Overhead Bunk Shwintek Issues

[mstng]

Thanks, I have one side that that is crooked. Probably the washboard roads. I had to push it up as the right side motor brought up the right side. I may have a motor problem and/or a damaged rail. Where the heck would they put the controller? Would like to manually see what I can do.

[ducksface]

If no one replies:
I vaguely remember a thread where it mentioned its built into/above the drivers side rail and that you might have to remove the three screws holding the white metal bracket to see it.

Take this as a vague memory to be used only if a REAL answer doesn't come about.

I'm guessing you could call Thor and then please post their answer for the rest of us.
Almost everyone says they are very helpful.


Also,
A problem that occurred DURING all of the wonderment:
The connector for the rail is a very tiny mid wire unit similar to what you see on computer fans. THIS caused a complete failure DURING our intermittent failures.
It loosened itself with all of the tugging and manipulation. Found and fixed, it allowed us to continue with the original torment. It is located at the top. If you look hard enough between the rail housing and the bed edge, you'll see it.

[mstng]

Finally got it up. Disconnected the plug in connector and the motor started working. Still out of sync after 5 times up and down but will keep trying.

[ducksface]

Yes, I forgot.
Disconnecting seemed to make it, counter-intuitively, work.
Good luck,
Our s just suddenly sync'd
No additional action from us, it just picked a repitiion it liked and sync'd.

AND THEN I DROVE OFF WITH THE SLIDE OPEN.
I only went about 200 yards but the traffic I merged into must have been freaking out.
We almost never use the slide, was so damn happy to get it drivable, just hopped in the seat and off I went.

[mstng]

Ok... I’ll admit it. Camping at a small Texas town on the way out while driving through downtown about 3 miles away I looked in my right passenger mirror and nothing but slide. Only happens once.

[ducksface]

According to a post from Jamie today in another thread:
(this explains the cable piping behind the TV that moves with the bed)

Per JamieGeek :
On Axis/Vegas coaches the bunk controller is behind a false wall on the left in the cabinet above the kitchen sink.
__________________

[mstng]

Never thought of following that cable. Makes sense

[bevedfelker]

For Mstng -- Here's a picture showing the location of the bunk controller in the Axis/Vegas. Left inside wall of cabinet above sink is a false wall. Remove & bunk controller is behind it.

I wrote in the owners' manual I compiled for Axis Vegas owners (link can be found in Motorhome Tech Topics area of this forum) that I spoke to a Schwintek technical representative at the Hershey RV show a couple years ago. He said that about 70 - 80% of all problems involved with their slide system is caused by owners not allowing the motors to run to their full stop in extending or retracting. This causes the motors to get out of sync. Then the motors try to move the mechanism asymmetrically causing stress on the rails and drive gears. Same thing applies to the bunk systems because it is identically the same system as slides, just vertically installed rather than horizontal.

My own take on this is that the bunk is a common bad actor an attractive nuisance for this problem. The bunk design is pretty neat, and owners (especially new ones) like to show friends how it works. The height of the seat backs make it difficult to operate the bunk to its full travel when demonstrating to others. This means the motors will not be run to their full limits increasing the likelihood of getting the motors out of sync.

ALWAYS wait for the motors to stop at their full travel and continue to hold the switch for two or three seconds after the motors stop to prevent them from getting out of sync. And if you are going to demo the bunk, be sure to lower the driver & passenger seat backs so the motors can be driven to full travel.

[Korey & Tana Jackson]

Oh, that must be the flashing light I see when the room is dark, behind the hidden panel in the cabinet above the sink??

[TheDustyGeek]

The problem with our front loft bunk manifested itself completely differently. On Day 1 of our 30 day trip this summer, we went to go put down the bunk only to find one side was going down reliably. Keep in mind this functioned perfectly for a year, then started exhibiting odd symptoms (both sides start to go down, but one side stops after a second). Fortunately for us, it would go back up just fine, so we could disconnect the motors at the controller and just add some downward pressure to lower the bed, then plug them back in to raise normally.

We had a down (i.e., campground pool and restock) day on the 3rd or so day of the trip, so that morning I decided to start tracking down the problem as we still had 27 days to go.

• swapped the motor wires at the controller, problem stayed on the same side. So, not a controller problem, problem is limited to the passenger side wire or motor.
• Dismantled most of the trim and some other covers on the bunk frame to be able to pull out and swap the motors (real pain in the backside). The problem stayed on the same side. Ok, so that confirms the problem is the wire, not a motor.
• Started tracking down the wire from one end to the other, only to find it crushed between the bunk frame and the trim board screwed over top of it, either shorting two wires against each other out or breaking a wire causing an open circuit.
• Massaged the wire back into the round state and the bunk started operating normally again.
• Reassembled the trim boards, shifting them away from the motor housing a bit to make some room so the wire wouldn't be crushed again and also re-worked the wires so they no longer stick out and rub on the fixed trim pieces on the wall (preventing a future problem), and it worked for the remainder trip and is still working today.

I know it'll bite me again at some point in the future, but at least I know what's wrong and the permanent fix should be a simple matter of removing one trim piece and replacing/re-running the wire from the controller, which should be considerably easier than replacing a motor/gear like some of you are facing.

Figured I'd post that just in case someone else runs into a similar issue.

[John & Diane]

Could you please tell me what has to be removed in order to remove a motor? I have been wondering what the procedure would be if I needed to replace one of the motors. I contacted LCI who referred me to Thor who could not answer my question,though they did send me diagrams of the bunk. Thankfully the bunk is working fine at this time but who knows when that will change! Any advice or information will be greatly appreciated.

[TheDustyGeek]

For the loft bunk on our Miramar, the schwintek controller is in the cabinet above the driver. As I recall, the motor cables run from the controller through a hole in the back (windshield side) of the cabinet, then into and through the (windshield-side) frame of the bunk, then outward through a hole on the left/right sides. From there, they run through the left/right side frame rails and exit the frame through a hole near the motors to finally enter another hole in the (white) motor cover to plug into the motor.

In our case, it was at the last exit point on the passenger side where the vinyl covered wood trim piece was installed too far back (away from the windshield), completely covering the hole, pinching the wire and causing a short.

To get to the motors, I needed to remove the vinyl covered wood box/cover over the vertical track, the vinyl covered wood trim piece on the the side of the bunk and then finally a metal cover plate over the motor. I recall there being three or four pretty big screws, two down through the top and one or two coming in from the side. Once removed, I think there were a few more small screws holding the motor in place.

It might be helpful to envision the construction of the loft bunk itself. It seems to be nothing but a sandwich of a welded metal frame made out of 2” (hollow) square metal tube stock with some luan on top and on the bottom is the same stuff used for our ceiling. There’s a couple of brackets attached to the frame for the motors, tracks and support wires. The vinyl-covered wood trim pieces are attached on all exposed edges and corners to pretty it up a bit, and lastly the cabinets are screwed into the frame from the bottom.

I used only some basic tools - a bit driver, a small drill/driver and some square bits. For our unit, I need the bunk all the way down because the trim over the windows prevents access to much of anything since there’s just no room and I especially couldn’t get to the top two screws for the motor’s metal cover plate. I’m guessing it probably won’t be too much different for units other than ours.

Getting things back together took some patience and persuasion to get everything lined up and screwed back together again, particularly the metal cover over the motor since it does stiffen the motor bracket a bit so you may need to take load off the bracket (lift the bunk a bit on that side).

Hopefully that makes some modicum of sense. I might have forgotten some of the minor details, but I’m pretty sure of the major ones being reasonably accurate. If in doubt, find the controller and start tracing the wires and it may help.

I probably should have taken pictures. If it starts giving us problems, I’ll definitely make sure to document it, possibly via video.

[fchabotski]

Originally Posted by mstng

24.1 Vegas overhead bunk. This has probably been answered but can anyone please tell me where the controller is so I can re synch. Slide out one is in the compartment outside but I can’t find the one for the bunk.
Thanks

I my 2015 Miramar the controller is in one of the front cabinets

[John & Diane]

Thanks for the info, very helpful! I was hoping that the motors could be removed after the track covers are removed, and that it could be done with the bed all the way up and the pins in place. In our coach the bed motors are the same as the ones used in the slide. If the bed motors would be easy to access I was thinking of using them as spares since we seldom use the bed. I guess I'll just buy an extra motor for "just in case". I hate having our trips interrupted waiting for parts or paying way too much from the local repair guy.

Last question, is the plate that needs removed accessed on the side of the bed or on the bottom? The drawing I have is not clear in that area. THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP!! Safe travels.

[sueasher1@netzero.net]

Thank you for your help. I located the motor controller, followed the instructions to reset but now I have the green led indicator 2 flashing. Does that mean that the 2nd motor is toast?

Originally Posted by bevedfelker

For Mstng -- Here's a picture showing the location of the bunk controller in the Axis/Vegas. Left inside wall of cabinet above sink is a false wall. Remove & bunk controller is behind it.

I wrote in the owners' manual I compiled for Axis Vegas owners (link can be found in Motorhome Tech Topics area of this forum) that I spoke to a Schwintek technical representative at the Hershey RV show a couple years ago. He said that about 70 - 80% of all problems involved with their slide system is caused by owners not allowing the motors to run to their full stop in extending or retracting. This causes the motors to get out of sync. Then the motors try to move the mechanism asymmetrically causing stress on the rails and drive gears. Same thing applies to the bunk systems because it is identically the same system as slides, just vertically installed rather than horizontal.

My own take on this is that the bunk is a common bad actor an attractive nuisance for this problem. The bunk design is pretty neat, and owners (especially new ones) like to show friends how it works. The height of the seat backs make it difficult to operate the bunk to its full travel when demonstrating to others. This means the motors will not be run to their full limits increasing the likelihood of getting the motors out of sync.

ALWAYS wait for the motors to stop at their full travel and continue to hold the switch for two or three seconds after the motors stop to prevent them from getting out of sync. And if you are going to demo the bunk, be sure to lower the driver & passenger seat backs so the motors can be driven to full travel.

[Beau388]

The in-wall slides and front bunk use the same motor and track system. The system's controller uses Hall effect sensors on each motor to keep the motors in sync. The controller drops the voltage supplied to the faster motor if there is a difference in speed. The controller will shutdown if the voltage drops below approximately 9.2 volts. Most problems are caused by not having enough voltage headroom for the system to work reliably. I would recommend you always have the generator running or on shore power before operating the in-wall slide or front bunk. Please note, pressing the extend or retract switch twice within 60 seconds will reset the controller. Short movements do not give the controller time to adjust the motors rpm to get them in sync. Realizing these two facts shows just how easy it is to get the slide or bunk cocked. Stalling the motors for 3 to 5 seconds will reset the controller as will removing power from the controller (use/store switch in store - master power off - removing the 30 amp slide fuse)

[sueasher1@netzero.net]

Thank you. I’ll go retry with the generator running. I seldom use the loft but have a granddaughter who wants to use it on our ATV race camping trip this weekend.

[Beau388]

I had a chance to test my expertise this afternoon. I store my Reflextix in the bunk when traveling if the bunk is not going to be used. As usual I ran the bunk part way down, loaded the Reflextix and the bunk went up with the left side down. This was the first time in 3 years it had not worked perfectly. I was able to get it almost level by working it up and down a little at a time but it would not go up enough to put the left pin in. So ran the big slide out, lower the seat backs, ran the bunk all the way down and stall the motors. Then tried to raise it. The left motor refused to cooperate. It would move about 8 inches then stall. I put the bunk all the way down, crawled under the bunk to the cabinet with the controller and reset the controller manually with the mode button. Success, both sides of the bunk moved up together in sync and I was able to easily install both pins.

[sueasher1@netzero.net]

Maybe I’m not resetting the motor right but the left side is stuck about 8 inches down. The right side moves but then stops I guess because of the resistance from the stalled left side. The instructions on the control box says to push the button 6 times then hold down on 7th until flashing light. Then the green led light flashes 2 times meaning second motor? Just can’t get that left side to budge at all.

[Beau388]

If the slide stalls with the slide or bunk cocked or refuses to move more than a couple inches, the controller will flash a code until the extend/retract switch is activated again. The green LED will show the motor causing the problem and the red LED will indicate the specific problem. Just to clear up the confusion the LEDs flash alternately whenever the slide is in motion. This is to show the controller is receiving the Hall effect signals. When the slide stops and the motors stall, the red and green LEDs will flash together showing the slide motors are synced. If you press the mode button seven times and do not hold mode button in, the LEDs will flash together for about 1 second showing the motors are synced.


Link to the LCI service manual <https://lci-support-doc.s3.amazonaws.com/manuals/slideouts/ccd-0001769.pdf?>
Link to the LCI Troubleshooting Manual - <https://lci-support-doc.s3.amazonaws.com/manuals/slideouts/ccd_0001771.pdf>