OBI Dweller Review and Discussion

[Dweller Feller]

The rv place swapped everything that we were waiting on parts from obi with items from another dweller they had. We still have an issue with the fridge not holding temps. One side will be 60 and the other side 0 even if both sides are set to 30. The rv place said it wasn't happening when it was plugged into 120, only on 12v. I'm going to keep an eye on the fridge and see if it happens again and then take it from there. Reading tho that iceco is asking for proof of purchase is going to be hard to deal with it looks like if we need to claim warranty on the fridge.

Dealers with integrity will help out.
They did the same thing for me with swapping out parts from another dweller on their lot . They can't stand Obi as well. I would think Iceco would be a little more helpful.

 

[Suns_PSD]

The rv place swapped everything that we were waiting on parts from obi with items from another dweller they had. We still have an issue with the fridge not holding temps. One side will be 60 and the other side 0 even if both sides are set to 30. The rv place said it wasn't happening when it was plugged into 120, only on 12v. I'm going to keep an eye on the fridge and see if it happens again and then take it from there. Reading tho that iceco is asking for proof of purchase is going to be hard to deal with it looks like if we need to claim warranty on the fridge.

That's really stand up of your RV dealer. Who was it 'cause they deserve a shout out.

I work at a dealer (not RV's) and customers often don't understand that the dealer is the middleman and is not responsible for eating the warranty cost and it can quickly become unaffordable. In this case, they might have figured that they can just order the parts from Compaq (sp?) direct and the loss to them isn't too much.

I'm still shopping for a Dweller or the like but they don't have any warranty (frankly the warranty on any RV is pretty useless) so this effects the amount I'm willing to pay, personally.

 

[Dweller Feller]

That's really stand up of your RV dealer. Who was it 'cause they deserve a shout out.

I work at a dealer (not RV's) and customers often don't understand that the dealer is the middleman and is not responsible for eating the warranty cost and it can quickly become unaffordable. In this case, they might have figured that they can just order the parts from Compaq (sp?) direct and the loss to them isn't too much.

I'm still shopping for a Dweller or the like but they don't have any warranty (frankly the warranty on any RV is pretty useless) so this effects the amount I'm willing to pay, personally.

Dealers are dumping obi. Obi has no customer service. Just understand obi will not back up their product. They just give lip service with no results. But their product is good. Mdc has a storage facility warehouse in California with substantially better inventory. As long as u know their customer service is virtually non existent, then ur good to go. Mdc is quite a bit more expensive. I don't think their product is any better though. I paid 35,000.00 for my dweller 15 last year.

 

[lostoldtruck]

MY dweller 15 doesn't have the anderson connection at front of trailer. the Question is has anyone found the anderson connection anywhere else for the front of unit ?
Thanks

 

[CowboyKyle]

MY dweller 15 doesn't have the anderson connection at front of trailer. the Question is has anyone found the anderson connection anywhere else for the front of unit ?
Thanks

Anderson plugs can be had on Amazon. Maybe I'm misunderstanding?

 

[Dweller Feller]

Anderson plugs can be had on Amazon. Maybe I'm misunderstanding?

Anderson plugs can be had on Amazon. Maybe I'm misunderstanding?

you can purchase the Anderson power pole connectors on Amazon. you can purchase their kits and make your own.

 

[Xid_az]

MY dweller 15 doesn't have the anderson connection at front of trailer. the Question is has anyone found the anderson connection anywhere else for the front of unit ?
Thanks

If you are saying that the front connector and wiring back to the battery that many dwellers have is non-existent, then I believe we had other reports of older dwellers not having them. What model year is yours?

 

[landy66]

Has anyone had any luck getting the AC to cool down more than a few degrees? I'm sitting out here in the NV desert .. its 120 outside ... I'm on shore power 30A .. with AC set to 64 desired ... the HB9000 can't seem to get the trailer below 88 ..
some cold air is coming out of the vents but not enough ....
looking at how the unit is placed under the bed .. with the air intake slap bang up against a bulkhead makes no sense to me ...

 

[Dweller Feller]

Has anyone had any luck getting the AC to cool down more than a few degrees? I'm sitting out here in the NV desert .. its 120 outside ... I'm on shore power 30A .. with AC set to 64 desired ... the HB9000 can't seem to get the trailer below 88 ..
some cold air is coming out of the vents but not enough ....
looking at how the unit is placed under the bed .. with the air intake slap bang up against a bulkhead makes no sense to me ...

You have a 32 degree temperature split. Which is really good ! Considering the dweller has no insulation in the air gap in between the ceiling and the roof, the "canvas " around the dweller along with probably no wall insulation that I could see. There is a bunch of heat gain the a/c is fighting against to keep cool. So, even though 88 is hot, ur lucky ur trailer is only 88. There is another post somewhere in the dweller forum, where someone removed the rear skylight and replaced with a roof mount a/c. They just had an exterior 110 pigtail he would plug into from shore power when needed.

Mdc uses a 13000 btu a,c instead of a 9000 like obi chooses to use.

Or u could make a redneck a/c with a styrafoam cooler, ice and fan. That might help offset a little. 😁

Good luck !

 

[LaBlaze]

That's really stand up of your RV dealer. Who was it 'cause they deserve a shout out.

I work at a dealer (not RV's) and customers often don't understand that the dealer is the middleman and is not responsible for eating the warranty cost and it can quickly become unaffordable. In this case, they might have figured that they can just order the parts from Compaq (sp?) direct and the loss to them isn't too much.

I'm still shopping for a Dweller or the like but they don't have any warranty (frankly the warranty on any RV is pretty useless) so this effects the amount I'm willing to pay, personally.

It was funtown rv in cibolo. I think they were being extra nice too with stuff cause they messed up when fixing something and it caused our camper to flood and got hell from me. Also I took our camper back 3x for the skylight. One time they didn't even do anything to it (I had put tyvek type all over the seal and the tape was still there) even tho they said "we fixed it". After some choice words with the head manager and not service they went above and beyond for me which i was extremely lucky.

ROA is offering warranty on some of them I think if you get it from them. Or it was another company posting in the obi dweller fb group. It was a 3 year warranty through the company.
We also paid next to nothing for it so they're definitely losing money on us. They have like 4 more but said that they're selling them all together as some wholesale or something type deal.

I wanted a bruder, Kimberly, or a few different brands but $80k+ wasn't in our budget for a camper. I wish we had a true 4 season camper with better insulation but for the price, even with $ out of pocket for mods, we're still happy with it.

 

[LaBlaze]

Hey guys, I'm new here.

I've been shopping pretty hard for a left over new or used Dweller 15, or one of the analogous products (i.e. MDC, Opus). I missed a new one not but 2 hours away for $22.9K (not trying to offend anyone!) but that might have been an anomaly and also another 6 hours away at the same price. (they were friends that owned both and I spoke to one of them at length even after he sold the unit, he was full of tips). I happen to think that a well-cared for Dweller 15 that has incorporated many of the corrections might be more valuable, not less!

Thanks for all of the great info that has been shared by so many great users. It appears the trailer has great bones but is a bit of a project. I feel at the right price, it's the best product at my price point and for my needs. I accept that it's a completely unsupported product so for me, that has to be reflected in the pricing.

I do think what ROA has done and provided is very cool and I would pay a premium for one of theirs, with corrections. But alas, the price they are currently offering is still beyond my means.

Anyways, I'm following along closely and greatly enjoying the content.

Also, if anyone knows of a unit for sale (I'm a cash buyer in Texas, out of state gets trickier with cash), I'd love to know about it. I'm in ATX and would love to see one in person, given the opportunity.

Also, it appears it's not too hard to order one direct from China but that might also come with additional risks. I'll update if I find out more on this topic.

Thanks!

We're in 78745 and on the map posted on Facebook if you wanna connect and check ours out.

 

[DesertMarmot]

Has anyone had any luck getting the AC to cool down more than a few degrees? I'm sitting out here in the NV desert .. its 120 outside ... I'm on shore power 30A .. with AC set to 64 desired ... the HB9000 can't seem to get the trailer below 88 ..
some cold air is coming out of the vents but not enough ....
looking at how the unit is placed under the bed .. with the air intake slap bang up against a bulkhead makes no sense to me ...

Over on FB on the OBI Dweller USA group there is a guy, David Faust, that is going to do a bunch of things to try and get the AC to work better. I’d follow him and see what he comes up with.

It sounds like it is going to take a number of mods, air return relocation, better insulation, etc, to get the AC to work better in our Dwellers.

 

[Dweller Feller]

We're in 78745 and on the map posted on Facebook if you wanna connect and check ours

Over on FB on the OBI Dweller USA group there is a guy, David Faust, that is going to do a bunch of things to try and get the AC to work better. I’d follow him and see what he comes up with.

It sounds like it is going to take a number of mods, air return relocation, better insulation, etc, to get the AC to work better in our

Over on FB on the OBI Dweller USA group there is a guy, David Faust, that is going to do a bunch of things to try and get the AC to work better. I’d follow him and see what he comes up with.

It sounds like it is going to take a number of mods, air return relocation, better insulation, etc, to get the AC to work better in our Dwellers.

Obi should have of installed a roof top a/c. And having a return air drawing from the outside of trailer making the unit work substantially harder. Especially if it's drawing in air that is 100 degree plus from the outside. Warm air rises cold air sinks.

 

[CowboyKyle]

Has anyone had any luck getting the AC to cool down more than a few degrees? I'm sitting out here in the NV desert .. its 120 outside ... I'm on shore power 30A .. with AC set to 64 desired ... the HB9000 can't seem to get the trailer below 88 ..
some cold air is coming out of the vents but not enough ....
looking at how the unit is placed under the bed .. with the air intake slap bang up against a bulkhead makes no sense to me ...

No. I'm in Texas. 70% humidity. 105° ambient temps. I added a roof top unit to my D13. I can now have it constantly 70-75° inside. I fought and fought with my factory A/C unit. It can no deliver the results you're wanting.

 

[CowboyKyle]

You have a 32 degree temperature split. Which is really good ! Considering the dweller has no insulation in the air gap in between the ceiling and the roof, the "canvas " around the dweller along with probably no wall insulation that I could see. There is a bunch of heat gain the a/c is fighting against to keep cool. So, even though 88 is hot, ur lucky ur trailer is only 88. There is another post somewhere in the dweller forum, where someone removed the rear skylight and replaced with a roof mount a/c. They just had an exterior 110 pigtail he would plug into from shore power when needed.

Mdc uses a 13000 btu a,c instead of a 9000 like obi chooses to use.

Or u could make a redneck a/c with a styrafoam cooler, ice and fan. That might help offset a little. 😁

Good luck !

I believe MDC also uses a roof top unit, which is the big game changer, more so than the BTUs.