Day 8 - Benson, AZ - TT

We've been here at the Valley Vista RV Resort in Benson, AZ, for a week. Today, they had a barbecue chicken lunch with all the food provided by the campground. It wasn't bad but it was a free lunch. It has been partial overcast for most of the time that we've been here but surprisingly, the solar panels have been almost able to keep the batteries charged. By almost, I mean that it completes the bulk charge phase but doesn't complete the absorption phase. I'm thinking that with the lower sun angle, I may need a couple of hundred watts of additional solar panels in addition to the four hundred currently on the roof. I had sized the whole system to support eight hundred watts. We'll see how things go while boondocking in Quartzite next week. It's common to tilt the panels to compensate for the lower incidence angle of the sun but the loss is about 35% relative to the summer solstice. In my opinion, if you have the roof area, just add more panels and not mess with tilting. If you don’t have the roof area, tilting is your only option.

Even though it has been partial overcast, it still doesn't prevent me from taking advantage of the jacuzzi. The water temperature is around 104°F so pretty nice. Today, I was asked if I was from Canada as they seem to be the only ones who take advantage of the pool. They were from Quebec and travel around the U.S. in their Mercedes chassis class B motorhome. Another nice, relaxing day.