Any software devs, working from their RV?

[paries]

Hello,
I am a software dev, and looking at doing the fulltime RV thing.

I have a lot of questions.

Is this is a possible thing with the current mobile internet offerings. (PLEASE Starlink hurry)

So with my current work flow, i need to remotely connect to databases and AWS , and linux servers

Is anyone on this list doing something like this in their RV?

What has been your experience. Is this possible? What equipment are you using?

Thanks for any help/Information

[marymoon]

Great info here! My hubby is a SQL DBA and his job is now 100% remote, the last kid just graduated high school, and we're now in the planning stages of hitting the road for at least 2 months at a stretch. Other than finding a RV that can accommodate his workspace, reliable connectivity has been a major concern. Super stoked to see other IT gurus here able to work on the road. 🙂

[1492]

gkainz wrote:


Not here ... our CEO said "you all are doing such a good job as remote workers, we're not renewing our leases on a number of offices." So, many of us are now permanent remote workers. I was nearly that anyway, BC (Before Covid).

Prior to working remotely, my organization required permission to telework and limited primarily to one day a week. After being forced to implement a robust teleworking infrastructure for all our staff, my employer is finally realizing the benefits of remote work. And now saying that we will likely go to a split onsite/telework schedule for staff depending on our responsibilities. Since I work in IT, I can continue to theoretically work 100% remotely. Though know I will be asked to cover the office on some days when we fully reopen, as I have the shortest commute ~ 1.5hrs daily. Some of my office co-workers have commutes of up to 4hrs. :E The one thing no one misses?

[1492]

I've been 100% mobile data for over a decade, and work remotely for now. I now have AT&T mobile 4G broadband using a router (WiFi/Ethernet) w/400G monthly high-speed allowance before prioritizing.

My backup is Verizon Visible iPhone which has unlimited 4G data, though the speed is capped at 5MBs for hotspot tethering. Joining any Party Pay group w/4 members ends up costing only $25/month. You'll have to decide whether Visible 4G tethering speed is adequate.

It's going to depend on mobile signal availability, so personally like the idea of having two different mobile providers.

[philh]

Have multiple sources of internet.

For work priority is
1. work cell phone - Verizon hot spot
2. Personal hot spot modem - AT&T through OTR
3. Personal phone - AT&T Hot spot
4. Campground wifi.

[pconroy328]

paries wrote:

So with my current work flow, i need to remotely connect to databases and AWS , and linux servers

What tools? Command line or GUI based? When you connect to databases are you essentially using TOAD, MySQL Workbench or one of the dozen equivalents?

When you commit are they large commits? How often do you pull, etc? Are you doing anything that resembles an RDP or VNC style usage?

All of these are trying to get a handle on your network needs. Mine, when I do dev remotely, are very light. A morning pull/sync then work locally in the IDE and a push/commit maybe three or four times during the day.

If you're in the same boat, if your local machine is where the lion's share of dev is done, and then you occasionally connect to something else (github, aws, etc.) you're going to be in good shape.

An hour of Netflix will consume more network than my dev needs for a week. 🙂


The network hogs will be all of the fun stuff that happens during the day - zoom meetings. The daily standups are fast and usually camera off.

Just camp near a cell-tower. 🙂

[dedmiston]

paries wrote:
Thank you All.

This is some great info.

dedmiston , what do you use for a dataplan?

I forget the brand/model of the device. It's whatever was on sale at the time from AT&T. I bought it years ago when our kid was finishing up clinical studies and was doing an internship at a remote mental hospital (super creepy). A new facility had been built, but they still housed the students in the old abandoned hospital building (picture lots of big keys and heavy doors like a prison). There was no wifi there, so we bought the hotspot and paid for the plan. Years later after graduation, I asked for the device back since it wasn't being used anymore.

I think we pay $30/month for the all-you-can-eat-but-we're-gonna-throttle-you plan. It feels expensive, but I think we foolishly pay that much for my wife's iPad data plan too, so who am I to judge?

Our longest stint on the road was probably 10-12 weeks and we drained every single packet of data we could out of that thing, and I never could detect any throttling. I think they only throttle your speed if you're in a heavily impacted area and the cell tower is saturated. Presumably that's when they put you at the lowest priority in the queue.

If I thought I'd hit the cap and the speed was being throttled, I was ready to switch over to tethering from my phone, but that has never happened. I never bothered to run a speed check on the hotspot vs. the iPhone, but it always just feels faster than tethering. I have a hunch that the performance I see from the hotspot was just the hotspot's better transmit capabilities. I have to be pretty close to my phone to tether, but I just keep the hotspot in a tall cupboard in the fiver and the signal is as good in the garage of our toy hauler as it is in the front sleeper (or even outside in camp).

It's really been ideal for me for remote work. We've been able to see a lot of the country without me having to take off any time. I don't expect to have to go back to the office any time soon, because our open floor plan is a germ infested cesspool where one person with the sniffles will wipe us all out. Who knew that our old cubicle farms were so much healthier?

This thing has been a lifesaver for me though. It sure beats sitting at home.

[gkainz]

dedmiston wrote:
Business Systems Analyst here. I work weeks at a time from the RV all the time.

My hotspot has been rock solid for work during the day and streaming at night. I've tested lots of different conditions and haven't ever hit a data cap or been throttled yet.

I have to be strategic about the spots where I camp, but it's not too tough to find a hill or unobstructed valley where I'll get a good signal.

I don't recommend doing like Lwiddis suggests and trying to bill your employer, because they'll tell you to quit telecommuting (once the lockdown is over) and make you come back to the desk that they're already paying for.

Not here ... our CEO said "you all are doing such a good job as remote workers, we're not renewing our leases on a number of offices." So, many of us are now permanent remote workers. I was nearly that anyway, BC (Before Covid).

[paries]

Thank you All.

This is some great info.

dedmiston , what do you use for a dataplan?

[dedmiston]

Business Systems Analyst here. I work weeks at a time from the RV all the time.

My hotspot has been rock solid for work during the day and streaming at night. I've tested lots of different conditions and haven't ever hit a data cap or been throttled yet.

I have to be strategic about the spots where I camp, but it's not too tough to find a hill or unobstructed valley where I'll get a good signal.

I don't recommend doing like Lwiddis suggests and trying to bill your employer, because they'll tell you to quit telecommuting (once the lockdown is over) and make you come back to the desk that they're already paying for.

[rav]

DW does similar to what you are describing, we use a Visible Wireless for the hotspot and her phone for calls to customers. We just make sure to be in campgrounds with good cell coverage.
Check out Campendium for campground reviews that include cell coverage info
This year we added a cell booster and it has helped.

[Lwiddis]

It’s a business expense...get what you need. If you have an employer, have them pay for it. They are saving a bundle not having a physical office, parking spot etc. for you.

[rlw999]

I think there are many out there that do full or part-time work while RV'ing. I've learned to never rely on free campground Wifi, except that parks that have paid Wifi. I haven't found any free campground Wifi with internet service as good as I can get via cell -- I use a Wifi repeater and even when I have perfect Wifi signal, the campground Wifi is usually so oversubscribed that it's nearly useless for any interactive work.

When I'm on-call and know I have to be online, I check campground reviews to make sure cell coverage is good. I have an unlimited AT&T SIM, and in the summer when I'm traveling more, I also set up a pre-paid 16GB plan from Verizon in case AT&T isn't available.

Don't count on Starlink for the next year or so, I haven't seen any announcement for when (or even if) they will provide mobile service. Maybe when they get more satellites launched they'll allow mobile use, but for now, service is locked to a single cell (which is around 15 miles wide).

[valhalla360]

How much data do you have to move and how fast do you have to move it?

If you don't need rocket fast speeds and it's a couple dozen GB per month total...very much doable.

If you need rocket fast with low latency and move terabytes per month...not so much.

[gkainz]

Since I'm pretty much the sole Oracle DBA for my group, I've been doing this for years and my vacations in the RV always ended up being working vacations. Sometimes an "urgent request" might have to wait until the fish aren't biting and I make it back to shore again, but they know that.

I VPNed into the company network, then RDPed onto my office desktop, then reached out to everywhere I needed to be from there. Before picking a destination I checked reported cellular coverage and used my company phone on AT&T as a hotspot. One of my favorite campgrounds has absolutely ZERO cell service. I reserve that one when I really REALLY need to be left alone! 🙂