34QS Slide Problems?

[future34qs]

I'm looking at purchasing a Berkshire 34QS next year, but am concerned that it utilizes Schwintek slides. I've read that they were a disaster on Thor Palazzo's and that Winnebago moved to Power Gear on Forza 34T's because of similar problems. 34QS owners: have you experienced slide problems with Schwintek? This is the only hesitation I have with purchase. Thanks for your response.

[joet19711]

Originally Posted by future34qs

I'm looking at purchasing a Berkshire 34QS next year, but am concerned that it utilizes Schwintek slides. I've read that they were a disaster on Thor Palazzo's and that Winnebago moved to Power Gear on Forza 34T's because of similar problems. 34QS owners: have you experienced slide problems with Schwintek? This is the only hesitation I have with purchase. Thanks for your response.

I do not have a 34Q but I do have the slide..if you watch this video and do this, you will not have any trouble with the slide out. This works..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSafAnjxIV4

[gordonsick]

I have a 34QS and have had no problems with the slides at all.

At least, no problems of the type you cite. We made the mistake of having something in front of the inside trim when the slide was closed and another time we had some shoes behind the trim when the slide was closed. In that case, the slide works fine but the trim breaks off.

My wife learned the opening lesson and my son learned the closing lesson. And, obviously, I'm not a good teacher.

BTW, we love our 34QS and would buy one again if somehow our current one was stolen or destroyed. One nice feature of it versus the 38s is that both have the same chassis running gear and total weight capacity, so taking 4 feet of chassis away gives you a lot more luggage capacity. I do weigh my rig regularly (4 point weight) and don't have a problem with weight.

–Gordon

[hvstorck]

I have a 2016 34QS and have had no problems with the slides. We follow the tips in the above video. Love our machine!
Harvey

[future34qs]

Thanks for the feedback, looking forward to joining the Berkshire family!

[bonanza]

I have a 34QS, I had an issue with my kitchen slide not going out or retracting evenly. Ended up replacing the schwintek motors. Have only retracted to test which was good, but is now winterized and stored until spring. Stay tuned. 👍

[gordonsick]

I will be making a more detailed post later, but, as a heads up, I must say that I have had serious problems with my 34QS slide toppers billowing in (strong) cross winds.

I have held back from commenting on this because I wanted to give Forest River a chance to respond to my personal emails on this. But, they don't seem to want to do anything, and so I will be discussing the issue in detail in a later post here.

To make a long story short, Forest River doesn't install all of the components made by Carefree of Colorado on the 4 slide toppers on the 34QS. They do install all of the components needed needed the awning from billowing, however. The components that they don't install are designed to prevent the slides from billowing up in a cross wind. This is not a problem specific to the 34QS, since it seems to cut across the whole Berkshire line. I have looked at other motorhomes and fifth wheels and find that the majority of them do not install the proper anti-billowing devices, presumably because it could add thousands of dollars to the cost of the RV.

On the other hand, without the anti-billowing devices, I regard my MH as not being roadworthy.

On a recent trip south through Montana, Wyoming and Colorado, I had cross winds that were said to approach 55-60 mph on I-25. The living room slide topper billowed up and jammed open. I had to cut off the slide topper in order to continue down the road.

On the return trip north on I-15 through Montana and Alberta, there were more moderate cross winds, going to 30 mph, according to weather forecasts. The dining room and bedroom wardrobe slide toppers were both billowing in this moderate cross wind. I did have to reduce my speed to about 45 mph to reduce the billowing, but I didn't have to cut off the slide toppers.

Carefree of Colorado makes a variety of accessories for their slide toppers to prevent these problems, but Forest River installed none of them. They did install one on the awning, which is very fortunate, because having it billow would have been very expensive.

[Mmnsc]

I had the same problem crossing Kansas in 2014 with my 390BH. The sofa slide topper bellowed out and tore. After that trip I purchased from Shade Pro in California the slide topper covers that completes the set. The 4 slide topper covers were made by Carefree of Colorado but I purchased them through Shade Pro for about $1000 in total. On the trip this past summer going across the plains states we had 40 to 50 mph cross winds and not a single issue with toppers bellowing.
Very happy with the covers and they make the slide toppers look finished.


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[uralman]

Same here. We had our kitchen topper blow out just north of the Florida keys. Bought the cover that cured it.

[joet19711]

Originally Posted by Mmnsc

I had the same problem crossing Kansas in 2014 with my 390BH. The sofa slide topper bellowed out and tore. After that trip I purchased from Shade Pro in California the slide topper covers that completes the set. The 4 slide topper covers were made by Carefree of Colorado but I purchased them through Shade Pro for about $1000 in total. On the trip this past summer going across the plains states we had 40 to 50 mph cross winds and not a single issue with toppers bellowing.
Very happy with the covers and they make the slide toppers look finished.


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

Did you install them yourself? and was it very complicated?

[Oscarvan]

Can someone post a link/pic/part # for this "anti billowing device" ?

[Mmnsc]

Originally Posted by joet19711

Did you install them yourself? and was it very complicated?

I did install them myself. It is a 2 person job especially the longer one that was over the sofa slide. It came in with a center support/locking mechanism that was a little difficult to get in. All it was to install was a couple of screws on each end and getting the bottom edge to fit into the existing cover. Overall DIY talent require about a 3.


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[Mmnsc]

Originally Posted by Oscarvan

Can someone post a link/pic/part # for this "anti billowing device" ?

Call Shade Pro and tell them you need the cover extensions for the Carefree Slide toppers. I think the Carefree model is SKO III.
When you call them make sure you have the EXACT length measurements for each of the slide toppers. The distance between the 2 end caps. Shade Pro was very helpful.


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[joet19711]

Originally Posted by Mmnsc

Call Shade Pro and tell them you need the cover extensions for the Carefree Slide toppers. I think the Carefree model is SKO III.
When you call them make sure you have the EXACT length measurements for each of the slide toppers. The distance between the 2 end caps. Shade Pro was very helpful.


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

Thank you for all the info. Although, I have not had a problem yet, I can see where it could be. I travel thru the mountains of Western Maryland and WV frequently. Are the covers the same as the awning?

Joe

[Mmnsc]

Originally Posted by joet19711

Thank you for all the info. Although, I have not had a problem yet, I can see where it could be. I travel thru the mountains of Western Maryland and WV frequently. Are the covers the same as the awning?

Joe

Joe.
The covers on the slide toppers are fixed while the awning cover is movable and comes over the top of the awning.
The slide topper cover prevents the wind from getting under the slide topper canvas and the forcing the topper up and bellowing.
Marty


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[bonanza]

No the awnings are not the same. Ever time you open a slide there is a canvas cover that unrolls out to protect the top of the slide out from the weather. Especially rain! ☔️

[joet19711]

Originally Posted by bonanza

No the awnings are not the same. Ever time you open a slide there is a canvas cover that unrolls out to protect the top of the slide out from the weather. Especially rain! ☔️

Okay, understand now.. thanks

[gordonsick]

It is good to know that the Shade Pro product is manufactured by Carefree. That is what I will buy.

Has anybody installed the anti-billowing arm with the covers, or does the anti-billowing arm hit the cover when the topper roller goes around?

–Gordon

[5picker]

Originally Posted by gordonsick

It is good to know that the Shade Pro product is manufactured by Carefree. That is what I will buy.

Has anybody installed the anti-billowing arm with the covers, or does the anti-billowing arm hit the cover when the topper roller goes around?

–Gordon

Would you need the anti-billowing arm if the topper awning retracts into a cover around the awning tube? Seems the awning cover IS the anti-billowing device. I picture it being something like an old slide projector/movie screen that rolled up and down inside an aluminum tube.

Mine from the factory are different in that they have an arm attached to the topper tube and it makes contact with a wall bracket if the awning tried to unroll going down the road. (see photos)

[gordonsick]

Originally Posted by 5picker

Would you need the anti-billowing arm if the topper awning retracts into a cover around the awning tube? Seems the awning cover IS the anti-billowing device. I picture it being something like an old slide projector/movie screen that rolled up and down inside an aluminum tube.

Mine from the factory are different in that they have an arm attached to the topper tube and it makes contact with a wall bracket if the awning tried to unroll going down the road. (see photos)

Thanks for your picture.

To clarify, there are two cover systems for anti-billowing.

Once cover is what is on my awning, and is a half-round aluminum tube that is between the wall and the awning fabric. When the awning rolls up, this cover wraps around the fabric and is all that is exposed to the wind. It works well. On a slide topper, this aluminum fitting would probably hit the top of the slide topper when the slide is open, making a lot of noise on windy days and damaging the roof of the slide. My awning also has an anti-billowing arm, like you show, but I'm not sure it would hit the wall if the aluminum cover failed to stop billowing.

The other kind of cover is what others are installing for their slide toppers. It fits between the end caps of the slide roller. You don't have these end caps in your picture, so you can't install them. This cover is a vertical wall that partially covers the roller when the slide is retracted. There is also a bottom cover in the installation I have, so the bottom and side would be covered. The top of the roller is still exposed to wind, however, with this setup. So, that is why I was wondering whether the anti-billowing arm could also be fitted in.