OBI Dweller Review and Discussion

[gendlert]

My Propane/CO alarm just started doing the same thing. Only seems to get triggered when I'm plugged in to shore power.

When you added the inline 1A fuse, did you shut off power from the source somehow? Any problems since you've done this re-install?

No need to disconnect the battery; I clipped the positive line after I disconnected the alarm, so no complete circuit. Easy peasy. It went off once when it WASN'T plugged into shore power when I had freshly caulked the bathroom. Something about the caulk fumes in the AZ heat caused it to go off in the summer (it was very chemically smelly in there). But you know what I did? I took the fuse out and let the trailer air out! It was a pretty good feeling to be able to turn that alarm off quickly and easily. After the smell was gone, the detector has not had an issue, plugged in or not.

 

[RonBA]

I was lucky enough to get my OBI 13 rig in December for $29,211 (plus travel costs from AZ) from the Idaho dealer. For that amount of discount, I can afford to make some of the modifications that others have suggested to improve the rig. OBIs have not been around that long so I do not think it is unusual to expect some improvements that should be made. So far, I agree with WillySwan, OBI has a good overall product. And, I really appreciate all the suggestions that have been made on this blog and I hope to contribute a few of my own in the future. Thank you everyone for sharing your research and work.

 

[Obsessed2findARuggedHybid]

That is an awesome deal you got. What year is it and is it new? Is it ready for lithium and solar? Does it have 12 volt frig? Well here is the off road trailer priced for us common folk. I think I found the rig you bought and it is new and comes with solar and inverter. Are the batteries lithium? Others had predicted these may come down in price. It just seems they built a lot of them and have so many dealers.

 

[Photog Doug]

I was lucky enough to get my OBI 13 rig in December for $29,211 (plus travel costs from AZ) from the Idaho dealer. For that amount of discount, I can afford to make some of the modifications that others have suggested to improve the rig. OBIs have not been around that long so I do not think it is unusual to expect some improvements that should be made. So far, I agree with WillySwan, OBI has a good overall product. And, I really appreciate all the suggestions that have been made on this blog and I hope to contribute a few of my own in the future. Thank you everyone for sharing your research and work.

That was a awesome deal! Which spurs a question I have. Is there a downside to purchasing a Dweller 13 that was built prior to the Jan update? Is there any great tangibles to having one with the Jan updates? I am a bit unsure if that Jan update was in 2022 or 2021. Thanks! This thread is awesome and I have learned so much!

 

[EPO]

At very quick glance, I'm seeing Dweller 13's from 29k to 50k. Why so much variance?

 

[rblitz]

Just found a little issue on my D15. The propane hose going through the supporting sheet metal base had its corrugated protective sheath installed improperly. The hose is rubbing against the sheet metal right where it leaves the base. Will have to remove and reorient it so that the sheath is what's making contact with the metal. Will probably use gorilla tape to make sure the sheath doesn't slip.

 

[WillySwan]

Just found a little issue on my D15. The propane hose going through the supporting sheet metal base had its corrugated protective sheath installed improperly. The hose is rubbing against the sheet metal right where it leaves the base. Will have to remove and reorient it so that the sheath is what's making contact with the metal. Will probably use gorilla tape to make sure the sheath doesn't slip.

Yeah, that needs to be addressed. Taping like you mention and/or adding a grommet would be a good option. I just looked at my D13 and the propane line does not route though that hole. This may be an option for you.

 

[RonBA]

That is an awesome deal you got. What year is it and is it new? Is it ready for lithium and solar? Does it have 12 volt frig? Well here is the off road trailer priced for us common folk. I think I found the rig you bought and it is new and comes with solar and inverter. Are the batteries lithium? Others had predicted these may come down in price. It just seems they built a lot of them and have so many dealers.

There were two items normally packaged with the new OBI 13 that the dealer did not include in the price. The dealer had ordered the parts from the manufacturer but they never came and the dealer got tired of asking about them. The two items were the fridge (which we found we can buy on Amazon) and the outside shower enclosure (which we are not sure if we will try to replace--depends upon whether we think we would ever use it). The batteries are AGM but someday we will upgrade to lithium. I can only comment on what the Idaho salesman told me about his price variance. The dealer got into a pissing match with OBI for two reasons---inability to get missing parts timely and he did not like being told by OBI at what price he could sell the units. So, he decided he was going to close out OBI and he offered units from $29,211 up to mid-40s. He appeared to have about 20 of them at 3 locations. He also had a lot of Opus and some other brands left that they wanted to reduce at year end. I had saw another unit on sale (pending) for the $29,211 so I talked him down to offering me the same price on my unit. The dealer said they are no longer doing warranty work for OBI and that I would have to deal directly with the manufacturer. Since the manufacturer and I are both in AZ, this did not seem like a problem.

 

[RonBA]

That was a awesome deal! Which spurs a question I have. Is there a downside to purchasing a Dweller 13 that was built prior to the Jan update? Is there any great tangibles to having one with the Jan updates? I am a bit unsure if that Jan update was in 2022 or 2021. Thanks! This thread is awesome and I have learned so much!

The units still out there are mixed so you may not know which you are getting unless you look at the location of some of the updated items (like whether the control panel is on the left or right side of the door). I probably would not want to pay top price for an older model but I don't know that a discounted price on the older model would not be worth it since none of the updated items appear to be deal breakers. As WillySwan and others pointed out, OBI is a good product overall. I think the people on this blog are doing a great job at spotting issues and exploring ways to improve them. You probably won't find the perfect unit at the price you want.

 

[jaggedx]

Hello All, I am new to the forum. I have had a bunch of RV's mostly motorhomes from small to jumbo but just jumped into this new segment. Just got a Dweller 15 which I will be pulling with my Jeep Gladiator Rubicon. I have spent the last couple weeks figuring out how to outfit the trailer. I will be using it mostly for remote camping for scouting hunt areas and generally exploring places that I just cant go with my big RV. All the input here has been super helpful with lots of great ideas.
Now my question. The trailer did not come with a shore cord. what shore power cord do I need and does anyone have a source?

Thanks in advance for any info

Happy trailers

 

[WillySwan]

Hello All, I am new to the forum. I have had a bunch of RV's mostly motorhomes from small to jumbo but just jumped into this new segment. Just got a Dweller 15 which I will be pulling with my Jeep Gladiator Rubicon. I have spent the last couple weeks figuring out how to outfit the trailer. I will be using it mostly for remote camping for scouting hunt areas and generally exploring places that I just cant go with my big RV. All the input here has been super helpful with lots of great ideas.
Now my question. The trailer did not come with a shore cord. what shore power cord do I need and does anyone have a source?

Thanks in advance for any info

Happy trailers

This is the shore cord mine came with. It also came with a 50A to 30A adapter and a 30A to 15A/20A adapter

https://a.co/d/3Yas2tj

 

[gendlert]

OK, it's done. I made the conversion to lithium this weekend. I now have a 400 Ah battery bank which fits in the existing battery location, and I rigged it for all-season charging, which may not have been necessary, but it's done now.

Products I used:

• LiTime 12V 400Ah Lithium Battery 3200W Max. Load Power LiFePO4 Battery, Built-in 250A BMS, 5120Wh Usable Energy, 4000-15000 Cycles & 10-Year Lifetime
  • This used to be (until the new year) AmpereTime. Now it's LiTime, I guess, but it's the same stuff. Will Prowse did a video on this battery that convinced me to get it over some similar sized Sokergy models that he said were garbage.
  • I picked this one specifically because it fit in the space of the three 100Ah batteries, within 0.5" in any direction. I didn't have to move anything around in the trailer besides the batteries, and it's the most battery I could find to fit in there.
  • I got it for $1500 on Black Friday. Not a huge savings, but not nothing. Worth it so far.
  • It does have a battery management system (BMS), but it does NOT have a low-temp cutoff. Again, Will Prowse did a video on how to work around that, and I installed my own cut-off.
• Victron Energy SmartSolar MPPT 100V 30 amp 12/24-Volt Solar Charge Controller (Bluetooth)
  • This is what Will recommended in this video (same link) in order to add the low-temp cutoff.
  • Yes, it comes in a 50A version, but I'm lying if I think I'm ever going to expand my solar array on the roof, so this is plenty. You do you.
  • This replaced my Renogy Adventurer 30A solar controller. See pics below.
  • Renogy's controller does have a temperature sensor adapter, but it's only for optimization and not for a cutoff; their BMS on their batteries has a low-temp cutoff, so if you use Renogy batteries you don't need this, but you can't fit 400 Ah of Renogy in the same space. You see the problem...
• Victron Energy Smart Battery Sense Long Range (up to 10m)
  • Again, recommended from the same video.
  • This just links to the Victron controller and tells it when to cut the charging (default setting is 5 degrees Celsius). I kept that, but it's adjustable. Again, you do you.

Tools needed:

• The only weird tool that you might not have readily available is a T20 torx screwdriver; you'll need that to disconnect the heating duct from the Truma because it's installed over the battery in the D13 (I'm not sure about the D15 or D19).
• Socket set
• Various screwdrivers, including a very short Phillips to get in hard to reach spaces
• Electrical tape

Basic steps involved:

1. Ensure you've disconnected the battery disconnect.
2. Open up the belly of the beast under the bed.
3. Remove the duct from the Truma. You'll need a socket for the outer sleeve and a Torx T20 for the inner duct. Set aside.
4. Remove the battery holder crossbar. Two nylock nuts on either end is all.
5. Disconnect all 3 batteries. Take them out of the trailer. Sell them on craigslist.
6. Drop in the new Lithium battery in the same location and admire how smart you are for buying something that fits in the exact same space and gets you 2.66x as much power. Be sure to both ooooooh and ahhhhhh.
7. Remove the wiring from the OEM Renogy solar controller. Remove the solar controller. Sell it on craigslist with your batteries. Bundle discount.
8. Reinstall wiring for PV and battery into the new Victron controller.
9. Attach (positive first) battery with the temp sensor installed on the terminals using the [EDIT] two shortest preexisting battery wires on both positive and negative (to allow for greater current from battery, per Willy's idea). More ooooooohs and ahhhhhhs because lights turn on and stuff.
10. Use electrical tape to cover the other terminals from the wiring no longer needed for a multiple battery bank. You can totally just remove these wires, but I didn't because there was a thing nagging at the back of my mind saying "what if I want to do another multiple battery bank someday?" and I just left them. They aren't hurting anything and it was easier to just cover them.
11. Adjust settings in the Renogy 2000W inverter to be lithium according to manual. For my model it was program 06 set to LI, but be sure to check that and not trust this post in case it's different.
12. Connect the Victron controller and temp sensors using the Victron app following Will's instructions from that video. Super easy. Takes about 10 minutes if everything goes well, including firmware updates.
13. Once you're convinced it's working, install the Victron controller on the inside of where the Renogy solar controller was. That's the only logical place I could figure to put it. If you find something better, let me know.
14. Reinstall the battery holder crossbar.
15. Reinstall the duct to the Truma.
16. Close it up and admire your work with a final set of oooooohs and ahhhhhhs. Check your new bluetooth app 30 times the rest of the day to assure yourself it's doing fine. It is.

This took me about an hour and around $2000 all in with tax.

I have NOT done a trip with it. I'll keep you posted on performance once I have some data. I also haven't closed up the hole from the Renogy controller; I'm going to cover it with something classy like a license plate that says "My Other Ride is Your Mom" or something, but that's not that important for now.

Pics to help:
Battery in its place:


The temp sensor installed:


Here's a look at the controller where the hole from the Renogy is. I still need to cover it with something.


A couple pics of the controller installed. I used the Renogy screws to mount it on the inside. I only used 3 screws instead of 4. I'll let you know if it ever fails.




Reinstalled ductwork and crossbar:


"Dude, where have you been? We're ready for dinner and no one cares about your stupid trailer." They didn't help. Not even a little bit.


Feel free to add details if you've done something similar.

 

[WillySwan]

OK, it's done. I made the conversion to lithium this weekend. I now have a 400 Ah battery bank which fits in the existing battery location, and I rigged it for all-season charging, which may not have been necessary, but it's done now.

No concerns with the ice cream thawing out now! Nicely done and documented.

I'm still running my AGM batteries, but I am working to learn the intricacies of LiFePO4 installation.

Here are a couple of comments/suggestions/questions:

• On my D13, the positive and negative cables from the 3 AGM batteries go to positive and negative buss-blocks/buss-bars. From those buss-blocks there is a much larger gauge cable to the inverter. With the single 400 Ah battery, have you considered increasing the gauge of the cables from the battery to the buss-blocks to handle the higher current?
• I have not fully traced it, but I am pretty sure that the "Aux 12V+ Charging" input from the 7-pin trailer plug also goes straight to the positive buss-block as well. I've confirmed that the house battery voltage can be measured at the trailer plug. Are you considering a LiFePO4 compatible DC-DC charger on this line?

 

[gendlert]

No concerns with the ice cream thawing out now! Nicely done and documented.

I'm still running my AGM batteries, but I am working to learn the intricacies of LiFePO4 installation.

Here are a couple of comments/suggestions/questions:

• On my D13, the positive and negative cables from the 3 AGM batteries go to positive and negative buss-blocks/buss-bars. From those buss-blocks there is a much larger gauge cable to the inverter. With the single 400 Ah battery, have you considered increasing the gauge of the cables from the battery to the buss-blocks to handle the higher current?
• I have not fully traced it, but I am pretty sure that the "Aux 12V+ Charging" input from the 7-pin trailer plug also goes straight to the positive buss-block as well. I've confirmed that the house battery voltage can be measured at the trailer plug. Are you considering a LiFePO4 compatible DC-DC charger on this line?

Thanks, Willy.

No, I decided to use the same wiring. If I end up with a performance issue, I can always upgrade the wire later, but my use case doesn't need the battery to charge fast since the battery is so big. I may end up calling myself a liar later; we'll have to see.

I didn't think my battery charged from the 7-pin. I need to hook that up and test it. But since you mention it, I was looking into hooking up the alternator of the truck and wiring into the solar controller to get lithium compatibility, similar to an earlier post I remember reading.

 

[glennsmith15]

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?