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Old 08-05-2015, 05:30 PM   #1
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Angry Schwintek jammed and immobile... where to start?

We took delivery of a like new 2013 Journey 34B the first of July 2015. First trip the big 24' slide racked (jammed) with the top flush and the bottom extended 2-3 inches on both sides. We took it to a well-regarded local service facility that is trying to work directly with Lippert-Schwintec technical support. It's a catch-22... extend the slide to diagnose the problem... the jamming won't allow the slide to extend for diagnosis.

Schwintec's offered up 3 solutions to free the slide:

1) With a fork lift and padding, push the slide in, shearing and freeing the hardware.

2) Drill hole(s) to access the motor retainer screws; remove motor.

3) Cut away the slide facia to access the motor retainer screws; remove motor.

Option 1) is too much of a "big hammer" approach for me... I like my flooring and cabinetry.

Option 2) and 3) aside from the exterior damage may not solve releasing the hardware jam itself.

This has to be a fairly common situation. How have you solved it?

And after you got the slide extended, were you able to upgrade the hardware to higher torque motors and steel hardware?
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Old 08-06-2015, 05:58 AM   #2
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We've had problems with our schwintec slides and had to unplug our controllers to slide 1 back in(releases the breaks). Check this video out. Good luck.

Try this
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Old 08-06-2015, 11:20 PM   #3
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Thanks but not relevant because the slide in IN already. The problem is freeing the jammed hardware to extend the slide for replacment.
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Old 08-06-2015, 11:30 PM   #4
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GOOD NEWS! A phone conversation with Winnebago technical support this morning indicated that my coach's repair will be covered by Winnebago for "customer relations". Wow... kudos to Winnebago. I was able to verify this at Camping World, Vacaville,California which had received a letter within the last 2 weeks regarding coverage of repair to Schwintek slide problems. I don't know the extent of the coverage, but it does cover my 2013 coach which would normally be out of warranty.

I have an appointment at CW the first week of September. Stay tuned...
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Old 08-06-2015, 11:39 PM   #5
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I have an appointment at CW the first week of September. Stay tuned...
Uh Oh. Work at CW is problematic. Hope you got a good one.
We took our 2000 Dutch Star to the one south of Portland OR (in 2001) to have a larger inverter put in. Thought they would know how to install it correctly and found they didn't. Have never let a CW touch anything I have owned since then.
Some CW's are good, but some aren't.
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Old 08-09-2015, 08:31 AM   #6
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We took delivery of a like new 2013 Journey 34B the first of July 2015. First trip the big 24' slide racked (jammed) with the top flush and the bottom extended 2-3 inches on both sides. We took it to a well-regarded local service facility that is trying to work directly with Lippert-Schwintec technical support. It's a catch-22... extend the slide to diagnose the problem... the jamming won't allow the slide to extend for diagnosis.

Schwintec's offered up 3 solutions to free the slide:

1) With a fork lift and padding, push the slide in, shearing and freeing the hardware.

2) Drill hole(s) to access the motor retainer screws; remove motor.

3) Cut away the slide facia to access the motor retainer screws; remove motor.

Option 1) is too much of a "big hammer" approach for me... I like my flooring and cabinetry.

Option 2) and 3) aside from the exterior damage may not solve releasing the hardware jam itself.

This has to be a fairly common situation. How have you solved it?

And after you got the slide extended, were you able to upgrade the hardware to higher torque motors and steel hardware?
We have a 2014 34b and have not had any slide problems. I was wondering if putting the jacks down every time you want to extend the slides prevents these slide issues. I frequently see slides out at RV centers and the jacks are not down. The sales people say the ground is level and they (jacks) don't need to be down. Well I am not going to take that chance - jacks down = slides out.
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Old 08-10-2015, 12:09 AM   #7
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Jacks down and coach level when the problem occurred. Running the engine, we had closed the slide. The lower right did not close completely so we opened and closed it fully 2 times. The third time it went out 5 inches and stopped, making some unusual noises. I ran it in and it jammed with the top on both sides flush; the bottom on both sides out a few inches. It was immovable at this point so I used a couple of pieces of firewood as slide locks and headed home. There are no codes with the controller.
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Old 08-10-2015, 09:40 AM   #8
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Jacks down and coach level when the problem occurred. Running the engine, we had closed the slide. The lower right did not close completely so we opened and closed it fully 2 times. The third time it went out 5 inches and stopped, making some unusual noises. I ran it in and it jammed with the top on both sides flush; the bottom on both sides out a few inches. It was immovable at this point so I used a couple of pieces of firewood as slide locks and headed home. There are no codes with the controller.
Ouch - thanks for the update - I will keep an eye on mine!
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Old 08-11-2015, 12:30 AM   #9
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Ouch - thanks for the update - I will keep an eye on mine!
When we are functional again we will probably extend the full slide on a limited basis. We're a bit paranoid at this point. The 34B is very livable with the full slide not extended. BTW, we spend 2 weeks at Flaming Gorge in June... loved it... and plan to return next year.
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Old 08-12-2015, 09:57 AM   #10
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I am having a similar problem with the big slide on my 2015 Suncruiser 37F. That is the slide is sticking out on one side bottom.

Fortunately it happened in the Camping World Vacaville parking lot - we were going in for some relatively minor warranty work when retracting the slides resulted in some gear jumping.

CW took it very seriously and immediately put a senior tech on it - he reported a significant failure in the slide and after a days work managed to man handle it mostly closed.

CW couldn't fix it that day - needing parts and clearance from Winnebago - so we took it home and parked. The slide is currently inop in the retracted position. We are currently awaiting parts and a CW appointment.

I am speculating from the position of the slide that the failure is in the slide itself and the failure of schwintek was an artifact of the slide failure. I'm thinking it is a fairly major mechanical issue.

BTW, we are always level with engine running before operating that big slide.

So far both CW and Winnebago have been very good about it, reassuring us it is going to get fixed. But it is frustrating and has cost us one planned trip already (substituted a cruise for it )

By the sound of it the good folks at CW in Vacaville are going get very good a slide repair....
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Old 08-16-2015, 11:51 AM   #11
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Sorry the video didn't help. I also had problems extending one of my slide. Went to local RV shop, they found 1 motor had wire not connected so slide was moving off from 1 motor. Also they can get out-of-sync, so maybe check out the schwintec syncing video on their website. Best of luck, my local CW has nothing but bad reviews, so with that said they will never touch my new RV.
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Old 08-20-2015, 05:31 PM   #12
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I had problems with my passenger side slide-out. It would not come in. We finally got it in and returned to our dealer, Arbogast RV in Troy, OH. They repaired it. I was told that there are two guide rails and rollers. In my case the weight was being carried by the rails and not by the rollers. The RV tech had to drop the slide-out 3/8 inch down to get it on the rollers. They also replaced all of the Swintec hardware. Put it in and out about 15 times and still is working very well. Talked to tech at Winnebago(Bill) and told him this story and he agreed with their diagnosis.
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Old 09-18-2015, 11:30 PM   #13
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Making progress...

After much back and forth communication with Winnebago we have a commitment to get the coach repaired and on the road again. The diagnosis by the Camping World tech was a Schwintec hardware failure that required a complete replacement. Our local Camping World in Vacaville, California was very proactive (thanks Cheryle) and Winnebago agreed to pay for hardware replacement and 4 hours of labor as a "courtesy". Our extended coach insurance also agreed to cover the additional 6 hours of labor. Minor damage to the Corian counter top was covered by Winnebago. So... now waiting for parts and looking forward to getting on the road again.

Speculating... we are the 2nd owner so this may have affected/delayed the decision making.

On a positive note, when we took the MH to Camping World, we met 3 other Journey and Meridian owners who had also experienced our "pain". Their large slide problems had be repaired to their satisfaction by Camping World or the Winnebago factory.

Stay tuned... follow-up post-repair.
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Old 09-19-2015, 10:57 PM   #14
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Lippert/Schwintec is covering the cost for these failed units. They want the entire units returned to them for R&D, Winnebago is "good willing" these because they are getting paid for them. I'm having an issue on my 2015 Suncruiser 38Q. It's actually coming in to far and hitting the facet and moving the island. Tech is going to do his measurements, timing checks and then request the latest complete revision of this system. I believe they are on the 5th version. The only thing Winnebago has to do with these system is that they developed a custom software package to prevent them from eating themselves. Steel and aluminum don't mix so I don't know what lippert was thinking.
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Old 09-20-2015, 10:04 AM   #15
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Follow up: Slide fixed

I just got my coach back from Camping World Vacaville with a new schwintek rails and motor. All better now.

The interesting part was in a conversation with the new service writer at CW Vacaville, she indicated that Schwintek system was pretty good - it just that "people didn't know how to work on them". She also indicated that there were a lot of people coming in with Schwintek issues. I think I saw the OPs Journey in there with the whole wall slide sticking out at the base.

Of course I ran my slide in-out about 6 times in the CW parking lot. So far so good. Let us hope people have learned how to work on the Schwintek system.

On a side note chatting with the CW people, they indicated they had some personnel "drama", turned over some people and are working very hard to get things back on track. I wish them success - they had been a bit problematic in the past getting work done - I could tell you the story of our delivery....


Quote:
Originally Posted by jrpend View Post
I am having a similar problem with the big slide on my 2015 Suncruiser 37F. That is the slide is sticking out on one side bottom.

Fortunately it happened in the Camping World Vacaville parking lot - we were going in for some relatively minor warranty work when retracting the slides resulted in some gear jumping.

CW took it very seriously and immediately put a senior tech on it - he reported a significant failure in the slide and after a days work managed to man handle it mostly closed.

CW couldn't fix it that day - needing parts and clearance from Winnebago - so we took it home and parked. The slide is currently inop in the retracted position. We are currently awaiting parts and a CW appointment.

I am speculating from the position of the slide that the failure is in the slide itself and the failure of schwintek was an artifact of the slide failure. I'm thinking it is a fairly major mechanical issue.

BTW, we are always level with engine running before operating that big slide.

So far both CW and Winnebago have been very good about it, reassuring us it is going to get fixed. But it is frustrating and has cost us one planned trip already (substituted a cruise for it )

By the sound of it the good folks at CW in Vacaville are going get very good a slide repair....
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Old 09-20-2015, 10:07 AM   #16
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Had the same problem on our 2014 journey 34 only it was the bottom on one side of the slide. 90'days out of warranty and Winnie won't cover it. I noticed on mine the screws for the slide rail came out and were loose. It's in the shop now and they told me the screws in the wall on the lower mechanism came out and that is why it failed. Poor design and poor hardware used to install it. The rails are held in with sheet metal screws. Why would anyone used sheet metal screws on something that sees a lot of torque and movement?
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Old 09-20-2015, 08:39 PM   #17
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The interesting part was in a conversation with the new service writer at CW Vacaville, she indicated that Schwintek system was pretty good - it just that "people didn't know how to work on them"..
'
Got the same speech from my mechanic. Seems there is no bumping these things out a little and then back in, like so many people are used to doing. All the way out and then all the way back in, no stopping. Never change directions mid stroke it messes up the timing.
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Old 12-06-2015, 09:32 PM   #18
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Smile Repairs complete

Picked up the coach Saturday. We ran the slide in and out and it appeared to work without issue. The tech who worked on it was not available so we're not sure what specifically was replaced/repaired. We were told by the service writer that the entire slide hardware was replaced as well as the Corian counter top. Visually, it appears that the rails are a bit more substantial.

After 4 months of down time we were challenged to relearn where things were and what buttons to push.

Hopefully, this is my last post for this problem. Winnebago came through and covered most of the repair; my insurance the balance.
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Old 12-07-2015, 05:54 AM   #19
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Additional problems

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I had problems with my passenger side slide-out. It would not come in. We finally got it in and returned to our dealer, Arbogast RV in Troy, OH. They repaired it. I was told that there are two guide rails and rollers. In my case the weight was being carried by the rails and not by the rollers. The RV tech had to drop the slide-out 3/8 inch down to get it on the rollers. They also replaced all of the Swintec hardware. Put it in and out about 15 times and still is working very well. Talked to tech at Winnebago(Bill) and told him this story and he agreed with their diagnosis.
In early Nov, we went to FL. When we arrived slide-out would not go out. Called Winne service. They referred me to local RV/Winne dealer. This meant that I would have to go to dealer for diagnosis and probably back home while they got parts. I called local RV repair person and they came out. Tech got the slide-out out inch by inch and determined that one motor was defective. Winne sent new motor to tech and they installed. Working now. Cost me $200 which I have submitted to Winne for payment. Hope this fixed it. Found out on this forum that I should leave a window open to release air pressure. Will be sure to try this.
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Old 12-07-2015, 08:07 AM   #20
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We had problems with the full wall slide on our 2013 Adventurer. It's the same length and with a similar floor plan. Here's a copy of a post I made in another forum. Hopefully you can get the dealer to make a similar repair.


"Just picked up our 2013 Adventurer from the factory maintenance facility yesterday. The main reason it went in was to repair the full wall slide. This is the second time we've had problems, but talking with the technician at length I think we now have a permanent fix.

The main problem was the slide was not going in level front to back. The front was always lower causing the lower front corner to bind before it was fully closed.
The "fix" included adding 2 rollers to the kitchen island, removing the second to the rear roller in the bedroom, and replacing all 4 rack mechanisms on the ends of the slides.

Originally there were 8 rollers attached to the wall beneath the full slide. In our case the 7th roller was too high causing the slide to tilt forward as it closed. By removing it the slide now is level through the entire extend and retract cycle.

The new rollers below the kitchen island are attached to the island itself and roll along the vinyl flooring when extending and retracting the slide. This helps evenly distribute the weight. It also puts less strain on the gear and rack assemblies since there is no longer several hundred pounds of counter, cabinets, and contents cantilevered 4 feet from the gear and rack assembly.

With the island fully supported the entire surface of the gear teeth remain engaged in the rack. This almost eliminates the possibility of the gear skipping teeth on the rack and allowing one or more racks to come out of time.

So far the full wall slide has only been extended and retracted 6 times since the repair. It's the best the slide has performed since the motorhome was new.

Granted it was disappointing that we had problems, however at this point I feel Winnebago has more than stepped up to the plate and addressed the issue. I urge anyone with similar problems to contact the factory service department and talk with a service advisor. I'm certainly glad we did, and look forward to many more years of reliable service from our motorhome.

Thanks, Winnebago."
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