Finally bit by Schwintek!

[Machinetools1]

Hello everyone, I have a 2019 Thor Windsport 29m. We purchased it new and have almost 20,000 on her now. I must say she has been good to us. Of course they have issues but if your handy they are fixable.
We do almost all boondocking with a few R.V. hook ups during the year. As we are getting older I can see us doing more R.V. campgrounds.

I am always uneasy when we pull the slide out when we get there and am always worried when it's time to push it in.
Well after 5 years of carful use, my front motor looks like the original posts motor. It's in a few more pieces than factory.

The set screw had come out and did the damage. I had heard a loud POP as it was almost fully in just before packing up and heading out for a 9 day trip. I had the wife push the slid back out and inspected everything....well obviously not good enough. I did not see any damage, but never looked at the motor just the tracks.
We went to the desert boondocking for 9 days. Went to pull the slide in...had issues but got it in.
Got home and looked at the front slide motor. It apeared the set screw was not holding the motor and it spun around but not enough to unplug the wires. I pushed the slide out about 6 inches, just to get the set screws out. I got the set screw out. It was not broken and not bent but had some damage.

I purchased a new motor but am having an issue with the HEX COLLAR. I cannot get the hex collar too sit flush in the upper bearing block. It's such a tight fit for me. I cannot get my head turned to see the bottom of the top bearing block. I am only doing it by feel. The HEX COUPLER goes into the top portion of the upper bearing block and on the hex shift. The issue I am having is getting the HEX COUPLER down inside the bottom upper bearing block. The HEX COLLAR fits inside the bore of the upper bearing block.

I cannot see what direction it needs to go. When I took the slide motor out, the HEX COLLAR came with it. The slide moved slightly inward on the front side when I took out the motor.

I measured the slide from the outside and from front to back was a tad off. So I have a bottle jack just putting enough pressure on the front slide to be even on the outside.

I was thinking of putting a 60 degree chamber on the outside diameter of the HEX

Any advise would be very greatful.

 

[16ACE27]

With a Username like yours I would think a mirror and flashlight would provide some feedback on the problem.

 

[Machinetools1]

you would think.....Thats where I got the idea to put a 60-degree slight chamfer to help it align. I will check it out after work today. Worked a double and most likely had no business attempting a task as this. Getting older and with my no-line bi-focal glasses its hard to focus to get my head to look down on the shaft. I did try the mirror trick but got frustrated. I was just wondering if I was missing something or something shifted.

I had seen a video where they were stating you had to tap the Hex Collar onto the hex shaft. I started to tap but it was solid.

 

[Jimbo57]

I replaced mine last year with Vroom system what Judge64 didn’t mention is vroom slides don’t require full open or full close and holding the button to sync motors. If you want open or close a little no problem. When we travel often it’s easier to open slide 6” for easier bathroom access. I have a 20’ slide that I had replaced that had 3 rack system and now Vroom system only needs 2 of their racks. Brian Vroom designs and makes his products it was $5200 for mine, I would be curious if anyone had replaced their Schwintek with another Schwintek what was the cost. For my replacement that was new bigger rollers and plates, new seals ,motors and rack system. No regret

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

The "My RV Works" guy has some pretty in-depth Schwintek videos. Maybe browse those... you may find where he got it to fit? Not sure i'd start modifying parts?? If something isn't fitting, it's probably just oriented wrong. I remember it wasn't easy getting the motor to drop in... it took some "bumping" of the motor to get it rotated just so. If memory serves I used a Harbor Freight jump box. But... that might not be the issue you're having.

P.S. Now that you've heard the infamous "Schwintek popping noise" you know when the motor has jumped up out of its collar!

 

[wrapped]

The hex coupler walking up is the real problem, it will eventually push the motor up until the 4 pins come out of the block and the motor spins and cut the wiring harness. I put a 5/8 socket on top of the heat coupler and tap it down with a hammer until it is RECESSED down into the block then the motor will sit flush on the block. We're full-time 7 years now with 3 schwintek slides one is 25ft fullwall with everything heavy in it. If you're interested pm me I'll share my modifications to make routine maintenance of motors.

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

Start at about 20:15 in this video:

Note the C clip on the drive shaft keeps the drive shaft from falling out the bottom. The clip stop at the top of the bearing block. Then the collet (which holds the motor) sits on top of the bearing block. He used a socket to tap that assembly down... the C clip should rest on the bearing block... the collet on top of that.

Then the pins on the motor must seat into the collet. And here's my gripe with Schwintek... the ONLY thing holding that entire assembly in place is the set screw driven in from outside. It fits loosely into the slots at the top of the motor. For some reason it's not a "positive locking" setup, but allows the motor to rotate slightly in the oblong slots.

Any overt force beyond normal slideroom operation (dirty tracks, unlevel slide etc.) can cause the motor to torque itself loose from that little screw's grip. Then the motor pops up off the collet and twists the wiring harness into oblivion.

The major weakness is no positive locking mechanism to keep the motor in place other than that set screw. Maybe engineering designed it that way to mimic a shear pin in a marine outboard motor propeller (??) to prevent the motor gearbox from exploding into pieces??

As I said above... my solution was to get everything working properly again, then use a slightly longer set screw to prevent that.

I'm very careful to level the motorhome before moving the slideroom, and I keep the gear track clean with a thin film of Teflon lube where the track rails contact the bearing blocks. This has worked well for over two seasons of use.

 

[Jimbo57]

Hello everyone, I have a 2019 Thor Windsport 29m. We purchased it bew and have almost 20,000 on her now. I must say she has been good to us. Of course they have issues but if your handy they are fixable.
We do almost all boondocking with a few R.V. hook ups during the year. As we are getting older I can see us doing more R.V. campgrounds.

I am always uneasy when we pull the slide out when we get there and am always worried when it's time to push it in.
Well after 5 years of carful use, my front motor looks like the original posts motor. It's in a few more pieces than factory.

The set screw had come out and did the damage. I had heard a loud POP as it was almost fully in just before packing up and heading out for a 9 day trip. I had the wife push the slid back out and inspected everything....well obviously not good enough. I did not see any damage, but never looked at the motor just the tracks.
We went to the desert boondocking for 9 days. Went to pull the slide in...had issues but got it in.
Got home and looked at the front slide motor. It apeared the set screw was not holding the motor and it spun around but not enough to unplug the wires. I pushed the slide out about 6 inches, just to get the set screws out. I got the set screw out. It was not broken and not bent but had some damage.

I purchased a new motor but am having an issue with the HEX COLLAR. I cannot get the hex collar too sit flush in the upper bearing block. It's such a tight fit for me. I cannot get my head turned to see the bottom of the top bearing block. I am only doing it by feel. The HEX COUPLER goes into the top portion of the upper bearing block and on the hex shift. The issue I am having is getting the HEX COUPLER down inside the bottom upper bearing block. The HEX COLLAR fits inside the bore of the upper bearing block.

I cannot see what direction it needs to go. When I took the slide motor out, the HEX COLLAR came with it. The slide moved slightly inward on the front side when I took out the motor.

I measured the slide from the outside and from front to back was a tad off. So I have a bottle jack just putting enough pressure on the front slide to be even on the outside.

I was thinking of putting a 60 degree chamber on the outside diameter of the HEX

Any advise would be very greatful.

I would think you need to put collet on the shaft first( I would not modify in any way) then place motor onto collet and with a 12v tool battery ( dewalt, Marita you get the idea) bump motor until it aligns with collet. You may need to first put your camera up to take a picture of shaft make sure there is no damage stopping colllet from sliding on.

 

[wrapped]

Once you tap the hex collet down I go in basement to the controller and disconnect the working motor and drop the motor into the collet then bump the slide and watch the motor until the for pins lineup and motor drops. Now plug the other motor in at the controller and resinc the slide

 

[Machinetools1]

The hex coupler walking up is the real problem, it will eventually push the motor up until the 4 pins come out of the block and the motor spins and cut the wiring harness. I put a 5/8 socket on top of the heat coupler and tap it down with a hammer until it is RECESSED down into the block then the motor will sit flush on the block. We're full-time 7 years now with 3 schwintek slides one is 25ft fullwall with everything heavy in it. If you're interested pm me I'll share my modifications to make routine maintenance of motors.

I would love to know what mods you did to help improve. I would like the Vroom, but the funds are not here for that yet. I love our RV, that slide is always a stressed. Thank you for your time.

 

[ADOR]

This is what I fear each time we hit the road. We have a 2021 33.1 The front slide mechanism (tracks and motors) were replaced under warranty within the first year of ownership. It took couple of months of going back and forth between the dealer and THOR. After waiting for few weeks, the dealer replaced the broken parts. The rails were getting chewed up (visible rail damage) and the slide developed a gap on the front/lower area (about an inch).

If ever I decide to keep the RV, (and the FRONT slide fails again), I will invest on the Vroom replacement. The REAR slide dont have any issues.

 

[wrapped]

I don't think everyone want my long winded explanation so PM me and I'll explain mods,not expensive or difficult.

 

[Machinetools1]

Well after coming home from work and being a little more relaxed and less stressed I thought more about it. I got a better look at the issue. I remember when I pulled the old motor out I felt the slide move inward it seemed a few inches.
When I was trying the other night, I was trying to hold the collet down and also trying to move the slide. I wanted to make sure the hex shaft actually was in time with the hex part in the hex collar.

I was getting frustrated as I could not tell if the hex shat was connected to the hex collar part. I had looked down trying to see if something was misaligned , not understanding the full concept of the parts actions. I had thought the bearing block was 2 pieces and not 1.

I had disconnected the power to the coach and also unplugged the power to both motors prior to pulling the old motor out. So yesterday I had the assistance of my wife. She held down the hex collar and I moved the front portion of the slide back and forth about 2 inches and the hex collar locked onto the hex shaft but still was not under flush. So, I repeated the same procedure, and the hex collar dropped in under flush.

So, I figured that worked for the hex collar, so I did the same for installing the motor. Worked like a charm.

I replaced the locking screws on both motors with a 3/16(.187) diameter x 3/4 (.750) long stainless-steel Allen head screw. The original screw appeared to be an 8/32 (.164) x 1/2 (.500). I agree the difference in about .030 does not appear to be much but I think the extra .500 in length will be the factor....I hope.

Also, the flange is aluminum for the slide frame, and you are using a fine thread screw, that's a no no. In aluminum you use a coarse thread bolt or screw. The reason I was always told was a coarse thread bolt (screw) is better in soft metals the thread pitch is deeper and in turn you have more grip as Aluminum, Copper, Brass and material as such are soft and under stress and overload will pull out. The issue with this system is the flange where the screw goes in looks to be under .125. Not enough meat to grab on with any screw really to do the task they are asking.

So, my rear slide is sticking out 8 1/4 inches top and bottom. The front portion of the slide is sticking out 9 3/8 top and bottom.

I have read and looked on You Tube and there are different ways that are stated to re-time the slide out. R.V. Works and Darin are fantastic.

That's for everyone's help....it is very very much appreciated.

 

[Machinetools1]

This is how the manual states to Resync the motors back in. I guess I was hoping I could pull the slide all the way in and then all the wat back out as if I have any issues in the begining that it's not in the fully extended position..


Resynchronizing the Slide-Out Motors1. Fully extend the slide room using the switch. Keep the switch engaged until the motors shut down on their own.2. Retract the room 1-2 inches.3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until both motors shut down at the same time. In many cases, two or three repetitions are necessary to re-sync the system.4. Fully extend the slide-out and keep the switch engaged until the motors shut down on their own. Fully retract the slide-out, again keeping the switch engaged until the motors shut down on their own. If both motors shut down at the same time at full extension and full retraction, the room is properly synchronized. If they do not shut down at the same time, repeat the process until they do

 

[Chateau_Nomad]

The term R.V. Works uses for the motors is "amp out". I always hold the button down for about two seconds after just for insurance. I have never had the slide go out of sync since I replaced the motor.

The longer set screw should also give more security. I suggest using some blue thread locker to help prevent it from backing out.

 

[ghnl]

Then the pins on the motor must seat into the collet. And here's my gripe with Schwintek... the ONLY thing holding that entire assembly in place is the set screw driven in from outside. It fits loosely into the slots at the top of the motor. For some reason it's not a "positive locking" setup, but allows the motor to rotate slightly in the oblong slots.

My understanding is that the four pins are there to resist rotation (torque) and the set screw should only be preventing the motor from moving up (which would allow the fours pins to become disconnected). I agree that is asking a lot from the single set screw. I wonder if adding a block on top of the motor would make for a 'belt & suspenders' repair? It does seem like a more positive upwards movement prevention device is needed.

 

[Jimbo57]

You realize that would raise the cost 35 cents. Not in the budget and then how could they make money on repairs

 

[ghnl]

If they buy them in bulk maybe 25 cents each...

 

[Gus52]

Be sure and check the Lippert V-rollers through the full movement of the slide. If the slide weight is on those rollers (one roller per track) then you will not be able to turn it with your finger. You can reach the V-roller from the outside of the slide, it will be just under the track inside the H-frame. Slides that are not properly supported will eventually damage the Lippert parts. You may find at some retraction/extension point the slide weight is on the V-rollers. The slide support will need adjusting, hopefully this will be possible with your coach's design. If you would be so kind, let us know what you find out.

 

[Machinetools1]

Thank you for the heads up Gus52, I will look into the V rollers. Wrapped from this forum #26 had some very good ideas and Insite for me. I called him and spoke for some time, very helpful. I think having extra parts for these slides would be a good idea to travel with.