allow you to travel to a repair shop. There are a number of youtube videos that show this process as well. Cheers
I do prefer the rack & pinion slide system.On the rack & pinion mechanism I have always put pool noodles under the slide room (inside the rig) during transit to keep the slide room from bouncing up and down. I hope I didn't jinx my luck by saying it has worked up until now. The rack & pinion slide system makes a lot of noise when you bring your rig home from the dealer. I use the 3 in 1 silicone spray lube on the rack and it eliminates the noise completely. Thanks for the class on slide mechanisms. Proud member of the RV Nerd Herd.
Part of my hope with this video was in pointing out how to identify each slide system viewers could actually accomplish this themselves. If you can see the cable or schwintek gear system, then it's a pretty dead giveaway If you can't, then it's ALMOST guaranteed it's Rack & Pinion
Love these kind of explainer videos. Now that you have a greater product depth as part of Bish's, do you expect to revive your brand comparison series you put out at the end of 2020/start of 2021?
I wanted to do that pretty much all year but with all the brands I'm covering now I got hit with a dose of irony: I have too many brands to cover All the individual videos I'm making now are eating up the time I used to have to make comparisons... So Hopefully I can get some help one of these days -- like a full-time editor. So I can focus more fully on just cranking out the hits
I have three rack and pinion slides and one Schwintek slide (Bedroom-contains the dresser). I did have a motor fail on the Schwintek Slide only a few weeks after I bought the RV so it was replaced and covered by the warranty. Since then, I've had no issues with it or the other slides either. Like you mentioned, I hold that button until I don't hear the motors anymore when I put the slide in or out. I think the internet can sometimes skew how good or how bad something is. You rarely see people post that things are working good but when things stop working, they can't wait to get to their keyboard.
There is some truth to that certainly, but I think there’s also some truth to the fact some systems are a little more prone to glitches than others. You have to kind of sift through it to find the trends
We had our last trailer for 5 years and used it a lot. It had a Schwintek slide for just the dinnete. I was not particularly long, but it was surprisingly deep. I was unaware that it was supposed to be fully in or fully out in the first couple years. So ours was partially deployed numerous times! We never had a single problem with the slide - it worked and stayed in synch perfectly for 5 years over many camping trips - most of them boondocking on rather rough roads.
The downside of the Schwintek slide actuator is they will let excessive amounts of water in and rot your floor out in a hurry. My cousin has that issue going on now in a 5 year camper.
As long as you hold that button down to let the system self-adjust when in/out, then you can actually get away with it a little bit But I've done this for years now and I know that advice like that is a case of "if you give an inch they'll want a mile" and people will over-do it Better to just NOT do it whenever possible.
@@JoshtheRVNerd I certainly didn't intend to imply I didn't believe you, Josh or that you are wrong in your advice. I suspect we were lucky those first couple years. After I was made aware the slide shouldn't be partially deployed, I didn't do it anymore. I agree with you that even giving people a hint that they might get away with it is probably not a good idea - "if you give an inch they'll TAKE a mile" is too true!
Josh, Great video on slide variants. We have a Salem FSX 178BHSKX with the Schwintek slide. Had it a year with lots of usage and no issues (dang I just jinxed myself). You’re guidance about all in or all out is spot on. Also full power (either shore power, plugged into a tow vehicle or batteries on a full charge) are required to ensure full performance from the twin motors. Low voltage can cause one to run slower than the other due to the attenuation you touched on. For the manual recovery I don’t think the drill bit thing works. There’s a controller box that you have to access (mine is under the slide, 😣 ) and there’s a button sequence to push to put it into manual mode. Can you look into that do a video on manual mode? I don’t see how you can physically access the motors but I’ll look again.
I bought a 2021 Highland ridge 264RLS with two large living room cable slides and a smaller schwintek for the bedroom. I have had my RV in for service twice already to adjust a cable that was getting loose and sagging. Seems ok now though.
Our Lance Schwintech slide hasn't broken on the slide, the heavily overloaded slide broke the lower exterior wall corner beside the slide, it cracked the exterior fiberglass for around 7 inches sloping down at about a 45-degree angle. They give you a giant U-Shaped dinette and a huge wide exterior storage area with 2 deep interior slide drawers, the trouble is that RV storage is limited, and if you take advantage of the storage in the slide (like full-timers do), you are way overloading the slide even though you may be under the rated GVWR. So basically the laminated wall side did not have enough support in it to handle a heavily loaded slide. Argh. Before we move the RV after a camp hosting gig I was the side walls of the slide and lubricate the rubber of the slide seals. That way there is the least resistance as possible to put the slide out or back in.
I'm a new rver and I have a 1991 I think it is Mallard camper glad to know this information about putting too much weight underneath the dinette set because that's where a lot of my glassware is sold my three bedroom house and bought this thing on the advice of a friend and I have so much to learn going to now definitely make sure I get rid of a lot of my glassware and make a lot of less weight in the slide out because this camper is older and I don't know nothing about campers and this is something I am now living in I'm 59 years old and can't see me in Northern California which is where I'm at trying to find someone to help me at my age because I'm having trouble getting the slide to go in and out thank you so much for that info I'm going to definitely make sure I take a lot of the way out of there
Just to share that I bought a 2022 Flagstaff E-Pro 19FDS last December with a Schwinteck kitchen slide. One week-end camping trip and the nightmare began with repeat dealership visits. After multiple "It's your fault" repairs, and subsequent failure on the literal next use, it is now a recall issue. First fix through Forest River after long wait for parts, failed. Waiting for second fix from Lippert, who now own Schwinteck. Per Lippert, it requires a full replacement (not some of the parts) and applies to a specific date range in 2021. Multiple FDS owners are reporting good success with the fix on Facebook. Hoping to get my lawn ornament back soon.
2021 Geo Pro 19FDS- our Schwintek slide malfunctioned on our first trip! Because our first trip was after 30 days Lazy Days would not give us service priority but offered a service appointment 60 days later. Our slide is covered by warranty but getting service is the nightmare. We have not been able to use our new GEO Pro since April 2022. It is now Sept 2022.
David, the recall is from Lippert who manufactures Schwinteck. Just got our trailer back last weekend. The slide is fixed, as far as we can tell. Camped near the dealer just in case. I’ve also opened the slide at home. It actually sounds different, quieter. Call Lippert directly to make sure yours was in the date range for the issue. Good luck!
Cable slides have an adjustment nuts on each cable, super easy to adjust tension. Also, I will never buy an RV with Schwintek slides….the most problematic and complicated slide system.
I would never buy a camper with a cable driven slide. I have never personally owned one but I have friends that do and had major problems with them. I have a flagstaff 26RLWS that has a rack and pinion and a Schwintek for the small bedroom closet slide. I also would not buy a camper with a big slide with a Schwintek slide. I believe they are not heavy duty enough for the bigger heavier slides.
Josh, thank you so much for doing this. You are the one person we trust on this all new RV territory and you have done a wonderful job of covering the pro/cons of each type of slide. Thank you for inviting others to write their experiences. This is all such wonderful information. I wish I could triple thumbs up it. I have saved it so I can come back to it again.
Slide systems have come a long way over the years. I went custom cutting (wheat) in 1977 and the crew we traveled with had a trailer with a tip-out 'slide.' Took 3 farm boys to tip that thing in and out Glad we all don't have to deal with THAT anymore.
We ended up selling our Highland Ridge fifth wheel because of the cable slide system failed several times after the warranty and had to pay a lot out of pocket to repair it. The slide was very heavy with a tv/fireplace,pantry,fridge and stove-12' long also. I would suggest to go with the rack and pinion on the larger slides.
Putting any storage larger then an overhead couch cabinet in a cable slide is just a bad idea; there is no way to predict how much weight will go into that storage, and it’s too easy to overload the cable system that way. It’s pretty much made for couches and dinettes.
My recommendation is never purchase an RV with a cable slide. The cables stretches and parodically needs adjustment. I had the cable slides on a Montana. Also, since the cables use the wall frame to support pulling the slide in and out, I have had two walls detach from the frame of the RV. While the motors seem very reliable, it is the gearing mechanism that tends to fail. I have to say I like the Rack & Pinion system for heavy/big slides. While not perfect they seem like the most reliable over time.
Good video, great info. Over the years have had the main slide types. One thing with the cable slides, there is a small rubber plug that should be installed on the exterior bracket to ensure the cable cannot become disconnected if a little slack. On our wardrobe slide had one come out of one of the bracketd and cable went in between, molded has to be taken off to get it. Have since place a small piece of hard foam behind bracket so if the rubber plug comes out the cable cannot come out. The other slide is rack and pinnon, I lube it 2x a year. No issues.
Great information. I have never had any issues with slides. Mostly have had rack and pinion but our current trailer has a slide with rack and pinion and another slide with Schwintek. I appreciate how you educate viewers on the differences and operation of the systems. So many failures are due to lack of proper maintenance or improper use (especially Schwintek).
Great video! I bought my Salem FSX a few month ago and the schwintek slide never worked after delivery. Watched numerous videos on resetting the box, took a while to find it and no help. The last time it would not close, so I feel I cannot trust the schwintek even when ‘fixed’ for the 3rd time. I’m trading it in on a Winnebago 2801bhs with a single rack and pinion slide, should take a few minutes to manually roll in if it fails.
The best slide out is no slide out! Source: I worked on RV's for a few years, its a giant hole in the side of the RV. The compromise is structural integrity and a place for water ingress in exchange for more space while camping. I bought a toy hauler so I could have a hole cut in the back of the trailer for a ramp....plus I needed the ramp to get my mountain bikes in and out. haha
I have a 2021 Grand Design Imagine with a Swintek slide out. The motors never sounded strong and sure enough they failed. The only way to get the slide out back in according to GD was to remove the trim in the inside of camper so we could remove the motors. Having done that the slide wouldn’t budge. We had to use a pick up truck backed up against the slide out. It was a total nightmare to say the least. Yes, we brought in a moble RV repair service. Thankfully we were barely within the warranty. The new motors sound strong and we trust there will be no more issues.
For your information, Schwintek uses two different motors depending on the size of the slide. They are interchangeable with each other but must be matched per slide. One is a faster motor (used in smaller slides) the other is a torque motor. I had all my Jayco slides with faster motors. The largest slide kept getting off kilter, so the repair shop installed the torque motors in it. It moves abit slower but state’s pretty even side to side. And yea you have to hold the button in till you don’t hear any motors. That’s the motors telling each other when they are closed or open.
Part number I think. I’m told there’s a colored stripe but I’ve never seen it. You can tell by the speed it moves. The faster ones move about a foot in 3-5 second’s
Josh thank you for getting back to me yes I am living in my RV I've already been told I need to put wood around the base of it and this morning when I went and looked at the pop out the bottom trim support pieces have come loose I probably have too much weight in the underneath the storage seats which I'm so glad you said something about that because I'm going to go through them today and pull some weight out of there I'm also thinking about putting some cinder blocks underneath it where I can give support so that there's no weight on it sticking out once the snow comes I'm also thinking about putting some of that f o a m stuff you put around air conditioners or around doors you know it's like peeling stick I'm thinking about putting some of that also and I also have been considering throwing a lightweight tarp from the top of the camper hanging over the pop out and putting light rocks or something on the top there so that there is snow and I have to actually pull it off it's easy to do of course I'm also going to have a step ladder I can use and I have a neighbor that's been very generous and has helped me since I know nothing about campers and this is my first one thank you so much for getting back to me I am going to look hit up all your videos about camper so I can learn everything I need to learn thank you so very very much for getting back to me
I've only dealt with failures on Schwintek slides. And even when operating properly they seem creaky/weak compared to R/P slides. I've noticed some 5th wheels still use Schwintek systems on their big kitchen slides and I'm not sure why. Not to single them out but the Jayco Pinnacle 32rlts is an example.
my 2022 Pinnacle 32RLTS does NOT have a Schwintek on the Kitchen slide...It's a Slim Rack...works fine...the bed room slide is a Schwintek and it work well also.
I have a 2005 Holiday Rambler with a 16 ft super slide with the rack and pinion and have never had any problems with it. I hope I didn't just jinx myself. LOL
Many units (Rockwood) with thru-frame slides have cranks that go in the opposite side of the slide to manually crank them open or closed. I just attended a Lippert seminar at the FROG Rally. You should have a maintenance video title "Stop smearing all that stuff Facebook Experts tell you to on the slide mechanism". Mild soap (Dawn) and water. Keep it clean. On thru frames there are only 4 spots that need dry silicone lubricant and it's not the rack or seals.
Also, DON’T lubricate a schwintek slide or cable slide. It’s not needed and can cause more issues than it fixes by attracting dirt or slipping the gears on the schwintek system
Kinda wish I'd thought to research the slide systems before buying a trailer. Came down to a GD 22MLE, a GD 17MKE, or an Alta 1900MMK. I went with the 22MLE because there was one being traded up (owners wanted a fiver), but kinda wishing now I'd gone with one of the others as they have smaller and probably much lighter slides. Can't always know everything, I suppose.
So cable slide repairs don’t look too complicated. No Ordinary Path UA-camr had a few failures after years of use full time, and they were able to DIY repair. No issues yet on our Alpha Wolf 26dbh-l.
Ive got a swintek, did i massacre that words spelling?, on my F.R Salem FSX 178bhsk. It works great. But, requires a lot of maintenance and you gotta use it properly. First if all keep the worm racks clean at all times, and grease the appropriate bearings…that itself isnt always easy. Other rule of thumb is, always all the way in, all the way out, never stop in between, never put weight on it unless its all the way out, and finally, make sure you got lots of power to pull it out and in. Dont run it out or in on a weak battery…+ hold the button for a couple secs after using. Ah, sounds like a mouthful. Just like the name of my rv
So wish I understood my slide system and so wish this video had been available but like always I can depend on you to continually educate me on rv everything. Thanks brother!
Good Vid The best slide is NO SLIDE🤣 BAL Accu slide is the worst cable system -- dont buy, you will have issues. The Exact Slide model has apprently fixed all these issues. Cheers
Accu Slide and Xact slide are made for different purposes. They aren't really a direct replacement for one another though that line has started to blur a bit Accu Slide was made as an alternative to rack and pinion Xact Slide was made as an alternative to Schwintek Certainly Xact seems to be turning better service records vs Accu And now that Xact has been out some new brands that aren't "shoe horned" into their engineering have started using it in places where you'd normally have seen rack and pinion - such as ember touring edition and E-Series models. An interesting thing I'm learning - xact slide actually can be occupied while retracted which most systems cannot handle
Had cable slides on my Crossroads bumper pull, no issues with it for 3 years. Upgraded to 5th wheel, have 3 rack and pinion and one schwintek slide, all working great.
We had a 2017 travel Trailer that had a Schwintek slide in it & after the first year of ownership it was always a crapshoot as to whether it would actually move when you wanted it to. Sometimes you’d have to hold the power button in for 3-4 minutes before it would finally start moving. Didn’t matter if you were moving it in or out. On 12 volt or 110 power didn’t matter. Now we have a 2022 rockwood that has the rack & pinion slides that work great. We used to have a sunline with a rack & pinion slide for 18 years & never had any trouble. Love your informative vids josh
From a 60 year old guy that rv experience since he was 8, you do a great job Josh. Watched you for years now even though this is my 2nd comment. My p[arents owned several frozen 18-25' towable and a class c jamboree, my grand parents had 1 small towable and then snowbird in a "huge!!!" (for the 70's) 25' Sprinter (same name/ different bird) 5th wheel to my own class A bounder to my current Northtrail 26 BRSS, I've got to say, slides are worth it. 15 or more campers..... slides are worth it.
We had the swentec slide in a voltage toy hauler total junk we were always scared to open each night for our trip to Florida for the winter. There is a override in the computer for each slide mtr. Good luck with using that. 300.00 per motor x 2 slides _4 motors . Terrible for the year's we owned it. We quit raving because the junk in all rvs.The Rv industry should be ashamed we had trouble with the junk swentec slides
Another amazing video, had a little difficulty stuffing all that info into my little brain. Awesome information to make an educated decision on next camper.
Yep, I went with rack and pinion only on my new 20 ft trailer due to reading lots of negative comments on the other types. So far so good for 2 years in.
Great video. On the last rack and pinion rig I had there was a hole in the frame opposite the slide where you could insert your 3/4” socket (stabilizer crank) to manually run the slide.
I have had three RVs in my lifetime the most reliable and most durable are the rack and pinion slide system. I have had a 2015 Luxe with a bedroom cable slide that was needing new cables every couple of years. I will not own another rv with a cable slide.
Hey Uncle Josh you should total check out the Vroom Slide System. It is phenomenal. It is a direct replacement of the Schwinntech (which we have) and is much more robust and stronger than Schwinntech. It is custom to each towable/drivable RV. Interestingly it was conceived by a fellow rv'er. If I ever have to replace ours I will definitely be making a trip out west. Check out All About RVs with Jarred Gillies - he has a great vid on it.
I belong to Northwood and ORV owners groups and the amount of Schwintek failures they report is really disheartening. I think it’s probably because those brands have very heavy slides and overall construction. My ORV is one of the few floor plans using R&P and is a major reason I chose that floor plan. I do have a Schwintek wardrobe slide on that unit as well and I say a little prayer each time I push the button. I had a 2018 Keystone with a cable slide and had zero issues.
Loved today’s RV towable slide content. I would love it too if you would put together a motorized RV slide video. I am trying to become a better educated RVer. BTW, could you review RV owner maintenance required for each system. Thanks!
I have had significant problems with my schwintek slide on my 2017 Grand Design Reflection. The slide is to large and to heavy for this application (kitchen slide). I have had my slide repaired 3 times and I cross my fingers every time I open and close it. I am in the market for a new 5th wheel and I am not considering any RV with a Schwintek slide (unless it is a small slide).
I have a 2021 Grey Wolf 23MK and I developed a slide (Schwintek) issue a couple of months ago. I was going to open the slide but the left side wouldn't move. I tried the pushing on it while the wife worked the switch and nada. I tried the push the little button on the control box 6 times and hold it on the 7th push till the red and green lights start flashing then use the in/out switch and nada. Well no, I smelled smoke. I couldn't get the motor set screw to take the motors out cause they're on the outside and the slide is fully closed. I finally hauled it to the dealer and they, with what looks like some rough treatment, got slide out and replaced the tracks on the left side. Now I'm trying to get the motors timed up where the slide will look like it will half way seal up when it's extended or retracted. At least it was stuck in the closed position so I could haul it in, but with this issue and one previous (door replacement), I wish I'd never bought the thing. IF I ever buy another camper with a slide it will not be a Schwintek slide system.
Josh as usual great information. You’ve helped a bunch of people with this informative video. I was just thinking about this topic early this morning, you must have read my mind (scary huh) or great minds think alike🙂🙂🙂, keep’m coming, see you at the next one
I don't like the the schwintek system. As you have stated if they are put on a heavy slide, you will have issues. I have had many issues with my 2016 which they used on a huge kitchen slide. I prefer rack & pinion.Just better and stronger system.
Having a Schwintek, and seeing all these stories on line, I kinda wish you could have shown better how to manually move the slide. I know it's difficult to show, but it'd be more difficult on Sunday mornings when you HAVE to vacate the site by noon! :-) Great info, thanks.
My experience with a "Schwintek", is if you aren't completely level left to right, rain will follow the track back into the RV if it is slightly pitched that way.
Schwintek slide was stuck closed. Can't get to screws to pull motors. Lucky it started working again after travel. Now I use WD-40 with Silicone on bottom rollers before closing. No problems this year.
I have a trancend 200mk with a rack and pinion slide system, yesterday a storm blew through, 50 mph wind and driving rain the slide was open and it didn't leak a drop. Rain was blowing strait at the slide
Thank you Josh! You taught me quite a bit. I am all "too" knowledgeable on cable slides. The four cables inside pull the box to the outside and the four cables outside pull the box to the inside. Because the some cables pull while the other cables go slightly slack, there are two cogs on the motor, two heavy chains on the cogs and metal blocks on each end of the chains. This makes four blocks and eight cables. The problem I had was the dealership had worked on the slide because of a gear issue. When they put it back together they didn't properly align the blocks. As two blocks move left , the other two move right. Because it was not aligned properly the blocks collided and sheared off bolts and snapped cables. we went months without our rig. Also, if we needed to use the manual override, we would have had to take ALL of the trim off the slide. It was a nightmare.
9 year old 5th wheel, main slide is rack & pinion, 2 bedroom slides are cable. No failure on ether. Have had to adjust the cables as they stretch over time. A friend with a newer rig had cable on their main slides and the pulleys in the corners broke loose - bad news. I would never have main slides with cables. Other friends have had Schwintek and all have had issues. I will avoid Schwintek. Thanks for your info.😎
I only have experience with swintec slides. I own a Starcraft 24RLS with a dinette slide. As with anything on a rv you must do your research and maintain it properly and it will work fine. The only issue that I have had with my slide was my fault. Winter camping and had ice build up on the slide mechanism. A hair dryer and a retiming of the slide took care of it. Now I use painters tape on the racks in the winter and problem solved
I have a 2018 Freedom Express 287bhds with a rack and pinion on the super slide for the dinette and couch. In our first year, the stop can became crushed (my dealer determined the rails were installed incorrectly 🤷🏻♂️) This crushed stop can caused my slide to not stop when going in and actually traveled inside the exterior wall. The whole thing bowed in. I had to use the manual override and my drill to start to crank it back out and that caused the slide to release. Dealer had to service it after that trip.
Great stuff! I'm with you on the magic of a cable slide system, completely hocus pocus on how it works! I've seen good things on the Vroom Slide System as a replacement for Schwintek slide systems.
A bit of info. I have a wolf pup. If the motors ever go out of sync, pull the slide all the way out, than pull it in 4 inches, than pull it all the way out. It may happen if roads are real bumpy
I don't know if this video's been out too long that you're not going to ever get this message but my 1991 Mallard camper has one slide out for the dinette set I live in Northern California this is my first camper I've ever owned and I would like to know if it is advisable or is there a way to leave the slide out out during the snow season if I need to pull it in it's really going to cramp how much room I have to move around in here but there's just me and my little cat so I can really use some info on that also my septic tank is backed up and we've tried several different ways to get it unblocked and someone said it's probably where the the lock is outside that you slide in and out to open and close it or something probably hung up in there someone said maybe they put rocks in there I said why would someone rocks in the toilet but anyway any advice you can give would be helpful thank you Josh you seem very informative and you may actually get a phone call from me sincerely Lana Scott
Hi Lana! During snow season I would generally advise closing those slides if it's just sitting there in storage. Snow can build up on top of the slides. Then, you get a little melt & that water trickles down. Then, you get a freeze, that water expands, and slowly it can start lifting and working under the slide seals. It's called ice damming and I've seen it cause problems on plenty of RVs here in the midwest. Now, if you're USING the RV and keeping it actively heated, then this becomes less of an issue. It would still be a good idea to try to keep the snow cleaned off the top of the slide and potentially even the roof whenever possible (though that's potentially a slippery, dangerous thing to do)
I have a 4yr old RV that has a rack and pinion and a happi-jac slide (that is my best guess as I can’t see any hardware but the slide control is not in the slide, it sounds like a schwintech). No problems with either. I have a good friend who has a cable slide system. His cable snapped (not where it attached but the actual cable) and he had to find a hardware store, buy cable, rethread the cable and get it home so he could get the proper parts and repair it properly. Good thing he is very handy. When looking at used RVs that had cable slide systems, I noticed that the rubber seals where the cables go through were torn up. Seems like cable slides are tough on the seals. After that observation I was fearful of them, perhaps incorrectly, that the torn seals could result in a water leak when the slides were out. Thanks for an invaluable video lesson on slide types. There is actually a much hardier after market “Schwintech like system“ that is much stronger and reliable. This was shown in one of the All About RV UA-cam videos.
Your right that the shwinntek systems have their issues but they are in so many rv these days I'm guessing in pull behinds they outnumber the other systems like 3 to 1 so it seams like they are always broken but part of it is the shear volume
We had a 2002 Alfa See Ya for 8 years. Never had any problems with the rack and pinion slide. In 2020 we bought a Montana High Country 5th wheel with 3 cable slides. Within a few months the cable on the living room slide started fraying and we took it to Camping World to get fixed. That's another bad story with them. They didn't tighten it enough and it got real loose. Took it to another dealer and they had to readjust the cable . Now the bedroom slide cable is loose. If we would have done our homework we would not have purchased an Rv with cable slides. Now I'm on edge wondering when another cable will go. Also there is a difference on the RV washing machines they are putting out. I don't know if it's because of all the environmental restrictions they are putting on things now aways. But I wouldn't be surprised. The washing machine that I have now is more of a hassle than the one I had in the 2002 motorhome we had. It was a splendide same as we have now. The one I have now has a clean cycle every few wash loads. Didn't have that on the 2002 RV. I can't open the door during the dry cycle and I could on the 2002 RV. I have to use less soap like 2 tablespoons on this one as another person put her normal amount of soap in and within 2 years her washer gave out so I'm very careful with how I use this washer. Never had to worry about the 2002 Splendide. Anyway we recommend the rack and pinion slides. Never had a worry with those.
We own a 06 Max Lite with cable driven slide. A few years ago while packing up, the slide wouldn’t work! No bendy thing came with the camper( we bought new in Spring of 06) it took 3 large men to push it back in. Broken cable! Had it repaired and so far no more issues. Was surprised that the manual had no instructions for this🤷🏼♀️
I’ve never seen an RV with a cable slide come without the Bendy thing… But I have seen plenty of times where things magically came up missing while RVs were out for display. It’s amazing how many people will use a new RV lot like a free parts store
Schwintech slides SUCK. The only thing worse is a cable slide. Give me a rack and pin any time! IF you end up with schwin, make sure you know where the controller box is, they are almost always buried somewhere.
A friend of mine had a 7 year old 5er. with the cable slide system he had a cable break 2 different times. he sold that trailer and the new one has the cable system also, so he didn't hate it that much.
Forest River Sandstorm are absolute garbage !!! We've had nothing but problems with ours, every time it goes on an outing it goes back in on warranty, garbage !
The cable driven slide system has a set of 4 cables that pull the slide in and a set of 4 that pull the slide out. The motor is mounted at the middle point in the slide wall. It’s actually not as complicated of a concept as it first appears to be.
To slide out, there’s a set of cables that just pulls out on the inner-most edge until it’s flush with the wall, then to come in, the other set of cables pulls in on the outer-most edge of the slide until it’s flush. Once it dawns on you what’s going on, you’re like….ohhhh, it’s so obvious now.
Great video . We had a 2014 class C with the Schwintec system. It carried a lot of bedroom cabinets. Fairly heavy. We ALWAYS had to sync it, time and again. It really was too much weight for it. It got stuck one. We had to power out-in-out-in, etc. it eventually reset and synced up. 7 years and 42,000 miles of use, but I was always suspect of it . But, it never failed on us. Great video. Thank you for some great information.
Thank you Anthony. I hear similar feedback from people sometimes where they often managed to get it to function, but not without a little fiddling first
@@JoshtheRVNerd Yes, we always got it going. The first time was the most concerning. We weren’t familiar with the system and the salesman didn’t tell us “ all out or all in” on the slide. I disconnected the sync module, reconnected, then slowly got it to move in and out until it came out even, then ran it in and out several times. I came across another family with the same model RV, who’s slide was stuck. Helped them out using the same process. All good!
Great overview. Thanks for putting this out there. I own a rack and pinion slide and I’m very grateful that my trailer is so equipped. In three years we’ve had zero issues which is also true of my brother who owns the same model. I will add that my unit and others I’ve looked at have a port in the sidewall opposite the slide to insert a provided Jack handle and manually crank the slide out. From an ease of override perspective the rack and pinion is miles ahead of all the other systems. We have family who have been full time in an Open Range 5th wheel for the last two years with 5 cable driven slides. They have had issues with theirs including once at our home where the motor assembly pulled out of the wall on their kitchen slide. I’m in 4 RV Forums on FB and I see post after post after post of people having issues with Schwintek slides. It seems that Lippert had a quality control issue recent that caused a spate of these but even so. Another major problem is that to override the system is exceedingly difficult. I’d accept an RV with a small bedroom type Schwintek slide but anything larger and that’s a deal breaker for me. All about RVs has a new Reflection that has a Schwintek (and if anyone knows how to manage the systems on an RV it’s him) that started giving them issues. He had that system replaced with a new Schwintek like system that is much more robust and better engineered. Unfortunately the company that’s making and selling that system is only selling and installing them at its Arizona location.
Had a cable slide system worst system electric motor had plastic gear an stripped out often had to have replaced a min of five times out of my pocket, dealer nor manufacturer would cover cost. With stripped motor transmission you can no do anything, would never have another
My parents have a 2015 fr3 30ds with 2 cable slides. I am quite mechanical. I fixed the slack in their primary slide. Entire trim had to be removed a total pain. Checking the bedroom slide - lines were twisted, crossed and way out of adjustment. In fact the carriers hit each other in passing. They can't afford to have someone fix it, so I did what I could and told them to leave the cover off so they can watch it in use. I bought a new hideout 243rb and specifically made sure it had a rack and pinion. The thought of a cable slide makes me internally angry without even working on it!
Again, excellent video answering so many of my concerns.But I have one question.... I've been told when a slide is in that. It's not a good practice to put any weight, no sitting on the look couch or anything. Is that true for all sides?
*I think I stated it improperly in the video not thinking in the video - to manually close a schwintek you need remove the motor from the wall (which may require popping the fascia off the slide to access), then manually push it in/out as needed. Which can be a chore for sure. But that's how it's done. Sorry about that!*
_-Uncle Josh, the RV Nerd_
In some cases removing the power plug from the controller module will do the same thing my manual says, but I have not done it myself to confirm it. -Dave, the other RV Nerd.
Our slide failed one side last trip this spring. The manual said you disconnect the motor plugs from the controller which allows manually moving the slide, pushing from outside or pulling on inside ensuring both sides are done evenly. Once fully retracted, reconnect the motor plugs, note which plug is motor 1 and motor 2, which renengages the motors to act as a brake so the slide doesn't extend unexpectedly. My motors were both turning, but dealer found the torque tube/shaft which runs from bottom to top gears rails had slipped down out of the top motor coupling. This required an expensive replacement of that sides H column
@@blanewampler9081 I had heard that before as a hard failure. My fix was for two motors out of sync. In the early days of 2014 manufacturers were using this slide system even on huge full-wall slides. They eventually sold to their clients years later the new Power Gear system at dealer cost to upgrade to the new system, especially after Winnebago paid $500K to a couple after a lawsuit of a unsquare slide and 6 dealer failures to fix it.
You didn’t mention the controller override on Schwintek systems that I had to use for two years until I had the system replaced with a Vroom system. I recommend all owners of a Schwintek system to find the controller and learn the override procedure. My slide is 15 ft long and had 3 rail system that failed quickly. I agree that it’s a fine solution on small slides but was totally underpowered for mine. The Vroom replacement is expensive but works beautifully.
Josh, you have no idea how much I myself and I am SURE many other people totally appreciate the very informative and educational content of this video! I truly mean this. I have yet to see ANYONE ELSE put that most Important info out there. Thanks so much from a future RV purchaser. I did not know ALOT of those facts. THANKS BOB LITTLE!!
I appreciate that!
@@JoshtheRVNerd YES THANK YOU JOSH!!! I benefited from your videos!! FACTS 100!
I’ve learned more by your videos than anywhere…. Wish more salespeople had your knowledge…. Most don’t know difference between one camper to another
TY for the kind words. It's taken me years to learn stuff and the amount I still don't know is staggering
Yes! I'm glad I happened to one day stumble across him showing an rv off.
14 years, and about 700 nights on in our Evergreen Everlite with 2 R&P slides bumping and rocking down the road on at least 200 individual trips, many in excess of 500 miles each way, and our 2 slides have performed perfectly! I couldn't even imagine buying a vehicle with a slide that ISN'T this type. INCREDIBLE RELIABILITY!
Hi Josh, my wife and I own a 2005 TrailBay 27DS, bought it brand new in December 2005, it has a rack and pinion system, in all these years we have never had an issue. The Montana fifth wheel we are currently looking at has rack and pinion on the big slides and the Schwintek system on the bedroom slide. I’ve throughly researched all the different systems used and these are the most durable and problem free systems. Your video confirms my research.
Have had numerous cable type trailers. I can work on them easily. Motor changes etc. Never had any problems with 4 trailers. Lack of User common sense is usually cause of many problems.
I have 2 Schwintek slides in my 2017 Thor ACE. Just as you pointed out, the lightweight contents and small size of the bedroom slide contribute to its continued successful operation.
The larger slide, which contains the weight of the entire kitchen and dinette, has been a recurring problem since the unit was purchased in 2017. It has cost thousands of dollars in repair bills as well as harshing our buzz on more than one occasion.
My advice: If you are purchasing an RV, new or used, heed Josh's comment regarding the size and weight. Schwintek slide work best when they are small with very little weight inside the slide area.
I'm sorry you've encountered that but really appreciate you sharing. That kind of info may really help someone
Ome of the reasons why I only consider RVs that don't put kitchens in a slide... Don't care how good it is, even if it's a frame aka rack and pinion.
Good Morning Josh. I am here to give you "feedback" per our experience with issues we are having with a Schwintek slide. I hope to give you the "Readers Digest" version. After 3 episodes with a malfunctioning slide(small bedroom), the "information/instructions" given to us(by dealers) was to hold the extend/retract switch 5-10 seconds AFTER the slide stops. We did that and had recurring failures. I called Lippert after the 3rd failure, talked to a technician/customer service rep) and his guidance was to release the extend/retract switch within 1-2 seconds of the slide stopping. The SAME TIME FRAME as you are suggesting thus I now have two recomendations that are the same. This is encouraging news to me . This unit is a 2021 Jayco Greyhawk MV29. This unit would normally still be under warranty if it were not for us being the second owners. I appreciate what you do for the RV community and especially the "Newbies" community such as myself.
TY for sharing this. You'll see I've left all kinds of stories both good and bad on this video so people can see more real owner experiences
As a Pilot, I rely on 40-50 year old Cables every time I fly.
When designed correctly, cable systems are awesome. Like most things, the engineers try to shave cost and weight, that's when you get into issues I imagine.
Shouldn't you change those cables by now?😂
@@397coney7
No, they get Inspected every year. They are in Excellent condition because they were appropriately sized for the task at hand. Besides, when you are talking aviation, you would not believe the cost of new parts.... If it is not a typical wear item and it does not need replaced, it's not getting replaced.
@@Jonnydeerhunter ; my comment was a joke, but thanks for the info.. Interesting.
@@397coney7
I gotcha.
No problem, thanks for the comment.
Wanna know if there's a pilot in the bar? He's the guy at the end of the bar yelling "I'm a pilot" 😅😅😅
Brought to you by your friendly neighborhood A&P mechanic. 😉
Err, and pilot I guess.
Josh: Yep! Your honesty and candor has again convinced wife and I, slide outs are, for us, a deal breaker. For those who have them and love them, may you enjoy them for all your future travels and camping trips. Respectfully, W.S.
I agree, but so many folks want them thus we have few choices except very small or basic Rv's. They increase livability, but add weight, cost, complexity and potential leaks.
Agreed! Had a North Trail with cable slide 🤦🏻♂️. Currently looking for a slide free rv that’s well built and not the price of an Airstream.
Bought a Grand Design Imagine with a Schwintek slide for the dinette and fridge. Worked fine for the first few trips, but eventually the heavier end (refrigerator) track and motor locked up and the slide wouldn't open. Went to the dealer and the issue seems to be a combination of a heavy slide (pushing the limits like you mentioned) and the slide box installed mis-aligned by just enough to cause issues (fraction of an inch). Going in next month to have the slide box realigned and the slide mechanics (track, motor, gears, etc.) replaced. Thankfully this is a warranty claim - but makes me nervous about long term use.
My part just came in and i dropped it off Wednesday for the exact same thing. Imagine 2400bh. Bottom corner of fridge looked like it was kinking when i tried to slide it out. They also said it was misaligned
Yeah I'm very vocal about the fact I don't like schinteks on heavy weight slide outs
Exact same issue with ours!!!!
We all should be nervous.
Pay to switch out system
Thanks for these videos! I have a schwintek system and we are on our second year of camping. About 22 camping trips so far. Never had issues yet but I never liked how weak the motors seemed from day one. We have a dinette and couch on our slide out and it is about 16’ long. To put less strain on the motors, I usually have my wife push the button and I gently push on the slide as it’s going out and the motors sound a lot happier. Kinda don’t wanna replace them motors and I think this process has lengthened their lifespan.
Great video on the different slide systems!
From personal experience with dealing with a Schwintek slide system the first thing to be aware of (at least on my unit) is that the entire weight of the slide is carried by the RV wall structure. In other words the slide "floats" over the floor. I have seen a couple of interesting things happen with this system:
There are a number of interesting youtube videos from RPOD owners who's laminated floors sagged over time due to a lack of outriggers installed on their units. This allowed the wall to sag, causing the slide to drag across the floor as the slide sagged as well.
I personally had the lower outer slide rails separate from the exterior wall on my Lance trailer as the self tapping screws stripped out. (If you check the lance owners website you'll find this is a common occurrence). The fix is to drill through the wall and install re-enforced nut/bolt hardware. You are right that the schwintek slide system should only be used for light slides.........the super dinette I have is too heavy in my opinion for the schwintek system. And no storing of cast iron cookware in the slideout dinette drawers.
Should the Schwintek slide fail to operate................There is a locking screw that holds the motor in place that can be removed. Then you can slide the motor up disengaging it from the slide system. Do that on both sides of the slide and the slide should be able to be pushed in manually. You will then need to put a 2 by 4 or something similar on the inside top of the slide to hold it in while you travel as the motor brakes will no longer hold the slide in. This should at least allow you to travel to a repair shop. There are a number of youtube videos that show this process as well.
Cheers
TY for all this! Great stuff here
I do prefer the rack & pinion slide system.On the rack & pinion mechanism I have always put pool noodles under the slide room (inside the rig) during transit to keep the slide room from bouncing up and down. I hope I didn't jinx my luck by saying it has worked up until now. The rack & pinion slide system makes a lot of noise when you bring your rig home from the dealer. I use the 3 in 1 silicone spray lube on the rack and it eliminates the noise completely. Thanks for the class on slide mechanisms. Proud member of the RV Nerd Herd.
Thank you for watching and sharing Wayne
I hope in all future videos you briefly mention which type of slide out the RV is using and link/reference this video in the description.
Part of my hope with this video was in pointing out how to identify each slide system viewers could actually accomplish this themselves.
If you can see the cable or schwintek gear system, then it's a pretty dead giveaway
If you can't, then it's ALMOST guaranteed it's Rack & Pinion
So grateful for this information. As a solo female camper, I do NOT want a slide… one less thing to worry about
Love these kind of explainer videos. Now that you have a greater product depth as part of Bish's, do you expect to revive your brand comparison series you put out at the end of 2020/start of 2021?
I wanted to do that pretty much all year but with all the brands I'm covering now I got hit with a dose of irony: I have too many brands to cover
All the individual videos I'm making now are eating up the time I used to have to make comparisons...
So Hopefully I can get some help one of these days -- like a full-time editor. So I can focus more fully on just cranking out the hits
I have three rack and pinion slides and one Schwintek slide (Bedroom-contains the dresser). I did have a motor fail on the Schwintek Slide only a few weeks after I bought the RV so it was replaced and covered by the warranty. Since then, I've had no issues with it or the other slides either. Like you mentioned, I hold that button until I don't hear the motors anymore when I put the slide in or out. I think the internet can sometimes skew how good or how bad something is. You rarely see people post that things are working good but when things stop working, they can't wait to get to their keyboard.
There is some truth to that certainly, but I think there’s also some truth to the fact some systems are a little more prone to glitches than others. You have to kind of sift through it to find the trends
We had our last trailer for 5 years and used it a lot. It had a Schwintek slide for just the dinnete. I was not particularly long, but it was surprisingly deep. I was unaware that it was supposed to be fully in or fully out in the first couple years. So ours was partially deployed numerous times! We never had a single problem with the slide - it worked and stayed in synch perfectly for 5 years over many camping trips - most of them boondocking on rather rough roads.
The downside of the Schwintek slide actuator is they will let excessive amounts of water in and rot your floor out in a hurry. My cousin has that issue going on now in a 5 year camper.
As long as you hold that button down to let the system self-adjust when in/out, then you can actually get away with it a little bit
But I've done this for years now and I know that advice like that is a case of "if you give an inch they'll want a mile" and people will over-do it
Better to just NOT do it whenever possible.
@@JoshtheRVNerd I certainly didn't intend to imply I didn't believe you, Josh or that you are wrong in your advice. I suspect we were lucky those first couple years. After I was made aware the slide shouldn't be partially deployed, I didn't do it anymore. I agree with you that even giving people a hint that they might get away with it is probably not a good idea - "if you give an inch they'll TAKE a mile" is too true!
Josh, Great video on slide variants. We have a Salem FSX 178BHSKX with the Schwintek slide. Had it a year with lots of usage and no issues (dang I just jinxed myself). You’re guidance about all in or all out is spot on. Also full power (either shore power, plugged into a tow vehicle or batteries on a full charge) are required to ensure full performance from the twin motors. Low voltage can cause one to run slower than the other due to the attenuation you touched on. For the manual recovery I don’t think the drill bit thing works. There’s a controller box that you have to access (mine is under the slide, 😣 ) and there’s a button sequence to push to put it into manual mode. Can you look into that do a video on manual mode? I don’t see how you can physically access the motors but I’ll look again.
I bought a 2021 Highland ridge 264RLS with two large living room cable slides and a smaller schwintek for the bedroom. I have had my RV in for service twice already to adjust a cable that was getting loose and sagging. Seems ok now though.
Our Lance Schwintech slide hasn't broken on the slide, the heavily overloaded slide broke the lower exterior wall corner beside the slide, it cracked the exterior fiberglass for around 7 inches sloping down at about a 45-degree angle. They give you a giant U-Shaped dinette and a huge wide exterior storage area with 2 deep interior slide drawers, the trouble is that RV storage is limited, and if you take advantage of the storage in the slide (like full-timers do), you are way overloading the slide even though you may be under the rated GVWR. So basically the laminated wall side did not have enough support in it to handle a heavily loaded slide. Argh. Before we move the RV after a camp hosting gig I was the side walls of the slide and lubricate the rubber of the slide seals. That way there is the least resistance as possible to put the slide out or back in.
I'm a new rver and I have a 1991 I think it is Mallard camper glad to know this information about putting too much weight underneath the dinette set because that's where a lot of my glassware is sold my three bedroom house and bought this thing on the advice of a friend and I have so much to learn going to now definitely make sure I get rid of a lot of my glassware and make a lot of less weight in the slide out because this camper is older and I don't know nothing about campers and this is something I am now living in I'm 59 years old and can't see me in Northern California which is where I'm at trying to find someone to help me at my age because I'm having trouble getting the slide to go in and out thank you so much for that info I'm going to definitely make sure I take a lot of the way out of there
Is there a way to know exactly how much weight the slide can handle?
Just to share that I bought a 2022 Flagstaff E-Pro 19FDS last December with a Schwinteck kitchen slide. One week-end camping trip and the nightmare began with repeat dealership visits. After multiple "It's your fault" repairs, and subsequent failure on the literal next use, it is now a recall issue. First fix through Forest River after long wait for parts, failed. Waiting for second fix from Lippert, who now own Schwinteck. Per Lippert, it requires a full replacement (not some of the parts) and applies to a specific date range in 2021. Multiple FDS owners are reporting good success with the fix on Facebook. Hoping to get my lawn ornament back soon.
2021 Geo Pro 19FDS- our Schwintek slide malfunctioned on our first trip! Because our first trip was after 30 days Lazy Days would not give us service priority but offered a service appointment 60 days later. Our slide is covered by warranty but getting service is the nightmare. We have not been able to use our new GEO Pro since April 2022. It is now Sept 2022.
2022 GEO Pro not 2021
David, the recall is from Lippert who manufactures Schwinteck. Just got our trailer back last weekend. The slide is fixed, as far as we can tell. Camped near the dealer just in case. I’ve also opened the slide at home. It actually sounds different, quieter. Call Lippert directly to make sure yours was in the date range for the issue. Good luck!
Really like cougar fifth wheels but would really have to think really hard before buying one just cause of the cable system.
Cable slides have an adjustment nuts on each cable, super easy to adjust tension. Also, I will never buy an RV with Schwintek slides….the most problematic and complicated slide system.
I would never buy a camper with a cable driven slide. I have never personally owned one but I have friends that do and had major problems with them. I have a flagstaff 26RLWS that has a rack and pinion and a Schwintek for the small bedroom closet slide. I also would not buy a camper with a big slide with a Schwintek slide. I believe they are not heavy duty enough for the bigger heavier slides.
Josh, thank you so much for doing this. You are the one person we trust on this all new RV territory and you have done a wonderful job of covering the pro/cons of each type of slide. Thank you for inviting others to write their experiences. This is all such wonderful information. I wish I could triple thumbs up it. I have saved it so I can come back to it again.
Thank you so much, Charlotte
Very informative. As always. Would have liked to learn more about manual override on the Schwintek which is what we have.
My hope is to make override videos for each type of slide
I'm not sure how I'll get the time to do it but that's a goal I have at some point
Slide systems have come a long way over the years. I went custom cutting (wheat) in 1977 and the crew we traveled with had a trailer with a tip-out 'slide.' Took 3 farm boys to tip that thing in and out Glad we all don't have to deal with THAT anymore.
Sometimes some folks who have camped for years will still call them "tip outs"
@@JoshtheRVNerd My brother-in-law had one of those and they are right, it's a bear to get in and out!
We ended up selling our Highland Ridge fifth wheel because of the cable slide system failed several times after the warranty and had to pay a lot out of pocket to repair it. The slide was very heavy with a tv/fireplace,pantry,fridge and stove-12' long also. I would suggest to go with the rack and pinion on the larger slides.
Putting any storage larger then an overhead couch cabinet in a cable slide is just a bad idea; there is no way to predict how much weight will go into that storage, and it’s too easy to overload the cable system that way. It’s pretty much made for couches and dinettes.
My recommendation is never purchase an RV with a cable slide. The cables stretches and parodically needs adjustment. I had the cable slides on a Montana. Also, since the cables use the wall frame to support pulling the slide in and out, I have had two walls detach from the frame of the RV. While the motors seem very reliable, it is the gearing mechanism that tends to fail. I have to say I like the Rack & Pinion system for heavy/big slides. While not perfect they seem like the most reliable over time.
Good video, great info. Over the years have had the main slide types. One thing with the cable slides, there is a small rubber plug that should be installed on the exterior bracket to ensure the cable cannot become disconnected if a little slack. On our wardrobe slide had one come out of one of the bracketd and cable went in between, molded has to be taken off to get it. Have since place a small piece of hard foam behind bracket so if the rubber plug comes out the cable cannot come out. The other slide is rack and pinnon, I lube it 2x a year. No issues.
Great information. I have never had any issues with slides. Mostly have had rack and pinion but our current trailer has a slide with rack and pinion and another slide with Schwintek. I appreciate how you educate viewers on the differences and operation of the systems. So many failures are due to lack of proper maintenance or improper use (especially Schwintek).
Glad it was helpful!
Great video! I bought my Salem FSX a few month ago and the schwintek slide never worked after delivery. Watched numerous videos on resetting the box, took a while to find it and no help. The last time it would not close, so I feel I cannot trust the schwintek even when ‘fixed’ for the 3rd time. I’m trading it in on a Winnebago 2801bhs with a single rack and pinion slide, should take a few minutes to manually roll in if it fails.
The best slide out is no slide out! Source: I worked on RV's for a few years, its a giant hole in the side of the RV. The compromise is structural integrity and a place for water ingress in exchange for more space while camping. I bought a toy hauler so I could have a hole cut in the back of the trailer for a ramp....plus I needed the ramp to get my mountain bikes in and out. haha
Appreciate the info. Helps to explain the uneven movement of my wardrobe slide in my Rockwood 2606WS.
I have a 2021 Grand Design Imagine with a Swintek slide out. The motors never sounded strong and sure enough they failed. The only way to get the slide out back in according to GD was to remove the trim in the inside of camper so we could remove the motors. Having done that the slide wouldn’t budge. We had to use a pick up truck backed up against the slide out. It was a total nightmare to say the least. Yes, we brought in a moble RV repair service. Thankfully we were barely within the warranty. The new motors sound strong and we trust there will be no more issues.
For your information, Schwintek uses two different motors depending on the size of the slide. They are interchangeable with each other but must be matched per slide. One is a faster motor (used in smaller slides) the other is a torque motor. I had all my Jayco slides with faster motors. The largest slide kept getting off kilter, so the repair shop installed the torque motors in it. It moves abit slower but state’s pretty even side to side. And yea you have to hold the button in till you don’t hear any motors. That’s the motors telling each other when they are closed or open.
@@bill29456 How do you tell which one is installed?
Part number I think. I’m told there’s a colored stripe but I’ve never seen it. You can tell by the speed it moves. The faster ones move about a foot in 3-5 second’s
@@bill29456 I think mine is slower than that but I'll time it.
Josh thank you for getting back to me yes I am living in my RV I've already been told I need to put wood around the base of it and this morning when I went and looked at the pop out the bottom trim support pieces have come loose I probably have too much weight in the underneath the storage seats which I'm so glad you said something about that because I'm going to go through them today and pull some weight out of there I'm also thinking about putting some cinder blocks underneath it where I can give support so that there's no weight on it sticking out once the snow comes I'm also thinking about putting some of that f o a m stuff you put around air conditioners or around doors you know it's like peeling stick I'm thinking about putting some of that also and I also have been considering throwing a lightweight tarp from the top of the camper hanging over the pop out and putting light rocks or something on the top there so that there is snow and I have to actually pull it off it's easy to do of course I'm also going to have a step ladder I can use and I have a neighbor that's been very generous and has helped me since I know nothing about campers and this is my first one thank you so much for getting back to me I am going to look hit up all your videos about camper so I can learn everything I need to learn thank you so very very much for getting back to me
I've only dealt with failures on Schwintek slides. And even when operating properly they seem creaky/weak compared to R/P slides. I've noticed some 5th wheels still use Schwintek systems on their big kitchen slides and I'm not sure why. Not to single them out but the Jayco Pinnacle 32rlts is an example.
I think that'll go away on this bigger jayco FWs
They're working on making those floor-flush in the kitchen like montana, solitude, paradigm
my 2022 Pinnacle 32RLTS does NOT have a Schwintek on the Kitchen slide...It's a Slim Rack...works fine...the bed room slide is a Schwintek and it work well also.
I have a 2005 Holiday Rambler with a 16 ft super slide with the rack and pinion and have never had any problems with it. I hope I didn't just jinx myself. LOL
Many units (Rockwood) with thru-frame slides have cranks that go in the opposite side of the slide to manually crank them open or closed. I just attended a Lippert seminar at the FROG Rally. You should have a maintenance video title "Stop smearing all that stuff Facebook Experts tell you to on the slide mechanism". Mild soap (Dawn) and water. Keep it clean. On thru frames there are only 4 spots that need dry silicone lubricant and it's not the rack or seals.
Or the people who grease and lubricate a FRICTION-based anti-sway system?
I just... i can't lol
Also, DON’T lubricate a schwintek slide or cable slide. It’s not needed and can cause more issues than it fixes by attracting dirt or slipping the gears on the schwintek system
oh man.. great point. TY for this
Kinda wish I'd thought to research the slide systems before buying a trailer.
Came down to a GD 22MLE, a GD 17MKE, or an Alta 1900MMK. I went with the 22MLE because there was one being traded up (owners wanted a fiver), but kinda wishing now I'd gone with one of the others as they have smaller and probably much lighter slides.
Can't always know everything, I suppose.
You did well though that 22MLE is awesome
So cable slide repairs don’t look too complicated. No Ordinary Path UA-camr had a few failures after years of use full time, and they were able to DIY repair.
No issues yet on our Alpha Wolf 26dbh-l.
I hope it stays that way for you Paul
Ive got a swintek, did i massacre that words spelling?, on my F.R Salem FSX 178bhsk. It works great. But, requires a lot of maintenance and you gotta use it properly. First if all keep the worm racks clean at all times, and grease the appropriate bearings…that itself isnt always easy. Other rule of thumb is, always all the way in, all the way out, never stop in between, never put weight on it unless its all the way out, and finally, make sure you got lots of power to pull it out and in. Dont run it out or in on a weak battery…+ hold the button for a couple secs after using. Ah, sounds like a mouthful. Just like the name of my rv
TY Kyle. I think you nailed it
So wish I understood my slide system and so wish this video had been available but like always I can depend on you to continually educate me on rv everything. Thanks brother!
Good Vid
The best slide is NO SLIDE🤣
BAL Accu slide is the worst cable system -- dont buy, you will have issues. The Exact Slide model has apprently fixed all these issues.
Cheers
Accu Slide and Xact slide are made for different purposes. They aren't really a direct replacement for one another though that line has started to blur a bit
Accu Slide was made as an alternative to rack and pinion
Xact Slide was made as an alternative to Schwintek
Certainly Xact seems to be turning better service records vs Accu
And now that Xact has been out some new brands that aren't "shoe horned" into their engineering have started using it in places where you'd normally have seen rack and pinion - such as ember touring edition and E-Series models.
An interesting thing I'm learning - xact slide actually can be occupied while retracted which most systems cannot handle
Had cable slides on my Crossroads bumper pull, no issues with it for 3 years. Upgraded to 5th wheel, have 3 rack and pinion and one schwintek slide, all working great.
That's great to hear. TY Michael
Stay away from swinteck. Tolerances are too sensitive. Either demand rack and pinion number 1 or cable number 2.
I'm getting ready to buy a used Keystone Bullet with a cable slide and I'll be taking your advice about holding eye contact 🤣🤣🤣
We had a 2017 travel
Trailer that had a Schwintek slide in it & after the first year of ownership it was always a crapshoot as to whether it would actually move when you wanted it to. Sometimes you’d have to hold the power button in for 3-4 minutes before it would finally start moving. Didn’t matter if you were moving it in or out. On 12 volt or 110 power didn’t matter. Now we have a 2022 rockwood that has the rack & pinion slides that work great. We used to have a sunline with a rack & pinion slide for 18 years & never had any trouble. Love your informative vids josh
From a 60 year old guy that rv experience since he was 8, you do a great job Josh. Watched you for years now even though this is my 2nd comment.
My p[arents owned several frozen 18-25' towable and a class c jamboree, my grand parents had 1 small towable and then snowbird in a "huge!!!" (for the 70's) 25' Sprinter (same name/ different bird) 5th wheel to my own class A bounder to my current Northtrail 26 BRSS, I've got to say, slides are worth it. 15 or more campers..... slides are worth it.
Well thank you very much Kevin. I don’t claim to know it all but I try to do my best
We had the swentec slide in a voltage toy hauler total junk we were always scared to open each night for our trip to Florida for the winter. There is a override in the computer for each slide mtr. Good luck with using that. 300.00 per motor x 2 slides _4 motors . Terrible for the year's we owned it.
We quit raving because the junk in all rvs.The Rv industry should be ashamed we had trouble with the junk swentec slides
Another amazing video, had a little difficulty stuffing all that info into my little brain. Awesome information to make an educated decision on next camper.
Yep, I went with rack and pinion only on my new 20 ft trailer due to reading lots of negative comments on the other types. So far so good for 2 years in.
👍🏻
Great video. On the last rack and pinion rig I had there was a hole in the frame opposite the slide where you could insert your 3/4” socket (stabilizer crank) to manually run the slide.
M
I have had three RVs in my lifetime the most reliable and most durable are the rack and pinion slide system. I have had a 2015 Luxe with a bedroom cable slide that was needing new cables every couple of years. I will not own another rv with a cable slide.
Thank you for sharing your experiences Ross
Thanks Josh, we have a schwin tech system and this was helpful. I will make sure to always fully extend or retract from now on.
Hey Uncle Josh you should total check out the Vroom Slide System. It is phenomenal. It is a direct replacement of the Schwinntech (which we have) and is much more robust and stronger than Schwinntech. It is custom to each towable/drivable RV. Interestingly it was conceived by a fellow rv'er. If I ever have to replace ours I will definitely be making a trip out west.
Check out All About RVs with Jarred Gillies - he has a great vid on it.
I’ve heard some good things about that in the comments off this video. Hopefully one of these days I get a chance
Jerrad gillies
I belong to Northwood and ORV owners groups and the amount of Schwintek failures they report is really disheartening. I think it’s probably because those brands have very heavy slides and overall construction. My ORV is one of the few floor plans using R&P and is a major reason I chose that floor plan. I do have a Schwintek wardrobe slide on that unit as well and I say a little prayer each time I push the button. I had a 2018 Keystone with a cable slide and had zero issues.
Loved today’s RV towable slide content. I would love it too if you would put together a motorized RV slide video. I am trying to become a better educated RVer. BTW, could you review RV owner maintenance required for each system. Thanks!
All good ideas. I need time to get a lot of stuff done. Ty Bob
I have had significant problems with my schwintek slide on my 2017 Grand Design Reflection. The slide is to large and to heavy for this application (kitchen slide). I have had my slide repaired 3 times and I cross my fingers every time I open and close it. I am in the market for a new 5th wheel and I am not considering any RV with a Schwintek slide (unless it is a small slide).
I have a 2021 Grey Wolf 23MK and I developed a slide (Schwintek) issue a couple of months ago. I was going to open the slide but the left side wouldn't move. I tried the pushing on it while the wife worked the switch and nada. I tried the push the little button on the control box 6 times and hold it on the 7th push till the red and green lights start flashing then use the in/out switch and nada. Well no, I smelled smoke. I couldn't get the motor set screw to take the motors out cause they're on the outside and the slide is fully closed. I finally hauled it to the dealer and they, with what looks like some rough treatment, got slide out and replaced the tracks on the left side. Now I'm trying to get the motors timed up where the slide will look like it will half way seal up when it's extended or retracted. At least it was stuck in the closed position so I could haul it in, but with this issue and one previous (door replacement), I wish I'd never bought the thing. IF I ever buy another camper with a slide it will not be a Schwintek slide system.
Josh as usual great information. You’ve helped a bunch of people with this informative video. I was just thinking about this topic early this morning, you must have read my mind (scary huh) or great minds think alike🙂🙂🙂, keep’m coming, see you at the next one
👍🏻
I don't like the the schwintek system. As you have stated if they are put on a heavy slide, you will have issues. I have had many issues with my 2016 which they used on a huge kitchen slide. I prefer rack & pinion.Just better and stronger system.
Having a Schwintek, and seeing all these stories on line, I kinda wish you could have shown better how to manually move the slide. I know it's difficult to show, but it'd be more difficult on Sunday mornings when you HAVE to vacate the site by noon! :-) Great info, thanks.
I need to make a separate video on it sometime
My experience with a "Schwintek", is if you aren't completely level left to right, rain will follow the track back into the RV if it is slightly pitched that way.
Schwintek slide was stuck closed. Can't get to screws to pull motors. Lucky it started working again after travel. Now I use WD-40 with Silicone on bottom rollers before closing. No problems this year.
I have a trancend 200mk with a rack and pinion slide system, yesterday a storm blew through, 50 mph wind and driving rain the slide was open and it didn't leak a drop. Rain was blowing strait at the slide
Very informative thanks for posting this.
Thank you Josh! You taught me quite a bit. I am all "too" knowledgeable on cable slides. The four cables inside pull the box to the outside and the four cables outside pull the box to the inside. Because the some cables pull while the other cables go slightly slack, there are two cogs on the motor, two heavy chains on the cogs and metal blocks on each end of the chains. This makes four blocks and eight cables. The problem I had was the dealership had worked on the slide because of a gear issue. When they put it back together they didn't properly align the blocks. As two blocks move left , the other two move right. Because it was not aligned properly the blocks collided and sheared off bolts and snapped cables. we went months without our rig. Also, if we needed to use the manual override, we would have had to take ALL of the trim off the slide. It was a nightmare.
I appreciate you sharing your experience like that. I think it’s good for people to see some real world results on some of these things.
have a schwintek slide and it has failed . has had about 30 in and out slide is 130" wide and has side x side refrigerator and 3 person couch
9 year old 5th wheel, main slide is rack & pinion, 2 bedroom slides are cable. No failure on ether. Have had to adjust the cables as they stretch over time. A friend with a newer rig had cable on their main slides and the pulleys in the corners broke loose - bad news. I would never have main slides with cables. Other friends have had Schwintek and all have had issues. I will avoid Schwintek. Thanks for your info.😎
I don’t think a little upkeep now and then like tightening cables is an unrealistic expectation. Vehicles and homes require some upkeep of course
@@JoshtheRVNerd I agree. So I tighten them up periodically.🙂
I only have experience with swintec slides. I own a Starcraft 24RLS with a dinette slide. As with anything on a rv you must do your research and maintain it properly and it will work fine. The only issue that I have had with my slide was my fault. Winter camping and had ice build up on the slide mechanism. A hair dryer and a retiming of the slide took care of it. Now I use painters tape on the racks in the winter and problem solved
I have a 2018 Freedom Express 287bhds with a rack and pinion on the super slide for the dinette and couch. In our first year, the stop can became crushed (my dealer determined the rails were installed incorrectly 🤷🏻♂️) This crushed stop can caused my slide to not stop when going in and actually traveled inside the exterior wall. The whole thing bowed in. I had to use the manual override and my drill to start to crank it back out and that caused the slide to release. Dealer had to service it after that trip.
Thank you my friend you are very informative, knowledgeable and always willing to take feed back from other peoples experience’s Good job 👍🏽
Very informative for me shopping for a used RV potentially having a pop out. Thanks
I have a 2020 with a schwintek slide. It started acting up So I keep the rollers and wheels lubed. And it seems to be good as new now
Great stuff! I'm with you on the magic of a cable slide system, completely hocus pocus on how it works! I've seen good things on the Vroom Slide System as a replacement for Schwintek slide systems.
#voodoo
A bit of info. I have a wolf pup. If the motors ever go out of sync, pull the slide all the way out, than pull it in 4 inches, than pull it all the way out. It may happen if roads are real bumpy
I don't know if this video's been out too long that you're not going to ever get this message but my 1991 Mallard camper has one slide out for the dinette set I live in Northern California this is my first camper I've ever owned and I would like to know if it is advisable or is there a way to leave the slide out out during the snow season if I need to pull it in it's really going to cramp how much room I have to move around in here but there's just me and my little cat so I can really use some info on that also my septic tank is backed up and we've tried several different ways to get it unblocked and someone said it's probably where the the lock is outside that you slide in and out to open and close it or something probably hung up in there someone said maybe they put rocks in there I said why would someone rocks in the toilet but anyway any advice you can give would be helpful thank you Josh you seem very informative and you may actually get a phone call from me sincerely Lana Scott
Hi Lana! During snow season I would generally advise closing those slides if it's just sitting there in storage. Snow can build up on top of the slides. Then, you get a little melt & that water trickles down. Then, you get a freeze, that water expands, and slowly it can start lifting and working under the slide seals. It's called ice damming and I've seen it cause problems on plenty of RVs here in the midwest.
Now, if you're USING the RV and keeping it actively heated, then this becomes less of an issue. It would still be a good idea to try to keep the snow cleaned off the top of the slide and potentially even the roof whenever possible (though that's potentially a slippery, dangerous thing to do)
Our swintek for the dinette couch slide works without a reset only about 30 % , the bed slide works 100% of the time.
I have a 4yr old RV that has a rack and pinion and a happi-jac slide (that is my best guess as I can’t see any hardware but the slide control is not in the slide, it sounds like a schwintech). No problems with either.
I have a good friend who has a cable slide system. His cable snapped (not where it attached but the actual cable) and he had to find a hardware store, buy cable, rethread the cable and get it home so he could get the proper parts and repair it properly. Good thing he is very handy.
When looking at used RVs that had cable slide systems, I noticed that the rubber seals where the cables go through were torn up. Seems like cable slides are tough on the seals. After that observation I was fearful of them, perhaps incorrectly, that the torn seals could result in a water leak when the slides were out.
Thanks for an invaluable video lesson on slide types.
There is actually a much hardier after market “Schwintech like system“ that is much stronger and reliable. This was shown in one of the All About RV UA-cam videos.
What type/model floor plan of RV do you have? I might be able to let you know what the other slide type is
@@JoshtheRVNerd 2019 Arctic Fox 29-5T, bedroom slide.
Your right that the shwinntek systems have their issues but they are in so many rv these days I'm guessing in pull behinds they outnumber the other systems like 3 to 1 so it seams like they are always broken but part of it is the shear volume
Another variation is hydraulic vs electric slides (and leveling systems). Good video, thanks.
We had a 2002 Alfa See Ya for 8 years. Never had any problems with the rack and pinion slide. In 2020 we bought a Montana High Country 5th wheel with 3 cable slides. Within a few months the cable on the living room slide started fraying and we took it to Camping World to get fixed. That's another bad story with them. They didn't tighten it enough and it got real loose. Took it to another dealer and they had to readjust the cable . Now the bedroom slide cable is loose. If we would have done our homework we would not have purchased an Rv with cable slides. Now I'm on edge wondering when another cable will go. Also there is a difference on the RV washing machines they are putting out. I don't know if it's because of all the environmental restrictions they are putting on things now aways. But I wouldn't be surprised. The washing machine that I have now is more of a hassle than the one I had in the 2002 motorhome we had. It was a splendide same as we have now. The one I have now has a clean cycle every few wash loads. Didn't have that on the 2002 RV. I can't open the door during the dry cycle and I could on the 2002 RV. I have to use less soap like 2 tablespoons on this one as another person put her normal amount of soap in and within 2 years her washer gave out so I'm very careful with how I use this washer. Never had to worry about the 2002 Splendide. Anyway we recommend the rack and pinion slides. Never had a worry with those.
Montana actually went away from cables and adjusted things to R&P last year for all new models
We own a 06 Max Lite with cable driven slide. A few years ago while packing up, the slide wouldn’t work! No bendy thing came with the camper( we bought new in Spring of 06) it took 3 large men to push it back in. Broken cable! Had it repaired and so far no more issues. Was surprised that the manual had no instructions for this🤷🏼♀️
I’ve never seen an RV with a cable slide come without the Bendy thing… But I have seen plenty of times where things magically came up missing while RVs were out for display. It’s amazing how many people will use a new RV lot like a free parts store
Schwintech slides SUCK. The only thing worse is a cable slide. Give me a rack and pin any time! IF you end up with schwin, make sure you know where the controller box is, they are almost always buried somewhere.
A friend of mine had a 7 year old 5er. with the cable slide system he had a cable break 2 different times. he sold that trailer and the new one has the cable system also, so he didn't hate it that much.
I look forward to the motorhome slide comparisons that include the Lippert slim rack system.
Forest River Sandstorm are absolute garbage !!! We've had nothing but problems with ours, every time it goes on an outing it goes back in on warranty, garbage !
The cable driven slide system has a set of 4 cables that pull the slide in and a set of 4 that pull the slide out. The motor is mounted at the middle point in the slide wall. It’s actually not as complicated of a concept as it first appears to be.
Well I'm dumb and it's still magic to me LOL :)
I have a 2011 Keystone Bullet Premier 19 ft with a cable system. No problem!
To slide out, there’s a set of cables that just pulls out on the inner-most edge until it’s flush with the wall, then to come in, the other set of cables pulls in on the outer-most edge of the slide until it’s flush. Once it dawns on you what’s going on, you’re like….ohhhh, it’s so obvious now.
@@JoshtheRVNerd Don't feel bad. I'm college-educated and I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around cable systems, and I don't mean Cox. 🤣
What does college educated have to do with understanding or common sense?
Another excellent, informative video Josh. Thank you!
Great video . We had a 2014 class C with the Schwintec system. It carried a lot of bedroom cabinets. Fairly heavy. We ALWAYS had to sync it, time and again. It really was too much weight for it. It got stuck one. We had to power out-in-out-in, etc.
it eventually reset and synced up.
7 years and 42,000 miles of use, but I was always suspect of it . But, it never failed on us.
Great video. Thank you for some great information.
Thank you Anthony. I hear similar feedback from people sometimes where they often managed to get it to function, but not without a little fiddling first
@@JoshtheRVNerd
Yes, we always got it going. The first time was the most concerning. We weren’t familiar with the system and the salesman didn’t tell us “ all out or all in” on the slide. I disconnected the sync module, reconnected, then slowly got it to move in and out until it came out even, then ran it in and out several times. I came across another family with the same model RV, who’s slide was stuck. Helped them out using the same process.
All good!
Great subject, there's a lot of mistakes people make!
Great overview. Thanks for putting this out there.
I own a rack and pinion slide and I’m very grateful that my trailer is so equipped. In three years we’ve had zero issues which is also true of my brother who owns the same model. I will add that my unit and others I’ve looked at have a port in the sidewall opposite the slide to insert a provided Jack handle and manually crank the slide out. From an ease of override perspective the rack and pinion is miles ahead of all the other systems.
We have family who have been full time in an Open Range 5th wheel for the last two years with 5 cable driven slides. They have had issues with theirs including once at our home where the motor assembly pulled out of the wall on their kitchen slide.
I’m in 4 RV Forums on FB and I see post after post after post of people having issues with Schwintek slides. It seems that Lippert had a quality control issue recent that caused a spate of these but even so. Another major problem is that to override the system is exceedingly
difficult. I’d accept an RV with a small bedroom type Schwintek slide but anything larger and that’s a deal breaker for me.
All about RVs has a new Reflection that has a Schwintek (and if anyone knows how to manage the systems on an RV it’s him) that started giving them issues. He had that system replaced with a new Schwintek like system that is much more robust and better engineered. Unfortunately the company that’s making and selling that system is only selling and installing them at its Arizona location.
Vroom I think it’s called
@@JoshtheRVNerd your correct as always sir!
Had a cable slide system worst system electric motor had plastic gear an stripped out often had to have replaced a min of five times out of my pocket, dealer nor manufacturer would cover cost. With stripped motor transmission you can no do anything, would never have another
My parents have a 2015 fr3 30ds with 2 cable slides. I am quite mechanical. I fixed the slack in their primary slide. Entire trim had to be removed a total pain. Checking the bedroom slide - lines were twisted, crossed and way out of adjustment. In fact the carriers hit each other in passing. They can't afford to have someone fix it, so I did what I could and told them to leave the cover off so they can watch it in use. I bought a new hideout 243rb and specifically made sure it had a rack and pinion. The thought of a cable slide makes me internally angry without even working on it!
TY for the history here, Doug. It is appreciated
Replace the big slides that are Swentec with a Vroom system out in Tucson for longevity.
I called Vroom. Appointments are a year out.
Again, excellent video answering so many of my concerns.But I have one question.... I've been told when a slide is in that. It's not a good practice to put any weight, no sitting on the look couch or anything. Is that true for all sides?
Actually another slide video with more answers here m.ua-cam.com/video/Wt4-KAoweMg/v-deo.html