Schwintek gone for 2015

[Brandt51]

Not sure if this is old news...

Voltage FB (unofficial) page posted up pictures of the new slide system, they're ditching the Schwintek.

Voltage page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Volta...538?fref=photo

I think it's kind of interesting. I have no opinion, but I'm interested in what other's think.

[azdryheat]

The Schwintek slides are the only downfall of the Voltage that prevents us from recommending it to other buyers. I've heard it said that our main slides are too big for the Schwintek. Yesterday we saw a 42' Winnebago Tour Diesel motorhome with a full wall slide, must of been 25' long - operated by Schwintek. So I'm not so sure that the length is an issue with ours.

[wildwest450]

How long before the cable end pulls off or that cheesy looking bracket bends or tears off? Doesn't look very sturdy.

[Infinityrver]

Originally Posted by dawniewest

How long before the cable end pulls off or that cheesy looking bracket bends or tears off? Doesn't look very sturdy.

The cable system has been tried and true for years. Yes, cables stretch and sometimes break. But, dealers have been able to fix and service them for years.
I agree...........they look cheezy.

[HornedToad]

That grass may only look greener???

Slide failure. My worst RV nightmare

[Brandt51]

New cable system might be cheaper than the Schwintek? It's all about saving money these days. I've been lucky with my slides, I hope it stays that way. The 3200 doesn't have the biggest and heaviest living room slide.

[calewjohnson]

My Voltage 3950 is my second RV with slides...the first was a 2014 Keystone Outback....I can say, without a doubt, I will never own another RV with cable slides. If you stay on top of the maintenance, they can require adjustments every 90 days... I had a gear box crap out, which left me no way to get the slide in. The only plus was I could order the parts from the dealer and replace all the components myself. With that said, I don't think I would try it with the size of these slides, once the cables are let loose, the slide can/will tip out.

There are a couple of Itasca MH here that have some really big slides with the Schwintek mechanisms. One is a full wall slide. Talking to him, he says he gives a one second shot of the recommended lube every 10 operations. As he approaches that 10th one, he has to give the slide a little push....

Cale

[CDMEY3600]

Having experience with the cable give and take system on a large slide, I'm not so sure its a good choice. Spent many hours adjusting cables to have the slides go out and come back in evenly and actually replaced cables several times due to fraying. I'm not sure there is a "perfect" slide mechanism but it sure seems the hydraulic systems are most reliable.

[wahoonc]

Cables are fine for small lighter weight slides. The best ones I recall having were the bottom driven rack and pinion type. Had them on my Cardinal LE, only had one get out of adjustment once and it wasn't a major issue to readjust. Not familiar with hydraulic.

After much reading, observation and conversation about the Schwintek slides I have come to the conclusion that they will work... HOWEVER they must be INSTALLED correctly and be sized properly and must be adjusted properly. None of the above seem to be within Dutchmen/Forest River's skillset, nor many of the dealers they use.

Aaron

[DesertRat]

My 2003 Teton with three slides has electric over hydraulic. Look at some of the new motorhomes that have slides that are 20-25 feet long. They sure aren't cable driven. Had cables to lift the top on my tent trailer which failed. I'm not a fan of cables at all.

[azdryheat]

Perhaps Voltage should do what Momentum is doing, Schwintek on the bedroom slide and hydraulic on the main slide. In hind-sight, had the Momentum been available, we would have bought that instead of the Voltage.

[72mach]

Hmm just another thing that the dealer will ding Schwintek slide RV owners when it comes to trade in. That is of course, one can find a dealer that will take an Infinity in trade.

[orangecrush]

My 3950 is at the dealership now getting the entire system on one of the slides replaced. I was told that one (of many) problems is that they keep upgrading certain parts and by the time we get the trailer, it's a mish mash of parts getting installed.

My biggest slide out was making noises and the dealer wanted me to bring it in to replace every part of the slide system.

They've had it for almost a month and hopefully it will be fixed "better" than before.

We'll see…


Mark

[72mach]

I took mine in for a rear bed/closet issue five times before they finally fixed it and the carpet which was torn up and now is a mismatch. It was the traditional slide but it took many drop offs before the highly skilled techs at CW finally figured it out.

[bkuuz1]

This is our second summer with our V3605. Didn't have any issues with our slides up to this point until the dealer replaced the plastic slide rail pieces on the bottom of the main slide. We didn't find out we now have an issue running the slide out without human assistance. The motor just pops and grinds when running the slide out. Lessons learned, 1, The manual override tool provide with our trailer is about 3' to short to reach the motor gear box. Thanks dutchman for providing the proper tool? 3. Will need to find and purchase some kind of an adapter 2. Cant reach motor gear box without a ladder. We have a 3' step stool with us and still to short.