OBI Dweller Review and Discussion

[calicamper]

Issue w/ hooking up 50A and 30A shore power-

Seeing if anyone has a good idea/explanation as I can't seem to figure it out:

Approx. 10 months ago I brought Dweller to friend's house to store and he has a 50 AMP RV power hook up the prior owner installed themselves. Very shortly after plugging in, continual beeping was heard from Renogy inverter and I quickly went inside and there was a strong electrical smoke smell and inverter was fried (error code 99). Would not come back to life after waiting a couple days. I then installed new Renogy inverter/charger (same model). Everything then worked as it had prior to issue. It would charge/take power fine from 50A-->15A adapter.
I attributed it likely to 50AMP power supply being incorrectly wired/installed.
This last week, I went to mountain w/ 30A power hook up for RV. I plugged in 30A surge protector to receptacle and it indicated power source was without issue...so proceeded to hook up 50A--30A adapter and then plugged in. Same issue I had several months ago, inverter was fried. All other 12V system worked fine in trailer.

Is it possible both power sources were faulty? I am confused that I can take charge/power when using my 50a--15a adapter. Any other ideas?

My money is on wiring issue between the Renogy and the batteries. Fuse it on both sides input and output for sure that will keep the smoke in your next inverter/ charger.

Make sure there are no grounds that are creating a short loop.

 

[FordGuy1]

Issue w/ hooking up 50A and 30A shore power-

Seeing if anyone has a good idea/explanation as I can't seem to figure it out:

Approx. 10 months ago I brought Dweller to friend's house to store and he has a 50 AMP RV power hook up the prior owner installed themselves. Very shortly after plugging in, continual beeping was heard from Renogy inverter and I quickly went inside and there was a strong electrical smoke smell and inverter was fried (error code 99). Would not come back to life after waiting a couple days. I then installed new Renogy inverter/charger (same model). Everything then worked as it had prior to issue. It would charge/take power fine from 50A-->15A adapter.
I attributed it likely to 50AMP power supply being incorrectly wired/installed.
This last week, I went to mountain w/ 30A power hook up for RV. I plugged in 30A surge protector to receptacle and it indicated power source was without issue...so proceeded to hook up 50A--30A adapter and then plugged in. Same issue I had several months ago, inverter was fried. All other 12V system worked fine in trailer.

Is it possible both power sources were faulty? I am confused that I can take charge/power when using my 50a--15a adapter. Any other ideas?

I know on my set up, its super critical to match the amperage of the circuit to the setting on the inverter/charger. If you plug into a 15amp plug, the inverter charger must be 15 amp or less. I was also told even though the setting can go to 60amp, don't ever go over 30amp.

 

[glennsmith15]

I know on my set up, its super critical to match the amperage of the circuit to the setting on the inverter/charger. If you plug into a 15amp plug, the inverter charger must be 15 amp or less. I was also told even though the setting can go to 60amp, don't ever go over 30amp.

I have not seen anything in the Renogy manual indicating the need to change settings based on amperage of shore power source.

 

[gendlert]

I have not seen anything in the Renogy manual indicating the need to change settings based on amperage of shore power source.

Have you reached out to Renogy? I've submitted a few tech support requests and they have been good about following up with me in a day or so. They have tech guys that seem to know what they're talking about.

 

[glennsmith15]

Have you reached out to Renogy? I've submitted a few tech support requests and they have been good about following up with me in a day or so. They have tech guys that seem to know what they're talking about.

I just called and they said that inverter charger that comes with our units can accept 25A maximum incoming AC power. It seemed odd that in the manual the AC output maximum is 65A to charge the batteries though, and the support rep didn't give me a good answer on this.
I don't understand why there is even a 50A plug on the trailer if this is the case then or clear instructions to always adapt down to 25A or lower if using shore power. Maybe someone smarter than me can answer this? Anyone had experience plugging into 30 or 50A and it working fine?

 

[glennsmith15]

I just called and they said that inverter charger that comes with our units can accept 25A maximum incoming AC power. It seemed odd that in the manual the AC output maximum is 65A to charge the batteries though, and the support rep didn't give me a good answer on this.
I don't understand why there is even a 50A plug on the trailer if this is the case then or clear instructions to always adapt down to 25A or lower if using shore power. Maybe someone smarter than me can answer this? Anyone had experience plugging into 30 or 50A and it working fine?

After some thinking, I think a faulty circuit breaker is likely the issue. There are a 50A (main), 20A (AC), and 16A (inverter) on the panel. My assumption if all were working, you could have the 50A incoming and then the inverter circuit breaker would reduce it down to the inverter with no issue.. Apologies to anyone with much better electrical knowledge if I sound like an idiot...

 

[gendlert]

I've definitely hooked it up to 50A in a campground with a surge protector and did not have an issue. I've read through the manual again, and it doesn't state anywhere that there's a 25A max input in the specs. That not only doesn't sound right (50A is VERY common in campsites and travel trailers), but if they WERE being conservative, why on earth wouldn't they make it at least 30A? I don't think you sound like an idiot, but I, too, am no electrical expert.

 

[EPO]

Nothing to offer here except to say that no matter how much you think you might not be an electrical expert, you know 1000% more than I do.

 

[glennsmith15]

I've definitely hooked it up to 50A in a campground with a surge protector and did not have an issue. I've read through the manual again, and it doesn't state anywhere that there's a 25A max input in the specs. That not only doesn't sound right (50A is VERY common in campsites and travel trailers), but if they WERE being conservative, why on earth wouldn't they make it at least 30A? I don't think you sound like an idiot, but I, too, am no electrical expert.

I've definitely hooked it up to 50A in a campground with a surge protector and did not have an issue. I've read through the manual again, and it doesn't state anywhere that there's a 25A max input in the specs. That not only doesn't sound right (50A is VERY common in campsites and travel trailers), but if they WERE being conservative, why on earth wouldn't they make it at least 30A? I don't think you sound like an idiot, but I, too, am no electrical expert.

My thoughts exactly. That's why I think it probably is one of the circuit breakers or wiring associated with it. The incoming 50A shore power would go to panel, then be reduced down to lower amperage (16A based on breaker label) and that power sent to inverter/charger. It would make sense that's why I could use 15A shore power to inverter fine, but 30A and 50A fried the unit, as there was no working circuit breaker to reduce that current... At least this is my working theory..

 

[FordGuy1]

My thoughts exactly. That's why I think it probably is one of the circuit breakers or wiring associated with it. The incoming 50A shore power would go to panel, then be reduced down to lower amperage (16A based on breaker label) and that power sent to inverter/charger. It would make sense that's why I could use 15A shore power to inverter fine, but 30A and 50A fried the unit, as there was no working circuit breaker to reduce that current... At least this is my working theory..

I can tell you with my Kimberley, you must set the Inverter charging to the desirable amperage.

 

[50pentz]

What are others doing for privacy on the door? There's no shade and it's facing the shower. Not a problem for dispersed camping when it's just me and the missus, but when were in a campground....

For an easy privacy fix, I took a standard pillow case and clipped it to the security/screen door. The "small binder clips" (3/4" - 19mm) from an office supply store hold the pillow case in place and still allow the outer door to close.

 

[50pentz]

On my D13, I certainly feel the buffet from cars and trucks passing me when I'm on the interstate but it does not induce a harmonic sway. As you can see, I'm carrying considerable additional forward weight...I have approximately 100 lbs. of bikes and bike carrier and another 50-60 lbs. of water and jerry cans (half full). All of this additional weight is centered over the gear box.

Before diving into sway control, I would try to determine whether the sway can be eliminated by increasing tongue weight (within reason).

As an experiment, my suggestion is to get three of four 50 lbs. bags of sand from the big box store and try adding with them as ballast in the forward gear box. If you find that additional tongue weight eliminates the sway, you could then go to the Cat Scale and confirm whether the increased tongue weight is acceptable.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting you plan to drag a bunch of sand around for the long haul. This may help root cause the problem and give a starting point for a gear loading strategy.

View attachment 735111

I like the bike rack setup! Any details on the bike rack itself or install?

 

[WillySwan]

I like the bike rack setup! Any details on the bike rack itself or install?

Thanks! It is a 1Up bike rack on a custom mount I made. See posts #95 and #96 in this thread for details.

I have used this setup pretty hard over the last year and it has worked out great.

 

[calicamper]

Got a good look at my first Opus up close finally. Wow heavy as hell, I can’t tell if the rough welding is partly for show (sorta a grr manly arghh see my welds) or if its just toss er together in a jig fast boys. Probably both.

Looked a black series on the same lot. Can definitely see the evolution between the two. Seeing a MDC and Dweller next to the earlier renditions would be interesting. Also a great way to see how fast China can tweak and adjust product.

I wish US makers would learn faster and and stop being driven by cheap financing and Ranch house on wheels ideas.

 

[AMMO461]

Wildrose campground, Death Valley last weekend. Right around 4,800ft. Snow covered Telescope peak in the background 11,048ft. Great time.