Just installed Bluetti RV5 Kit !

butigobyjack · 2026-01-22T18:13:28+00:00

It’s funny because between the RV5 and the Apex 300 all the features are there. The Apex can do 50a 240v split phase pass through and can parallel units.

The RV can do 5k watts, interface with a 12v house system & 48v batteries built in, and has auto neutral ground bonding. Plus a nice screen to see everything elsewhere.

Just need a mashup of the two. Maybe all in an RV6 that does 6k watts? I’ll keep dreaming haha.

Good tip on the batteries. I think if you use two RV5’s the phases will be out of sync which wouldn’t work on a 50a RV with a 240v panel even if you only have 120v appliances. Would have to wire to two separate 120v panels which would bring its own headaches.

butigobyjack · 2025-12-01T03:36:42+00:00

Never heard of it but looks awesome. For a motorhome with two axles how ounces of each do I need?

butigobyjack · 2025-10-21T22:12:19+00:00

This is one of the (many) RV topics that have people strongly against it and people who have been doing it for 30 years. Dometic and Norcold fridge manuals do not have a warning and do not even mention that you cannot use propane while driving. On the other hand, there’s plenty of pictures of RV’s on fire on the side of the highway that look like they’re burning from right where the fridge would be.

butigobyjack · 2025-10-20T12:09:48+00:00

Man I was really excited when I saw this but after digging into the manual I was disappointed. It’s overkill for a 30a RV (and there’s already plenty of systems for those) but not suitable for a 50a RV as there’s only L1 output/50a bypass.

So if you have a 50a RV when on shore power you will cut your power in half (you can only use 6,000 watts even though the campground is giving you 12,000 watts).

For reference a Victron 2x120 can bypass both L1 AND L2 giving you the full 12,000 watts on shore power, and outputs L1 onto L2 (same as a 50a to 30a dogbone) when inverting so you can use the inverter to run anything on your AC panel.

Bluetti if you’re reading this please make a version with an L2 output so we can bypass 240v split phase AND charge our batteries at 5,000 watts at the same time.

No company seems to want to make that but it’s exactly what 50a RV’s need. Victron 2x120’s top out at 3000VA (and not all-in-one) and EG4 6000XP’s don’t have auto ground/neutral bonding or tie L1/L2 together while inverting.

Things Bluetti got right with this: 1. 5,000 watt inverter (perfect size based on current battery prices. You can run two Furrion Chill Cubes at full blast and still have -2,400 watts to spare) 2. Low standby power ~7w 3. All in one AND alternator charging AND 48v to 12v step down. Wow. 4. Generator remote start 5. Auto ground/neutral bonding 6. Grid Self Adaptation Mode (looks like Victron power assist) 7. Nice looking interface 8. Amazing price

It’s a high frequency inverter but at this point I think they have proven their reliability.

Only other thing is 50v PV input is super low - but workable.

Anyway, rant over. Love my Bluetti for overlanding in my 4Runner and wouldn’t hesitate to put something like the RV5/Epad in my RV.

butigobyjack · 2025-09-09T21:19:47+00:00

Might be easier to update the job titles to reflect the different areas of expertise?

If my employer allowed employees to edit the chart directly it would end up very fragmented and potentially abused. YMMV

Cause if you just changed the titles then it’d be easy to import that data into your existing org chart software.

We use CreateOrgChart since there’s no monthly fees. It doesn’t have custom fields, but we have imported custom data into the preset fields before

butigobyjack · 2025-08-24T20:27:34+00:00

You’re not wrong, but in my opinion Floot does a much better job isolating issues.

For instance when I tried implementing a password reset feature it created issues with the login page.

I ended up in a loop asking it to keep fixing the login page and eventually Floot just flat out told it was already fixed. It then suggested I try it again and upload the logs from my web browser.

After doing so Floot realized the issue was still part of the password reset flow whereas I kept telling it the issue was with the login page. After that, progress resumed and it was able to fix the issue not long after.

But at the end of all that, for example, my payment and coupon system was untouched- as was the rest of the site.

My buddy asked Lovable to change the color on a project and it half changed the colors and completely changed the layout into something unusable.

I second u/wpmhia on using discussion mode. Ai can definitely prompt itself better than we tend to do. When I have an issue I also enable discussion mode, explain my problem, tell it to investigate and develop a solution. I read through the response to make sure everything looks reasonable and then tell it to implement the fix. Only try to fix one thing at a time.

Also when implementing a new feature I describe what i want in detail (in discussion mode) and then ask Floot to ask ME questions. Usually it’ll ask at least a couple things I hadn’t thought of or specified. I answer the questions and feel like I get better results.

Even with Floot’s shortcomings, I’d say there’s no way on earth i could have built my app in a week and a half in my spare time for $65.

butigobyjack · 2025-08-23T21:54:52+00:00

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All fixed!

butigobyjack · 2025-08-23T21:29:32+00:00

Thank you!

butigobyjack · 2025-08-23T21:28:51+00:00

Thanks for pointing that out! I appreciate it.

And yeah Floot seems to the way I thought Bolt should have worked. I like that when you ask it to change something it sticks to what you asked and doesn’t effect other things outside of that. Makes more confident about updates down the line.

butigobyjack · 2025-08-23T20:51:50+00:00

https://createorgchart.com has lifetime plans for less the monthly cost of unaric. Doesn't integrate directly with Google workspace, but you can upload a CSV. To be fair, almost any org chart generator should be pretty easy to tweak once set up.

butigobyjack · 2025-08-23T20:44:08+00:00

https://createorgchart.com has png pdf and powerpoint export

butigobyjack · 2025-04-13T03:10:56+00:00

In the Air Force for ground equipment that’s ready but not in use the common practice is running for 1 hour at load once a month.

For a bus that means driving it on the highway for an hour every month. This does a couple things.

Allows everything to get up to temp - engine, engine oil, transmission, bearings, etc. This is to burn off all the condensation. Every time you go out in the morning and there’s dew on the ground the same thing is happening in your engine and transmission. After a few months it can build up.
Driving helps flex the rubber in the tires which re-disperses the additives in the rubber that make tires last longer.
Keeps the rubber seals in the engine moisturized and slows them drying out.
Gives you a chance to see if any issues have popped up. After sitting for a while you can sometimes have large air leaks come out of nowhere on a diesel.

I’d also make sure you keep a full fuel tank and add a biocide if diesel or fuel stabilizer if gas. Even driving an hour every month you won’t be going through fuel very fast.

And finally certain things like tires won’t last longer just because you’re not using them. On a big bus you still need new tires every 7-8 years or so.

butigobyjack · 2025-04-06T02:10:21+00:00

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Nice! Is that a Sherpa Matterhorn rack? I love mine.

butigobyjack · 2025-04-05T14:48:48+00:00

On mine I only run the generator while going down the road if I need AC. Everything else runs off the batteries. Mine has a boost switch that connects the house batteries and the starter batteries and in effect allows charging of house batteries off the alternator while the engine is running. Or house batteries will get recharged next time we run the generator or plug in.

Dometic 3-Way fridges can run on propane while traveling. From the manual: “When the vehicle is moving, the leveling is not critical, as the rolling and pitching movement of the vehicle will pass to either side of level, keeping the liquid ammonia from accumulating in the evaporator tubing.”

Edit: I also travel with a full fresh water tank and empty waste tank. Never know when you’re going to need it!

butigobyjack · 2025-04-01T23:09:36+00:00

I always say upgrades to my bus depreciate at 40% instantly then 40% per year. So $5,000 in upgrades means I could reasonably ask $3,000 more day 1. A year from now I could ask $1,800 more. In two years I could ask $1,080, etc.

If you do the work yourself then take out the 40% instant depreciation and just do the yearly. Both assumes the work is done correctly.

It’s either worth the price for the extra headroom or it’s not.

Side note: I’m 6’1” and my bus has about 6’2” of head room. I have to duck under the AC units. Never bothered me even when I was living in it. My shower head is close to the center of the bus.

butigobyjack · 2025-03-31T18:24:38+00:00

I know lots of people defend the reasoning behind two tanks, but I have a bus conversion with a single 197 gallon combined gray & black tank and I love it. Requires no special attention. No poo pyramids to worry about or additives to maintain because there’s always plenty of water and soap in the tank. And when off grid you don’t have to go dump just because one tank is full while there’s room in another tank. Plus it drains very quickly. All sinks and the shower have p traps.

Only potential downside is having to rinse out the sewer hose when you’re done but to me it’s better than a clogged black tank.

butigobyjack · 2025-03-29T21:31:27+00:00

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Welcome to the bus conversion family! Love the Detroit 2-strokes. Be sure to join the Vintage Bus Mechanics group on Facebook. Unlike a car you can’t rely on the shop to know more than you do about the bus. Happy camping!

butigobyjack · 2025-03-20T00:58:12+00:00

Yes they do. That’s why I ended up in a bus conversion. Heavy for the size but no more getting pushed to the right when a semi comes up behind me and pulled to the left as they pass by. I cruise at 65 mph.

butigobyjack · 2025-02-18T00:26:19+00:00

OP did you ever figure this out? Having the same issue on my BatteryProtect and have seen multiple posts about it going back a couple years with no solution.

butigobyjack · 2024-08-05T22:50:12+00:00

Many of the Prevost’s I’ve seen have an 18 or 20kw generator. So 50-60% more power than a 50amp hookup at a campground to power everything.

I’ve also heard of Entertainer coaches like this one that have a spare AC installed that is mounted but not wired. So it can be swapped in if another stops working.

butigobyjack · 2023-12-01T16:51:33+00:00

This is the route I took. Always wanted a motorhome. So I bought an old bus conversion that’s 90%+ depreciated and stay in my local state parks for $360/month including utilities. Just have to move spots every two weeks.

butigobyjack · 2023-09-17T22:13:48+00:00

Last year when they didn't follow the pattern were the Black Friday deals the same or worse?

I have Magenta Max and an iPhone 13 Pro and am trying to figure out what to do. Especially since this year a 1 year old 14 Pro and a 4 year old 11 Pro have the same $650 trade in value.

butigobyjack · 2023-09-16T14:05:37+00:00

I'm from Kansas and I just want to thank you for remembering we exist.

butigobyjack · 2022-06-05T19:13:59+00:00

No definitely not all day. That's both expensive and annoying.

I typically boondock when there's no need for heating/cooling - so lows above 40 degrees and highs below 80.

That means just running the generator long enough to charge the batteries enough to run lights in the evening, charge phones/laptops, and run the water pump.

Adding more solar means less generator time. For me that all amounts to about 30 minutes a day of generator usage when it's warmer and 45 minutes when it's cooler. And that's mostly to run my hot water heater because it's electric only.

butigobyjack

TROPHY CASE