Anyone have a mobile office in their truck?

Cell phone in the dash pocket and laptop on the console. What else do you need?

Need internet access, find a wireless hotspot (preferably public, but anything "open" will do in a pinch) and then move on when your done. Or, if you can justify it, get an account so you can use your cell as a modem. Very pricey, but there are some fairly reasonable connections available that way now...

 

I rarely print things, so never crossed my mind.

I guess if I needed to, I would stop at a Kinkos or something, and lots of truck stops now have hot-spots and printers (for a small fee) as well as Coffee shops and such.

You can also get small portable printers for not too much money. I think most are intended for use in a hotel room, so not sure about 12V. But they would probably run fine off a 500W (or even less) inverter I would guess. Never noticed how many amps they draw though... But if your going to get serious about a full featured mobile office, a larger inverter would probably be a good idea anyway.

 

Well, I have a 12V 12 pack cooler... will that do?

 

Here's a thought I've pondered once or twice. Get an inexpensive older laptop on ebay or something. Either semi-permanent mount it using a vehicle mount, or disassemble and integrate it with your dash/console depending on interest level and/or skills. Then you've got a DVD player, 12-14" screen GPS, MP3 player (use as second system for the wife who prefers Maroon 5 to my Sammy Hagar?), non-3D game machine (card, tetris, and so on) for the wife and kids on a trip. Wired into the diagnostic port for instant review of engine parameters.

All sorts of possibilities. And you can get them for well under $4-500. Much cheaper than a in-dash GPS with 6" screen or integrated DVD player systems...

 

Yeah, I miss my Dodge in that respect. The bucket/console combo in the GM sucks in comparison... The flip down cup holder shelf in the Dodge was also much better than what GM has. Seems they just can't design a decent console/convenience system, what they have is wasted space and generally useless design that is never just exactly right for anything.

 

What do you mean? Permanently mounted? I have one in there quite frequently, but not mounted...

 

That's what I meant about a "vehicle mount" earlier. There are several different types out there, but I haven't got one. Would be cool if anyone has some experience or info on them...

 

Eh, yeah... I hope that refers to the passenger doing the reading? Otherwise, that makes the cell phone doofus crowd look like focused and capable drivers...