Schwintek Slides - 6 replacements

[hd883chopper]

Hello folks, I'm looking for some advice here as I'm about all out of answers and patience. Bought a new Milestone 5th wheel in May of 2022. It's now September of 2024 as I write this and it's been in the shop no less than 6 times getting these Schwintek Slides replaced or fixed. The dealer has replaced motors, wiring even tracks and full gear replacements. Our downtime on this is unbelievable as it's been inoperable more than operable. At this point, we're afraid to take it on any trips for fear of the slides getting hung up either out or in.

The dealer keeps fixing the problem, the extended warranty keeps paying and I keep bringing it back and forth. This is not sustainable and is a complete waste of the money spent on this 70k rig.

I'm not sure where to go from here. I have another call into Heartland to someone named "Dave" who I spoke with in Feb of this year. He's supposed to call me back today or tomorrow. Heartland insists this is not a wide spread issue, I've spoken to shop mgrs and tech's at the RV dealers and they tell me otherwise... that they're fixing these things left and right.

What are my options?
- Will Heartland replace the 2 failing boxes with a comparable replacement? Not Schwintek? Already tried new Schwintek gear boxes and they failed. One failed yesterday on me.
- Do I seek legal avenues to hold them accountable?
- Will manufacturers buy back?
- How would I get the mfr to cover the issues once my ext. warranty ends?

Any thoughts on any of this? We are extremely disappointed ...

hd.

 

[RoadJunkie]

Just about anyone can understand your frustration. Your questions, however, should be addressed directly with Heartland and/or someone who is licensed to provide legal counseling. Counsel would also be able to advise you on any "Lemon Law" options. In my opinion, I would work with Heartland to have the rig evaluated and repaired directly with Heartland in Elkhart.

 

[hd883chopper]

Just about anyone can understand your frustration. Your questions, however, should be addressed directly with Heartland and/or someone who is licensed to provide legal counseling. Counsel would also be able to advise you on any "Lemon Law" options. In my opinion, I would work with Heartland to have the rig evaluated and repaired directly with Heartland in Elkhart.

Thanks for the reply. Yes I’ve been working with the dealer and Heartland now for over 2 years and with the extended warranty slowly coming to an end, I’m looking for some ideas of how to move this along. I was really just curious if anyone has had any success with mfr resolution for big expensive ongoing issues. I’m unsure how to get this resolved but for now, I’m holding the bag.
Legal is not my preference which is why I’ve been in and out of the shop for 27 months with the same exact slide issue.

Just looking for some guidance on something new to try, that’s all.

Thx
Hd

 

[rhodies1]

Agree with Roadjunkie… I would talk to Heartland about getting the unit back to them in Indiana to fix the problem

 

[hd883chopper]

10-4. I’ve got another call in now. Hopefully they’ll reach out tomorrow. I’ll try that as an option. Would they typically send a truck to haul it out and over to the plant?

 

[RoadJunkie]

10-4. I’ve got another call in now. Hopefully they’ll reach out tomorrow. I’ll try that as an option. Would they typically send a truck to haul it out and over to the plant?

You can absorb the cost of transporting the rig to Indiana, if you're out of the original warranty, but I would choose to be there to explain and, in general, oversee the repair. I'm not at all suggesting your repairs would be at no charge to you, but I believe it's your best chance to get things working correctly. Forget working with your dealer, it's clear that simply making the same repairs over and over is not working.

 

[NYSUPstater]

Do you like/love the Milestone outside of the issue you're having? Do plan on keeping it should HL fix it back in IN? Reason I ask is, our coach has the Schwintek on the Slide-n-Slide to which I've never been a fan of after reading many reports on it. Knock on wood, it's been ok, but still not happy about the system. Lippert owns the Schwintek system I think. Anyways, we are going to swap the Schwinny's for Vroom Slide System. Appears to be more heavy duty and robust compared to Schwintek. Not going to be cheap, but think it'll be worth it. Dw & I have looked at other RV's in past cple of years and nothing triggers our fancy enough to say let's get it, so we are replacing a couple things to extend the RV's life for us.

 

[david-steph2018]

Thanks for the reply. Yes I’ve been working with the dealer and Heartland now for over 2 years and with the extended warranty slowly coming to an end, I’m looking for some ideas of how to move this along. I was really just curious if anyone has had any success with mfr resolution for big expensive ongoing issues. I’m unsure how to get this resolved but for now, I’m holding the bag.
Legal is not my preference which is why I’ve been in and out of the shop for 27 months with the same exact slide issue.

Just looking for some guidance on something new to try, that’s all.

Thx
Hd

Here is another option, as mentioned above:

Vroom Slide Systems - RV Slide Out Replacement, Fix RV Slide Out Fix

vroomslidesystems.com

I would start a conversation with your extended warranty to see if they would replace with this style. But depends on how the contract is written.
Here is more information:

https://gofulltimerving.com/vroom-slide-system-upgrade/

 

[taskswap]

It's easy to forget that these days, most RV manufacturers are little more than integrators. There are basically two classes of problems you run into:

1. Poorly-chosen components. Schwintek is a good example. In our 386BH they also installed surface-mount sinks in an under-mount style on our bathrooms with four dabs of hot-melt each, and naturally both have fallen off. Usually in these cases your only option is replacement. I do have a video up on Youtube of replacing a Schwintek slide motor that burned out with a stronger replacement. It's a tricky but inexpensive project and depending on your mode of failure may or may not help.

2. Lack of QC and/or just generally poor assembly practices. Installing 8 of the 10 screws required in a fender trim, not properly crimping a ring terminal on a wire (finally figured out why our bedroom lights flicker), etc.

I'm sorry about your experience. If you search through other threads here you'll find you're definitely not alone. Unfortunately, there is no standard industry response to the loss of time/use of the coach due to these repair cycles, but a good attorney might be able to help find some options. Beyond that, pushing Heartland directly is probably your only option.

 

[DPD]

Do you like/love the Milestone outside of the issue you're having? Do plan on keeping it should HL fix it back in IN? Reason I ask is, our coach has the Schwintek on the Slide-n-Slide to which I've never been a fan of after reading many reports on it. Knock on wood, it's been ok, but still not happy about the system. Lippert owns the Schwintek system I think. Anyways, we are going to swap the Schwinny's for Vroom Slide System. Appears to be more heavy duty and robust compared to Schwintek. Not going to be cheap, but think it'll be worth it. Dw & I have looked at other RV's in past cple of years and nothing triggers our fancy enough to say let's get it, so we are replacing a couple things to extend the RV's life for us.

Our 2020 Oshkosh will get the Vroom slide on the large bedroom slide ( if we keep it!). I’ve been in contact with Patriot’s RV Garage, Aubrey , Tx .Patriot’s has installed Vroom on a 5er with the slide-in-slide. Affinity RV Group in Goshen has been challenged with getting the Schwintec operating properly after replacing the big slide floor. I had them add 5 additional supprt rollers while that area was accessible.The original Schwintec functioned well for the initial 4+ years.