OBI Dweller Review and Discussion

[S J]

Wife wanted a mirror. Found a local company who cuts mirrors to size, cost was pretty cheap at $88.00 dollars. Weighs 15 lbs. size is 17" wide x 47' tall. Door seems strong enough. We shall find out.

 

[RJWB]

Interesting, you still had the bank giving out with 300Ah of lithium? I'm surprised. I will say that 300W of solar panels in practice only produces about 160W of solar power in direct sunlight at 80F (measured at the controller). I was talking to a friend of mine who went to a "solar talk" at an expo, and he said the panels will perform better if there's some air between the panels and the vehicle (e.g. rack mount). And not all panels are created equal either. The Renogy panels are pretty good, but there are other brands like Zamp that can perform better, but they're REALLY pricy comparatively.

For those of you struggling with the fridge/batteries keeping up, here are a few lessons I've learned:

• Turn the fridge on two days before you are leaving on shore power. I found that to be wildly helpful in terms of battery usage if I turn on the fridge Wednesday in the driveway when it's plugged into shore power for a Friday morning departure. Made a huge difference in performance.
• Load your fridge as full as you can with stuff, even if you aren't going to consume it. I use my freezer on every trip (cocktails gotta have ice, and brownies gotta have ice cream, and I have a fantastic recipe for Bloody Caesar Slushies if you're interested), and I take those things I'm using but then fill in the gaps with freezer packs, bags of frozen veggies, or a bag of meatballs so there's more thermal mass in there. Air space leaves every time you open the fridge. Solids don't. Fill the fridge side with more beer to fill any gaps there (obviously).
• Once you arrive at camp, leave the fridge compartment open for a couple hours if it's been a hot drive. I've got a little thermometer and even with the exhaust fan on it gets to be well over 115F in there on a hot AZ day. If it's cooler than that where you're camping, don't make the fridge work harder than it has to. Of course, if it's hot where you're camped (you fool), that won't work.

Anyone else got other things they do?

I actually keep a couple of frozen water bottles in my garage freezer. When I do turn the dweller refrigerator/freezer on I put these frozen water bottles inside to help get to temperature quicker. I have the ICECO 90 and haven't had any problems.

 

[Xid_az]

Where is this VIN sticker located? Photo, from an earlier post.

I have a Dweller 15 and I've looked all over the tongue and can't find it. If someone has a wider shot that shows the location, I'd appreciate it. Maybe I'm blind, but there's a good chance that it's not there on mine.
I purchased from a dealer in Mesa, AZ, as did a couple others on this thread, that was blowing these out. New camper, but being sold as used with no warranty. I don't think the dealer really knew what they were doing with these campers.

If I can't locate,I'lll contact OBI and see if I can get one from them. I'm concerned that if I ever moved or wanted to sell it, without the VIN sticker, there might be problems.

Has anyone seen other places where the VIN located on these campers? I know with cars, they're all over the place, but with trailers.....?

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

In the very bottom left of picture I see what appears to be VIN with no numbers after it.

Was it not listed with your bill of sale. Regardless of blow out price a dealer is not allowed to sell without vin in AZ right.

I have lost what little faith I ever had in OBI

 

[CowboyKyle]

In the very bottom left of picture I see what appears to be VIN with no numbers after it.

Was it not listed with your bill of sale. Regardless of blow out price a dealer is not allowed to sell without vin in AZ right.

I have lost what little faith I ever had in OBI

Just curious....

When it comes to finding a trailer? What are all of your requirements?

For example:

I can probably safely assume you're looking for a hybrid hard/soft trailer that is built rugged. What else?

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

Just curious....

When it comes to finding a trailer? What are all of your requirements?

For example:

I can probably safely assume you're looking for a hybrid hard/soft trailer that is built rugged. What else?

Hey Cowboy, not sure if you are directing this question to me? I personally have a Trail Marker trailer. I just like to stick my nose in this group to help folks find the best trailer for thier specific needs. So impressed with this thread and all the information you guys provide. My negativity is geared toward OBI .

 

[CowboyKyle]

Hey Cowboy, not sure if you are directing this question to me? I personally have a Trail Marker trailer. I just like to stick my nose in this group to help folks find the best trailer for thier specific needs. So impressed with this thread and all the information you guys provide. My negativity is geared toward OBI .

Yeah, after doing 900 miles of unpaved Wyoming back country, I can definitely call myself a subject matter expert on the build quality on OBi Dwellers. 0 failures. They are pretty incredible trailers, given their price point.

 

[gendlert]

Where is this VIN sticker located? Photo, from an earlier post.View attachment 798707

I have a Dweller 15 and I've looked all over the tongue and can't find it. If someone has a wider shot that shows the location, I'd appreciate it. Maybe I'm blind, but there's a good chance that it's not there on mine.
I purchased from a dealer in Mesa, AZ, as did a couple others on this thread, that was blowing these out. New camper, but being sold as used with no warranty. I don't think the dealer really knew what they were doing with these campers.

If I can't locate,I'lll contact OBI and see if I can get one from them. I'm concerned that if I ever moved or wanted to sell it, without the VIN sticker, there might be problems.

Has anyone seen other places where the VIN located on these campers? I know with cars, they're all over the place, but with trailers.....?

My sticker is on the back side of the crossbar on the tongue. Double-check the registration papers from your purchase, which should have that info, because your dealer would need that to even get the trailer from OBI in the first place. Double-check your frame, too. The early models they were bringing in had the VIN actually stamped into the steel frame (my previous GravelerXT had this, but I just double-checked and my D13 does not, unless it's under the sticker and it doesn't feel like it). Poke around and see if it's on the frame up there somewhere.

 

[gendlert]

Hey Cowboy, not sure if you are directing this question to me? I personally have a Trail Marker trailer. I just like to stick my nose in this group to help folks find the best trailer for thier specific needs. So impressed with this thread and all the information you guys provide. My negativity is geared toward OBI .

Why the negativity towards OBI? Let's say, for argument's sake, that they forgot a VIN sticker on one of the units. That would be one unit where they forgot a sticker. And that would be one case in hundreds of Dwellers sold. And it's a totally fixable issue. That's a pretty good track record. I only know one Trail Marker owner, and the wheel fell off while he was towing it. I know it was terrifying, and I'm not making light of the danger you were in, and I'm extremely glad you and your family are safe, but I'm genuinely curious: do you have negativity towards Trail Marker, too?

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

No negativity to Trail Marker just Dexter for thier mass produced brake hub that they forgot to pack with grease. Puzzled to why your bringing that up as it was in my rear view mirror. My negativity toward OBI is how lame they are as a company with warranty and customer service. They flooded the market made lots of money and burned thier dealers. Good news is there are good deals to be had for folks who have lots of time to fix things on thier own. Not printing vin # on sticker seems wierd to me. Maybe the dealer took it off.

 

[CowboyKyle]

No negativity to Trail Marker just Dexter for thier mass produced brake hub that they forgot to pack with grease. Puzzled to why your bringing that up as it was in my rear view mirror. My negativity toward OBI is how lame they are as a company with warranty and customer service. They flooded the market made lots of money and burned thier dealers. Good news is there are good deals to be had for folks who have lots of time to fix things on thier own. Not printing vin # on sticker seems wierd to me. Maybe the dealer took it off.

Have you had direct first hand experience with OBi Dweller in a consumer-company capacity?

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

Just what I have read mostly in this string

 

[CowboyKyle]

No negativity to Trail Marker just Dexter for thier mass produced brake hub that they forgot to pack with grease. Puzzled to why your bringing that up as it was in my rear view mirror. My negativity toward OBI is how lame they are as a company with warranty and customer service. They flooded the market made lots of money and burned thier dealers. Good news is there are good deals to be had for folks who have lots of time to fix things on thier own. Not printing vin # on sticker seems wierd to me. Maybe the dealer took it off.

Can you speak to experiences you've had with other trailer companies who have bent over backwards on a large scale to handle warranty claims?

 

[Xid_az]

My sticker is on the back side of the crossbar on the tongue.

Thanks I'll give that a peek. I do have a VIN from the bill of sale and ADOT registration, but I wasn't seeing the sticker or it stamped anywhere. My concern was more of "do I have any proof that this one is mine?".
I also wanted to see the date of manufacture and what the weight ratings were listed at.

In the picture I posted, that has caused a slight ruckus, I lifted it from an earlier post on Aug 1, 2022. I'm assuming the missing VIN on the sticker is a photoshop job so that their VIN wasn't broadcast to the world. Could be wrong, but that's how I took it.

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

Thanks I'll give that a peek. I do have a VIN from the bill of sale and ADOT registration, but I wasn't seeing the sticker or it stamped anywhere. My concern was more of "do I have any proof that this one is mine?".
I also wanted to see the date of manufacture and what the weight ratings were listed at.

In the picture I posted, that has caused a slight ruckus, I lifted it from an earlier post on Aug 1, 2022. I'm assuming the missing VIN on the sticker is a photoshop job so that their VIN wasn't broadcast to the world. Could be wrong, but that's how I took it.

Opps I totally misunderstood that picture. Is thier any dolly jacks or wdh mounts that could have covered your sticker?