Lippert Slide Mechanism - Page 3

SAWTELLE · 01-02-2014, 12:21 PM

We were also told that no lube was necessary. I noticed everyone is referring to Lippert slide, but is it really the Lippert/Schwintek model everyone is having trouble with? That's what ours is on the kitchen counter side. The driver side still has the power-glide system by Lippert and we have had no problems with that one. After being repaired twice my hubby has noticed that the back portion of the passenger slide is not coming in flush anymore!! Unfortunately Forest City is too far away so we're going to take it to Tom Johnson in Concord NC and have them do a PDI on the entire coach. We're disappointed with this slide issue as we understood Winnebago was a well built and top of the line coach. Looks like they need to do a little work in that area! PS-thanks for the tip on holding the switch down and letting the motor shut off on its own. I think that's what we've been doing but will definitely make sure next time>

Huey428 · 01-02-2014, 10:37 PM

Have been to factory 2 times in 2013 for passenger side slide repair on our 2013 tour QD. Our problem is the opening for the slide was cut out of square and customer service at factory agrees that it is a problem because motor will not stay ingaged, but will not put it in writing. Lippert service rep told me the jig used for cutting opening was altered which resulted in out of square opening. Both factory repairs were changing out complete slide mechanisms only. We feel this slide will be a problem for ever so we do not use slide when traveling, only when stationary for month or so. We only hope no more problems until March/April when we will take delivery of 2014 Entegra Anthem. Entegra dealer is aware of our slide problem and wants our Tour on there lot, he feels it will boost Entegra sales.

ChrisKW · 01-11-2014, 10:38 PM

Lippert components were replaced on the Schwintek in-wall slide system by CW at Raleigh this last week. This was the galley slide on our 2014 Itasca Ellipse, of which the malfunction I described earlier in this thread. The repair kit was fortunately Lippert's recently engineered design change, which included replacement of the original aluminum torque shafts with steel shafts, and replacement of both high torque 300:1 motors with 500:1 motors (of which the motors are paired by the manufacturer to ensure they run at the same drive speed). The kit hardware included new slide columns with four “worm-rails" (which are aircraft-quality aluminum), new drive gears, gear bracket and worm-rail v-roller, and replacement of exterior seals. The repair took about two days to complete. Ran it out three times and thus far running smooth, fingers crossed that the re-engineering resolved the issue.

Finhawk · 01-12-2014, 10:18 AM

When did they come out with that design change? Now I'm wondering if the "latest and greatest" that was installed on mine a few months ago is actually that.
Bruce

CBTraveler · 01-17-2014, 09:13 PM

Update on our 2013Meridian 34B. We were experiencing cracking and snapping sounds from the drivers side slide last summer and fall. CW repaired it twice, but they made it worse, so we took it to WBGO in early December 2013. They replaced all of the Schwintek parts and so far (2400 mies) the noise is gone.
As a side note, I was impressed with the WBGO service team that worked on our unit. Hopefully the slide problem is fixed. I'm still nervous based on the recent comments; time will tell. The most recent copy of WIT news did indicate that a CRC lube be used on the lippert motor and shaft parts.

HerbZilla · 02-06-2014, 04:46 PM

Maybe use lube on the motor and shaft but I was specifically told by CW tech not to use any lubricant on the worm track. Most important thing is to keep the track clean.
I guess I was lucky to only have a wiring issue with one of our slides. Bad cable going from the wall switch to the controller.
I have also read that some problems come from the rollers that the slide rolls on are not adjusted correctly by the MH builder. This causes excess weight and torque on the motors and worm track. These worm tracks only move the unit in and out and should have no weight on them. This is especially critical on the heavy slides. If you have a step up type slide you should be able to see the rollers by looking along the floor or from the outside if you pull down the seal a bit.

ChrisKW · 09-05-2014, 04:33 PM

Overdue for an update, but after 9 deployments of the forward passenger slide-out following a complete rebuild and replacement of the worm-gear tracks, motors, drive shafts and seals (posted in late 2013 within this thread), the slide-out failed again in January 2014. We had to use brute force to assist the drive motors to retract the slide-out back into a stowed position to drive. We continued to use the motorcoach as we were full-timing at that point until March 2014, without deploying the failed slide (a camped quarters for sure), at which time we left the coach with Camping World of Tampa, Florida for a little over two months. The techs were recently Lippert trained and they seemed on top of their game. They once again ordered a complete kit from Winnebago, which took about six weeks to receive the parts. Bottom line, they determined that the manufacture's opening in the coach body was NOT square, which resulted in the slide-out not running smoothly in and out on the worm-gear rails, thus breaking the metal rollers that run on the rails (not the plastic rollers supporting the slide-out underside itself). CW apparently shimmed the Lippert track on left and right sides to ensure they were square around the slide-out and within tolerance of the manufacturer's clearances. The slide-out since May has cycled through 12 full deployments thus far and runs very smoothly when extending and retracting. I contacted a Winnebago Service Advisor to provide an update on the findings and resulting repairs, of which they naturally stated "gee, never heard of the opening being out of square before". Each coach has it's own issues and resolutions, but perhaps this can be useful to others. Happy camping!

dengraham · 09-05-2014, 04:46 PM

ChrisKW,
Did we not receive part of your message?? Try editing the post.

ChrisKW · 09-05-2014, 04:54 PM

Fat-fingered, sorry. Edited and reposted.

Martinrv2 · 10-06-2014, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finhawk

I didn't think that the Itasca Meridian was a entry level coach. I told the customer service rep at Winnibago this morning that maybe they should design and use their own system.
The full wall side is great, no problems at all but I'm beginning to think that the drivers side slide is too heavy. The bedroom has the Lippert and works like a dream but then it's only about a 3rd of the size of the other

Thor Palazzo 36.1 same problem 5 time and replace mechanism

CBTraveler · 10-07-2014, 08:27 PM

Two updates:

In late December we went to WBGO and had the big slide fixed. I reported in January 2014 that it was working fine, but we had to go back in April and have it repaired again because it was still not working right.

Now we have a problem with the bedroom slide- Lippert strikes again: The problem this time is that the forward part of the bedroom slide has the "linear gear" rubbing against the water seals on the bottom of the slide. The whole slide has shifted forward so that the gap between the slide and the main wall is large on the rear side of the slide and non-existent on the forward side. We've put about 12,000 miles on the motorhome since the beginning of January, 2014.
Service Manager at Camping World Madison, WI said he had not seen this before. WBGO service has a theory that I'm getting clarified so I can save the 800 mile round trip to WBGO by having CWorld fix it.

Update to follow as soon as we have a plan.

ChrisKW · 10-07-2014, 11:07 PM

Our 2014 Itasca Ellipse, we have posted our issues earlier, had also slid forward, which ate the seals as you described. The Lippert design as sure been a bad deal for all of the manufactures and their customers. The frustrations, the loss of the RV use when being repaired, the costs, the repeat failures, and the excuses from Lippert and the RV manufacturers never ceases.

Chris & Deb - North Venice, FL - 2014 Itasca Ellipse - Toad: 2014 Jeep Rubicon

CBTraveler · 10-09-2014, 08:51 AM

I love our 34B, but I'm really getting frustrated about the Lippert Schwintek.

Has anyone noticed that the Winnebago top management team does NOT have a VP of Quality?

VP's of everything else, but not Quality. Perhaps the fox (VP Manufacturing) is guarding the hen house. The Schwintek thing is a design problem, but in the end I, as a customer, do not care who designed it; a VP of Quality should be raising holy hell with the design group to fix the problem.

CBTraveler · 10-09-2014, 08:58 AM

ChrisKW,

What did they do to fix your Ellipse?

ChrisKW · 10-09-2014, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBTraveler

ChrisKW, What did they do to fix your Ellipse?

As stated in Post #47 above, the primary cause according to the repair shop was the Winnebago Slideout opening in the RV's side wall not being square. They subsequently measured and confirmed the slideout itself was square, meaning not warped. The replacement parts, as summarized below, where contained in what the dealer's repair shop called a kit. It provided parts for both sides of the slide, as the motor and gear mechanisms need to be paired by the OEM to ensure they extend and retract at the same speed. I was told that a replacement of a motor must always be done in pairs, and that some repeat problems are caused by repair shops replacing only one side instead of both.

The kit parts included replacement of the original aluminum vertical torque/drive shafts with steel shafts, and replacement of both high torque 300:1 motors with 500:1 motors, new slide columns (the metal framework for the motor, gear drives, and vertical drive shaft), four “worm-rails" (which are aircraft-quality aluminum), new drive gears, gear bracket and worm-rail v-roller, and replacement of exterior seals. The repair took about two days to complete.

Chris & Deb - North Venice, FL - 2014 Itasca Ellipse - Toad: 2014 Jeep Rubicon

oakcreekeric · 10-10-2014, 08:33 AM

Good morning..

I stumbled onto this thread and reflected on my week...

On Monday and Tuesday of this week I was in Forest City, IA at the Service Center. I was truly amazed at the number of coaches in for slide issues... and most weren't on their first rodeo. In fact, one of them had new "hardware" installed and was "tested" in the service bay, more than a couple times.. When he got the coach back, he extended it, realized they needed more water, so retracted it... and you guessed it... it "skipped" and didn't close flush... talk about frustrating.. WOW !!

I think... Luckily... I have the Powergear system on my 2012 35F... I only believe this, as I don't have the aluminum tracks on my slides... My hardware is underneath the slide..

Ironically, there was a newer 2014 35F, I think, that arrived as we were getting ready to depart... He was asking questions about my experience (which was awesome) and asked about wind noise on my large, drivers side, slide.. I mentioned if he "locked" his slide... he didn't know what I was talking about.. We went to his coach and there is no "locking" button (He has the aluminum tracks on the slide).. I was shocked.. as ours has a locking mechanism.. I wonder if having that lock prevents any of the shifting you guys are talking about..

Anyway... I am sorry all of you are having issues.. We actually looked at the Tour they had on display at the Visitors Center and I couldn't believe they used the slide system with the aluminum tracks (sorry, not sure what the exact name is.. Lippert?), as I have heard so many bad things about them.. It's a shame.. we really like the Tour, but I will not be purchasing one anytime soon with the problems you guys are experiencing..

Good luck to you all..

dengraham · 10-11-2014, 07:02 PM

Eric,
For the newer Tour and Ellipse motorhomes they are now using the new Power Gear in-wall slide mechanism (and they are also now using HWH levelers). So, don't be afraid to look at a newer unit.
>> Dennis

ChrisKW · 10-11-2014, 11:00 PM

Our 2011 Tour 42QD had Power Gear on both left and right side slideouts, unfortunately our 2014 Ellipse 42QD only had Power Gear on left (28') slideout and Lippert for both righthand slides. Wish they never used Lippert, or at least on the galley/living room slide. Just too much weight for the Lippert design. That said, we love the Tour and Ellipse coaches..!

Chris & Deb - North Venice, FL - 2014 Itasca Ellipse 42QD - Toad: 2014 Jeep Rubicon

SAWTELLE · 10-24-2014, 06:28 AM

I'm happy to report that since CW, along with Winnebago and Lippert replaced the entire mechanism last Dec our passenger side slide has worked perfectly!! Now it's just a problem with the Lippert jacks😰

cholmes · 10-26-2014, 06:23 AM

Our 2014 Adventurer has been in use since June of 2013. We went the first 6 months without a slide problem but have had numerous problems ever since. The Schwintek gears on the big slide just are not large enough to move the full slide. Under engineered would be my bet. The dealers and the factory are buried with repairs. I would guess there must be a lawyer out there who could use some part time work putting together a class action suit to get this problem resolved.