RV Office setup 2025 edition

[Neal]

I'm 1-2 weeks away from departure to unknown for 1-3 months. During this trip I'm determined to figure out my more streamlined computer setup. I love love love my PC towers but I hate the space it takes in the RV and the power requirements which are not ideal for boondocking, etc. even though I have a solid solar and LiFePO4 setup. I still need to conserve power as the sun doesn't always shine This trip I am taking along my usual PC tower which will be on standby but I'm taking two new options one of which will be returned, possibly both will be returned.

New option 1: The new ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 gaming laptop (ASUS site info) with the RTX 5090. Very expensive monster but it will be my tower replacement and gives me the option of patio work, trading, etc. And of course mobile options at home too.

New option 2: Apple Mac Mini M4 with 4 TB drive and 48 GB RAM. This will run either VMWare Fusion (which is free) or Parallels Desktop Pro (small annual fee). I've always used VMWare Fusion but I think I may give Parallels a try this time around.

The nice thing about the Mac Mini is it can go in the dinette cabinet where the laptop pull out tray is and stay out of site and will be better with heat and noise. The laptop would go in front of me and serve as a second monitor to my new LG 45 inch monitor which I love.

While I hate having too many computers to keep up to date with my developer tools etc. I really want to clean up my RV setup....maybe. What I have works and is no cost. Obviously this is going to be a 3-5K cost to go with someone new that will be a powerful yet more tidy arrangement in the compact space of a RV.

We'll see how it goes. I bought both of the above knowing one or both will be returned.

 

[Trav_lr]

I my experience, after some driveway experimenting, I found my laptop to be the most versatile and easist to store for my needs. If I want a large monitor, I can plug into my 42" TV with an HDMI cable or even my outside TV. I also have an HP wireless bluetooth monochrome laser printer, about the size of a large shoe box, and an Iriscan Pro full duplex portable scanner. Everything stows away in a bedroom drawer. A couple of weeks ago, I needed to send documents by fax but my laptop doesn't have a modem.... so a $20 fax modem delivered to an Amazon drop box, a part that might get used twice a year at most..... Oh well!

 

[Swipular]

I too develop software so spend a good bit of time at the screen. I've found while traveling that a laptop is the easiest way to go. I've gotten so used to it that it's all I use now even when home. When I first switched to a laptop I went with one of those gaming monsters but now use a 15 inch laptop. It's much lighter and smaller to pack and carry.

 

[flyboy013]

I too do software development, CAD design, 3d printing, etc, although mainly for fun. While my MacBook is my primary computer, I also have a Beelink S12 running Proxmox. It’s low power and low heat and can be connected to the TV and a keyboard if needed. It allows me to spin up any needed servers. And with proxmox there are many existing images (databases, proxy servers, graphical tools, etc) I can load if needed.

 

[redbaron]

Neal: I have found that remote computing works really well. The type of work I do varies between development, documenting, graphic design, and database.

I have a cluster of Proxmox servers in my datacenter already, with GPU's and high bandwidth. I use the spice connector and my laptop is just a terminal. I have 2 additional screens on the laptop for expansion of display/multimonitor. The CAD/Graphic work is amazingly fast, and I can do this with starlink bandwidth.

I know you have a datacenter already--might consider trying that.

Like Flyboy, I also carry a small Beelink for adhoc projects locally, but find that the bandwidth intensive stuff and data intensive is best left in the datacenter and accessed remotely.

 

[Neal]

Interesting idea! Thanks.

 

[Neal]

Update: 25 JUNE 2025

I got the ASUS laptop, it is really nice. But it is hard to justify because what I already own will work just fine. I really hate practical thinking. The display is gorgeous, love the track pad, but it's just not necessary.

The Apple Mac Mini M4 Pro is enroute, later arrival than expected so it's holding up my departure. However, I did some tests with my MacBook Pro M1 MAX that I already own, it does just fine and in some research, it actually outperforms the newer M4 Mac Mini especially with GPU. So it's going back without even being opened.

I just saved a ton of money and I didn't even switch to Geico!

 

[DennisT]

It is hard to pare down the hardware

At one time, when starting my Oracle consulting life, I could have run a lot of businesses out of my house with all the towers, VM Ware, software, etc.

Now just my Mac Pro laptop and kept the older trash can style Mac tower for video editing.

Unless they changes them again, the Mac mini can’t be opened to upgrade memory etc if desired. Had a couple older ones that were.

Also read that Apple is going to discontinue support for the intel based hardware in the future - don’t remember how long.

 

[Neal]

It is hard to let go, I really love Windows 11 and developing on it, I also really like macOS. I know I can do it all on a mac, did so years ago via VMWare Fusion, setting up Parallels Desktop Pro this time around. Just have rocking windows towers (2) but hate the clutter in the RV. So we'll see how this upcoming trip goes. I do have a Windows laptop (Dell XPS 1700) which is very nice but never use it but it's always fast and does the job too. A bit of a hoarding issue, no surprise there.

 

[Neal]

I was hoping since the Mac Mini is being returned I could find some reason to keep the ASUS laptop. Sadly, or not, Parallels Desktop Pro is working out very nice so far on this MacBook Pro M1 MAX. The other sad fact is my ole trusty Dell laptop is perfectly fine as backup. Okay, now to install 84 million windows apps.

Interesting note, this is Windows 11 ARM in Parallels on the Apple Silicon based laptop. Never used it, so far so good.

 

[DennisT]

Yes, Win 11 runs very well on the M1 Max - same one I have been running for more than a couple years.

Shouldn’t see the issue but there was a problem at one time where the Windows updates would not work on the Apple silicone Parallels installs. That has been corrected by Microsoft and there was a registry update to work around it as well that the Parallels team provided.

 

[Neal]

Update: Windows 11 ARM via Parallels Desktop "works" but it's not ideal compared to what I'm used to. Therefore as I have Windows loaded up, it will serve as a backup at this time. I still have until late July to make final decisions on keep vs. return but it seems the expensive ASUS ROG Scar 18 is going to serve my needs well. The MacBook Pro has its advantage as much of my development these days can be done on a Mac (for Windows, Web, iOS, and Android). Some things I use still require Windows such as finances/accounting, and other less important apps run better on a powerful Windows machine such as DaVinci Resolve Studio, etc.

So the ASUS laptop is now loaded and I have to say, I am impressed. The included RTX 5090 (the laptop version is more like a desktop 4080 I hear) but it's driving the 45 in monitor perfectly, as good as my tower, and the 18" laptop display is beyond amazing. The laptop is super fast, I have it dialed up to max performance, the fan noise is there but it's more of a wind noise vs coil whine. Noise cancelling headphones/ear buds and good music can solve that problem with a positive outcome.

This solves a problem I have with a tower and all the cables adding so much clutter but also the power the tower pulls with it's large power supply is not insignificant.

In the end, it's a very expensive solution especially with adding a 4 TB SSD and upgrading RAM, I don't even want to do the math but I'm doing it while I can and things will taper off in the future and drive more to Mac most likely. But that's for later...as with anything, do it while you can as later in life everything becomes more difficult in one way or another.

Waiting on a few packages to arrive then I hit the road and put this all to the test and restore sanity finally getting out in the coach again.

 

[Neal]

Follow up to this thread and my continued efforts of creating a functional office in my RV for a software developer and day trader. I have enjoyed the ASUS laptop for the little time I've used it with it's large 18 inch screen, nice trackpad, keyboard, etc. I have 2 x 17.3 4K portable monitors that could easily extend my display for the information I mainly need for day trading but also comes in handy with software development as we are constantly search, referencing, etc. in the land of software development.

A short trip of several weeks was planned, which I'm now on, and I really didn't feel the need to bring along this 45 inch 5K/2K LG monitor I bought earlier this year mainly for the RV as it prevented my need for multiple monitors, a PC tower, etc. Then I figured yeah, I need to take this on this trip as I need to figure out my office setup plan if I take off for several months this winter, I need to know what I want to do so this trip is a proving ground for the latest iteration of work in the RV. So I loaded up the 45 inch monitor being very careful as I'm already two monitors into LG's repair center for RV related damages (frig handle and stomping on brakes one time).

The wonderful and insanely expensive ASUS ROG STRIX SCAR 18 laptop with NVidia 5090, additional (expensive) 4 TB SSD, and RAM upgrade died two days into the trip. Now what? Thankfully I put Windows on my Mac (post above) and have that as backup. I need Windows for various reasons. I thought about bringing my old Dell XPS 17 along and chose not to, it will come along in the future for backup. Several calls with ASUS, it's dead, has to be sent in which they are covering. I think the motherboard is dead. The mac is serving me well and I'm glad I brought the 45 inch monitor after all, while the 16 inch MacBook Pro is fine, I really prefer some screen real-estate.

The monitor is the main topic of this post, eventually getting to this and as you can see in the pictures, it's a perfect setup for the dinette, assuming no one else is with you. The curvature of this monitor is nice, although some call it aggressive, I like it. The monitor has a soft cover for transport and it goes on the bed, actually in Elli's dog bed to keep it from sliding around.

I still think just the ASUS laptop would be fine but I will never be able to trust it. I really don't want to be bringing my PC tower along and won't as I've spent far too much money on this new laptop, it has to work.

So that's the update...the monitor is a win.