This is an excellent idea, I've often looked longingly at used Airstreams and thought about reconfiguring one for a mobile tech workspace.
A typical RV park (or many of the campgrounds in Oregon) will have sewer and electricity hookups for RVs. That takes care of your two major consumables (water and power). I've done a lot of "dry" camping (no hookups) in my class B motorhome (basically van sized) that we tow a small utility trailer behind (we use a Space trailers (http://www.spacetrailers.com/), they work well for us in that role). We also have an 85W solar panel which we use to top off our battery during the day (12V AGM 45Ahr lead/acid). There is a small 1kw honda generator (quiet) which we can use if we want to use the microwave or AC when we're not connected to power. Fridge and stove run on propane. We have two battery boxes (basically an ice chest holding an AGM lead-acid battery and a power inverter) which we can use in camp to run lights or fans away from the camper. The solar panel set up lets us use it to charge any of the batteries.
Ok, so there some meta considerations. One is that most trailers and RVs are designed to be compact "living" spaces, and are not set up for "working." In my sketches I've got the dinette changed to be convertable between dinette and workspace (giving up the extra bed). With my current camper I have been known to write code with my macbook in my lap or on a picnic table. What I don't have is good network connectivity.
You can make a lot of progress by making a log of your typical "work" day for a week or so, in both good weather and bad, and then going back over that log and taking each day and describing how you would spend that day if you're living space were this trailer. What things would you need the trailer to provide, what things would you substitute.
If you're primary goal is to avoid the "high cost of housing" then you probably need to scope out where and for how long you can park your trailer while you live/work in it. Camp sites will often have continuous day limits (like 14 days in California state parks) RV parks you can go longer but you have to figure that cost into your 'burn rate' as well. That said, one of the features of 'trailer park living' has been the low overhead.
Feel free to contact me offline if you have more questions (mail is in my profile)
Thanks Chuck! My thought is to have one end of the Airstream be the bedroom, and convert the other end into a workspace with a U shaped desk, big displays, Aeron chair, etc... And then leave the middle for the kitchen and dinette.
It's less about saving money than it is about minimizing a bit, and seeing more of the country.
A typical RV park (or many of the campgrounds in Oregon) will have sewer and electricity hookups for RVs. That takes care of your two major consumables (water and power). I've done a lot of "dry" camping (no hookups) in my class B motorhome (basically van sized) that we tow a small utility trailer behind (we use a Space trailers (http://www.spacetrailers.com/), they work well for us in that role). We also have an 85W solar panel which we use to top off our battery during the day (12V AGM 45Ahr lead/acid). There is a small 1kw honda generator (quiet) which we can use if we want to use the microwave or AC when we're not connected to power. Fridge and stove run on propane. We have two battery boxes (basically an ice chest holding an AGM lead-acid battery and a power inverter) which we can use in camp to run lights or fans away from the camper. The solar panel set up lets us use it to charge any of the batteries.
Ok, so there some meta considerations. One is that most trailers and RVs are designed to be compact "living" spaces, and are not set up for "working." In my sketches I've got the dinette changed to be convertable between dinette and workspace (giving up the extra bed). With my current camper I have been known to write code with my macbook in my lap or on a picnic table. What I don't have is good network connectivity.
You can make a lot of progress by making a log of your typical "work" day for a week or so, in both good weather and bad, and then going back over that log and taking each day and describing how you would spend that day if you're living space were this trailer. What things would you need the trailer to provide, what things would you substitute.
If you're primary goal is to avoid the "high cost of housing" then you probably need to scope out where and for how long you can park your trailer while you live/work in it. Camp sites will often have continuous day limits (like 14 days in California state parks) RV parks you can go longer but you have to figure that cost into your 'burn rate' as well. That said, one of the features of 'trailer park living' has been the low overhead.
Feel free to contact me offline if you have more questions (mail is in my profile)