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Great Spots to work from...in the van

Sunstoner

Sunstoner

Messages
410
Location
Nottinghamshire
Vehicle
T6 Ocean 199 4 motion
Hi All

I think this is my first new thread *gulp*

Managing an internet business for the last 5 years Im mostly homebased with some travel to meet suppliers around the UK when early this year it struck me that something like a Cali would be thee ideal.

Although running the business for 5 years I have been been working from home full time for the past 10 years and I've realised that practically not leaving my house over this period has me going nuts!

So....out of nowhere early this year my wife and I started looking at the idea of a Campervan and I quickly realised that it ticks many many boxes from a work perspective but also having 2 young children it presents some new fabulous opportunities for getaways too.

Apologies about the background there! The reason im posting is because my plan is to work from different locations a few times a month from the van to break up the monotony of being homebased . The priorities of which would be :

  1. Great view, scenic spot
  2. Good mobile reception
  3. Nearby public loos
  4. Safe secure spot
+ anything else anyone can think of whilst working away for the day!

There are tons of info and advice on campsites and places to visit and stayover online but ive not come across a great deal that caters for days away working in/from the van.

I quite possibly have not looked hard enough so I do apologise if this is staring me in the face. If so, it would be fab if someone could point it out to me or I thought we could maybe start a new something. I know there are many mobile Cali workers so it'd great to see a list of good places to work from.

To be sure that this viable, we have hired 3 VW campers earlier this year, 1 conversion and 2 Californias and I've found at least 2 places to which are fab to work from :

It would be great to hear if anyone has other suggestions for where to work from. It could/would be very useful for those seeking to work away for the day (or longer).

:thumb

Steve
 
Hi All

I think this is my first new thread *gulp*

Managing an internet business for the last 5 years Im mostly homebased with some travel to meet suppliers around the UK when early this year it struck me that something like a Cali would be thee ideal.

Although running the business for 5 years I have been been working from home full time for the past 10 years and I've realised that practically not leaving my house over this period has me going nuts!

So....out of nowhere early this year my wife and I started looking at the idea of a Campervan and I quickly realised that it ticks many many boxes from a work perspective but also having 2 young children it presents some new fabulous opportunities for getaways too.

Apologies about the background there! The reason im posting is because my plan is to work from different locations a few times a month from the van to break up the monotony of being homebased . The priorities of which would be :

  1. Great view, scenic spot
  2. Good mobile reception
  3. Nearby public loos
  4. Safe secure spot
+ anything else anyone can think of whilst working away for the day!

There are tons of info and advice on campsites and places to visit and stayover online but ive not come across a great deal that caters for days away working in/from the van.

I quite possibly have not looked hard enough so I do apologise if this is staring me in the face. If so, it would be fab if someone could point it out to me or I thought we could maybe start a new something. I know there are many mobile Cali workers so it'd great to see a list of good places to work from.

To be sure that this viable, we have hired 3 VW campers earlier this year, 1 conversion and 2 Californias and I've found at least 2 places to which are fab to work from :

It would be great to hear if anyone has other suggestions for where to work from. It could/would be very useful for those seeking to work away for the day (or longer).

:thumb

Steve
Hi & :welcome Good thread, it would be useful to have a rough idea of mileage you’re considering for a day venue :)
 
Hi & :welcome Good thread, it would be useful to have a rough idea of mileage you’re considering for a day venue :)

Being based in Nottinghamshire, near Doncaster. I wont be day tripping down to Cornwall :D. But Id say a maximum of about 3 hour drive.

It'd be great to try and build a list of places round the UK for Cali mobile officing (rubbish word alert) types to refer to.:):thumb
 
The loo requirement will be your limiting factor: I’d drop that and take a washing detergent bottle or something and pull the blinds down if necessary. Otherwise you’ll be stuck to busy areas with parking charges and meh public loos. There’s always the pub car park option though if you can find one with a view: you’re not far from the Peak District or Lincolnshire coast. We go away a lot in ours for extended periods and get some work done most days: it’s a brilliant office inside or out.
 
The loo requirement will be your limiting factor: I’d drop that and take a washing detergent bottle or something and pull the blinds down if necessary. Otherwise you’ll be stuck to busy areas with parking charges and meh public loos. There’s always the pub car park option though if you can find one with a view: you’re not far from the Peak District or Lincolnshire coast. We go away a lot in ours for extended periods and get some work done most days: it’s a brilliant office inside or out.

Great points re Loos. :) .Ive so much to pickup so its great to get advice from those who have been there, done it and are still doing it!.:thumb

Are those portable loos an option?

We have often spent time on the Lincolnshire coast. We do love a bit of Mablethorpe and 'Skeggy' plus Filey and Whitby further north too and yes we're less than an hour away from the Peak District so theres lots of places to discover.

Roll on next year when we get our van! :happy
 
Are those portable loos an option?

People say so and even keep them in their kitchen cupboard and do No 2s in them :Depressed: personally we don’t have one and I’m sure you could manage with a bottle or a folding bucket.
 
Hi All

I think this is my first new thread *gulp*

Managing an internet business for the last 5 years Im mostly homebased with some travel to meet suppliers around the UK when early this year it struck me that something like a Cali would be thee ideal.

Although running the business for 5 years I have been been working from home full time for the past 10 years and I've realised that practically not leaving my house over this period has me going nuts!

So....out of nowhere early this year my wife and I started looking at the idea of a Campervan and I quickly realised that it ticks many many boxes from a work perspective but also having 2 young children it presents some new fabulous opportunities for getaways too.

Apologies about the background there! The reason im posting is because my plan is to work from different locations a few times a month from the van to break up the monotony of being homebased . The priorities of which would be :

  1. Great view, scenic spot
  2. Good mobile reception
  3. Nearby public loos
  4. Safe secure spot
+ anything else anyone can think of whilst working away for the day!

There are tons of info and advice on campsites and places to visit and stayover online but ive not come across a great deal that caters for days away working in/from the van.

I quite possibly have not looked hard enough so I do apologise if this is staring me in the face. If so, it would be fab if someone could point it out to me or I thought we could maybe start a new something. I know there are many mobile Cali workers so it'd great to see a list of good places to work from.

To be sure that this viable, we have hired 3 VW campers earlier this year, 1 conversion and 2 Californias and I've found at least 2 places to which are fab to work from :

It would be great to hear if anyone has other suggestions for where to work from. It could/would be very useful for those seeking to work away for the day (or longer).

:thumb

Steve
I've thought about doing this myself, I'm a software developer so don't need to be in the office, most days I'm working on servers in another country anyway. We got our van about 6 months ago, not had chance to work from home recently but plan to soon. Post some pics if you end up going for it.
 
Bridlington Park and Ride south of the town is a great location for a sea view and beach. Unfortunately closed from now until the spring.
When open has loos and ice creams.
Sorry about the picture, not sure why it’s on it’s side!544E5E3F-A2C4-4BA7-A8B0-311B169EE914.jpeg
 
For the portable toilet question, various forum members seem to use (in increasing size)
- Bog-in-a-Bag
- Bivvy Loo (
)
- Thetford Porta Potti 355
And since the group is such an inventive lot, quite a few other solutions too I suspect :)
I ended up with the first two above and find them basic but fine.
Plenty of forum posts on the options if you use the search feature.
The feeling of inspiration from finding a great place to park up does wonders for work productivity
 
What’s wrong with the built in inverter? That only offers 50 watts more.
Pointless converting 12v to 240v just to use usb points
 
What’s wrong with the built in inverter? That only offers 50 watts more.
Pointless converting 12v to 240v just to use usb points

Northing wrong with that at all. That works on a hook up. I use this to charge mine or the kids laptops when driving about
 
The whole point of the built in inverter is that it works when not on hook up.
 
What’s wrong with the built in inverter? That only offers 50 watts more.
Pointless converting 12v to 240v just to use usb points
How does the inverter work? Does it just work off the leisure battery? We haven't got used it but it would be really handy for remote working. Great tip thanks
 
Yes connected to the two leisure batteries, limited to 150watts
 
Sunstoner - not sure if there are rules against it but you could join the National Trust and use their car parks/visitor facilities free of charge. Clumber Park is a good example near(ish) you.
 
Sunstoner - not sure if there are rules against it but you could join the National Trust and use their car parks/visitor facilities free of charge. Clumber Park is a good example near(ish) you.

Great idea! Id not thought of using National trust sites. I am a member and usually they are set in lovely ample grounds such as Clumber Park.

They can be pretty relaxing places to be too. Only 1 BIG issue with Clumber is that its a signal black spot. There is possibly somewhere there where a signal can be found. Great idea if I can make it work though. Needs investigating further :thumb
 
I do this a lot especially this time of year now that all the tourists have gone home. I prefer beach side locations and I often pop over to Woolacombe beach, Widemouth bay (near Bude) , Appledore and also up on Dartmoor.

All of these places I get better interet than at home so ends up being more productive going out!

Edit: Just realised these are a bit far for the OP ..sorry

4fea802736fbb19be3e09a6031fe2c68.jpg
b70103f00a3c7b45c13437b02af4586e.jpg
 
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