Van Office/Entertainment Centre

[Samro]

I have three kids (with my wife working from home as standard).

During the first "Lockdown", I ended up buying a cheap and tiny small form PC as an extra workstation for one of the kids, so that there were sufficient PC's in the house to deal with "Online Schooling" (I'm sure Home schooling is AKA "Roblox/Minecraft" but never caught them!)

With the latest "Lockdown", I feel that it would be very useful to transform my 'soon to be delivered' van into a "Home & Away Office."

I have most of the required kit ready- Schematics are drawn up and am happy with what is going to be installed............... I will have my inverter and wireless broadband in the van, but up until now have been thinking a laptop will suffice BUT what about if I use a small form PC and provide a neater solution which is integrated to the van?

If I get a nice monitor set up permanently on a bracket the B pillar and install a small form pc somewhere discrete then all i will need is a wireless keyboard and mouse and boom............. I will have mobile office, but also a great entertainment station whilst on the move. (Netflix Amazon Prime, etc.)

What I'd really like is to lose the small form pc in the van and fit some surface mount UBS ports. Has anyone done this? If so what kit did you use?

 

[Insert Coin]

Nothing really useful to add except I used my van as a mobile office from the end of April until the end of September. We parked up at Sandbanks harbour pretty much every day, popped the roof and the wife and kids did the beach, crabbing, paddleboarding etc and I worked with my laptop in the van, or in a camping chair next to my van.

It was absolutely the best 6 months of my life, almost like a 6 month long holiday. We cannot wait for this summer.

Enjoy!

 

[Samro]

Nothing really useful to add except I used my van as a mobile office from the end of April until the end of September. We parked up at Sandbanks harbour pretty much every day, popped the roof and the wife and kids did the beach, crabbing, paddleboarding etc and I worked with my laptop in the van, or in a camping chair next to my van.

It was absolutely the best 6 months of my life, almost like a 6 month long holiday. We cannot wait for this summer.

Enjoy!

View attachment 97905

#Insert Coin. Did you simply use a laptop like normal people?

(My wife just looked over my shoulder and muttered “FFS...normal people just use a laptop” then slightly increased the volume to normal levels to enquire “Do we need that? Couldn’t you just use your laptop darling?”

 

[JOG]

I have three kids (with my wife working from home as standard).

During the first "Lockdown", I ended up buying a cheap and tiny small form PC as an extra workstation for one of the kids, so that there were sufficient PC's in the house to deal with "Online Schooling" (I'm sure Home schooling is AKA "Roblox/Minecraft" but never caught them!)

With the latest "Lockdown", I feel that it would be very useful to transform my 'soon to be delivered' van into a "Home & Away Office."

I have most of the required kit ready- Schematics are drawn up and am happy with what is going to be installed............... I will have my inverter and wireless broadband in the van, but up until now have been thinking a laptop will suffice BUT what about if I use a small form PC and provide a neater solution which is integrated to the van?

If I get a nice monitor set up permanently on a bracket the B pillar and install a small form pc somewhere discrete then all i will need is a wireless keyboard and mouse and boom............. I will have mobile office, but also a great entertainment station whilst on the move. (Netflix Amazon Prime, etc.)

What I'd really like is to lose the small form pc in the van and fit some surface mount UBS ports. Has anyone done this? If so what kit did you use?

Pick up an EHU cable. It’s really easy to add a pick-up point under the bonnet (by the battery) and then thread the cable into the cabin. That would allow you get power to van for a computer and heater

 

[Insert Coin]

#Insert Coin. Did you simply use a laptop like normal people?

(My wife just looked over my shoulder and muttered “FFS...normal people just use a laptop” then slightly increased the volume to normal levels to enquire “Do we need that? Couldn’t you just use your laptop darling?”

I’ve got a leisure battery and a few powerbanks to keep everything powered up for the day, plus a Webasto for when things got chilly.

I only need a laptop and then hotspot my phone, we took a stove top coffee maker and gas stove, chiller box with snacks and a pee bottle for when you can’t hold on any longer.

Just thinking back, we started using the van at the end of lockdown, so early May, not April.

The views from the office window are great