Forum Moderators: phranque
I would like to work as normal as possible while getting out there with my family. I can pay bills online and get paid by electronic methods, so I won't worry about being home by a calendar. I already realize cell data connections aren't ALWAYS going to work, and I may need wi-fi truck stops, cafes, etc. But I'd want a connection the majority of the time.
Looking at rv models and snow birds, I see lots of older gray haired people and the basic camping set ups but I haven't really found any example of a high tech rving internet entrepreneur. If anyone has seen or heard of an extreme example of this, or have any thoughts, I'd love to hear about it.
Laptop versus desktop is probably a matter of how much room you have.
The issues that concern me are security. First, you probably don't want to be using insecure networks.
Second, you'll be spending some time away from the RV, and you wouldn't want it to be broken into. I think that's a serious concern when you're talking about rolling your business and data around.
My plan is basically this... take both a laptop and desktop. Use encrypted external drives for whatever it is that I do. Routinely back up drives, and keep the laptop and external hard drives well hidden when not in use.
That way, you'd most likely only lose a pretty empty computer in the event of a break in. You'd still have the laptop to work from.
As far as access, you can also set up a satelite connection, but that might be less reliable than a cellular connection considering wooded areas you might have to deal with, and also rain... the most likely time you'd be in the rv working.
This is one of those cases where an old ugly rv on the outside, but fixed up on the inside, may be better. Like when I think about a remote house. You can have whatever you want inside something and maybe it won't be stolen as long as no one is interested in going inside to begin with.
I already do most of my daily work on a clean solar powered office setup with a laptop with added monitors and external drives already so that aspect is not a big change. I would probably buy a couple of spare parts to take along to avoid as many possible downtime hassles as I can.
An idea may be to carry a piece of junk to throw people off. Leave a beat up old x86 laptop sitting out and they may not bother to look any further because you look like a sad loser.
When you park your vehicle in remote places, leave an empty box of shotgun shells on the hood of your vehicle with a note saying something like:
Fred, I will circle around and meet you back here. If you bag anything fire two shots in the air. Good hunting! Jack.
That oughta do the trick.
I already do most of my daily work on a clean solar powered office setup
Not to move off topic, but I was interested in the solar powered unit you use to power your office. Is this a unit made specifically for computers, or is it part of a larger unit that powers the entire house?
I was on the road in the UK for about 3 months. I had a 3G Datacard (high speed cellphone network) on my laptop. It seemed that everywhere I was, the reception was poor and the speeds dropped down to well below dial-up access. This was true even in places where the maps said I should get high speed connections. In the end I found I would have to drive to Motorway (freeway) service stations to get decent reception. It's true I wasn't in one citiy during this time but even there the high-speed reception was barely usable. It was always a relief when I could get onto a phone point and use my 56K modem.
I didn't have wi-fi but there aren't very many places to use that over here - but I would get it if I went on the road again.
The other problem was the cost of using the 3G datacard. Paying for each Megabyte wasn't pleasant. I signed up for a service that compressed webpages/images (claimed to give broadband speed over a modem) and that made a huge difference to my costs (reduced magabytes used during browsing by a factor of five). I wish I had discovered gzipping my files and unzipping on the server rather than trying to FTP each (uncompressed) file up to the server, at the time.
SincerelySandy: Great to hear that someone is doing it. Sounds like you are doing what I want to do. Do you have a cell connection or anything to back up the satellite connection. The dish is reliable then? and can I ask for the model type or a rough cost estimate, upfront and monthly? I'm in my 30's as well and I do have my wife (photographer and assistant), baby (homeschooling) and a cat (a strange and very smart Persian that travels well and only does anything when given the okay) that would be coming along. We already work together in a bedroom office and are together just about 24/7 for many years now. The big issue on size for me is getting into the forest spots we love. We're not too thrilled about places that line up RVs one after the other. We go on 2-3 week trips in just a 4x4 Pathfinder, sleeping in the back and tents and are used to staying more "primitive" and of course the national parks as well. I think what I meant by high tech set-ups, is that it seems like someone would have built custom rvs by now. An office on wheels, work anywhere special version or something. You know how there are always niche markets in things. But I guess it's not really that necessary the further I get into it. Do you have solar power additions or just go by battery and generator?
I got a new laptop last summer that has pretty much replaced my desktop. I didn't think I could ever do it, but I don't even really know I'm on one with added monitor, keyboard, mouse, tv, burner, etc. It uses a fraction of the power that a desktop uses and that's what made it a lot easier to think about doing it by RV.
coho75: I'm a bit paranoid about the housing boom and no improvements in our power structure for a couple of decades. Not to even mention disasters, natural and man-made, I don't like relying on others to be able to run my business. And things like Katrina can leave people stressed or hurting far away from the actual event. So for peace of mind and a few thousand dollars, I have a separate power system just for my office. My goal is a whole house but I'm not in my dream place yet. This kind of setup allows you to move it later, even put it into a rental house with only one hole for cabling. If you use a laptop, a single solar panel can do it (which everyone should have for emergencies so at least they can work in daylight). I use a few panels, a good inverter (you want the better fine wave type that is good for computers, not the cheap ones. These provide better power than an electric company.) and batteries. I like to have enough to go a week, 24/7 without sunlight. But that depends on where you live too. I never go more than a day without sun in the southwest. You can use cheaper lead acid ones and store them in a ventilated outside area or use sealed glass master batteries. These are more expensive but you can store inside your living space, a closet a trunk or whatever. They do not outgas or leak. This just determines how long you can go in the dark or without much sun. Just keeping adding more stuff over the years as the tax deductions allow. If everyone just used the annual tax credits to buy stuff over time, we'd all be more self sufficient. Your panels charge and store power into the batteries which than feeds your office. Speaking of which, there is a great obscure federal tax break on energy related stuff for this year only (money spent in 2006 calender year). Look it up. Covers tons of stuff from hybrid cars to solar power to storm doors and simple insulation. Many pros don't even know about it.
From what I can see, the major cell phone players in the USA have data plans and some have unlimited use options. They aren't too bad, about $80 a month. You may not always have a connection but I think having a cell plan, a satellite system and locations of all the wifi spots out there, it may be safe.
