Dear Dave,
Can we sit in our dinette while the slideroom is in/retracted? Recent postings on the Winnebago Minnie FB site say we are not supposed to add any weight unless the slide is all the way out. We’ve stopped many times at rest areas and had lunch, using our dinette. Should we stop this practice? We haven’t had any slide issues. Thank you for your expert opinion! —Sharon, 2019 Winnebago Minnie 2500RL
Dear Sharon,
As mentioned, your Winnebago travel trailer is a Minnie 2500RL with one small slide on the driver side.
Normally when I get a Winnebago question I can go to their outstanding website and find not only information but 3D drawings and wiring diagrams, as well. Unfortunately that only applies to the motorized division, so I was disappointed!
I did some searching and found several used units on various websites that showed the slideroom extended and could verify you have a Schwintek mechanism. The owner’s manual does show that as one of the slide mechanisms used on that model and how to override it.
Nothing in Winnebago’s manual about this
Looking through the manual, there is nothing regarding not sitting in the dinette when the room is retracted. What I did find unusual is they recommended pushing the button to extend and retract but shutting it off as soon as the room touches. That is not what Schwintek recommends! There is only one owner’s manual for the entire Minnie line. I believe that the description is for the HappiJac slide mechanism and is a generic description.
I have never heard of not using the slideroom when it is fully retracted, and I’ve done a lot of research on the Schwintek mechanism. So I did more research and found some forums that discussed this.
One post indicated they got a response from Forest River Support that stated do not use the slide when retracted as it would put extreme weight on the lower wall of the Schwintek mechanism and the screw heads could snap off near the bottom of the box. What?!? The Schwintek mechanism is only the “H” channels with the motor assembly at the top, lower gear and gib, and rollers. The walls and box are either made by the RV company or purchased from a third party but are not part of the mechanism.
I called Winnebago
So I called Winnebago Towable Customer Service. Brandy informed me they do not recommend sitting in the dinette while the room is retracted. The weight is not supported until the room is fully extended and motors engaged, so this could damage the mechanism. She did not know why it was not detailed in the owner’s manual. This also does not make any sense to me as the entire weight of the room is supposed to be supported by the rollers. Also, the outer flange of the room would be flush against the sidewall so weight should not affect it.
I contacted Lippert, which owns Schwintek
Next I contacted Lippert, who now owns the Schwintek mechanism. I talked with a Customer Service Rep who had never heard of this either. She put me on hold for quite some time. When she came back, she stated that the engineers confirmed Winnebago and other manufacturers were recommending to not put any weight on the slideroom when it is retracted. The reason is the floor of the slideroom is “floating” over the floor of the trailer with no support at the inner edge of the floor. Putting weight on that portion of the floor will cause it to “flex” and can bend, putting it out of tolerance for extending and retracting.
Then build a better box!
Building a better box is not going to happen in the “make it cheaper” world of RV manufacturers. I did find several posts that recommended placing a few wood spacers underneath the slide floor at the corners and in the middle to support the slide floor and keep it from bending. Just remember to take them out before extending the room!
My question is: Why are there no warning stickers in the room, notifications in the Schwintek Owner’s or Service Manuals, or in the Winnebago Owner’s Manual? Guess that costs money, as well, and brings a negative situation to the attention of potential buyers.
Who knew?!
You might also enjoy this from Dave
RV’s retracted slide room blocks bedroom. OK to extend it partially?
Dear Dave,
When traveling and pulling into an overnight stop we have no access to the bedroom without putting out the slide. I was told both that it was okay to put the slide out just a bit to have access to the bedroom, and that it was not okay to do this and that the slide has to be fully extended. Can you tell me which is true? Sleeping on the L-shaped sofa is very uncomfortable for a 70-year-old lady like me! —Sharon, 2021 Forest River Wildwood 22RBS
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and the author of the “RV Handbook.”
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Excellent article. Not sure why the owner did not do the research first. It would have answered thier question.
I have heard this before and it makes no sense to me (for us anyway). We have a 2012 Arctic Fox 25Y and we use the dinette all the time when it’s retracted for lunch stops. We don’t step on the outer edge when going in to sit down. I know our slide is a “rack and pinion” style and shouldn’t share any of the Schwintek problems.
Tommy,
It seems the rack and pinion mechanism provides support underneath the room while the Schwintek floor actually “floats” with no support at the edge when retracted. I’m at a show in Harrisburg PA and I’ll see if I can gets some pictures.
Dave
My understanding is that some of the HWH “in wall chain drive” flat floor systems that move the slide straight out and then straight down also hold the retracted slide above the floor with no rollers or support. I wonder if using those retracted is also an issue?
Using slides while in is a critical function for many of us.
Sounds like a good investigative reporting opportunity! 🙂
Thank you, Dave, for pursuing the answer to this question across companies, manuals, and phone calls. It certainly is an unexpected answer. Thank you again and safe travels! 🙂
Just an observation about the Schwintek slide issue and sitting on the dinette when it is retracted. I have a 2018 Lance trailer that has the Schwintek slide. Shortly after I bought the trailer I got on Amazon and purchased a compressed foam roller tube designed as an exercise tool. It is 4′ long, so I carefully cut it into three pieces that fit very tightly under the slide when it is retracted. I move the slide in, then get down on my side and maneuver the roller tubes under the slide and place them in each fore and aft corner of the retracted slide. It works very well to reduce any movement of the slide as I go down the road. Plus it provides stability on the slide when retracted.
I also have a Lance trailer (2017.5 1995). To support the slide while traveling, I put two Camco folding step supports under the seats of our dinette. They sit on 1/2″ plywood pieces, on top of our rug, so they don’t move. We can start the extending action, then stop and flip the supports up into their holders. We then complete the extending. I can “stow” them without starting the extending, but DW does not. She just extends all the way, and the support legs get lifted a bit by the edge of the underslide wall. I can then put them into their holders very easily. But, it definitely reduces the strain on the outside wall while on the road, as the slide can’t bounce.
My wife and I have a 2021 Forest River MicroLite 21FBRS that has a small slide with a couch instead of a dinette. We have stopped for lunch many times over the last 3 years and left the slide in with no problems. We have not noticed any flexing or dipping from the Schwintek mechanism. With my weight I am sure my wife would notice when I sat down.
Oh my, is that saying for all Schwintek slides as we have 4 of them on our 2017 F/R 34QS MoHo & we do use the dinette for lunch stops while the slide is in. About 3 years ago we had issues with that slide & they had to replace everything, actually had to replace one motor twice, also added a 1/8″ metal shim above each roller as per Forest River! Not had any issues since & sometimes there are 3 adults & 2 kids having lunch while slide is retracted!
Snoopy
On my Keystone with a rack and pinion through frame slide out mechanism the floor is floating. It is supported only on three sides when retracted. If you step on the floor near the inside edge it has no support and flexes quite a bit. When the slide out is extended the edge of the floor is supported by the wear bar.
It does say this in the Keystone manual
“DO NOT ride in the slide-out when extending/retracting. DO NOT step on the floor of the slide out when the room is retracted. The slide out floor is not supported by the main floor and stepping on the floor may cause structural damage to the slide room”
It has nothing to do with the Schwintek mechanism. My Bal Accuslide is the same, when the box is in (retracted) there is no support under the floor.
I have a 2014 Forest River Sunseeker. This came with seatbelts in the dining area. I have looked at the mechanism that operates the slide and it is not a Schwintek. However, I do have Schwintek mechanism for the bedroom and the closet. I would assume since there are seatbelts in the dining area, slide that it can be used while driving down the road to hold extra people traveling with me. And I also find it interesting that both the bedroom and closet slides, which are Schwintek and that they stand up very well considering they are in the rear of the motorhome, so when going down the road and hitting bumps, you would think that puts a lot of jostling on those units . But so far no problems.
Thanks, Dave for reporting on this. Very disappointing to hear. Does this mean that you’re not supposed to put anything in the under seat storage areas either? Are they “storage” in name only?
I do not have a Schwintek in my Transcend but I did notice that my rather long slide is not supported by the main floor when retracted like it was in our Spree. I resolved this by putting a 3 foot piece of 2×6 under the slide floor after retracting so it is supported and we do not have to worry about putting weight on it when it is retracted.
As a retired aerospace technical writer, a career where accuracy and completeness is paramount, I have been disappointed with the generic nature of the RV manuals. Some information is missing, some is incomplete, and some of the equipment that is described is very different than that which was installed. If I were to write updates and corrections there is no obvious way to submit it nor do the companies offer updates. In aerospace if there is a problem with the manual we create change pages and insert pages. That is so obvious.
This is 100% right. I had a 2020 Jayco Melbourne with Schwintek and the slide is cantilevered above the floor. My kids would sit in the seats on the slide and said it was “bouncy”. After our first trip across country the slide was out of alignment top to bottom as you looked at it on the outside and the seals no longer sealed. There is a floor to ceiling cabinet inside built into the slide that provides support (bad design) and it actually separated horizontally at a seam half way up the frame. Keep in mind the “bouncy” seats as my kids called them have seat belts, so fully intended to have folks in them when driving down the road. A terrible design that we sold not long after.