Thor or lippert problem

[Ace30.2]

I've been camping now for 25 years. Started off in tents moved up to tent trailer and so on. Bought our first motorhome in August 2016 a 2015 Thor Ace 30.2. Love everything about it except for the slide mechanism. This weekend will be the first trip we have ever had to cancel. I know it is a big slide but if you look at a Cameo 5th wheel they( some models) have a full wall slide and from what I've read not near the problems these schwintek slides have. So who do you blame for this nightmare that people like me who are out of warranty are now stuck with. Thor for going with an unproven design or Lippert for not making these thing more user friendly and trustworthy. Don't know about you guys but the last thing I want to do when I get to the campsite is get the out and stand there holding a button for 20 minutes so it can re sync itself. Why would you design something like that. Maybe I don't need the slide all the way out every time.
It makes no sense to design something like the schwintek system where so much can go wrong so easily. Somebody needs to step up and admit there is a problem with this design and help people like me who have to pay someone to try and understand and fix this horrible problem I am now stuck with. I guess the only person to blame is myself for not doing more research. Again I love everything about the Ace 30.2 except for the schwintek mechanism.

[Miramar Owner]

Sorry to hear of your problems but does make me glad I didn't buy a long slide. I bought my first motor home with a slide last year. I loved the full body slide but had read of all the problems and chose a model with 2 shorter slides. I don't know if your model has 3 motors or just 2. From what I understand they have fixed the problem by adding the 3rd motor on the long slides. Maybe if you raise enough havoc with Thor they will add the 3rd motor... if you don't already have it. Anyway, good luck.

[ArrrV]

Like you we have the 2015 ACE 30.2. What slide problem are you having?
When we purchased ours we decided to buy an extended service contract because of that slide, though we did not purchase it from the dealer. The only issues we have had with the slide were really battery issues that was causing us to regularly do resets. The slide is very sensitive to low charge or weak charge battery, and our batteries were reading fine but failed under a load test. We replaced our two 12V with two high level 6V's and no troubles since, but we lubricate 4x a year.

[Ace30.2]

When I made it home after a trip I opened the slide and when it was just about all the way out it made a loud popping sound and crunch. When I was done cleaning I retracted the slide(went in just fine no noise). Everything seemed fine until I went out side and noticed the slide was about 2 inches out on the top front of the slide and against the wall on the bottom front. So 3 1/2 months later I received a call last night that it's finally fixed. Pretty much replaced everything on the front of the slide.

[Jegdrum5050]

Glad to hear you got it repaired. I too have a superslide, but so far so good. I have the 3 track system and had to sync it once or twice. Happy trails

[Ace30.2]

How did you know that you needed to sync the slide? That would have been nice to know. Thanks

[bevedfelker]

ACE30.2 -- generally you can tell the motors are out of sync if one side (or the top or bottom) are not flush and the same on both sides (and top or bottom). If one side sticks out farther than the other you are probably out of sync. This mis-alignment is the result of one motor continuing to run while the other has stopped.

That 2 inches at the top and flush at the bottom was a misalignment indication that the motors were probably out of sync. I know you said maybe you don't need the slide out all the way all the time. I talked to Lippert techs at the Hershey RV show two years ago. They said about 75% of all cases where their motors get out of sync is from owners not putting the slide (or the bunk) all the way out and holding the switch for an additional 2 or 3 seconds after the slide move full out or full in.

We had some synchronous motors on some Air Force equipment when I was on active duty. They were not designed by Lippert; however, we had exactly the same kind of problem if the motors were not driven together to their full stop positions. It was easy to make them non-synchronous from partial operation.

And it was a design flaw on the part of Thor to only use two sets of rails and two motors on their large wall slides. That was way too much stress on just two sets of motors, sprockets, and rails. Many of the problems they had with their large wall slides were mitigated when they went to three motors and rail sets. The three sets distributed the load better and reduced stress on a given motor and its concomitant rail set.

[Davfig]

How did you resync the slides? I have a Freedom Elite 29FE and the large slide is stuck. It will go all the way in but will not extend more than an inch or two before shutting down.

[Ace30.2]

Originally Posted by Davfig

How did you resync the slides? I have a Freedom Elite 29FE and the large slide is stuck. It will go all the way in but will not extend more than an inch or two before shutting down.

To re sync the slide go all the way out then retack slide about 3-5 inches then go back out. Listen to the motors when they shut down if they don't sound the same repeat until he same. After rebuilding my slide myself and seeing the horrible design and engineering flaws I don't buy the cause of these slides (large or small) failing are because of not holding a button for 3 seconds longer. That's Lippert and/or Thors way of shifting the blame on the consumer.

[Sarah_Ace30.2]

I have a 2016 ACE 30.2 with the same chronic slide issues... have now cancelled 2 trips and it's been to the dealership 5 times for the slide. Now they want to replace both motors. Super frustrating! Like you, I love the coach and layout... it's perfect for a family! I have tried contacting Thor customer service but they do not respond.

[Ace30.2]

Originally Posted by Sarah_Ace30.2

I have a 2016 ACE 30.2 with the same chronic slide issues... have now cancelled 2 trips and it's been to the dealership 5 times for the slide. Now they want to replace both motors. Super frustrating! Like you, I love the coach and layout... it's perfect for a family! I have tried contacting Thor customer service but they do not respond.

What is going on with your slide?

[Davfig]

Originally Posted by Ace30.2

To re sync the slide go all the way out then retack slide about 3-5 inches then go back out. Listen to the motors when they shut down if they don't sound the same repeat until he same. After rebuilding my slide myself and seeing the horrible design and engineering flaws I don't buy the cause of these slides (large or small) failing are because of not holding a button for 3 seconds longer. That's Lippert and/or Thors way of shifting the blame on the consumer.

Problem I am having is that the slide will not extend more than an inch or two before quitting, i.e., I can't get it out. Any ideas?

[Ace30.2]

Originally Posted by Davfig

Problem I am having is that the slide will not extend more than an inch or two before quitting, i.e., I can't get it out. Any ideas?

What does the side of the slide look like when it is fully closed(is it flush to the side of the mh)front and rear?

[Davfig]

Yes it is. It closes fully but when I attempt to extend it goes a inch or so, lifts a bit and clearly the motors are not in sync.

[Sarah_Ace30.2]

We have issues with being able to retract the slide after being out for a few days... we are always level on the jacks and have been on 4 trips now where we have to manually bring it in. I take it to the dealer and am told something different every time... first trip the motors weren't synced, second time it jumped the track (how is beyond me!), third time the said nothing was wrong and the just "serviced it", and this last time they said I need new motors.

[Ace30.2]

Originally Posted by Davfig

Yes it is. It closes fully but when I attempt to extend it goes a inch or so, lifts a bit and clearly the motors are not in sync.

Might be a dumb question but does your mh have the schwintek slide mechanism? I'm not familiar with your mh.

[Davfig]

Yes it does. This is a Thor MH that is built for Camping World and private labeled by CW.

[Ace30.2]

Originally Posted by Sarah_Ace30.2

We have issues with being able to retract the slide after being out for a few days... we are always level on the jacks and have been on 4 trips now where we have to manually bring it in. I take it to the dealer and am told something different every time... first trip the motors weren't synced, second time it jumped the track (how is beyond me!), third time the said nothing was wrong and the just "serviced it", and this last time they said I need new motors.

Your comment on the second time it jumped the track is most likely the problem with your slide. I would bet anything if you look at the lower rails either the front or back ones they are probably showing a lot of wear. There is most likely nothing wrong with your motors. Your lower bearing block is probably worn out. That is what makes it jump the track.

[edanddonna]

Originally Posted by Davfig

Yes it is. It closes fully but when I attempt to extend it goes a inch or so, lifts a bit and clearly the motors are not in sync.

Try extending by pressing the button quickly so the slide moves an inch, release button before it stopped it's self. Repeat, I was able to get ours extended inch by inch. Then resync process.

[Hoser123]

I'm a newbie. What does CW mean?