When you decide to live full-time in an RV and work from the road, one of the first considerations is, “Where in the RV can I work?”
Sure, you picture working in shorts, a T-shirt, sunglasses, and flip-flops from your Zero Gravity chair under the awning, your trusty notebook computer being all you need. Most of us road warriors have tried a variation on that idea and found it wanting for serious gainful work.
In my own case, I went overboard in the opposite direction, and while living aboard a large Class A diesel coach, thought I could bring aboard everything from a set of law books to Edward Gibbon’s The History of the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. I carried the unexpurgated Oxford English Dictionary, the works of Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, and Kurt Vonnegut, not to mention years of The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books. Oh, and a printer. And a manual typewriter (just in case).
I removed probably more than a ton of office flotsam and jetsam when I sold the coach. I only had room for a MacBook in the new RV, so most everything had to be left behind, which begs the question: What do you really need in an office on the road? Where can you have an actual office space in your RV?
RV manufacturers are beginning to address this issue by designing dedicated office space into new coaches, travel trailers, and fifth wheels (like these). But what to do if you have to provide for your office in a standard-configured RV?
We decided to reach out to you to get your comments on how you’ve set up your RV workspace.
Please vote in today’s poll, then fill out the form beneath the poll. Submit a photo of your RV’s workspace and share with us a short description. Tell us if your RV came with the workspace, if you built or added it on, or if you just use a regular ol’ table for your “office.” We’ll share these photos later. (It’s okay if it’s messy. Nobody is judging!)
Send us a photo of your RV’s office/work space
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NO, I retired. My truck tailgate is my work bench for those little fix it jobs.
Not a work-on-the-road person, but I applaud the move towards new designs for RVs, a nice change from the ‘sleep-12-somehow and let’s-have-a -U-shaped-dinette’ designs. Hoo-ray.
We both worked full time in our first RV (43′ DP) and lived in it full time for 8 montbs while our house was built. That RV had a dedicated computer/work station, including a cubby for a smallish printer. We both retired in early 2018 and traded RVs last summer. The new RV is 7 feet shorter and has no dedicated computer/work area. That’s okay because we no longer work while traveling. Instead we read books, magazines, and RV Travel, walk the dog, and watch YouTube videos (sometimes about people working from their RV).
Thanks for including us in your day, Neal. We appreciate that, and we appreciate you! Have a great day! 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
You are very welcome, Diane, and thank you, too!
You’re welcome, Neal. Take care. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
I retired that means no work except for minor repairs to the 5er and at home when there. At 28′ there’s not much room to have a work space. I saw a 40′ 5er with an office space in the rear it was better than any office space I worked in in 45 years.
I don’t do a lot of work when traveling, but when I do need to do some, I usually sit in my recliner with my laptop. It’s mostly just correspondence stuff or research for something I’m working on. I do carry an external hard drive.
I’m five years away from retirement in IT and need space for at least one – if not two – >30″ computer monitors. Wanting this in a 5th wheel that’s ~30-35ft and can be towed loaded by my Ford F350 (load sticker ~3400 lbs), is a bit challenging. I do like the floor plan of Grand Design’s Reflection 320MKS but that’s right at my length/weight limit. Would love any other suggestions, especially a “quality” model made in 2019 or earlier.
We removed the unused/catch-all sofa across the back end of our 5th wheel and put in a small desk for our printer and an area for my wife to paint in. With the sofa lighting and windows on 3 sides of the area, it provides nearly always perfect lighting for her painting.
I use the kitchen table. It’s the most valuable horizonal surface in the trailer for the both of us, especially when there’s paper work or surfing to be done. Therefore I keep a TV tray on the side for additional space. Works well.
Retired but wherever we are setting becomes our own little workspace, mainly for the wife to do her different craft projects she brings along. Mine is mostly where ever I can find a place to sit.
What is Work?
Work, just another 4 letter word.
When we’re in the RV the only thing I work on is my nap. Getting pretty good at it too.
I’m retired so don’t want or need one and am happy about it!