Aria Schwintek Slides

[mccart]

Hi everyone.
I am new to Thor Forum.

I am seriously considering purchaseing a 2022 Thor Aria 3401 with approximately 3900 miles on it. This coach looks brand new inside and out. The only thing holding me back from purchasing the unit is the Schwintek slides units that are on the big slideout This slideout has the kitchen and refrigator on it. I've heard many bad comments on the Schwintek slide units. Does anyone have any experance/problems with them on this unit? Any advice would be appericated.

[ghnl]

Schwintek slides are used in many thousands of RVs. The problems I've read seem to be due to poor installation (pinched wires), poor construction (out of square slide boxes), and poor operator technique (not keeping the motors in synch). When they work, they seem to work OK. When they don't they are not hard to fix - more frustrating than anything else. I do think that very large slides are probably taxing the ability of the Schwintek slides to handle the weight.

[Jegdrum5050]

My 27 ft slide had repair to the rails a year ago…my coach is a 2015. Use caution to hold button without stopping both in and out. Lube slide sweep about 4times a year. Now you’re good to go. Hope this helps you. Jerry

[DavidEM]

Eric’s last sentence above is exactly right.

Look up posts by TF member Judge. He probably has more experience with wide Schwintek slides than anyone and it isn’t good. He says that most of the wide, 15’+ slides are doomed to fail.

He replaced the mechanical parts of his with those made by Vroom Slide Systems. Cost about $4,000 as I recall.

David

[pneumatics]

No experience with the Aria, but with the slides. The one big message on these slides is making sure that there is support rollers under the slide. And plenty of them. For some reason Schwinteck assumes that the mechanism can support some of the weight of the slide and this is just not true. The larger the slide out the bigger the load. I replaced both of mine with Vroom (about $4500 in Tucson, AZ) and they work great.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Think twice about kitchen plumbing in a moving slide room. If it's a full wall slide on a large motorhome the Schwintek mechanicals are pushing the limit.

Will you have problems? No one can answer that... you might get lucky and get a well built coach. But look at that moving plumbing... then cycle the slide several times to see if it struggles. Your first camping trip IS NOT the place to discover giant headaches!

[m1noel]

We have a 2018 Aria 3901. We have had zero problems with the large slide with fridge and kitchen. Our dinette slide rails were installed out of square at the factory. I discovered them before failure, but out of warranty. Took me about 6 hours to replace them myself. No issues since. Watch for wear on the rails. I do think Vroom builds a better system.

[MJC62]

Thousands and thousands of RV's out there with Schwintek slides. Do they fail? Some do. (Any mechanical system will eventually fail over time.) There are thousands of RV's out there with plumbing in the slides as well, ours included. Do they fail? Once again some do.
The majority of RV owners aren't having issues with their slides. People come on here or other sites to either, A) rag about their "terribly built" RV's or B) to look for solutions to problems they are having. Either way all we read about are the failures. How many threads on here about my wonderful RV? Maby a handful. How many threads on here about my POS? Tons.

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by MJC62

Thousands and thousands of RV's out there with Schwintek slides. Do they fail? Some do. (Any mechanical system will eventually fail over time.) There are thousands of RV's out there with plumbing in the slides as well, ours included. Do they fail? Once again some do.
The majority of RV owners aren't having issues with their slides. People come on here or other sites to either, A) rag about their "terribly built" RV's or B) to look for solutions to problems they are having. Either way all we read about are the failures. How many threads on here about my wonderful RV? Maby a handful. How many threads on here about my POS? Tons.

Unfortunately people are much more likely to complain about the bad versus sing praises about the good.

The reasoning must be that if something is good there's nothing to "fix". On the other hand if something is bad the person is looking for a "fix", and it sometimes turns into an ugly complaint.

Sales people are very much aware of this imbalance... 100 good products (or interactions) yield 5 positive comments. 5 bad products (interactions) yield 100 negative comments.

While it's nice to hear GENUINE UNBIASED positive comments about products/services, those usually get drowned by the negative.

All that said... anyone who's oblivious to the build quality issues plaguing the RV industry today is either living in a dream world OR being disingenuous.

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by Jegdrum5050

My 27 ft slide had repair to the rails a year ago…my coach is a 2015. Use caution to hold button without stopping both in and out. Lube slide sweep about 4times a year. Now you’re good to go. Hope this helps you. Jerry

Slide sweep?
What is that..

[Chateau_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Scubawise

Slide sweep?
What is that..

The rubber "wipers" that lay on the slide... they "sweep" water and debris off when you retract the slide room. Keep them treated with a protective coating to protect from UV and keep them pliable.

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad

The rubber "wipers" that lay on the slide... they "sweep" water and debris off when you retract the slide room. Keep them treated with a protective coating to protect from UV and keep them pliable.

Oh right thx
I do this

[Mcarter477]

I have had a 2018 aria for 6 years. I have learned two things always make sure you level the rv and and run the slide out or in all the way no stops. Next for repairs alway always go to the factory shop. I have had to take mine 10 times to the factory saved me one time $29,000.00 dollars from what the dealer wanted to charge me.

[MLP]

My big slide has been repaired four times. Twice by the dealer and twice by my independent RV repair service shop. All were complete replacements. All but one repair was no cost to me. The first repair was do to a mistake by the dealership. The mechanic routed the control cable inside the column instead of the outside. The cable jammed the slide on the bottom guide rail. The and second failure was a defective rod that snapped. Lippert payed for the the last one at my independent RV repair service shop. The cost for me at my independent shop was $4200.00. This was the third repair, but first replacement at their shop. I always sink the system each time I open and close the slide. I purchased the coach used when it was seven years old with 8900 miles on it. So the slide broke less then a year later. Such is life. I have been told my slide and opening are square with no work required to make it so. My slide has a closet, washer and dryer, pantry, stove, microwave, cabinets, TV, and dinette. So it is very heavy.

[Carole H.]

I have a 2019 Aria 3601 and have had absolutely no slide problems. The main thing is like previously mentioned, coach is level and hold button until completely retracted or extended. Happy trails....

[Jimbo57]

Originally Posted by mccart

Hi everyone.
I am new to Thor Forum.

I am seriously considering purchaseing a 2022 Thor Aria 3401 with approximately 3900 miles on it. This coach looks brand new inside and out. The only thing holding me back from purchasing the unit is the Schwintek slides units that are on the big slideout This slideout has the kitchen and refrigator on it. I've heard many bad comments on the Schwintek slide units. Does anyone have any experance/problems with them on this unit? Any advice would be appericated.

I just went to Vroom Manufacturing in Az replaced the 3 track Schwintec with 2 track Vroom , they changed the 5” end roller with 10” rollers all new roller plates. Replaced all new seals $5100.00. Now when I push the slide button both slide same time don’t have to worry any more. At this time no regrets.

[Jimbo56]

To all you folks who know to level the coach before sliding out: Run all the way out without stopping. When slide stops, continue holding button for a count of 5. Don’t just let up on the button when slide stops. Do same when retracting. For those of us with an overhead drop down bunk, do the same.

[GeorgePal]

One more thing... When I am at home heading out, slides are in, I am level. I retract them (holding for 5 secs) sometimes a get movement. Then after you travel and want to put them out, retract first (they migh creep a bit), wait a few seconds, then extend. Traveling can cause the slides to creep asymmetrically, so lining them up before the extend ensures you don't go out crooked. Same bringing them in. Go Extend first, then retract. Since I have been doing it this way both motors audibly amp out at the same time at the end of travel. Just sitting in my driveway retracted can cause a few mm of creep out.