Another RV office setup

[Neal]

I've been through various options for putting an office in my RV as I'm a full time software developer among other things. I've had my jackknife sofa out and a 72" updesk in its place, loved it for work, hated it for social. I recently discovered VIVO products as discussed in another thread and they have a dual monitor stand that I'd figure I would try. My main monitor from home, this trip, is a LG 32" with the secondary a 27" LG. Laptops are just too small for me typically but they can also be put in use simultaneously or drive the monitors, however, I have my PC tower with me this trip.

This one works great as it really keeps the desk space clear, umm, I mean dinette space as there are no monitor stands in the way other than the one in the corner. The problem is it's a pain to setup and take down to stow for travel that at the beginning of the trip I said nope, not gonna keep doing this. I've gotten the process down now and we'll see what I do next trip. With the PC tower on the other side and the slight hassle of this I don't use the dinette when guests are over for dinner, I use nice tray tables I learned of from @Chuggs but can't remember the name of them. This is a nice work setup, I like it, the dual monitor layout and clear desk space is nice. It's yet another option.

Amazon.com

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Keyboard is a logitech mx keys mini:

Amazon.com

Mouse is the new "quiet click" (love it!) MX Master 3S

Amazon.com

 

[Neal]

Found the tray table by Manchester woods. Cracker Barrel sells them now, got mine from Amazon but no longer listed.

shop.crackerbarrel.com: Manchester Wood Portable Folding Work/Laptop Desk - Cracker Barrel

Find product details, reviews, and more for this solid wood Manchester Wood Portable Folding Work/Laptop Desk at shop.crackerbarrel.com. Free shipping over 75

shop.crackerbarrel.com

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

We’ve been using the dinette as the desk for a few years - and some tray tables for eating (but not as nice as the tables you linked to).

Moving the monitors off the dinette when traveling is the most annoying part (if that 90 second activity is considered annoying).

Have looked at monitor stands that could be anchored to the wall or dinette top. Our dinette is stone so it isn’t easily drillable. Our top is bolted/anchored to the wall, it does not collapse for a “bed”. So we have solid material to work with, but been trying to determine how much stress 2 monitors will place on a stand while driving down the road. I tend towards over doing things, so I haven’t convinced myself or my Bride that the multiple hundred $ effort to keep monitors anchored would be worth it - to save 90 seconds each time we setup/tear down for travel.

Love the setup you have!

 

[Scotttkd2]

Literally just ordered this as I am no longer able to sit in a Lazy Boy and use a laptop. I really missed my old standing workstation anyway so will give it a go. Will update once it arrives.

Amazon.com

 

[Jim]

That's nice Neal. Question, what do you use the Stream Deck for?

 

[Neal]

That's nice Neal. Question, what do you use the Stream Deck for?

Mainly day trading but learning it for other uses such as software development, etc.

Edit: I'll also use it for video editing when I get back into that. It has content packs (in their plugin gallery) to use with DaVinci Resolve, etc.

 

[Neal]

End of trip report. I like the setup. I learned how to manage the monitors to get them to/from the bed without them flopping around. It certainly optimized my desk space and gave me a nice dual monitor setup.

I really need to evaluate my computer use in the future and not need the tower. I need to either find a new laptop, or use my existing aging Dell XPS 17, or try a Mac Studio when they come out with the M4 and that would give me both Mac and Windows (via Parallels or Fusion (now free)). Someday I'm going to figure this out!

 

[DennisT]

Parallels works great on a Mac.

Have a Mac laptop with the Apple M2 chip that runs well. Have four virtual computers running, 3 windows and one Linux.

Microsoft has a version of windows that runs on the apple silicone when using parallels or something like it.

Backups of the virtual machines are easy since you just copy the one file and done.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

After years/decades of using only Microsoft operating system machines at work, decided to try using a Mac in the work environment early this year.
After a little adjustment I am loving it.
There are a couple things that I cannot do natively on the Mac and need a virtual machine to use those applications, but overall I have more time to be productive as I spend less time trying to debug windows.
And the recent issues with Crowdstrike? Many o-workers on windows struggled for a few days, but I don’t have a single hiccup.

Used to live tinkering with TSRs back in the DOS days, ini files in the Win3.x days, registry settings, etc - but that was getting old and tiring for me.
Now I can just do the work that pays the bills.

 

[Jim]

I like it, the dual monitor layout and clear desk space is nice. It's yet another option.

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Another quick question. How do the monitors connect to the Dell laptop? Are you using a docking station or do they plug directly into the Dell?