What Happened to my Slide!

[dmullen]

Tries to put the slide out and heard some strange noises so I stopped and tried to bring it back in and heard the noises again so I stopped. Upon inspection I found this......



This is how far out the slide is at the moment...

I don't wan to move it again because that hinge you see is one of the door hinges to the bathroom door and I'm scared it will cause even more damage. I've already contacted the dealer and he told me they will take care of it. Someone from the dealership will be out next week. I'm just wondering what happened.

[Hollywood 2979]

maybe slide track off a tooth on one side

[hankpage]

Can't say much without knowing make and model of trailer. Could be cable operated, mechanical or hydraulic but definitely looks like an adjustment is needed to realign it. Hope you are still under warranty so everything gets fixed to your satisfaction. JM2¢, Hank

[Ken / Claudia]

We can guess. All we know is from photos that need some explaining as to what is it your showing besides a slide and door hinges. Sounds like what ever it is and what ever the problem the dealer is getting to it which is most important. Let us know what happened and how it gets repaired.

[dmullen]

Sorry, I thought I had the camper info in a signature. I have a 2014 Bullet 246RBS.

The pictures are if you were inside looking straight ahead at the slide. The problem is on the left side between the wall and the slide. The second picture is looking down at it. Whatever the small wood box looking part is where the wood is breaking. The dealer said a cable problem was his first thought but since my slide doesn't run on cables he had no ideas what happened. He is going to take care of it and will have a couple of guys out next week to check it out and take it in to be repaired. It's technically only 6 months old although it sat on the lot a while.

I will keep everyone posted. Hopefully it's nothing major. I don't think it is.

[hankpage]

Looking at your floorplan, I would guess that something in the kitchen slide jammed and caused the slide to kick to one side. Your warranty should start from when YOU took possession not the dealer. Realignment is a simple fix but getting replacement parts for the damaged trim may take awhile. Good luck and let us know the outcome, Hank

[chuckster57]

Looking at the picture, it looks like a schwintek slide system. As a rule very reliable. There is a small motor at each side at the top that turns a shaft with a gear at each end. The gears run in the tracks on the slide. If you lose one motor the slide can go sideways and cause all kinds of havoc.

About the only downside to this system is the motors don't like to be stopped in mid travel. They "talk" to each other at the end of movement to stay in synch, and not fully retracting or extending the slides causes synchronization issues. Easy to overcome if its explained. I have no idea what happened in this particular case and it will interesting to see what caused this issue.

[Seth]

+1 What Chuckster said. If you google "Schwintek Slides" you'll find all sorts of information about them. Good rule of thumb with these slides is keep a close eye on the tracks, and make sure they aren't wearing down from the teeth on the motor. The schwintek slide technology is good, but it has to be installed by the dealer exactly plumb or it will never work properly. There are also Youtube videos from Lippert on how to resync the motors and the proper way to operate the slides. Good luck and let us know what happens with this.

[dmullen]

The dealer is sending someone Monday (dealer is about an hour away) to pick it up and take it back to work on the slide. It worked out pretty well since the trailer needed to go to the dealer anyway for a 6-month inspection. I will keep everyone posted on what they find. He didn't think it was anything major and said ordering the replacement pieces of wood from Keystone is what will take the most time.

[dmullen]

I picked up the camper from the dealer today. They said they had to realign the slide (Lippert Schwintek) and resync the motors, one on each side. They also trimmed away some of the wood that was catching on the bathroom door hinge in case it ever happened again.

They told me to always continually hold the button when letting the slide out or bringing it in until it stops by itself. They also said when I put it out to put it out all the way and bring it all the way in. Other than that there was no definite cause for it getting out of whack.

Now I'm ready to go camping!

[14george]

Glad you got it fixed happy camping

[Jim & DJ]

Hate to start a new story but need to. We have a 2015 Montana model 3402 that has a slide problem. Went to Southern Utah this passed week and on our last day, started to get ready to leave campground. Slide the bedroom in and had no problem. Went to the next step and the kitchen slide worked as usual. Next was the small slide next to the kitchen. As it started, it seemed to have a week battery and would not close.

From that point, none of the other ones would move, so I called for help.

This mechanic said my hydrolic pump has failed..

A few hours later the other rooms were closed and he said, Good Luck.

WHEN WE ARRIVED HOME, THE LEFT REAR ROOM WAS HANGING OPEN BY ABOUT 12 INCHES AND THE OTHER ONES WERE ABOUT A INCH.

My question is, How can I close the open rooms and see if I can take it another 30 miles for repairs

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

Looking at the picture, it looks like a schwintek slide system. As a rule very reliable. There is a small motor at each side at the top that turns a shaft with a gear at each end. The gears run in the tracks on the slide. If you lose one motor the slide can go sideways and cause all kinds of havoc.

About the only downside to this system is the motors don't like to be stopped in mid travel. They "talk" to each other at the end of movement to stay in synch, and not fully retracting or extending the slides causes synchronization issues. Easy to overcome if its explained. I have no idea what happened in this particular case and it will interesting to see what caused this issue.

2 of my 3 slides are Schwintek. Good info I was not aware of!

[x96mnn]

Originally Posted by Jim & DJ

Hate to start a new story but need to. We have a 2015 Montana model 3402 that has a slide problem. Went to Southern Utah this passed week and on our last day, started to get ready to leave campground. Slide the bedroom in and had no problem. Went to the next step and the kitchen slide worked as usual. Next was the small slide next to the kitchen. As it started, it seemed to have a week battery and would not close.

From that point, none of the other ones would move, so I called for help.

This mechanic said my hydrolic pump has failed..

A few hours later the other rooms were closed and he said, Good Luck.

WHEN WE ARRIVED HOME, THE LEFT REAR ROOM WAS HANGING OPEN BY ABOUT 12 INCHES AND THE OTHER ONES WERE ABOUT A INCH.

My question is, How can I close the open rooms and see if I can take it another 30 miles for repairs

Usually on the front of these pumps is a sticker covering a hex key screw. This is the manual over ride for th pump, get the proper size hex and a drill, your in business.

[hankaye]

Jim & DJ, Howdy;

The tech may not have completely bled all of the air out of the system.
Get some hydraulic oil (check your literature for proper type), and then
run the slides in and out a few times each starting with the one farthest
from the oil tank (reservoir). You may need to 'top it off' a few times as
the air gets bled out. Best to call Schwintek to see if I'm right and what
they say about the best way to go about it just to be on the safe side...

hankaye

[Jim & DJ]

Thanks for the replys x96 & hankaye. Took the 5th wheel to a shop and found that the hydro motor siezed up...Too bad the first guy couldn't figure it out.

Have a great summer...