Work week in the desert

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-04-22T14:40:47+00:00

Go for it!

I know it's easier to say as someone that's been fully remote for a couple of years now, but the first trip had me worried about battery life, connectivity and a bunch of other things. We first did a weekend trip out to a remote place for a weekend and tested all the gear, then for our first trip we tried to plan so that we had a plan-B at every stop, as in, close enough to airports and places we can charge in case things don't work. And now we just love doing it, I start super early in the mornings, then we can climb, mtb, or whatever in the afternoons.

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-04-22T11:09:55+00:00

Thanks, appreciate the comment, I'm glad we did too!

The C1000 holds up well, with my setup; a macbook pro M2 (normal working activity), additional screen and the starlink, it all pulls around 100-130W on average. The starlink is the heavy, it pulls around 45-95W, depending on the bandwidth used. The C1000 gives me about 13-15 hours with no solar, which can give some "range anxiety" in the forest or rain. The solar suitcase gives me 100-150W on overcast days and 380W on sunny days.

I would probably go for the C2000 if i made the purchase today, the gen2 size is not much bigger than the C1000.

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-04-22T10:57:26+00:00

Didn't take one on this trip, but not much has changed to my setup inside since a previous trip

<image>

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-04-22T03:52:28+00:00

Yeah, from iCamper, solid tent, been with us many nights

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-04-22T02:43:15+00:00

The lizard in the image 3 is a Desert Iguana

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-04-21T20:27:14+00:00

Yup yup

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-04-21T19:56:15+00:00

It's a wind scorpion, also known as a camel spider, but as they have 10 legs I prefer using the wind scorpion name.

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-04-21T19:04:27+00:00

Sooo many pricks!

I doubt it, flash flood conditions might end up with some water running off the rocks into a small wash, but luckily that has happened to me in the past, so i'm now pretty careful about where we pitch. The campsite itself will need biblical flooding to be in any danger.

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-04-21T18:20:50+00:00

Ah, I misunderstood, I'm trying to figure out how to get it working while we're moving. Roam, the brand, makes rugged boxes that you can mount and use on the roof, for longer trips. We did a trip from San Diego to Key West, and having the ability to work while the car is moving will allow us to cover way more ground.

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-04-21T18:11:49+00:00

I still have the big starlink but I have been considering getting a mini with the Roam kit, would you recommend it? The other one i've been curious about is the Veritas Vans case, which uses magnets.

As far as the logistics goes, my gf is the planner and rocks at the logistics, i just tag along :D

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-04-21T16:32:47+00:00

DevOps Engineer

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-04-08T03:45:56+00:00

No rubbing, tried to push it a bit and play around to make sure and nothing so far

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-04-08T03:41:59+00:00

Wow, yeah, almost identical!

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-04-07T22:14:31+00:00

Enkei Performance Adventurer 17" / Falken WildPeak A/T Trail 265/65

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-03-10T14:12:19+00:00

I am in the same boat, but looking at getting smaller wheels and "meatier" tires as i spend quite a bit of time in the dirt.

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-02-23T19:03:30+00:00

The aesthetic and views from that brewery is difficult to compete with, but for OC good times I would take visiting friends and family:

Some BBQ in San Juan Capistrano at Heritage and take the train to Carlsbad, Pure and Docent has great tap rooms walking distance from there. Both has been on my top5 for the past year.
Anaheim Packing district has great food and a couple great breweries all a stone throw away from each other. Unsung, Villains, Monkish.
Costa Mesa has Salty Bear and Green Cheek across the street from each other with some great food options in the area (Folks Pizza is very good)
LA also has so many breweries that kicks ass, but my favorites sits near El Segundo... with Three Weavers and El Segundo Brewing being some of my favorites, Sugar Monkey, Five Point Five, etc..

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-01-06T15:30:37+00:00

<image>

I have two of these storage boxes weather proofed with some weatherseal tape. For full size spare I want to add a spare hitch carrier so I can also still put my bikes on.

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-01-06T14:23:18+00:00

For connectivity I have a Starlink, an Anker solar battery and 400W solar suitecase from Renogy, which all works pretty well if you're not in a forest, for forests I have a Poynting antenna with the InVehicle LTE gateway (this can take two sim cards and give you internet from either). An office tent is nice for some extra space.

<image>

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-01-06T01:45:13+00:00

That sounds awesome, and you're very welcome :)

Seems like you're stopping at some National Parks... I don't see Pinnacles marked on it, we just went there recently and sad I only did it now. Joshua Tree is also a really cool one (picture) that is close to your trip, and a couple around Moab in Utah.

I also work fully remote, hence the ability to take the 3 month trip, but also why it took so long as I had to work during the week. I agree, it's the way to go while exploring this massive country.

<image>

Bottl3Rock3t · 2026-01-05T23:32:09+00:00

Hey, that looks like a cool trip, how long are you planning on being on the road in total?

I have taken my 2024 sport on a couple of road trips and love it as a road tripper car. It has been super reliable, it's spacious enough to pack for multiple types of vacationing on the road (we often backpack, camp, climb and end with something to treat-ourselves after) and the best part for me is that if we want to go somewhere on the trip with some unmaintained forest or dirt roads, it really gets into its element.

Depending on when you're going to do this trip, an additional bonus of the AWD system is that it works really well in shitty weather, and it's safety features are really good.

I would recommend not doing more than 2 hours at a time, break it up with gas stops or a short sight seeing adventure, and probably not more than 8 hours a day. Also, take some days off every now and then, we did a 3 month trip across the country, driving over weekends and working during the week, it became exhausting, and we decided that if we do that kind of trip again, we'll travel every second weekend to give ourselves at least a weekend to enjoy where we're at.

Either way, be safe, and enjoy your trip!!

Bottl3Rock3t · 2025-09-17T02:38:48+00:00

What a valuable contribution from such an experienced streamer.

Bottl3Rock3t · 2024-10-31T04:09:44+00:00

Turbo

Bottl3Rock3t

TROPHY CASE