Van Life Office: 21+ Proven Hacks for Happy Mobile Workspaces
Thinking about taking your career on the road? Looking to create the perfect Van Life Office? We have some tips and tricks to create a comfortable, happy, productive, and completely mobile work environment to support your digital nomad dreams.
With the rapid rise in remote work and the equally rapid development of technology to facilitate it, more and more people are realizing that they can take their jobs on the road. Thus, we are seeing two lifestyles, often previously incompatible, merging: the van life and the digitally nomadic. Thanks to increasingly portable technology, the wide development of connectivity, and the growing willingness of organizations to untether their workforce, there have never been more jobs you can do remotely from a van.
Where, in the past, a van life job meant busking in the street or selling handmade trinkets at local markets, today, online freelancers known as digital nomads and salaried professionals working in 100% remote and location-independent roles known as corporate nomads are going full van life.
But doing your job from the back of a van doesn’t come without its challenges. Space constraints, a lack of wired internet, electricity, heat, and ambient noise can all be problematic when creating a space conducive to productive work. Luckily, there are plenty of things you can do to help create the most functional and productive space possible, even within a van.
Van Life Office Design
Choosing your van life office design and layout (or van life workspace) is a big decision, one that you generally only want to make once. Putting some time and thought into your van life office is going to pay dividends if you are planning to spend a lot of time working from the road.
Balancing your work needs with the other requirements for your van is a tough job as space is a scarce resource within the van, doubly so if you travel as a couple or family. If you only work occasionally or prefer to work from co-working spaces or cafes, you might not need much more than a stable table and some cushions to be able to work from the van from time to time. If you are planning on crushing 40 + hours a week from the van, an investment in a great van life office design makes sense.
You will need to think about how much space you will need at a minimum. If traveling with a partner, do you need two van life desks, or can you share one?
Right down a list of needs and a list of wants for your mobile office or van life workspace, and think about how much space these items will need.
These are the things to consider when designing your van life office. We have seen all types of van life offices or mobile offices and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
- Do I want to set up my van life office every day? Do I even have space to keep an office set up all the time?
- Will I need to be working at different times than other people in the van?
- Do I want to stand while working?
- Can I invest in a swivel seat?
- Do I want to sit on my bed and work all day?
The Work Bed
Probably the least productive and least ergonomic space that you can find in your van life build to work is your bed.
While this does save on space and money, you may regret it in the long run if you run into back pains, neck pains, and probably a long list of health problems that can occur if you sit in your bed working. Additionally, there are some other downsides to making the place where you sleep and relax also the place where you work. On the bright side, it is definitely the simplest and cheapest of all of the setups.
If you don’t need to work in your van regularly or don’t mind working from the bed, this can be an acceptable option.
If you are going to work from your bed, at a minimum, we recommend investing in a sit-up pillow and a sturdy laptop bed tray.
The Swivel Seat
A great way to save on space while creating a dedicated van workspace (and perhaps be on your way to a vansion) is to install a swivel seat in your van life office. A swivel seat essentially changes the position of either the driver’s or passenger’s seat (or both) into a chair for your van life office setup.
Beware, installing a swivel seat is a serious job, and DIYing may well contravene safety codes and regulations or even put you at risk. If you don’t know what you are doing, this job should be left to a professional.
Installing a swivel seat can be an expensive and time-consuming upgrade, but if you plan to carry out a 9 to 5 primarily from your van, it may be a worthwhile investment.
The Dedicated Office Space
Creating a dedicated van life workspace within the van is another option for nomads planning on working a lot from their vehicles. We have seen plenty of van designs that feature a dedicated office space. Not needing to fold up a bed or fold out a desk each time you need to work can be great, but it can also come at a cost. A dedicated workspace means less room for other essentials on board, so you may need to give up space in your kitchen, bedroom, or bathroom to fit in your workspace.
The Outdoor Office
If you are in an area with a good climate and plenty of nice outdoor spaces, taking advantage of an outdoor office can be a cheap and effective alternative or addition to an indoor van life office.
You will need protection from the elements, power, ergonomic seating, and a desk to create a comfortable outdoor space to work from.
We recommend using an awning with sidewalls and mesh mosquito nets, a powerboard with extension, an ergonomic fold-up chair with lumbar support, and a folding desk.
Best Van Life Office Gadgets
Working on the road doesn’t mean that it should be uncomfortable. Traveling and working in South America in our first van, we took it to the extreme and would work sitting in the front seat of our tiny Suzuki AVP. It was often dark and cold or bright and very hot, and it was always cramped and uncomfortable. Since that experience, we have put more thought into the design of our van life offices as well as the gadgets and gizmos that can really elevate your van life office and make work time as comfortable as possible.
Portable Monitor
Depending on your job, a portable monitor can be an extremely simple way to increase efficiency, allowing you to take care of work quickly and giving you more time for exploring new places. Thanks to today’s ever-shrinking tech, you can have a dual or even triple monitor without having to lug around a heavy piece of equipment and without taking up too much real estate on your makeshift desk.
Those with limited space may want to consider purchasing a dual monitor such as the SideTrak Swivel 14” that securely attaches to the back of your laptop. Others may want to purchase a flat, self-standing monitor that plugs right into their laptop, such as the Lenovo Think Vision M14.
Remember, when purchasing a dual monitor, make sure the monitor is compatible with your device. Also, be aware of how power-hungry your monitor is. Large high-definition monitors can draw a lot of power, so if you rely on solar power, make sure you balance performance with efficiency.
Ergonomic Computer Stand
Working from your van doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice your posture. Making sure to practice ergonomics even from the back of your van will save you in the long run. A simple, small, and portable computer stand will easily transform your table into a comfortable workspace, no matter where you are.
I have also traveled with more sophisticated laptop stands such as the Ergonomic Laptop Stand from Lifelong, but these days, I prefer the smaller, simpler, and far more portable Arae Laptop Stand, which costs less than $10 and folds down to a narrow 9-inch bar which can be easily stored.
Portable Keyboard
To go along with a laptop stand, we recommend grabbing a small portable keyboard. Cheap and portable, this will be a lot more comfortable on your arms, wrists, and hands than using the laptop keyboard while it is elevated or angled.
iClever Store‘s folding bluetooth keyboard takes up significantly less space than a standard ergonomic keyboard while still providing the same great benefits. If you have a more dedicated space in your van life office and do not plan on moving around a lot, then you may want to consider a fully ergonomic keyboard like the Microsoft Sculpt.
Ergonomic Mouse
An ergonomic keyboard goes hand in hand with an ergonomic mouse. If you want to make sure your wrists are free from future pain, then consider picking up an ergonomic mouse.
Posture Corrector
Staying on theme, the final piece of ergonomic equipment recommended for the modern van life office is a posture corrector. These simple devices can be hugely beneficial for you down the road, so to speak. A posture corrector, properly used, can help ensure working from the back of a cramped van doesn’t lead to back problems or posture problems later in life.
Posture correctors can be as simple as a harness that is tightened with velcro straps to a sophisticated device that can track your posture with an app.
Whichever one you pick, your future self will be thanking you for thinking of this gadget for your van life office.
Mobile Signal Booster
One of the best things about working remotely is your ability to work from anywhere, so long as you have a signal. We have worked from the rainforest of Bolivia to the Outback of Australia and now on a sailboat in the Mediterranean, all by simply hot-spotting off our phone using a mobile signal booster.
If you are unfamiliar with a mobile signal booster, a mobile signal booster basically uses an external antenna to pull the signal from the nearest cell tower and amplify it. Meaning if you can get even a faint signal, the mobile signal booster should be able to provide your phone and other connected devices with a strong signal.
As a result, you can stay in that remote, off-grid location and still get your work done. Purchasing a mobile signal booster is a cheaper option than purchasing mobile satellite internet, but if you have high bandwidth requirements, it may not cut it.
Starlink
Starlink provides dedicated mobile satellite internet specifically designed with vans, RVs, and campers in mind with its Starlink RV Product. With high speed, low latency coverage across North America, much of Europe, some parts of South America, Australia, New Zealand, and more and more coverage areas coming online all the time, Starlink is a great solution if your job requires stable, high-speed internet no matter where you are.
The initial hardware costs begin at $599 USD, and the ongoing service subscription is $135 USD per month. We haven’t used Starlink as mobile internet is (just) enough to run our virtual meetings, but it is something we keep an eye on, especially as prices come down, and for those people with high bandwidth needs, it may be one of the only viable solutions to working from your own van life office.
Bluetooth Headset
One of the best things you can invest in for your van life office is a high-quality headset. This is especially true if you spend your days in meetings, presentations, or classes.
You want a headset with noise-canceling capabilities to remove the distractions of your environment. You also want a headset with a quality microphone that will remove background noise from your conversations (believe it or not, your colleagues in the office do not want to hear the sounds of wheeling gulls, joyous laughter, and crashing waves in your background). The Jabra Evolve 2 ticks these boxes and more, including long battery life, comfortable design, and wide compatibility.
Power Bank
Working remotely isn’t always easy. You will face challenges that you otherwise would likely not face while working from home or at an office. One such challenge is balancing your power requirements. If you rely on solar power, then there may be days when you don’t get enough sun to run all of your electronics. Having a power bank on hand that is sufficient enough to give you at least one full charge on your laptop might just save you, depending on your job.
We recommend investing in a power bank with at least 50,000mAh capacity. You will also want to make sure that the power bank has the right ports to connect to your specific laptop.
Portable Ring Light
Do you need to be on video calls in your van life office? Consider grabbing a portable ring light to help with the notoriously terrible lighting on laptops (and in vans).
A portable right light will also come in handy if you are in the content business providing optimal light for vlogging or photos for the gram.
We recommend purchasing a portable ring light with a battery so that you can use the ring light wherever you are without draining the battery of your laptop.
A portable light is a perfect addition to your mobile office, making it just a little bit more professional.
Portable Printer
Depending on your line of work, having your own portable printer may come in handy. In fact, having your own personal portable printer will likely be handy for other things beyond work, depending on where you plan to travel by van, as finding a printer in this day and age can sometimes be quite difficult.
There is a range of thermal printers that cost significantly less than an actual printer, but the quality is generally a bit lower. If you need to have a printer for business needs, we recommend upgrading to a printer such as the HP OfficeJet 200 or even the HP OfficeJet 250 All-in-One for those who need copying and scanning abilities as well.
Perhaps a luxury item, but one that will be cherished if you run your own business or need to print regularly.
Pro tip – Make sure to stock up on a couple of cartridges if you plan to be on the road for a while.
Best Software and Apps for Elevating Your Van Life Office
Every day, another app is released that can make our lives just a little bit simpler. Here are some of the best, must-have apps for the modern van lifer holding down remote work.
Nord VPN – For Protecting Your Privacy
A VPN, like Nord VPN, serves a couple of important functions for people working remotely from the road.
Great if you are working from another country and don’t necessarily want your boss or colleagues to know you are not in the same time zone or even the same continent. A VPN also protects you if you are logging on to public wifi sources. And, of course, you can connect to all your favorite websites and streaming services back home.
Nord offers one of the fastest VPN networks on the market. It allows you to connect to the network with an unlimited number of devices, ensuring you are protected from all angles.
Clockify – For Recording Your Hours
Many digital nomads are contractors or freelancers, meaning tracking the amount of time you spend on a particular project is important if you want to get paid. Clockify makes tracking time simple to ensure accurate and timely billing, giving you more time to explore as you work from the road.
It can also be helpful just to keep an eye on how much you are working. As a notorious workaholic, I use Clockify to make sure I am not extending myself too far beyond my contracted hours, remembering to practice a bit of work-life balance, and taking time away from my van life office to explore.
World Time Buddy – For Not missing Meetings
Chances are your van life office will take you to some pretty epic places; however, those places may not necessarily be in the same time zone as the people you are working with. Having worked in a van across three separate continents, I know the hassle of scheduling meetings with time zone differences. Luckily, World Time Buddy takes away a lot of the pain of scheduling pain, allowing you to view up to four different time zones at a time.
Revolut – For Accessing Your Hard Earned Cash
It can be a bit disheartening to see so much of your hard-earned money get swallowed up by international transaction fees, ATM withdrawal fees, and very unattractive exchange rates. If your digital nomad travels outside your home country for extended periods of time, Revolut can significantly cut down on bank fees, international transaction fees, and currency conversion fees.
NPerf – For Staying Connected
Nperf is a website and mobile app that provides internet speed tests and network performance measurements for different types of internet connections, including mobile, fixed broadband, and Wi-Fi. It uses a range of metrics, including download and upload speeds, latency, and jitter, to provide a comprehensive view of network performance.
In addition to speed tests, Nperf also provides detailed maps and reports about network coverage and signal strength for different mobile carriers and internet service providers around the world. This can be particularly useful for people who are looking for reliable and fast internet connections while traveling or working remotely.
Nperf is available on both the web and as a mobile app for iOS and Android devices, and the basic speed test service is free to use.
WorkFrom – For finding Remote Work Spaces
WorkFrom is such a great app for van lifers trying to hold down a job from the road because it can tell you all the best remote workspaces on your route.
The community-driven platform provides information about coffee shops, coworking spaces, libraries, and anywhere else you might be able to set up shop for a few hours. The platform helps you find and share places to work based on a variety of factors like wifi speed, noise level, and overall ambiance. You can also add reviews and tips for other remote workers.
On top of workspaces, WorkFrom provides information, including job listings, productivity tips, and community events.
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Hopefully, you found some helpful information about creating your own perfectly productive van life office. If you have a great tip to share, please let us know in the comments below or send us an email at thevanabonds(a)thevanabondtales.com .
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Looking for more van life content? Check out these articles.
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- Is Van Life Dangerous? 6 Major Pitfalls, Risks and Dangers Of Van Life (and How to Avoid Them)
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