Slide nightmare

[Jamesap]

Not sure what was going on with the secrecy, but I didn't follow up.

[Rustic Eagle]

Contact Jayco Technical Support first thing in the morning (have VIN handy) and express your sense of urgency when requesting the complete wiring schematic for your TT. Also, ask the tech he 'might' just know the location of the panel(s).

I requested the slide frame drawings for my 2018 TT last week and received the documents the next day. My issue was confirming the wood header location in relation to the slide topper brackets mounted by my dealer..

Bob

[jjtotten]

I recognized that there are times when the slide mechanism will not function properly so I purchased an 18 inch breaker bar with a ratcheting head and the correct sized socket and just leave them in the lower bay area if and when the mechanism stops working and I can move in or out depending what is needed. So far I have not had to use it but it is there. This is on 2008 Jayco Seneca and I realize that they are not all constructed this way.

[dallas 1974]

Try crawling in your front storage area underneath the front cap. Lay on your back and look up at what would be the ceiling. Mine are there, mounted between the floor joist. Ones in the back were hid in the kitchen...took days and no help from Jayco to find them. Good luck.

[DavidSD]

I have a 2019 321 RSTS. My control are left side bay attached to the top of the bay on the upper left. Good luck

[newsleet]

Mine is a 338 and it is located under the sink behind the furnace intake. I looked at some pics of your model look under the lower cabinet to the right of the slide mine was only about a foot or two from the bottom right side.of the slide.Happy hunting

[Pinnacle Pete]

Originally Posted by Jamesap

So, after the left motor on the kitchen area slide seemed to fail, was in a fix. We were "cold camping." So here I was with a slide halfway out and seemingly "stuck." After reviewing several You Tube reports I was able to release the motors from the drive shafts, STEP 1. Motors must be disengaged from drive mechanism to move manually. I took my wheel choks and used them on each side to push the slide out to full position. This is aided by some handy 2 x 4's to reach maximum extension. This could be a problem if slide is completely in the closed position. You will have to pry the slide far enough to position the choks. Once released and fully extended then what? How do you retract?? Heavy slide holds residential fridge, stove, fireplace, pantry, you get the idea. Went to Home Depot and purchased two nylon winches. After several trial and errors I was able to secure the hooks on the winches just inside the walls on either side of the slide opening. Frankly, I got lucky. The winches I bought had hooks that were just small enough to secure to the wall supports just inside the slide opening. If larger ones were used, the underside of the frame might work. There must be a strong support wherever attached. Attaching the other end of the winches on the slide ends I could then ratchet the slide back into the closed position. It took some gentle shoulder slams at time, but I got it closed slowly working from side to side. Then the motors must be reinstalled into the drive slots to secure in a "locked" position. If this isn't possible, use 2x 4's on top of slide to prevent it from moving during transit. This can be tricky because the motor drives have notches that must match the drive mechanism. I had to manually move the notches on the drive shaft that have to match the drive bar mechanism. But it is doable. Believe me, this is not fun to move a heavy slide manually with NO manual lever, etc. Someone smarter than I should invent and patent a device to attach to the slide rails to ratchet the slide out and retract. The other option is to never buy a RV with this sort of slide mechanism. Frankly, if I trade or buy another RV, I will NOT NOT NOT have a mechanism like this Lippert/Schwintek. The older under frame mechanisms with the easy release and then ratchet hand crank are far more reliable and easy to use when the power systems fail. They are heavier, but seem far more reliable and easy to use when the power system fails. Expect to be sore for a day or two.

We have been there and done that! 2012 Pinnacle with an 18' kitchen slide. Jayco should never have built a slide that big and heavy! We had to remove the motors and manually slide it in (six men from the park helped) then used 2X4s to hold it in place at top plus shimmed and nailed it at the bottom till we got home. Ordered all new heavy duty shafts and motors from Schwinteck and had a repair shop install it. It did the trick! I blame Jayco for poor engineering and too light of materials from Schwinteck. (sp).

[Sbrinson]

It has been interesting reading the many posts on this forum and on others, of RV’rs who have had similar problems and have suffered the frustrations of dealing with the Lippert/Schwintek slideout apparatus. I’ve grappled with it on my TT and believe I’ve reached a satisfactory workaround.

Some background. DW & I were on a lengthy trip from GA to Texas. Somewhere near New Orleans we were dismayed one morning when the slideout wouldn’t retract properly. Only one motor on one side would work. Fortunately this slideout contained only the dinette area so we didn’t have to contend with plumbing or appliances.

The controller for ours (photo 1) is located inside the cabinet that contains the furnace, and is accessed by removing a louvered grill. After numerous re-sets I suspected one of the motors had probably died even though the unit was only about 7 months old. I went online and ordered another motor
to be shipped to the RV park where we expected to stay. I then went to the Lippert website and learned how to disconnect the motors and drives so I could manually push the slideout back into travel position. Fortunately I had a length of 2”x4” to wedge the slideout to keep it closed while
traveling.

After I installed the new motor at the RV park everything seemed to work....sort of. On our return trip it malfunctioned again, so we completed our trek keeping it retracted. Fortunately our floorplan is still livable without extending the slideout.

Back home I tried re-setting the controller, and it kept showing a code that indicated a bad motor. Several times I swapped known working motors and received the same code. When I started doing some serious diagnostic work, I discovered that the “genius” who installed the motors at the factory had routed the multi-conductor cable underneath the trailer directly above one of the wheels, (photo 2) where it had been severly abraded by the tire.
I checked to see how much slack I could pull in order to re-route the cable away from the wheel.

The cable(s) going from the motor(s) controller went through the floor, then underneath, then up into the area of the cabinet to the controller. I discovered the cable from the motor was actually an extension that was plugged into the cable going to the controller. Apparently using the shorter cable with the extension may be cheaper than using longer cables.

The installer’s effort to keep the connector protected inside the wall left insufficient remaining slack to route the cable away from the tire. Conversely, I discovered several extra inches in the other cable to the controller, so I repaired the cable, reconnected the two cables,
weather-proofed the connectors and rerouted it away from the tire. I’m at a loss as to why the manufacturer couldn’t have done that! Anyone looking at the situation should have been able to figure out having the cable directly above the tire was a really bad idea.

I eventually determined that all of the motors were functional, but the controller was quite erratic. Numerous re-sets and numerous in-and-out cycles didn’t change anything. Eventually I was sufficiently frustrated with the system to be reticent about spending the quantity of cash they want for a new controller—especially after learning more about the system’s anecdotal history of untimely failures.

For those who are still interested, here’s some additional technical info that may be useful in understanding these systems. The motors operate on 12 Volts, and reverse direction when the power polarity is reversed. The right and left motors are turning in opposite directions as they extend the slideout, and then do the inverse when retracting.

These “Hall-Effect” motors have a magnetic disc on the end of the shaft (photo 3). As the shaft rotates, a sensor monitoring the disc signals direction and speed of revolutions to the controller. The controller is supposed to synchronize the motors so they extend and retract the slideout properly. It works well...sometimes, but seems prone to foul up at the most inconvenient of times and places. I’ve satisfied myself that the primary
benefit of all this extra electronic technology and expense is the questionable
“convenience” of moving two motors with only one finger on one switch.

Drawing from previous boating experience, I searched online for the type of polarity-reversing rocker switches frequently used on boats to control trim tabs and to raise and lower outboard motors (photo 4). They handle more than enough amperage to control slideout motors, and the polarity-reversing function facilitates easy in-and-out control. They can also be purchased for around 8 bucks apiece.

I bypassed the controller entirely and routed the 12 volt supply wire to a self-resetting circuit breaker to be mounted in the cabinet. Wires from the “load” side of the breaker feeds two rocker switches mounted in the cabinet (photos 5 & 6). Each switch is wired so the motor it controls has the correct complementary rotation.

Many slideout motors don’t operate at the exact same speed; which is one of the problems the controller system synchronization is supposed to offset. However, I’ve found it easy enough to watch progress of each end of the slideout and “feather” each switch to keep the slideout moving evenly and stopping at the end of its travel. Tile-patterned flooring provides an easily-observed reference. This relatively low-tech work-around system has
been in regular use for almost two years with absolutely no problems. Having to use two fingers seems to be a reasonable trade-off for the added dependability.

[namusmc65]

Wow. someone with technical know how and ingenuity. Thanks for all the pictures. Beautiful explanation for us non techies. Thanks.

[Glenn Meredith]

I too have had a slide out motor problem on a Seneca HJ but these things are on every TT and motor home.
To change the motor you need to get access from the inside and the mounting bolt for the motor access is on the outside with the slide opened. If the motor fails with the slide out in the closed position your stuck. The gear ratio is 500:1 and you can not force the slide open. The bolt that holds the motor in place is a number 8 machine screw access from the outside. With the right words and a pry bar it is possible to break the bolt and lift the motor off of its mounting studs. Once the motor is removed 1 or 2 people can push the slide out while someone bumps the good motor to extend the slide out. Remove the broken bolt and throw it away.
I removed the bolts in all my slide out motors and wedged styrofoam over the motors to keep them from lifting up off the studs.

[NorthPoint5r]

My 2016 Northpoint driver side slide out with the rack/pinion slide out failed to retract after all winter under roof. (6 months out of warranty). And yes it has a sink, stove, frig, sofa. Got new batteries at LCI recommendation but no help. Controller indicates motor 2 problem even when you swap motor connectors at controller. Both motors get power and make a noise but do not move. I am waiting on a double square 1/4" screw bit to take off the side panel to get motor access from Amazon. A must have since no store in central Virginia has one including the dealer & it is a requirement for manual retract per manual. I also found the female connector so I can power up the motor direct on ebay & waiting. Glen Meredith gave me clues to the rest of my journey! %#@&*%. Motors are over 500$ each & controller is nearly 400$ & new cables with connectors start at 100$ from LCI. LCI cannot help and the local dealer just laughs.

[Wonderment]

Sbrinson,

Thank you for posting the pictures and the excellent descriptions! After reading your post, I went out to look at how the wires were routed on our 338RETS and saw that they routed the wires the exact same way over the tire. The wire is actually sitting on the tire just like yours. Thankfully, we've only been on one trip, but it has about 1,800 miles on it. It doesn't appear damaged yet, but certainly wouldn't have been much longer.

[dave1948]

Originally Posted by Jamesap

We bought a 2018 Eagle 330rsts in May of 2017 and have had only fixable problems until now. Our main living room slide stopped working about 2000 miles from home and discovered on our own that the left Schwintek motor had a cut wire. We bought a replacement on the road for an exorbitant price, but slide still not working. After viewing YouTube tutorials, we are now desperately trying to locate the slide control panels. The Jayco manual promises they are somewhere in this trailer, but it and the Dealer offer no more help than that. Can anyone out there provide a clue? Thanks!

inbottom oftop cabinet right behind control panel and room thermostat

[Pinnacle Pete]

We found Lippert to be excellent at assisting us in determining our slide issue. The provided parts at wholesale prices, upgraded our motors and shafts. Sometimes lippert apparently doesn’t supply the final engineering to each RV mfgr.