In early 2019, I made the tough decision to quit my job as a library service assistant, and move back in with my family. I had been at that job for three years and loved my co-workers, but I was starting to feel burned out, living paycheck to paycheck, putting paying bills and rent over food and having a good time. Not only was my financial status in a bad place, but my writing was also suffering. I tried to make as much time as I could to write and pursue my dreams of becoming a published author. But when I did have time to write, I was either too tired, unmotivated, or at work.
So, I gave up my tiny apartment in an area of St. Paul, Minnesota that I absolutely loved, to move to Georgia (for starters) and into my family’s 1996 25-foot Jayco RV. My father is a truck driver and isn’t home much, leaving my older sister, her cat, my mom, and myself. It’s a bit of a tight fit.
When I left Minnesota, almost everything I owned went into storage. One thing I couldn’t leave behind though, was my desktop computer. It’s not a huge contraption, just a simple HP slim desktop with a 20.5-inch (I think) screen. I considered buying a laptop to make things easier and more convenient, but I just couldn’t give up my Razer Blackwidow Ultimate keyboard. Thanks to my boyfriend, I had become a keyboard snob. The thought of switching to a laptop keyboard gave me the willies, and why go through the trouble of transferring all the files I would need from one computer to another?
My mom and I brainstormed different setups and came up with something that more or less worked for the space we have. My tower sits behind me on what is normally a TV stand and my screen, keyboard, and mouse live on the table. My keyboard and mouse are easily moved, but my monitor was another story. The only way to get it out of the way completely, was to unplug two cords and set it somewhere else (not a huge hassle, but not convenient).
After almost a year, I figured out a way to improve my setup, taking some inspiration from one of my favorite Youtuber’s. He did a setup tour (a video I’ve watched multiple times) and showed his monitors on floating mounts.
“Genius!” I thought after re-watching the video. “Why didn’t I think of that sooner?”
I hopped on over to good ol’ Amazon and found an affordable mount set, along with an adapter mount to fit my monitor. I also had to buy a longer HDMI cord in order to make what I hoped would be a good setup work.
My final purchase consisted of the VIVO Single LCD Monitor Desk Mount Stand, VIVO Mounting VESA Adapter Kit, and a SecurOMaz HDMI Cable.
The desk mount was easy to install with a simple vice grip, and the adapter worked perfectly, along with the HDMI cable being long enough to go from my tower to my monitor with a little slack left over.
This new setup gives me more work space when using my computer and also gives us more table space at meal time. It has also help with cord management, and my cords are no longer piled up on the bench beside me.
Another thing I did to improve my setup, was buy a Bluetooth adapter for my computer. Music really helps me when I am working and having a cord plugged into my tower wasn’t comfortable and limited the movement of my head. The Zexmte Bluetooth USB Adapter was a cheap ($7.97), easy to install fix to that problem. My Razer Hammerhead earbuds work well with it and it has also allowed me to pair my phone to make file transfer decently easy.
I hope this post helps anyone who has decided it would be a good idea to travel with their desktop in a RV or are looking to improve their writing set up and have limited space.
KPBreezee 