The Best Van Office Ideas I’ve Seen In 4 Years Of Van Life
If you’re like me and most digital nomads living on the road, you need a place to get work done and be productive. A van office can be tricky to incorporate into your van build because of limited space. These are some ideas for how you can fit an office in a van, even with less than 100 square feet!
1. Custom Conversion Van Office Ideas
Nest vans offers a custom built-in mobile work space in their van, right behind the drivers seat. The perk to this van office is that you don’t need to set it up each day.
2. Hideaway Van Office Desk
This fold up van office is very easy to clean up and put away. The tabletop folds down to create storage underneath for your office supplies.
As someone who has deliberated about where to mount a second monitor in my own van, I’m especially intrigued by the monitor mounted to the bottom of the van desk.
3. Multi-purpose Camper Van Desk
Not only is this bench seat also a great van office idea, but it has a dog feeding station with additional storage (a great space-saving idea if you’re enjoying van life with a dog)
I imagine easily working while seated, or standing at the pop-up countertop to break up the work day.
4. Dual purpose Campervan Office
This camper van has been a long-time favorite of mine. @goandlivefree use the bench seat and a swivel on the driver’s seat to create a dual workspace in the front of their van.
Their monitor is on an articulating arm so it can be easily stowed when not in use, and also can be used as a campervan TV.
They’ve even matched the upholstery on their cab seat and bench seat for a highly polished look to their van office.
5. Murphy Bed And Campervan Office Combo
This camper van office takes the murphy bed concept to a whole new level. Having the bed up during the day allows easy access to the dinette bench seats, and the fold down tabletop hidden under the murphy bed base.
This is a great alternative to campervan bunk beds, for space saving ideas.
6. 3-in-1 Camper Van Office
Perhaps the most versatile van office idea I’ve seen to date is this bench space behind the drivers seat that’s modular and serves many purposes.
During the day it can be a dinette with van work space. The table top is on a 360° Lagun table swivel mount.
At night the workspace folds down to create a bench or a guest bed.
7. Mobile Office In A Van
If working outside is your preference this van office idea from Vanlife Customs is a great option.
They use a second Lagun mount just inside of their sliding door so an additional van desk can be attached during the day. The table mount can be moved up or down, so you can have a standing or sitting desk depending on which height you set it to.
8. Elevator Bed Van Office
Sara and Alex have the best of both worlds with a full dinette in the back and a campervan mattress on a bed lift – no need to make up your bed each day, just push a button and it lifts out of the way! Imagine having a major workspace in your van office at the push of a button.
9. Van Office Space For Two
Adrian has a great set up for two people with his van office. There’s a van desk and a second monitor in the front and a second set up next to the bed in the back.
By having the monitors on moveable mounts they can be pushed out of the way when they’re not being used.
10. Unique Campervan Office Ideas
Cyrus has a great mobile office set up from the comfort of his hammock! With the murphy bed (left) up during the day a simple piece of wood creates a mobile office workspace for his laptop. While this isn’t the most ergonomic setup, it’s definitely unique and space saving!
11. Campervan Office In The Cab
Snowmads van office is located in the cab of their van, and the desktop also doubles as shoe storage.
This unique fold up table located right behind the passenger’s seat is a great way to maximize the cab seats, on a swivel, to create more working space with a van desk.
12. Camper Van Office
This van office by Danny uses the cab seats, on swivels, to extend the working space. Cab seats can be more ergonomic than the back bench seats, so having multiple seating options is a great way to keep it fresh throughout your workday.
Additionally, the fold out table is a great space saver and makes the desk versatile as it can be extended fully or only halfway. When it’s not in use the entire table folds flat against the wall.
13. Convertible Camper Van With Desk
Sydney’s first van had a convertible dinette and bed. This is a great space saving way to have a large working space, it just means you have to put up your bed every morning before you can get started with your work day.
My van also had a convertible bed/office space in the back. I think I’ve used it twice in four years – I just hate having to set it up and break it down every day. Instead, I use the bench seat in the front of my van.
14. Space Efficient Van Office Ideas
While this van office seems like quite the ordeal to set up, you have to give points for ingenuity.
Having a plywood board as the “base” which sits on top of the cab seats allows this digital nomad to utilize the headliner space for his mobile office.
I’m not exactly sure how safe this is, but I’m including it on the list because it gets high marks for creativity!
15. Minivan Office Conversion
Space in a minivan is at even more of a premium! It’s hard to imagine fitting a van office into such a small vehicle (my Ford Transit feels small enough!) but this fold down workspace is perfect.
It doubles as a kitchen countertop and a van office. When it’s not being used, the cabinet folds up and stores everything inside safely during transit.
16. Custom Office In A Van
@happycampers2019 has a bed that slides back and out of the way to reveal two bench seats and a pull out table, creating a versatile van office space.
The thing I love best about this is that for a single person the bed setup doesn’t necessarily need to be made up and taken down each day. It can be kept as a single bed, but if you have guests or a partner it’s able to be expanded.
17. Easy Camper Van Office
If you’re really tight on space for a campervan office, you can still create a versatile office space using the b-pillar mount for a Lagun Table, available on faroutride.com (for Ford Transit vans) and from Campervan-HQ (for Mercedes Sprinter vans).
18. DIY Mobile Van Office Ideas
Utilize the extra space from the cab of your van! Installing swivel seats in your cab is an easy van office idea with minimal effort.
Both of the cab seats in my Ford Transit are on swivels. It took me a few hours to install them, but the process is very straight forward and something one person can easily do alone.
I love how much extra seating and versatility this gives me. I’ve frequently “hosted” game night and fit 4 or 5 people around my table comfortably.
19. DIY RV Desk
While not technically a van, this RV office is a fantastic use of space. I love the simplicity of a fold up desk, especially because it takes up almost no space when not being used as office space.
Things To Consider When Choosing A Van Office Layout
If you’re considering building or converting a mobile van office in your camper these are a few questions to ask yourself.
- How frequently will you use your van office space? If you plan to work full time from your van then having a dedicated space is important. However, if you’ll mostly be relying on co-working spaces, libraries, cafe’s, etc, then creating dedicated space for a desk in your van may not be the most effective use of your layout.
- What type of work will you be doing? If your work is heavily reliant on a computer, do you need a second monitor? Is a large tabletop necessary? Or, if your work requires a large workspace to spread out, you’ll want to prioritize surface space – this is especially important if your an artist or a trades person.
- How flexible will your space be? This is primarily personal preference – are you the type of person who will set up and tear down your bed and van office space each day? If not, having fixed spaces that are solely dedicated and don’t require any conversion will be best.
- What is your van building budget? Lagun table hardware and swivel seat bases can get fairly pricy, so depending on the budget is for your DIY van office you may want to consider specific types of hardware.
- How much building experience do you have? The more drawers, convertibility and custom carpentry you have, the more complex building skills are required.
Overall, having a van office is great for anyone living longer term in their camper. Additionally, it’s a great feature for your vans resale value if you plan to sell in the future.
