How I Turned My Car Into a Mobile Office To Work from the Beach

Living on a Caribbean island, beach days are not to be ignored. In my previous job in engineering, I often worked in the field, so I adapted those experiences to create a mobile office. Now, working from the beach is one of the most amazing feelings ever.

The Requirements for a Rolling Office

The reason I opted to become a writer in the first place was because I hated being tied to an office desk. Doing it for a while, you learn some useful work-from-home tips, like the beach is always better than an office. Of course, there are some benefits to being in an office. If I wanted to make this remote-office-work-from-the-beach thing a reality, I’d need to break down the essentials and figure out how to make it work. To this end, I figured I’d need four core elements to turn my car into a remote work office:

• Computer
• Internet
• Charging Station
• Air Conditioning

With this plan in mind, I set about making it happen.

Getting a Workstation That Doesn’t Feel Like Molasses

Acer Nitro 5

I’ve always been someone who enjoys not having to wait a million years for my files to load. Given that I travel a lot and enjoy writing during my travels, having a reliable laptop is crucial. I have an Acer Nitro 5, although it’s more because it loads stuff quickly than for gaming. However, my laptop only manages about two hours of power on a full charge, which makes a charging solution essential.

The downside of having a beefy laptop is that it doesn’t manage battery power very well, even after taking steps to improve the battery life. My Nitro 5 only has a two-and-a-half-hour operating window at full charge. Having it fully charged before I start work is one thing, but I usually can’t finish doing what I want to with a mere 2.5 hours of juice. Luckily, I found a way around that problem, which I’ll mention later.

Securing Proper Wi-Fi From a Hot-spot

For internet access, I use a mobile plan that allows me to connect from anywhere within my country. The convenience of mobile internet cannot be overstated, especially when working remotely. My mobile provider offers a robust network with widespread coverage, which is crucial for maintaining productivity. And luckily, I know how to tell my mobile internet is being throttled and avoid it.

While some areas have patchy internet access, most beaches surprisingly do not. On most of the beaches I frequent, the signal strength is excellent, allowing me to stay connected and productive. I get decent speeds for both uploads and downloads, which is important for my work. The internet speeds are reliable and consistent.

An Electric Car Makes For a Great Charging Solution

Car parked on a beach in Trinidad

Remember how that beefy laptop of mine needs a charging solution? It turns out that having a hybrid car helps with that. Two conveniently located charging ports allow me to use my car like a giant generator (which I guess it is). The battery system on my car can power more than just my laptop, so I don’t have to worry about whether my phone is going to run out of juice while hot-spotting my laptop. It’s one of the things I considered before buying an electric hybrid.

I use an inverter to convert my car’s power into a form suitable for my laptop and phone. This setup is incredibly efficient and ensures that I never run out of battery while working. The inverter is compact and easy to use, plugging directly into the car’s power outlet and providing a reliable power source for all my electronic devices. I don’t have to worry about losing power with this setup as long as my car has gas in the tank. However, as I mentioned above, you don’t need this is your laptop has a long enough battery life, or can simply charge from a power bank or other USB source without the need for a power brick and AC inverter.

Dealing With the Heat on the Beach

The shoreline at Plymouth, Tobago

Caribbean beaches can have punishing heat. While it’s fun to work in a car on the beach, the heat is no joke. Cars become like little greenhouses, and the temperature inside one of them during the height of the day can become sweltering. Luckily, air conditioning came to my rescue.

The air conditioning in my car is a lifesaver, allowing me to work comfortably even on the hottest days. It’s also incredibly refreshing to come back from a swim in the sea and dry off in the cool air conditioning. This not only helps me stay focused on my work but also makes the experience more enjoyable overall. It’s no joke to say without proper air conditioning inside my car, this whole enterprise of working from the beach would have fallen apart. This is, of course, really only practical in an electic car, since running your gas-powered car to power the air conditioner is expensive and inefficient.

The Pros and Cons Of Working From The Beach In a Car

Balandra Bay, Trinidad

Nothing is ever easy, and that includes working from the beach. There are a few pros and cons that I encountered that showed me the positives and negatives of working from a remote office car.

The Beach Is Right There

I love the beach, but I don’t get to see it as much as I’d like. Being near the water has a calming effect, which helps reduce stress and improve creativity. Additionally, there are many places nearby where I can acquire food or drinks. Besides, there’s just something awesome about being able to work from the beach when I want to.

It Takes A While To Get There

Depending on which beach I decide to work from, my transit time will vary. This is even when I use Google Maps for traffic reports, mind you. The closest beach to my home is around fifteen minutes away by car, but some of the beaches I’ve worked from were on the other side of the island. That means two to three hours of transit time each way. That’s more than if I was working in a regular office.

Getting Steps In Is Easy

Working as a writer means sitting down and plugging away at the keyboard until you get something that works. Naturally, this means getting up and walking around is the only workout I get during the workday. It’s a lot nicer to cover two miles of shoreline for a walk than it is to walk up and down the apartment.

Not Great For Zoom Meetings

I’ve had several scheduled Zoom meetings with partners and clients from the car, and I’d say that it’s terrible as a place to have a meeting. This is partially due to the connection, of course. Using a mobile hot spot for the internet doesn’t work well with streaming audio and video, and I usually have to end up sacrificing one or the other.

Not Perfect, But Not Bad

While it’s not the perfect setup, it’s not a terrible way to spend a day. Working from the beach can have some mental health benefits, and being able to do it anytime you want is worth the hassle of an hour-long drive (or more). You might have someplace you want to visit during your work day, and setting up your office like this is a great way to see the world while getting the job done. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I did write this sitting on the beach.