Benson, AZ - TT

Saturday - A short travel day to one of our favorite RV parks in Benson, AZ. We are only here for a couple of days due to the windshield delays but I’m not going to complain. No windshield issues on the three day trip. The pool and hot tub here are fantastic. Nice and warm with everything working. This is the first place we’ve been in a long time where everything works. 

The task for today was washing the Jeep. After all the trips behind the RV and all around Texas, it was pretty filthy. This park charges a $10 fee if you want to wash your car but at least it’s an option. The soft top precludes running it through a car wash though I have used the “no touch” automatic washes without any noticeable issues. 

It really feels like a vacation right now. A few more tasks tomorrow. 

Sunday - Since the temperatures are dropping, I rewired the solar panels from one series string of four panels to two strings of two panels. As the temperature drops, the voltage of the panels increase. And there is a chance that the voltage with the four panels in series could exceed the maximum input voltage of the charge controller. Breaking up the panels into two strings of two cuts the voltage in half. The downside is that it increases the current through the long run to the charge controller which increases the resistive loss. But that’s better than damaging the controller. 

I replaced the burner in the rear furnace. That isn’t the reason why it won’t run but I noticed that it was starting to burn out when I disassembled it. At that time, I just ordered a replacement part. This time, I was able to measure 12VDC at the circuit breaker within the furnace. I will check the furnace signal connection within the rear A/C unit as that is how it communicates with the thermostat. But now, I’m sitting by the pool & hot tub. 

I did need to add another 1/2 liter of ATF fluid to the hydraulic reservoir. That’s after driving ~600+ miles. Tomorrow, we have ~300 miles and then another 120 miles to our next longer stop. 

Later - For some reason, the rear furnace now works. I messed around with the wiring but didn’t find any problem. I don’t like these kind of problems..