OBI Dweller Review and Discussion

[BernieMulcahy]

Interesting. I don't use the funnel, I just keep filling and it goes. Pro tip: you can fill it in the field using the tongue hose bib if you have a water hose in your trailer.

I guess maybe I was too careful when trying to fill before knowing about the funnel. At that point I had not read the manual or watched any videos. I got the funnel info by googling Thetford c400. It was some woman in Australia (of course) showing how to use it. I bring a bucket along for filling the flush tank (and for the kitchen sink drain).

 

[nemesisnight]

Easy to reach. Lucky.

Wait what? Do you know what they all changed in the updated versions? Are the water connectors different for the 13 vs 15? My trailer has a sticker showing it was delivered to my dealership on Mar/28/22 but my outside kitchen water connectors are not up high like that. They are down below the body lines on a bracket still facing outward behind the wheel in this pic, and not up high like that?? The ones on my actual sink slide are the same (I feel like that's a weird place for them too because the long front slide release handle comes in contact with them and I feel like they need to be lowered even an inch or two, I don't know if this was intentional so that when you have the water lines plugged in then you can't accidentally close the slide?? ) Does that mean I have a 2021 that's labeled as a 2022 or do they just vary with the model size I wonder..........I do have the Anderson plug up front along with the 7 way but I don't know if there are any other changes to look out for on the 15'.

Edit: so I looked at the ROA video again and my water connectors are definitely different and in the rear I don't have strut assisted spare tires, I have to lower each one individually? I'm confused.

 

[goawaymore]

re. the lack of an owners manual. Quick thought from when I was first looking at what was available out there for campers like the Dweller. I'd spent a little time with google while I was looking, and what popped up appears to be the same owner/rep for OBI and for MDC USA, or at least, both under the same corporate name and with the same company address in the US. The MDC AUSrv13 and 15 have a similar box and look to the Dweller (I guess Opus does too, but I think that's a completely different group). The Dweller was more interesting to me in layout and choices, so I never really spent much time digging around into other campers that were similar. However, the MDC 13 and 15 do both have pretty detailed owners manuals on their mdcusa website, which included some schematics, fastener torque details, and maintenance/troubleshooting. I have zero idea whether there is actually any shared DNA between the two companies 13s and 15s or not, but it seems like it wouldn't be completely unrealistic. That said, might be worth a quick look from a few of you that have gotten to know your Dwellers pretty well. There may be a number of relevant pages in those owner manuals that would be good to call out in this thread for new and future Dweller owners.

May be a complete waste of time too.....so apologies ahead of time if that's the case.

 

[goawaymore]

Oh, and pretty sure that many of the individual components are different makes or models between the different camper brands, so not suggesting that this would take the place of any individual component owners manuals that are Dweller specific. More suggesting that the wiring schematic, some suspension or overall camper box info, etc. "might" be relevant to the Dweller.

 

[gendlert]

Wait what? Do you know what they all changed in the updated versions? Are the water connectors different for the 13 vs 15? My trailer has a sticker showing it was delivered to my dealership on Mar/28/22 but my outside kitchen water connectors are not up high like that. They are down below the body lines on a bracket still facing outward behind the wheel in this pic, and not up high like that?? The ones on my actual sink slide are the same (I feel like that's a weird place for them too because the long front slide release handle comes in contact with them and I feel like they need to be lowered even an inch or two, I don't know if this was intentional so that when you have the water lines plugged in then you can't accidentally close the slide?? ) Does that mean I have a 2021 that's labeled as a 2022 or do they just vary with the model size I wonder..........I do have the Anderson plug up front along with the 7 way but I don't know if there are any other changes to look out for on the 15'.

Edit: so I looked at the ROA video again and my water connectors are definitely different and in the rear I don't have strut assisted spare tires, I have to lower each one individually? I'm confused.

That's another thing that's been updated: the single bar sink slide release. My older one has two separate slide releases on either side of the sink, so it necessarily requires two hands to push the sink back into the trailer, but it doesn't hit the connectors.

And you don't have any gas struts at all on the spares? They are manual lift and drop?? That doesn't seem right. That's gotta be really heavy. I don' t have dual spares on the 13. Does anyone with the 15 have that same situation?

 

[Robustoobi34]

I've not made any significant mods yes, but just wanted to chime in as another Dweller13 owner. I purchased a few weeks ago in Eugene, OR. Camped in southern Oregon on the drive home to the Sacramento area. Going out again this weekend to the Las Padres national forest. There will be some off-roading (I believe very mild) involved.

A big thank you to "gendlert". I started by search for an off-road capable camper a few years ago and put in on hold until a few months ago. I started up the search again and came across his first post in this thread. It looked very interesting and a great review. A ton of internet research later, and now we have one.

We have a newer version that they started manufacturing in January 2021. The big difference is the gauge cluster is to the left as you enter, behind the couch, not in the front area. This opens up more storage area in the front of the camper. And the batteries are now under the couch instead of under the bed. The downside of this move is the freshwater tank valve is now under the bed.

I have made a few very small mods:

• Installed a bluetooth remote module for the Renogy solar charge controller. It was cheap and gives easier access to view the charge state.
• I'm also adding some small mesh nets to the inside of the cubbies (next to the bed) to help organize those areas. The wife currently hates them.
• Bought a new power cord for the refrigerator and changed the cigarette lighter end for an Anderson connecter. It is a much more positive connection.
• The orientation of the light switches were driving us crazy. Push in the bottom of the switch to turn on the lights. So I flipped them to match what we are used to in the US. Easy enough to do - but you need to pop off the switches themselves and not the switch covers to be able to able remove the switches.

So far just two issues -
1)The door handle light wasn't working. When I removed the handle to investigate there was a bunch of moisture in the bottom of the handle. A ramification of sitting outside in Oregon for a few months I suppose. Found an almost exact replacement light online, and some new material to use as a gasket for the door handle, and I'm good as new.
2)The second issue could have been much more of an issue. I started filling the rear water tank and noticed water below the camper. Stopped filling and investigated. The filler hose had come off of the fill opening, and water was going straight into the camper. I was able to get to the hose fitting from the interior cabinet just above the heater vents and reattach. No real damage done. But I'm going to be checking that fill hose before I fill up going forward. Its something that folks might want to look at.

I'm still have a challenge with my vehicle recognizing the trailer when I plug it in (LED lights). I've tried the resistor route, but no luck yet.

I really like the plumbing mod for the greywater tank drain. I'll definitely be doing that. The sink drain looks interesting too.

What tire pressure do you run? I have zero info for that.

View attachment 729418View attachment 729419

Hello, completely new guy to the forum, and have been following this thread for a while now, as I have been interested in the Dweller . A huge thank you to all the participants who have created an incredibly helpful and informative trove of info on the Dweller

I have a question on this post about the LED light issue.. can you expand on this a bit please... and are any other Dweller owners having a similar issue?

Thanks all again for such a great productive thread

 

[BernieMulcahy]

Anyone found a source for replacement caps? I looked at 2 Dwellers at one dealer and 2 Dwellers at a different dealer. None of the 4 had caps. So..... not real confident my dealer will be able to make one appear.

View attachment 731736

Did you look inside the cartridge container itself? That is where mine was located.

 

[BernieMulcahy]

Hello, completely new guy to the forum, and have been following this thread for a while now, as I have been interested in the Dweller . A huge thank you to all the participants who have created an incredibly helpful and informative trove of info on the Dweller

I have a question on this post about the LED light issue.. can you expand on this a bit please... and are any other Dweller owners having a similar issue?

Thanks all again for such a great productive thread

Which LED light issue?

 

[Robustoobi34]

Which LED light issue?

I'm still have a challenge with my vehicle recognizing the trailer when I plug it in (LED lights). I've tried the resistor route, but no luck yet.

Sorry, New here, so not sure how to quote 'just bits'... the issue of the vehicle not recognizing trailer....

 

[BernieMulcahy]

I'm still have a challenge with my vehicle recognizing the trailer when I plug it in (LED lights). I've tried the resistor route, but no luck yet.

Sorry, New here, so not sure how to quote 'just bits'... the issue of the vehicle not recognizing trailer....

Ah yes. I have the same issue. I tried a CURT 57003 adaptor and that didn't work. I tried the resistor route (brake/turn signals) with grounding to the frame. That didn't work. I'm going to try the resistor route again but connecting the other end of the resistor to the common wire instead of the frame. Which route did you try with the resistor? I also have a different brand adaptor on order that is supposed to solve this (placed between the 7-pin female and male connectors) as well. But no luck yet. My tow vehicle is a 2017 Range Rover.

 

[BernieMulcahy]

re. the lack of an owners manual. Quick thought from when I was first looking at what was available out there for campers like the Dweller. I'd spent a little time with google while I was looking, and what popped up appears to be the same owner/rep for OBI and for MDC USA, or at least, both under the same corporate name and with the same company address in the US. The MDC AUSrv13 and 15 have a similar box and look to the Dweller (I guess Opus does too, but I think that's a completely different group). The Dweller was more interesting to me in layout and choices, so I never really spent much time digging around into other campers that were similar. However, the MDC 13 and 15 do both have pretty detailed owners manuals on their mdcusa website, which included some schematics, fastener torque details, and maintenance/troubleshooting. I have zero idea whether there is actually any shared DNA between the two companies 13s and 15s or not, but it seems like it wouldn't be completely unrealistic. That said, might be worth a quick look from a few of you that have gotten to know your Dwellers pretty well. There may be a number of relevant pages in those owner manuals that would be good to call out in this thread for new and future Dweller owners.

May be a complete waste of time too.....so apologies ahead of time if that's the case.

I took a quick look at the MDC AUSrv13 user manual. That is the type of manual that OBI should be putting out. With that said, it looks like they have the basic box, bathroom, solar panels, water tanks, batteries, frame and suspension in common, but that's about it. The internal cabinets are all different. The mechanicals (fridge, heater, water heater, etc.) are also all different. The gauge panel is similar but different. The brake and maintenance info I find useful.

Taking that quick look I think I like the dweller's options and layout better.

While researching the Dweller I located our basic trailer in China on Alibaba. As we all know, this trailer is built in China, then different manufacturers are making lost of customizations.

 

[nemesisnight]

That's another thing that's been updated: the single bar sink slide release. My older one has two separate slide releases on either side of the sink, so it necessarily requires two hands to push the sink back into the trailer, but it doesn't hit the connectors.

And you don't have any gas struts at all on the spares? They are manual lift and drop?? That doesn't seem right. That's gotta be really heavy. I don' t have dual spares on the 13. Does anyone with the 15 have that same situation?

Alright, so lots to update here. I just got off the phone with Vincent from OBI (him and his dad started the company). He was very great to talk to and addressed any question I could think of at the time.

1) He said that some production runs had the water connection inside the body panel and some are down below, it wasn't a set Jan update like the 13' control panel moving from R to L side. He has 40 15' units right now at their facility in Mesa AZ and they are new ones with the mounts down low. He prefers that mounting, so that if a line leaks then less damage to the inside cabinet and those lines are right next to the batteries under the cabinet anyway. I think that's fair enough for the little bit of water freeze issues you would prevent having the lines inside because the mounts are outside anyway and can still freeze. I was kinda liking the upper mounting location but its still easy to access at the frame rail next to the propane and keeps all 3 connectors together with hot/cold/propane.
2) Apparently the Dweller 15' never has had gas assisted struts. The ROA video he states it does but never shows it so I am sure it was just an accident in editing since the 13' has that. Each wheel is lifted separately, you gotta heft it up but not a big deal for me, may be impossible for my wife on the other hand.
3) The AC remote was a surprise to him, apparently he has had many heated talks with the manufacturer about not having them because the Conqueror does and its the same unit they use and they had no idea they were hidden there, nor did the manufacturer rep of the AC themselves I suppose, too funny and an amazing find ROA!! Also the AC is wired directly to the shore power and bypasses the batteries and inverter completely. They tested it with upgraded lithium batteries that are comparable if not better than the battle born brand and at most they could only get 2hrs run time so they scrapped that option. He did say although that it should be able to run off a Honda or similar 2200w invertor generator though so thats promising without lugging a huge generator when AC is mandatory (not that often unless you move to Texas ?).
4) Apparently there have been a few units that get a small air bubble in the propane lines when you change tanks etc and it prevents the Truma air/water heater to function fully. He said its best to let the propane pressurize for at least 5-10 mins before using it to let it bleed but once it gets going it should work amazing.
5) He said they are working on a replaceable cutout to modify the bottom couch so that you can remove a panel and have the lower bed expand to as long as possible. might not be a full 6ft but around 5'10". This would be something we could purchase on existing models and modify if we wanted. Sounds exciting to me and I would be in for that. We might have to do some cutting of the cabinetry but the end result would look good. (hopefully I was allowed to share that, haha now they are going to have to make it).
6) The front Anderson plug does indeed go directly to the batteries so an additional solar bank with dedicated solar controller like my Renogy suitcase will charge in conjunction with the house panels/solar controller.
7) He is aware of the shocks and trying hard to find a good solution, he had already had Fox, King, Rough Country, Bilstein, and a couple other shock companies in the works and talked about possible options but none could provide what they needed and mostly the quantity they are trying to get was the problem. He has not tried Monroe, so he is looking into making that a stock option if he can, good news for future buyers, still an easy enough fix for me for $200 as I still love my caravan.

If you email info@OBIcamper.com he said you should get a response to any little questions like this that we have, and to even ask in the email to refer it to him if needed. I think that is about all I can remember at the moment

 

[Robustoobi34]

Ah yes. I have the same issue. I tried a CURT 57003 adaptor and that didn't work. I tried the resistor route (brake/turn signals) with grounding to the frame. That didn't work. I'm going to try the resistor route again but connecting the other end of the resistor to the common wire instead of the frame. Which route did you try with the resistor? I also have a different brand adaptor on order that is supposed to solve this (placed between the 7-pin female and male connectors) as well. But no luck yet. My tow vehicle is a 2017 Range Rover.

I am sorry, I just 'quoted' your quote LOL... that was the LED issue i was inquiring about.

so, is it that when you attatch your 7 PIN to the truck that the truck is not recognizing that the trailer is there?

and if so, are your brake/turn signals not working? and how about your brakes on the trailer when compressing your truck brakes or using the Trailer Brake Controller?

 

[BernieMulcahy]

Correct Robustoob34. When I connect to the 7-pin my trailer lights work fine. But the RR doesn't "sense" the trailer, and therefore does things like issues the warning signal when backing up.

I using a curt wireless brake controller. Its an adaptor that connects between the male and female 7-pin. I've been assuming that the brakes are working. It feels like it when stopping. What's the best way to actually see if the brakes are truly engaging? Since brake controllers don't work from the brake pedal really. They have an accelerometer that sense when the vehicle slows down. I guess I can try the "manual" brake option on the controller (its a phone app. So I could apply the manual option while looking at the brakes. I answered my own question.

I think I tried connecting the trailer directly to the RR without the brake controller and still had the same issue (RR not sensing the trailer), but I'm not sure now. I think I'll try that again.

 

[gendlert]

I've been assuming that the brakes are working. It feels like it when stopping. What's the best way to actually see if the brakes are truly engaging? Since brake controllers don't work from the brake pedal really. They have an accelerometer that sense when the vehicle slows down. I guess I can try the "manual" brake option on the controller (its a phone app. So I could apply the manual option while looking at the brakes. I answered my own question.

I have a built-in Trailer Brake Controller (TBC) on my truck, and have to adjust the gain on the controller for each trailer depending on the weight. I'm assuming your TBC would be adjustable as well. From my manual, here's how to get that adjustment right:

GAIN
The GAIN setting is used to set the trailer brake control for the specific towing condition and should be changed as towing conditions change. Changes to towing conditions include trailer load, vehicle load, road conditions and weather.

Adjusting GAIN
NOTE: This should only be performed in a traffic free environment at speeds of approximately 20–25 mph (30–40 km/h).

1. Make sure the trailer brakes are in good working condition, functioning normally and properly adjusted. See your trailer dealer if necessary.
2. Hook up the trailer and make the electrical connections according to the trailer manufacturer's instructions.
3. In a traffic-free environment, tow the trailer on a dry, level surface at a speed of 20–25 mph (30–40 km/h) and squeeze the manual brake control lever completely.
4. If the trailer wheels lockup (indicated by squealing tires), reduce the GAIN setting; if the trailer wheels turn freely, increase the GAIN setting.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the GAIN setting is at a point just below trailer wheel lockup. If towing a heavier trailer, trailer wheel lockup may not be attainable even with the maximum GAIN setting.

It's kinda fun.