The year 2020 set a drastically new tone for many companies’ ability to delegate and task work in a format that doesn’t require going into the office. A new age of work has begun in which many people who didn’t formally have the flexibility to work from home, now can. With this shift in freedom comes an even greater shift. Without the daily grind and pull into the office, people are feeling the freedom to explore new and unique living and travel opportunities like never before. For many people, work-from-home has come to mean work-on-the-road. People are getting the chance to see the world, work from hostels, and live adventurously.
For others, the opportunity to travel and work from the road sounds amazing but the “roughing and toughing it” aspects, don’t suit their lifestyle preferences. Luckily, there are more diverse options for travel life than ever before. Traveling around the US in a luxury RV may be the perfect fit for those who crave a lifestyle of adventure, flexibility, and travel, all while maintaining a certain standard of style, luxury, and amenities.
Now more than ever, traveling and working from your RV is a lifestyle that is available to more than just freelancers and entrepreneurs. Even individuals still working the typical 9-5 grind have the opportunity to work on the road. So, how do you work from home in a luxury RV? Below are a few tips and tricks.
Set up reliable wifi/cell signal.
Relying on wifi at campgrounds is notoriously unreliable, and if you do secure wifi, it’s sometimes not consistent or trusty enough to stake your job performance on. The number one thing you will need in your RV work-from-home setup is a data plan. From there, you can use your cellular data plan to hotspot your devices. Some people have found, however, that their cellular hot spot is not trusty enough to endure the bandwidth that a video conference might take up without asking other family members to avoid using data during that time. The solution to that is purchasing a mobile hotspot router, which is a stand-alone device that allows you to share the signal with more than 10 devices and provides a much more stable connection than a phone hot spot. Other people choose to purchase a cell signal booster or a wifi booster to help increase their chances of reliable internet service.
Set up a proper workspace.
It’s important to have an established place to work in your luxury RV. Many professionals recommend choosing a space that isn’t your bed, and if you’re going to work from the road, you might as well pick a workspace spot that has a good view of the outdoors. Elevating your laptop so you’re not hunched over or using an additional monitor is another way to improve your experience. If there’s no room to have a dedicated workspace in the RV, find a place to store your laptop and tools when you’re not working so it makes the space more livable and organized.
Set realistic expectations for travel.
If you are working a typical 9-5, then it may make more sense to drive the RV to a new spot on the weekends. Don’t be afraid to stay for a bit in each place you stop. Many full-time RVers recommend staying in a spot for at least two weeks to make the most of each place. This will make it easier to stop long enough to enjoy and explore. Some campsites even have discounted rates for extended stays, so you can use this to your advantage. If you do not work a typical 9-5, your travel days may have a little more flexibility. You can split up driving days and dedicated working days as you please, even if that means working over the weekend. Many full-time RVers don’t recommend arriving at a place after dark, so be strategic in how you plan your travel days. Additionally, driving more than four to five hours in a day can be tiring, so it may not be super realistic to plan to work and drive on the same days.
Set aside time for work and recreation.
One complaint that people who work from the road regularly run into is work/life boundaries. Because they are not going into an office, it can become increasingly difficult to not blur the lines and be increasingly available to work at all times. Establishing set work times allows for employees to get the job done, but creates healthy boundaries for their out-of-office times too. Despite the glorified idea of life on the road, many RVers find that if they don’t schedule it, it doesn’t happen. Whether you’re surfing, kayaking, paddleboarding, hiking, or sightseeing make sure you plan your time in each destination so no adventure falls through the cracks!
