On The Road Again…

This is the first leg of a trip that will take us through Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Alabama, and back to Florida.Today I am writing from Algonac State Park, along the shore of the Clinton River. From the park, if you look across the river you can see Canada. We are at the thumb knuckle of the mitten shaped state of Michigan. It’s July, but sitting around the campfire last night, was almost chilly.  The cool air made the small fire even more appealing. This state park is full, but everything is quiet. There is enough space between sites and enough trees to dampen any noise. That’s good when you are working as you travel, but I don’t have my job on my mind right now. That work can wait.

Working from an RV has challenges and issues that you have to handle in special ways. Internet is always a challenge and sometimes impossible. Sure, some parks say they have wifi or internet, but when you arrive, the quality of connection is often less than expected. It is best to be self-supportive. There are few ways you can accomplish this. It all depends on your budget, employer and phone service.

Employers have guidelines when dealing with remote workers. Most of the rules revolve around internet security. The customer’s private information and credit card numbers need to remain secure. This requires a hard line connection between the worker, switch and modem. Wifi and Bluetooth connections are not allowed. Thieves and hackers could monitor broadcasted, non-secure communication. This means hotel or campground wifi, and many laptop computers are off limits. Stay away from the open public wifi networks too, his includes wired hotel connections. They are considered unsafe for security reasons. Some wired connections may be safe, while others are not. You never actually know the downstream hardware that a hotel or campground may have, and how it is monitored.  If you do use a hard-wired connection, you should always speed-check your line to see if the speed of connection will support the needs of your employee.

One way to jump over the headaches of an unknown system is to have your own personal network. You can do this by purchasing a cellular modem. You can hardwire your computer into that modem and access the internet through a cellular connection.  The modem has its own SIM card, and this service will be an additional expense, but the encrypted cellular connection is secure and meets the requirements of most employers. This system is limited to working only where you have a good phone signal, so it may not be adequate for remote locations too far from cities or highways. AT&T, T Mobile, Verizon and other phone providers all vary in there signal strength depending on location. Select a provider that works best in the areas you are traveling, and always speed check your connection to see if it is strong enough to perform.

The second easy option is to tether you phone directly to your computer. Many phones allow a wired connection and can share it’s internet connection with a computer. Be sure to enter the computers adapter settings and disable wi-fi and enable Ethernet .  It’s easy to plug in your phone and think you are wired and secure, but the computer used a past wi-fi link.

With the amount of modems, switches, phones and satellite devices on the market, it is possible to construct a mobile network that is secure enough to satisfy most employers. Contact a good IT person to put it together and train you on maintaining it when you are on the road. Be ready to handle any problems that come up, because problems will arise. Having the freedom to work and travel is not an easy thing. It takes work and effort to keep everything functioning. And, there is always the problem of actually working. It’s much easier and more fun to sit in front of the campfire and sip margaritas.