I have fulltime remote job, and I want to boondock fulltime...

[I_did_that]

Has anyone tried to bookdock fulltime while also having fulltime remote job? I currently rv fulltime, and have lived mostly at private campgrounds. For Summer, I really want to bookdock fulltime at state campgrounds.

My big concern is 1) reliable internet connection and 2) power supply. To address the 1st concern I bought Starlink. For 2nd one, I'm thinking of buying gas generator. Should I buy 2x generators, or can I rely on just 1? I don't want to risk missing work because my only generator died on me, so I was thinking of having a backup generator.

Pls let me know.

 

[Larry N.]

One potential problem with this is that many state and national parks have a 14 day limit, and a lot of them don't allow generators in at least some areas, virtually none of them allow all night gennys.

Since you are currently full timing I'm sure you've already figured out water and sewer, and fuel for the generator(s).

Internet access varies a lot, as you have apparently discovered, so hopefully the Starlink will do it for you. Depending on the job, you may also need to consider cell phone reception, which is scant at many such parks.

Good luck.

 

[darsben]

Where do you intend to do this? I see you are from Texas. Parts of West Texas have no cell service. Starlink is about your only alternative. Plenty of 12 volt backup so the jenny doesn't have to run. Alternatively think solar and a backup generator

 

[Martian]

You seem to be putting tons of effort to avoid being in an office. How much has it cost you so far to avoid going into an office? Is it worth it?

 

[I_did_that]

Where do you intend to do this? I see you are from Texas. Parts of West Texas have no cell service. Starlink is about your only alternative. Plenty of 12 volt backup so the jenny doesn't have to run. Alternatively think solar and a backup generator

I plan to do this in NM. The state campgrounds here is really scenic, which is why I'm very motivated to make this endeavor work

 

[I_did_that]

You seem to be putting tons of effort to avoid being in an office. How much has it cost you so far to avoid going into an office? Is it worth it?

My job was advertised as remote job when I applied for it (I'm in tech). I've never been in the office of my Company, nor have I met anyone in my Company face-to-face. This could change tomorrow if my Company demands we come back to the office

 

[Reinigm]

My job was advertised as remote job when I applied for it (I'm in tech). I've never been in the office of my Company, nor have I met anyone in my Company face-to-face. This could change tomorrow if my Company demands we come back to the office

Just curious, you say you are in Tech. What trade or business are you in? And have you received a check yet?

 

[jackiemac]

We met a guy who had a great solar set up despite a smaller trailer and he managed boondocking really well. It can be done.

 

[Henry J Fate]

unless i am missing details here..... relying on generator power seems a bit too much. my feeling is that you need a good power plan that would be backed up / complimented by a generator.

battery storage is at the top of the list. solar and wind power would be next.

whatever your plan is, a second generator for a back up is always handy.

air conditioning is by far the biggest problem when boondocking. you will need generator power for your air conditioning. all other essentials should be from storage.

 

[darsben]

I plan to do this in NM. The state campgrounds here is really scenic, which is why I'm very motivated to make this endeavor work

NM has some great state parks. My favorite is Bottomless lake state park

 

[DeckArtist]

I plan to do this in NM. The state campgrounds here is really scenic, which is why I'm very motivated to make this endeavor work

I am from NM and have camped all over the state. No wonder you wanna do what you are planning. It is a gorgeous state when it comes to scenery and camping!

 

[JudyJB]

I agree that battery storage is more important than buying a second generator or even trying to use a single generator all day. Most state parks, even in NM, will have limited generator hours. Having some solar is a good idea, anyway, but solar won't do you much good unless you can store power for cloudy or rainy days.

Actually, you are a lot better in NM state parks to buy an annual camping pass. As an out-of-stater, it will cost you $225, and will give you free access to non-electric sites. However, with that pass, getting an electric site will cost you only $4 per night additional. But remember that there is a 14 day limit in every NM state park, so you will have to move every 14 days. Also, you need to make reservations very very quickly if you plan on doing that this summer, as spots go very quickly and many are probably already gone.

And it is true that summer is a hot time in NM, although sticking to the north might help. Also, right now, some parks are having water problems, and you will have to make sure you have cell service as well. If you are going to be online 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, you will quickly run out of the data allowance on your cell phone, so that can be a problem. (I worked a half-time job until two years ago and was online 5+ hours a day, so I had two hotspots with separate lines to get enough data.)

And as I tell anyone planning on working online a long way from civilization, consider the need for backup equipment--extra mouse, extra laptop, etc. I know about this because my hard drive once died on Okracoke Island in the Outer Banks of NC. It was a 1.5 hour ferry ride and a two-hour drive to a big store to buy a cheap backup laptop. The Dell service guy had to bring me a new hard drive and install it, but only after I took that ferry ride back to the mainland, and drove to Virginia Beach. Luckily, I had backed up my data recently, but it took several days to get back in business.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Have you checked on state wildlife areas?

 

[jymbee]

You seem to be putting tons of effort to avoid being in an office. How much has it cost you so far to avoid going into an office? Is it worth it?

You call that effort? I spent over $25k to get high speed Internet (long story) to my office at home. Result: I was able to work at home for a number of years with only a five hour drive to HQ around once a month. Definitely worth it to me.

There are many jobs, especially tech related, where an on-site presence is not needed or required. Different world these days...

 

[Skookum]

Some people can't understand remote work nor can they understand the changing nature of different types of modern work, in general. It's not worth listening to them, IMO.

Not all jobs can be done remotely, but I'm a firm believer that the jobs that can be done remotely, should have the option to be done remotely. Those of us who work remotely do just fine, thanks.

We spend a few months of the year on the road while working. You won't catch us boondocking. We carry Starlink as well as a commercial-grade Cellular modem with service through 2 carriers, and both of us have dedicated office setups that we deploy. It works...because we make it work. We are on-time, fully available, and we have working hours. We make life comfortable/easy outside of work because that's where we relax and recharge.

The boondocking thing....eh, probably not a great setup for a full-time tech worker. Your life will become about being chased from place to place, charging batteries, and finding a reliable water and dump source.

Staying in a campground with hookups, and moving place to place when you want to - that's where it's at, IMO. It should cost you less than renting a place, and many places will offer a monthly rate if you choose to stay. Electric is sometimes metered and charged separately, considering summer AC usage and such.

 

[jymbee]

Staying in a campground with hookups, and moving place to place when you want to - that's where it's at, IMO.

Different strokes of course but that's exactly the way we look at it.

 

[Skookum]

Good point...didn't mean to snub the OP's idea there. If it's a hobby, a dream, sure, it can be done if there's a will. There's liquid-fuel generators and huge battery/generators and solar, and water storage, and everything to make it happen if one wants to live the boondock life. We've taken the easy path

One caveat about Starlink, although it has gotten better, obstructions (trees, buildings, mountains, etc) will cause service to drop intermittently. That doesn't work well for video calls or hosted applications like Citrix, so the area will need to be nearly obstruction-free. We've found that to be harder than it sounds. This is why we carry cellular as a backup, although, there obviously needs to be good service in order for that to work.

 

[JudyJB]

I taught online college classes in a classroom for 13 years, then developed and taught the same class at home online for 10 years, and continued teaching online for 9 years while living and traveling in my motorhome. I quit two years ago because I got tired of what i called stupid student questions.

Mostly, I posted text, PowerPoint, or video lectures, readings, and assignments every Monday, with assignments due the following Monday. Most of the time, I was uploading fairly small files and then downloading student papers. This stuff does not take a lot of bandwidth. However, live Zoom meetings and using Zoom and other software to watch live student presentations was a BIG problem because I had to have excellent internet or I would get cut off with a dozen students online wondering what happened to me. And sometimes students would get cut off in the middle of a presentation, which also was awkward and worrisome for them. In certain places, I had to drive out for the day to a town where I could get better service so a session would not get interrupted so often. It got easier when the assignments changed to recorded videos that I could view at my leisure. (Occasionally, I had to view presentations after midnight when the internet signals were stronger because they were less busy.)

My point is that you need to analyze the kind of work you do and how long each day you really need to be online. Do you have to upload and download extremely large files? Do you work with customers who will get upset if they cannot easily reach you online? Can you work offline some of the time, as I did when I graded papers? Or do you have to be always on screen working with others?? If the latter, then it will take a lot more bandwidth and much more reliable internet. If you have to be on screen working with others most of the time, you will probably need two kinds of internet options, for example, satellite and internet through a cell service hotspot.

And you will also be limited as to where you can stay. (Hint: Verizon and other services sometimes "stretch the truth" about coverage. And I found commercial campgrounds are even worse. One told me they had excellent internet, but that turned out to be true only in the laundry room! Try conducting a meeting in a laundry room!

 

[Kirk]

My job was advertised as remote job when I applied for it (I'm in tech). I've never been in the office of my Company, nor have I met anyone in my Company face-to-face.

My oldest son worked for a toll road software company for 3 years and never met anyone face-to-face or saw the office he worked for.

 

[garyb1st]

If you haven't heard of Xcapers, a group of younger RVers, many of whom are full time and work remotely I recommend you check them out. Xscapers - While I'm not a member, my guess is the group will be able to answer any question you have. Xcapers is an offshoot of the larger Escapee RV group, of which many of the Forum members are also members.