Electrical Setup for Outdoor Office

[muxmax]

Since I am a complete failure when it comes to electricity and wiring and my attempts to answer my questions myself keep turning in circles, I wanted to tap into the incredible wisdom of this forum and ask for help with my plans to make the car fit to serve as an outdoor office from time to time, I will mainly use the car as a daily ride and for hunting. Besides that I was hoping to be able to make use of the proximity of the Alps and the beautiful lands around me and use the car as a remote office every now and then. My idea was that I could use my Starlink, a laptop and maybe a monitor and just work remotely from wherever. A little comfort would be nice, so maybe a Nespresso Machine and a small fridge wouldn't hurt. My problem is, I don't know what I need to provide and ensure power supply for a few hours. Can someone please share their wisdom with me and help me out?

What I am looking for is advice on how to best plug and feed

• a laptop and maybe an additional monitor
• a Starlink
• a small fridge (is there one that can make/preserve ice cubes for the after work party?)
• and maybe, if possible, a Nespresso Machine or something of that sort

I have no clue where to start, what to look for, what values to consider, what hardware to use (inverter, mobile power station, sockets, plugs?). Completely blank there. Any advice would be highly appreciated! Even if it is only help with asking the right questions.

muxmax

 

[DaveB]

But will the carpet dry out and not smell afterwards when you ford the first boghole?

No.
Because the door seals don't leak.
However I went the rubber/plastic/vinyl floor

 

[AnD3rew]

But will the carpet dry out and not smell afterwards when you ford the first boghole?

Got that covered, have utility floor, but …. Wait for it….. carpet mats, genius. Will leave mats behind when going bush. Went alloys for mall crawling, but 17” with KO2s for bush

 

[Tazzieman]

I went steelies for mall crawling.

 

[Tazzieman]

No.
Because the door seals don't leak.
However I went the rubber/plastic/vinyl floor

But when you are bogged and your wife doesn't want to faff around finding the winch hook, well you're just gunna hafta open that door!
Anyway , car carpets are not built for my purposes!

 

[bigleonski]

But will the carpet dry out and not smell afterwards when you ford the first boghole?

I’d hope no water gets in in the first place. Given the superior capability of the IG will mean you don’t stop in the middle of said boghole.

 

[Tazzieman]

Given the superior capability of the IG will mean you don’t stop in the middle of said boghole.

I admire your optimism!
Expect the worst...and double it!
Is my motto

 

[DaveB]

But when you are bogged and your wife doesn't want to faff around finding the winch hook, well you're just gunna hafta open that door!
Anyway , car carpets are not built for my purposes!

I figured I could buy carpet mats if i ever wanted to tart up my vehicle.

 

[Tazzieman]

I figured I could buy carpet mats if i ever wanted to tart up my vehicle.

Well there is the Opera option. You could cut one up and do the whole car.

 

[Rooballer]

I started with the Fieldmaster because I didn't like the Trialmaster jacket.
I then added everything Trialmaster and some extra on top of that.
I certainly don't need a subwoofer so optioned the extra battery.
I went 17" alloys as I didn't want 18" and certainly not fake beadlocks.

This is exactly what I did - for the same reason - preferred the Fieldmaster Jacket

 

[muxmax]

This is exactly what I did - for the same reason - preferred the Fieldmaster Jacket

I did it the other way round because I didn't want to be one of those who need a snorkle to park the car at the office in Munich Bogenhausen most of the time. Anyway, since that means that I do have (or rather will hopefully very soon have) the auxiliary battery, what does this now mean for the subject of this thread?

 

[crimson]

I did it the other way round because I didn't want to be one of those who need a snorkle to park the car at the office in Munich Bogenhausen most of the time. Anyway, since that means that I do have (or rather will hopefully very soon have) the auxiliary battery, what does this now mean for the subject of this thread?

Hi @muxmax hopefully you have your car and have advanced your thinking on the remote office setup. What have you decided on?

 

[muxmax]

Hi @muxmax hopefully you have your car and have advanced your thinking on the remote office setup. What have you decided on?

Well, I do have my car and I keep thinking about the project but to no avail for now. Yesterday, after a couple of beer, I almost ordered a Jackery 2000 to solve the problem. But then I thought, why do that when you have a second battery, so there must be another way. That’s where I’m at. Nothing new. I will have an auxiliary heater fittet first this fall and once that is done the field office project is next. Until then I‘ll keep looking for ideas on that but I might actually consult a caravan outfitter to help me with it.

 

[Znarfgh]

I use my Trailmaster as an office as well and there is no way this is achievable without an extra battery (on top of the dual battery system).

There are so many things requiring power and I don't trust the current dual battery system. I also don't want to void the 5 year warranty and am therefor using a separate 100Ah LiFePO4 battery and DC-DC charger to keep it charged.

Items requiring charging in my setup:

• 40 Litre fridge
• Mobile phone
• 8" tablet
• Laptop (I have a 12Volt charging cable for this)
• Reversing camera
• Crash Cam
• UHF Radio
• CelFi
• Food warmer
• Jump starter
• Work lamp

Some of these items are not necessarily work related but still require power. Six of the above are wired to a 6 way fuse box and others into the supplied outlets in the footwells and other places.

Longer term I will look at the starter and auxiliary batteries and how to improve on their output and weight.

 

[lagartoboy]

I use my Trailmaster as an office as well and there is no way this is achievable without an extra battery (on top of the dual battery system).

There are so many things requiring power and I don't trust the current dual battery system. I also don't want to void the 5 year warranty and am therefor using a separate 100Ah LiFePO4 battery and DC-DC charger to keep it charged.

Items requiring charging in my setup:

• 40 Litre fridge
• Mobile phone
• 8" tablet
• Laptop (I have a 12Volt charging cable for this)
• Reversing camera
• Crash Cam
• UHF Radio
• CelFi
• Food warmer
• Jump starter
• Work lamp

Some of these items are not necessarily work related but still require power. Six of the above are wired to a 6 way fuse box and others into the supplied outlets in the footwells and other places.

Longer term I will look at the starter and auxiliary batteries and how to improve on their output and weight.

Regarding coffee, shit-can the idea of using battery appliance. Using a jet boil or other hiking stove, you could boil more than 50 cups with a small fuel canister.

 

[Roach]

Coffee... I'm sure we all have the same preferences, right?

La San Marco Leva, Mazzer Robur S grinder, running a 60/40 robusta blend from Rome.

www.theineosforum.com

Post 23

Cool looking machine