Well that was a productive day

I finally had a day off yesterday! So I made good use of it and did some more work to Sherman. At least when I'm working on Sherman, I can take my time and just putter along.

It wasn't the best day from a weather perspective, but it never rained, and it was probably a good thing that it wasn't too warm...it was actually pretty comfortable for doing some work.

This past spring, Sherman was having a problem with very annoying squealing engine belts. Only at start up, and the noise would disappear after 15 seconds or so. I was pretty sure it was coming from the power steering belts, which are almost impossible to adjust because you simply can't access the area. They seem tight enough though, and they look to be in good condition. But I spent some time with an emery cloth and roughed up the edges which were a bit glazed. And I tightened the alternator belt which did seem a bit loose. So hopefully that fixes the problem. I have no ambition to start removing the rad and fan assembly in order to change the power steering belts, so if that is what it will take to fix it, it will have to wait until we get to a good Mexican mechanic and I will pay to have the job done!

The second job was the new solar panel we had bought while on our trip to Florida in March. The original kit we had bought was two 80 watt panels, and the one I bought from eBay was an add on panel exactly the same as the two we already had. So I got the panel up on the roof and got it all wired up. They were calling for a chance of showers overnight, so I didn't actually attach it to the roof yet. But other than that it's wired up and working! Now we have our complete solar and battery system done! Power to spare! Already at 7:22 am with a clear sky we have 2.6 amps going in to the batteries, and at the peak of the day we will have close to 15 amps going in.