I'll toss out a couple thoughts...
First of all, I'm kind of like you. These guys are the geniuses and figure everything out, I just copy what sounds good for my situation. Secondly, yes, OBI "should" have worked out most of these design flaws. But they didn't. I should be tall and skinny, but I'm not. Thirdly, I'm certainly not going to try and convince you to spend this kind of money, that's all on you! Only you know your unique situation. For us, the Dweller has been pretty good. It's just the Princess and I, plus a dog or two. We pretty much boondock exclusively, usually for 3-4 nights at a time. Seems like it's almost always up a pretty rough 4WD forest road or the like.
Yes! It likes to bounce on the highway! The up-graded shocks didn't cost too much and took me two hours to swap out. Concentrating the load in front of the axle, traveling with a full front water tank, and maintaining good tire pressure has made it much more comfortable at highway speeds. Heck, the manual for my truck says not to exceed 62 mph while towing,! The camper is pretty solid below 65, I cruise around 67 most of the time. But I also spend a lot of time towing on rough, 4WD roads...it sure handles great in those situations. Kind of a compromise for me. If your not going off-road, definitely better pulling campers out there!
Weight and load calculation's aren't really that complicated, and they provide very valuable information. Everyone travels and camps differently, with different tow vehicles and loads. My biggest issue is staying below the GVWR for my rig, not towing capacity or tongue weight.
No, it does not charge the batteries while driving. Not a glitch or design flaw, just a decision the manufacturer made. But it hasn't been a concern for me yet. Plug it in the night before and hit the road. I wouldn't call it a "retro-fit", but adding DC to DC charging from your TV isn't too hard.
A 3-way fridge? Seriously? My experience was that they worked well when on shore power, which we never are. It would quickly drain the batteries and barely cooled anything running off propane. Ours was quickly delegated to dry storage. This fridge on the Dweller maybe the best thing about the camper! We love it. I guess if your out boondocking for weeks...
Our sink has not leaked all over our spoons and we haven't sheared off any cords. Roof is is still solid. The stove kind of sucks, but they all do. I did replace the tongue jack, but it was probably user error that bent up the original one. And the radio/tv has never worked, but also something I don't care about.
As to your last concern, I don't expect any of these companies to be around for long and plan on being in "survival" mode from the get go. We have a great dealer, but their hands are tied dealing with the manufacturers and the fact that all the "appliances" are actually warrantied by the specific supplier. I trust my dealer to get the work done right, but it will take 2-3 months sitting on their lot, while I could knock it out afterwork and be camping next weekend.
It's all about your expectations, your specific situation, and knowing what else is out there. Yes, the Dweller costs a lot of money and has had some problems, but after two years we have no regrets. I haven't seen anything else I would buy instead.
