C40's Journal

[BRUTE]

+1 giskard questions

[C40]

@C40

I have been following you on Instagram lately, man you are shooting some great photos. Really super inspiring stuff! Superbly motivating too! Please keep that stuff coming!

So I have some questions for you about van dwelling life. I'm like 2 or 3 years away from where you are financially, but I could do it a bit sooner if I could freelance some on the road. And by freelance I mean I will need my computer and desk and good internet connection with quiet to concentrate. I have some steady clients and I can charge a good rate, but I'm just worried about working out of a van on the road if I really need to get some work done. Also, sometimes I need to quickly remote into a server and reboot or it something at literally any time of the day (and I need a good connection to do this).

What do you think are the challenges around trying to do this? Do you think it is feasible in a van / RV setting? Just want to hear your thoughts about trying to do internet heavy work on the road.

Thank you . I promise I will.


About Data Plans:
By "good", I'm going to assume you mean fast, by which you mean 4G. If you only need 3G, like me, you can probably find a device to buy that has a $5/month grandfathered unlimited data account. That's what I did, and if you're interested, there's a really long thread about it on the CheapRVLiving forum.

Ok, first, if you're going to travel outside of cities in the western U.S., get coverage on Verizon's network. They have the best coverage out there by far. In cities, others would work just as well.

With 4G, the problem is that:
- The data is metered a lot. If you have an "unlimited" plan (which may not even be possible to get right now with Verizon, I'm not sure), your data will get metered down to 3G or maybe even 2G after you use a fairly small amount (Like 10 or 20 gigs... I don't know for sure). If you need a lot of fast data, you're fucked there.
- The data is expensive. Really stupidly expensive.

So, if you need a fast data, but use little total data, a current 4G plan would work ok. (and an old $5/mo 3G plan would probably work just as well).

If you need fast data and will use a lot of it, check and see if there are true unlimited 4G grandfathered data plans. You may be able to buy a flashed device (or pay someone to have them flash the plan to your device, or maybe do it yourself (I don't know how it works)) with a true unlimited 4G data plan. It might even be fairly inexpensive. I see threads over at the CheapRVLiving forum for cheap 4G data plans, I believe through Sprint.

There are many people who travel in vehicles with Youtube channels. They're uploading 20+ minute videos. I'm pretty sure most of them do this uploading at Libraries or Coffee shops while they are in cities. If your work is such that you need an ongoing connection for low bandwidth stuff, but occasionally need to send a huge file, you could do like these Youtubers do and be in a city when you need to send a large file.



About having a signal while camping:

If you need data while camping, it will limit where you can camp. In the western US, taking 100% of the land into account, you can probably only get a data signal on like 10% of it (this is a very wild guess). That's the bad part. The good part is that there are still many thousands of wonderful places you can camp with a great 4G signal. Also, unless you really really like to go way out into the middle of nowhere by yourself, it's likely that many of the places you would camp if you didn't even care about service will actually have a signal. This is because there are towers along highways. Most of the gravel and dirt roads going off into National Forests are near highways.

Lately, more than half of the places I've camped had service. Often the speed is even faster than in cities.

For some examples of places you can camp that all have 4G data, take a look at Bob Well's blog. I believe he will only camp where he has a good 4G signal. So all of the posts showing a place where he camped are examples of nice campsites with 4G data.






and....

Exploring Arizona 2 -- Rained out near the Beeline
I tried to find a nice place near Phoenix to camp, in the desert at low elevation. I ended up camping at high elevation and got stuck in the rain two days

[C40]

also.... my post was about data plans and coverage because that's probably the harder challenge. The other side is powering your computer. Assuming you'll use a laptop that doesn't draw a lot of power, it's very doable. With my 400 watts of solar panels, I could use my computer for 8+ hours per day on all but the cloudiest of days. To optimize battery charging cycles, I wait to plug in my computer charger until the sun is proving enough energy for the charger plus however much the battery can take. Most days that happens a few hours after the sun rises. Then at about an hour or less before sunrise I stop using the charger and can still use the computer for however long it's own battery lasts.

I could just run it hard and use the charger whenever I want, but it will reduce battery life. Even with pretty hard use, as long as you don't use them like an idiot, they'll still last a year. And they aren't all that expensive to replace (like $100-$600 depending on type and size)

[George the original one]

Ok, first, if you're going to travel outside of cities in the western U.S., get coverage on Verizon's network. They have the best coverage out there by far. In cities, others would work just as well.

With 4G, the problem is that:
- The data is metered a lot. If you have an "unlimited" plan (which may not even be possible to get right now with Verizon, I'm not sure), your data will get metered down to 3G or maybe even 2G after you use a fairly small amount (Like 10 or 20 gigs... I don't know for sure). If you need a lot of fast data, you're fucked there.

+1 on Verizon for western USA coverage. There is no substitute outside the cities.

Verizon launched an "unlimited" data plan this past month. $80/mo data plan, 20GB at full speed and then throttled. There are some notes about how you can share only 10GB of data via WiFi, the throttling is not strict (that is they may or may not throttle depending on the local traffic load) and its not clear what the speeds are throttled to. They also mention how they don't count streaming data against your total, but it's unclear to me whether it has to be an affiliate of Verizon or if its any streaming source. I have not made the switch yet from my 6 GB data plan which is $60, so it looks like I need to get on the ball regardless of any limitations.

My house has both a 4G cellular connection and a satellite connection. My 4G connection is from a tower 4-5 miles away with a ridge in-between that puts us in a fringe area. Signal strength is 2 bars of 5 on the modem... download speed is acceptable, presumably due to transmitter strength, but upload speed is never better than 2 Mb/sec due to the ridge disrupting the signal. Using an external antenna for the modem, the signal strength goes to 3 bars and upload speed doubles. The satellite has better throughput than 4G, but you can't use VPN, there's an 800+ millisecond ping, and the signal is blocked by heavy rain & snow. Other satellite problems are they drift off the antenna alignment and can be oversubscribed, particularly in the evening hours and on weekends.

[giskard]

@C40 thanks for the quick and detailed reply. Really good to hear that there is pretty decent 4G on at least Verizon's network out west. It seems like data will only get cheaper in the next few years so maybe it is good that I am still a few years away from being ready. I bookmarked Bob Well's blog for later.

I didn't even think about power but I suppose that is an issue. I read somewhere that most 15 inch laptops draw around 50 watts on average. I also read that Macbook Airs will draw 5 watts idle and 20-30 watts under load so maybe it would be good go with a very low power consumption device to stretch out the battery life some more. Plus you can always get more solar panels right? Or do you think 400 watts of panels are about the most you can put on a van?

[giskard]

The satellite has better throughput than 4G, but you can't use VPN, there's an 800+ millisecond ping, and the signal is blocked by heavy rain & snow. Other satellite problems are they drift off the antenna alignment and can be oversubscribed, particularly in the evening hours and on weekends.

Holy crap 800 ms ping? That would tremendously noticeable and annoying if you are shelled into a remote server.

[George the original one]

The satellite has better throughput than 4G, but you can't use VPN, there's an 800+ millisecond ping, and the signal is blocked by heavy rain & snow. Other satellite problems are they drift off the antenna alignment and can be oversubscribed, particularly in the evening hours and on weekends.

Holy crap 800 ms ping? That would tremendously noticeable and annoying if you are shelled into a remote server.

48000 mile roundtrip via satellite.

[BRUTE]

it would be impossible to do pretty much anything with a 800ms ping, except maybe play Battlefield

zing

[C40]

I didn't even think about power but I suppose that is an issue. I read somewhere that most 15 inch laptops draw around 50 watts on average. I also read that Macbook Airs will draw 5 watts idle and 20-30 watts under load so maybe it would be good go with a very low power consumption device to stretch out the battery life some more. Plus you can always get more solar panels right? Or do you think 400 watts of panels are about the most you can put on a van?

A van like mine could fit a bit more depending on panel sizes and if/where you put a roof vent fan. Probably about 600 wats is the absolute max. In some situations, using a generator would be much simpler than building a whole solar/battery eletcric system. A generator would work really well for, say, using a desktop computer for power-hungry tasks, but not at all well (on it's own) for something like running a fridge compressor whenever needed around the clock. If one really wanted to run a high power desktop and also a small fridge, the right setup would probably be a small solar/battery system (like 100 or 200 watts solar and as little as 50ah 12v battery), and a small generator

[George the original one]

Follow-up details regarding Verizon's new unlimited plan:
1) If you can pool 4 lines, the data plan cost/line comes down to $45 instead of $80.
2) The soft data limit is 22 GB/line.
3) Streaming video does not count against your data limit provided it is served by Verizon's go90 service. There is no PC player for go90, only phone apps. YouTube, Netflix, etc. do eat into your data limit.

[C40]

This month, I speak to you mainly with blog posts:



Exploring Arizona 3 - Road to Four Peaks
For my third trip out of Phoenix, I went up Hwy 87 again, and explored a back road to Four Peaks. Also, do you know Arizona well? Where else should I go?




Exploring Arizona 4 - New Friends
Camping in Tonto National Forest near Payson... Two wonderful bike rides on a Forest Service Roads.... And two new friends who came with a gift!




Spending Update - Q1
A summary of my spending in Q1


I'm still in Phoenix, here later than I expected to be. I've ordered some things over the internet (some of them related to the gift referenced in the 2nd blog post), and one of them coming form China is taking particularly long. Hopefully it will be here within a week and then I'll start drifting north. This month some friends and family came to Phoenix to visit other family. It was cool to spend time with them. I got some interesting life stories out of some of my family.

I plan to get up to Vegas by the end of April. Some friends are flying in to meet me there. After that, I may meet up with my brother and his girlfriend. They've hit the road with their camper and will be heading out this direction. We'll hang out in northern Arizona (probably the north rim of the Grand Canyon) and southern Utah.

[halfmoon]

Your photos are always inspiring, but I especially like the Exploring Arizona 3 photo. Is the little white spot in the center your van? If so, nice perspective. It's a rare blessing to be the only tiny man-made spot in a wild landscape.

[cmonkey]

So are you generating more income than you need already? Even before starting your IRA conversion?

[Gilberto de Piento]

Also, do you know Arizona well? Where else should I go?

I don't know Arizona well but I liked Flagstaff and Sedona. There's excellent mountain biking in Sedona starting right in town.

In Flagstaff I'd recommend hiking to the top Humphrey's Peak (highest in Arizona) and also checking out the lava tube (bring multiple light sources). If there's snow on the peak be careful, it is steep and slippery. For both let someone know where you're going and when you'll be back.

A lot of people like the Grand Canyon but I was underwhelmed by the north rim. Unfortunately I went on a gray, cold, windy day when I wasn't in a great mood. I'm sure you'll have a good time.

[C40]

So are you generating more income than you need already? Even before starting your IRA conversion?

Yes. But it's not before starting my IRA conversion. I won't count the conversion as income because it's just moving money between accounts. I count any and all income as income whether it's in a retirement account or not.

So, what I'm including in that income is:
- Dividends in post-tax accounts (which I have full access to now.In Q1, these covered 80% of my spending. So they don't cover it all, and they definitely won't in the times I spend more. But I guess they're pretty close for now.
- Dividends in retirement accounts. (In Q1, these ~would've covered 85% of my spending)
- Fixed growth of the value of my pension from past employer. (~covered 20% of Q1 spending) (I'm holding this as the cash portion of my asset allocation. If stock prices drop a ton I'll take the money and buy some more stocks to rebalance)
- Hobby income, which is very low now (Covered 5% of Q1 spending)
- I suppose I should count realized capital gains or losses, but I haven't been putting those in my income, and I don't sell much so they don't happen often... they basically just result in some change in my dividend income. None happened in Q1.

I really should make a chart or something to track that "one FI measure" that Jacob suggested a few months ago. (which I've basically shown above... for Q1 I'd be at 1.9 (80% + 85% + 20% + 5%).... or, I guess I probably should be at 1.05 if all investment income is counted as one factor (100% + 5%)

Your photos are always inspiring, but I especially like the Exploring Arizona 3 photo. Is the little white spot in the center your van? If so, nice perspective. It's a rare blessing to be the only tiny man-made spot in a wild landscape.

Thank you. I never ever get tired of photo compliments. Yeah, that white spot is my van.

... I liked Flagstaff and Sedona. There's excellent mountain biking in Sedona starting right in town.

In Flagstaff I'd recommend hiking to the top Humphrey's Peak (highest in Arizona) and also checking out the lava tube (bring multiple light sources). If there's snow on the peak be careful, it is steep and slippery. For both let someone know where you're going and when you'll be back....

Thanks. I'll add these to my list. I really have not done a good job at researching/finding the more spectacular places in the region, so these help. I should get more on it but for some reason I've been especially lazy with my location research. I suppose some of it is because it's been easy to find spots that feel good enough, and the rest is just laziness...

[thrifty++]

Wow that photo of camping with the night sky is truly magnificent. Van twins

[halfmoon]

Thank you. I never ever get tired of photo compliments. Yeah, that white spot is my van.

Awww...you edited it from shite spote to white spot. I was really loving the shite comment, as in "It's a glorious van, but it can't compete with nature."

[vexed87]

Great shots as usual, different camera views on the ride too, loved it!

[RealPerson]

Just finished reading Vanaboding. It seems to me that his setup is far more primitive than your van. Now that you have used it for a while, would you change anything to the design? I also am curious what the longest time is you have spent off-grid in the wilderness. Do you find using the van in urban environments more challenging than in nature?

Love to hear more about your actual experiences and how they compare to your expectations. Your adventures are quite inspiring! I look forward to new posts.

[C40]

Just finished reading Vanaboding. It seems to me that his setup is far more primitive than your van. Now that you have used it for a while, would you change anything to the design? I also am curious what the longest time is you have spent off-grid in the wilderness. Do you find using the van in urban environments more challenging than in nature?

Love to hear more about your actual experiences and how they compare to your expectations. Your adventures are quite inspiring! I look forward to new posts.

To answer briefly:
- I'm very happy with the design. It makes very good use of the windows I have in the van, allowing me to see out nearly all of them, and it makes the van feel much more spacious. There are only some small things I'd change. The biggest one is probably the type of surface for the floor. I used wood boards and now when I spill water I worry about it getting down between the boards and causing problems. I wish I would've used some kind of seamless surface, like linoleum. If I would've installed my electrical system components differently, It would've taken up less space and given be more storage (I would've put them along only one surface, which would take up less volume than the large rectangular shape I used.)
- The longest time I've spent away from any towns is around a week. Probably 8-9 days. I have my food and water storage set up for this. I eat a lot of fresh vegetables, which sets a limit on how long I have food for. I haven't had much desire to stay sitting one place for longer than that.
- Cities are trickier because I have to deal with putting up and taking down my curtains, and because in cities I move the van 2-3 times per day, and because being in unfamiliar places makes it much harder to find good places to bicycle or hike. The tricky part about going outside of cities is deciding where to go and finding a good spot. Then once I'm there, it's very simple.

I'll probably be writing more about actual experiences, how it feels to be traveling full time, etc. in my blog posts, instead of mostly just the "I went here, here are pictures.... I went here, here are pictures..." that I have done so far.