Working from the Road

One of the features that first caught our attention on the Brinkley was the bedroom dresser desk conversion. What was designed as a simple drop-in workspace quickly became Tina's full-time office.

Located at the foot of the bed beneath one of our favorite windows in the RV, it provides plenty of natural light and a surprisingly comfortable place to spend the workday. Add a closing bedroom door and dedicated air conditioning, and it becomes a quiet office that stays completely separate from the rest of the trailer.

The real game changer came when we discovered the magic of a curved 34" monitor. Working from an RV means every inch matters, and the curved display allows Tina to run the equivalent of multiple monitors while taking up far less desk space than a traditional setup.

Combined with her laptop screen, she enjoys the same multi-monitor workflow she had at home without filling the RV with office equipment. It's one of those rare situations where less space actually forced us into a smarter solution.

Who knew a dresser at the foot of the bed could become a professional office with a better view than most corner suites?

Unlike Tina's office, mine sits right in the middle of the action.

The Brinkley's "Dinesk"—a convertible dining table and workstation—serves as the foundation of my office. During the workday it becomes a full-time workspace, complete with the same 34" curved monitor setup that allows me to run the equivalent of three screens while keeping the footprint surprisingly small.

Positioned in the main living area, it gives me a front-row seat to whatever is happening around the campground. Between the large windows and the patio door just a few feet away, the office rarely feels confined—even during long workdays.

One of my favorite features is the location. When it's time to step away from the keyboard, the rear patio is literally a few steps from my desk. Whether it's a quick break, a chance to stretch my legs, or simply a few minutes to appreciate wherever we've parked this week, the transition from work mode to camp mode happens almost instantly.

At the end of the day, the office disappears just as quickly. The desk rolls back into dining room duty in seconds, ready for dinner, card games, trip planning, or whatever adventure comes next.

Not many offices can go from conference room to campground in under a minute.

If there is one piece of technology that makes our lifestyle possible, it's Starlink.

We've been working from the road for years and have tried just about every internet solution available. Campground WiFi, public WiFi, phone hotspots, cellular routers, external antennas, signal boosters—you name it, we've probably tested it.

Some worked occasionally.  Some worked surprisingly well.
None worked consistently enough for two full-time professionals whose jobs depend on being online every day.

Starlink changed everything.

Today, internet availability is rarely the deciding factor in where we stay. Whether we're parked in the desert, deep in the mountains, or miles from the nearest town, Starlink provides the reliable connection we need to attend meetings, transfer files, answer emails, and put in a full day of work.

Performance varies by location, but even the slowest speeds we've experienced have been more than sufficient for our needs. Most of the time, it's fast enough that we completely forget we're working from an RV.

Simply put, without Starlink, this lifestyle doesn't happen. It isn't a luxury for us—it's the foundation that makes working from the road possible.

While many of our stops include RV parks with full hookups, some of our favorite destinations don't come with a power pedestal.

In the RV world, that's called boondocking—camping without access to utilities and relying entirely on the resources you bring with you.

For us, that means our electrical system has to do more than keep the lights on. It has to support two full-time workstations, Starlink internet, laptops, monitors, cameras, phones, and all the other gadgets that seem to multiply when you work from the road.

To make that possible, we've upgraded our Brinkley with 560 amp-hours of lithium batteries and 1,400 watts of solar. During normal conditions, the solar system easily keeps our batteries charged while we work, allowing us to stay off-grid for extended periods without sacrificing the comforts of home—or the ability to earn a living.

Of course, Mother Nature doesn't always cooperate. For those stretches of cloudy weather or the occasional high-demand day, we carry a 4,800-watt portable generator as a backup.

The goal isn't to see how long we can survive without power.

The goal is to have enough power that we don't have to think about it.

Solar panels, lithium batteries, shore power, generators, 12-volt systems, 120-volt appliances—modern RV electrical systems can get complicated in a hurry.

Fortunately, managing all of that isn't our job.

That's where Victron comes in.

The Victron system serves as the central nervous system of our RV, automatically directing power where it's needed, keeping the batteries charged, monitoring system health, and ensuring everything works together whether we're plugged into a campground pedestal or parked miles from the nearest outlet.

The best technology is the technology you never have to think about, and that's exactly what this system provides. It quietly handles the complicated stuff so we can focus on work, travel, and deciding where to park next.

While I'd love to take credit for the installation, this one was well beyond my expertise. The entire system was designed and installed by JR and the team at Off The Grid RVs in Quartzsite.

They built a system that simply works—and when your office, home, and travel plans all depend on reliable power, that's exactly what you want.