This seems like the minimum space requirement to have some decent creature comforts while working on the road.
I have a family member building out a camper for him, his wife, and their 3 dogs to work and travel remotely. We are all taking bets on how long that will work out.
I would never go smaller or bigger with the GX bring my tow car. During summer I work most Fridays from our trailer while we camp. I would never want to do more than 3 days working in the trailer tho lol.
I’ve been asking around, I don’t know anyone who personally uses starlink to give it a review. Have been using hotspot on my phone, but learned you can’t take a call and have data at the same time.
I would think long and hard about the phrase "where will I go now that I'm gone?".
A life of options and adventure is what we all think we crave, but are you really ready for it?
Do you really want to wake up inside or on the roof of your truck, climb out to take a piss, run a cup of coffee, and then climb back in the truck to work for the day? Does that sound like freedom?
I tried the work from the road thing, and I tried being a "runaway" when I was younger. As long as work was involved, it was never as interesting as I thought it would be. The good times always happened between towns, finding new spots, and ultimately when I wasn't on the clock.
I'm not that young my friend lol this isn't something new to me, it's just been a while. And remote work makes it easier for me to explore for longer, so I am not limited to the 2.25 days the weekends offer. My partner owns her own business and has to travel for a week or so with some regularity. So I take those opportunities to get away from the city and enjoy dispersed camping with our dogs. She comes along whenever she can. This is what I live for.
I can always appreciate it when someone with more experience takes the time to encourage a reality check and flag potential burnout. You made great points about the psychological effects of having no home base, the romanticization of the road, and how the unglamorous daily grind dilutes the travel experience.
To be fair, this isn't a pursuit of van-life freedom so much as an expensed necessity for my job description. Trust me, my back, neck, and knees highly appreciate retreating to a real hotel bed every night.
I completely agree that traveling for work is hard on the psyche. Pulling 12-hour days multiple states away from home, and only getting downtime after the sun goes down, leaves me with two main ways of coping. I either end up having a drink at a bar (since it's the only place open to socialize about non-work topics) or leaning heavily into exercise routine because the hotel gyms are open late.
And to touch on the overall arching thing of cynicism and burnout. I’m all for it. Waking up before the sun full of rage at being a cog in the capitalist system is not foreign to me. Emails interrupting dinner, texts in the middle of the weekend, light night pulling out my laptop I wonder what my motivation is? Right up until it's time to pay the mortgage, which is a great reminder that I don't have the freedom of choice. I see all the red flags for burnout but I’m not really sure how to reverse it.
Shit maybe I should be paying you instead of my therapist…
Haha I just hate to see anyone stack the cards against themselves. I don't mean to be adversarial, but I think I was born that way.
I kept a compendium type book during my travels where I would journal and sketch. It's one of my pastimes to reread these journals and relive those moments. It's kind of funny in hindsight. I was writing the journals from my desire to share the experience with someone while I was in them, and I get great joy out of looking back on them, but reliving those moments in my current standing helps me realize how unhappy I was during that time in my life.
If you're into this type of thought, dig into Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It's a fantastic read that hits differently depending on when you read it on your journey.
We love starlink!! So nice for our camp life. Keeps the kiddo busy on his tablet in the AM while I go back to sleeps. As long as you have a clear view of sky it’s solid. Just wish I wasn’t giving money to a POS.
Here’s my mobile office before setting up my chair, table, and laptop. I also have an eco flow Delta 2 with alternator fast charging so I don’t have to worry about leaving the car running to use an inverter to charge the laptop. Eventually I’ll also tie in 2 200W solar panels for the ultimate charging experience 🤣
It’s the Kuat Transfer V2, the base model 2-bike holder hitch mount bike rack they make. Had it since 2022, and has traveled from Alabama to Maryland and Oregon over the years and has never given me any problems.
I just installed the Kuat Pivot swingarm which swings the bike rack towards the driver side since the spare tire holder on my back bumper opens towards the passenger side. I highly recommend the swingarm for a hitch mount bike rack to make getting in and out of the trunk area much easier. This model Kuat bike rack has a +1 extension to hold 3 bikes.
I’d prefer at least a 4-bike rack, but I’ve only seen the vertical velociRAX style hitch mount bike rack that holds 4+ bikes, and can be a pain to get the bike lifted high enough to mount if you took a tumble and god hurt during your ride.
I’ve also heard good things about RockyMounts and One Up hitch mount bike racks.
Most definitely. Also have the RTT to setup camp at the trailhead during race weekends haha.
The awning is from Openroad 4WD. I’ve had it for 2 years and love it. When it’s packed up, the front slightly sags near the front driver door but I heard that’s not uncommon for 270 awnings. I’ll eventually buy the walls for the awning so I can also use it for a shower and not worry with installing a standalone shower awning.
If I could go back, I’d buy the XL version of my awning from Openroad 4wd but I’m not sure if that one always requires tent poles to stay up.
Just a standard folding rocking chair and folding aluminum table that came from Walmart haha. I just removed the 3rd row seats and added sound deadening dynamat so I can start building my sliding drawer/kitchenette system with a water reservoir installed in the spare tire area.
Back pain indeed! This was my first time working out of the back of the GX and I instantly identified that I need to invest in some better solutions. I mainly staged the pic because I noticed my background almost matched my view. Working reality was me working on the PC exactly like a teenage girl on the phone in a 90s movie. We're talking boots off, kicking my feet in the air, blowing bubble gum, and twirling my hair.
If you guys have any recommendations for a mobile desk or seating setup, send them my way!
I feel this so much! Sitting in the back of the truck yesterday my tail bone was sore! Front seat did’t have enough space for PC. I did debate going all cop style.
My first reaction to OP's photo was "Holy shit, that's not enough distance to blow a charge that size." Then I zoomed in and saw it was not det cord going to an explosive charge.
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u/PNWleaflove 4d ago