I have a friend who is a sales person and spends a lot of time in her car meeting clients. She basically works entirely out of her car. Which is why I found it so interesting when I learned that with the right car accessories you could literally turn you car or truck into a mobile office.
Okay, maybe you’re thinking it’s absurd to attempt to convert a car to an office, but it’s not. I’m not suggesting you work while driving. What I’m suggesting is that many people work on the road seeing clients and traveling and that with the right car accessories, which actually don’t cost very much, you could create a much more comfortable and productive work space when forced to work in your car.
Here’s what you need or could get to create a mobile office in your car.
Car Table #1: Steering Wheel Desk
Source: Amazon
Our first car table is a simple, inexpensive steering wheel desk for your laptop, tablet and/or a place to eat, write etc. It attaches and removes easily. It’s small and lightweight so can easily be stores away in your car. This is a great start for your mobile car office.
Car Table #2: The AutoExec Car Desk
Source: Amazon
For something more robust, you can splurge on the more expensive AutoExec car desk. It offers a file organizer as well as an extendable laptop arm that swivels over to the driver’s seat. My only issue with this is if you type for a long time, you could get sore having to twist in order to face the laptop. If you plan on working on a laptop for extended periods of time, the steering wheel desk might be a better option.
The above two car tables are the foundation for a mobile car office but if you want to create a truly mobile office in your car, consider the following additional accessories.
Car Power Inverter
Source: Amazon
What I love about this car power inverter is it offers AC plugs AND USB ports all powered by plugging it into your vehicles cigarette lighter. If you don’t get some form of battery trickle charger (see next item), you’ll be limited with how long you can run gadgets off this inverter with the car turned off. In time you could drain the battery.
Solar trickle charger for car battery
Source: Amazon
If you plan to sit and work in your car with gadgets plugged into the above inverter or similar, you might want to get some form of solar trickle charger to keep your car batter charged. You don’t want to have your car running for hours on end but you also don’t want your battery drained. The beauty about the above trickle charger is you ned only plug it into the car cigarette battery to trickle charge the battery. You don’t have to open the hood and attach it to the battery itself (although you have that option as well).
Phone mount
Source: Amazon
Not that you want to text and drive but having a phone mount can be super handy if you rely on your phone’s GPS maps and/or play music through it. I know I could use one. I plug my phone into my truck all the time for Apple Car that I use for maps, music and voice-to-text messaging.
Car organizer
There are many types and sizes of car organizers you can buy. You can get a large box-style and/or console style. Here’s an example of a console-style car organizer:
Source: Amazon
I like the console organizer because it’s easy to access and doesn’t really take up an usable space in a vehicle. If you’re working out of your car, this could be handy for pens, wallet, etc.
Trunk organizer
Source: Amazon
It’s called a trunk organizer but you could put it in a rear or front seat as well. It’s collapsable. It’s a great option if you travel with client files and paperwork. This sure beats jamming files in a bag or briefcase.
Portable printer
Source: Amazon
If you need to print on the road, a portable printer could be very handy. You never know when you need a wet signature on something and this saves you having to scramble looking for a place that will print something for you.
Phone Scanner App
I bought three scanners. All three were terrible. That’s when I decided to try a scanning app for my phone. I downloaded a few and tested them. One stood head and shoulders above the rest. It’s the Scanner Pro app. This thing works perfectly. I’ve scanned hundreds of documents in a few months and it works perfectly every single time. I can scan multiple pages that merge into one PDF. I can delete a page in a PDF. I can export it as PDF to gmail. It does everything I need it to do as a scanner.
Ready to work n’ roll
With some or all of the above, you’ll have a terrific mobile car office that can stay powered for a long time.
