going hi-tech, laptop/printer install

[BSDeality]

Do you consider yourself efficient for one time jobs? Last week I had work in a development, signed a group of neighbors all up together. The night before I plugged in everyones info and printed out their invoices so I could drop them on my way out, (aka get paid faster). I thought i was ahead of the game until 4 other families approached me while i was working and asked for the service also, luckily i had some proposal sheets I had printed out to sell the other neighbors on-hand. I scrawled in their names and property sizes and did the math out by hand. It worked, but it was a very sloppy hack job since my handwriting sucks.

I decided that was the last straw, today I went out and bought a wireless printer ($179) and a newer WIFI card ($69) for my laptop. I had a 400w power inverter in my truck already which i use to power it. I could have boughten any cheap printer and run a USB cable from my dash to the backseat where i have my printer, however that would mean i would have to hook up before i could print anything. However with my wireless connection I bring the laptop outside the truck with me and still print. It *also* allows me to sit inside here and and print out tomorrow route sheet, right in the truck. Nothing aggrevates me more than getting halfway to my first stop and realizing i forgot my route sheet. The printer sits under my backseat in my extended cab 350 very snug, It is a perfect fit height and depth. The inverter is up by the center console.

I feel the potential is huge. I can take my measurements at an estimate, go to the truck, plunk in the numbers and print something out *on the spot* for the customer. I also no longer have to try to remember what the service price is.

The only thing i do not have at this point is a stand for the laptop, however I do not feel I will need one since I use Gopher's Palm software for my maintainence route. I can even stop at the Post Office on the way home, print out the invoices and drop them off.

[N.H.BOY]

Nice set up. A few ? as you would quess. Is that printer a special kind to fit under a seat or was that just a wild luck of the draw that it did? It looks pretty tight under there. Snug fit? I have a palm pilot T-5 and I use it for my account info and other info, but I didnt realize Gopher has a software for the palm! How does that work for ya and any info on the software will be great. Im checking Gopher after I write this. Nice set up and good luck with it all, lock your truck payup

[BSDeality]

I went to staples.com and checked out what they had for wireless printers. you can get the physical dimensions of the printers from the website, I went out to the truck and measured and turns out its almost a perfect fit. It looks tight top to bottom, but you can put weight on the seat and it doesn't pinch the printer. It's a "normal" printer in all aspects except it has wifi built in.

Gopher's palm software is still in development, but it does function OK for daily maintenance work. When i get to a job, i hit "start" and "stop" when i'm finished. it then marks it as complete in Gopher at the end of the day when you sync up. I bought a sticky dashpad that holds my nextel and pda right on the dash and it will *not* bounce loose (we have extremely bumpy roads around here too).

[N.H.BOY]

Hey bud there is a great thread on laptops in trucks on Elements of Buss. you might check out for your "laptop stand" in your truck.

[DBL]

having a lap top in the truck is great we have one but the stand is no good i used to drive a tow truck and we had one on a stand in the truck like most police cars do....lasted 3 maby 4 months....the bouncing around is too much it just kinda moves alot so just fold it up on the seat and when you need it use it. Just my two pennies worth

[BSDeality]

I forgot to mention I have GPS with navigation in the truck also, I'm going to be looking at running it into my laptop to do tracking on a (large) map and see if I can speed up my routes any more.

[Team Gopher]

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Hi BSDeality,

I am really happy to see your set up. Great pictures. I hope your ideas inspire others with what they could do as well.

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[drsogr]

I plan on doing something very similiar soon, as well as getting internet hooked up to it so that I can check the weather and search for directions when doing estimates.

I tend to go home to do my callbacks when I can, since I feel more comfortable talking to someone with my schedule and my computer in front of me. I think if I had a setup like that, I would feel much more comfortable doing callbacks out in the field.

[AintNoFun]

nice set up.. how great are wi-fi printers though. i just purchased one a few months ago for the office, we have a few laptops. its awesome to be able to walk around and print..

[BSDeality]

I've been thinking about upgrading my cell plan to do wireless internet, but i'm not sure if its worth the investment for me. Our library provides free wireless, I can park in the parking lot and get on from the truck, check email, weather, etc. I also have a client or two which I have noticed have open wireless routers... not that I would ever use it...

I love having the printer in the truck, it was in from september to december with no problems from the use and abuse i throw at it. I took it out for the winter because I'm sure freezing temperatures aren't good for the ink

[lawnman_scott]

It does give you an edge by making you look more professional that way. Most people seem impressed when i can print out something right away (probably because they think we are all losers who cant afford or operate a computer).

[o-so-n-so]

That is a sweet set up.
I do about 300 "one time" customers per year with my stump grinding service and I think this set up would be ideal for me. I do all my one timers on a written invoice now while my lawns are billed monthly. I would also like the fact that you could store all the customer info right then and not have to keep up with hand written notes. I think this would be a great asset to anyone in our line of work.

If I was a little closer to your location I would knock out that stump for ya....:waving:

[drsogr]

T-mobile has a wireless internet plan. I beleive its about $50 a month. It is supposed to be twice the speed of dialup. I think that I am going to get it and cancel my home connection when I do get a labtop. Either that or find all the hotspots in town. I think the starbucks and most of the book stores have them.

So you didn't mount it in your truck? I would think it would be easier to use if it was mounted.

[JCinTx]

Drsogr, I’ve been using Verizon broadband for a year and a half now on my laptop, and I get some really great speeds. If I ever drive out of the broadband area, which are really huge, it automatically rolls over to the verizon “dailup” service which is equivalent to a 56k modem, so I am never without internet service, I can drive from Houston to Dallas to Austin and never drop my internet. It’s helped me tremendously out in the field, like BSDeality, I’m a mobile office and it saves me a ton in time and fuel, so the service more than pays for it’s self. I have access to my desktop via the laptop, so in essence, my desktop is always with me. I bought the plan a year and a half ago and am paying $79 bucks a month, but they’ve since come down on the plan, about six months ago, I believe it’s $59 now….I’ve been needing to call and get my plan changed to the newer less expensive one but haven’t made that call yet, hate to get caught up on the phone with some bonehead for an hour. Here’s my speed test and with the validation link at the bottom on it, it’ll show you a chart that compares my speed to the average for verizon, cable, dsl, satellite, etc, and as you can see, my speed today is much slower, don’t know what’s causing that, but it’s still 12x faster than dialup. Anyway, if you have any questions, just let me know.
:::.. Download Stats ..:::
Connection is:: 678 Kbps about 0.7 Mbps (tested with 1496 kB)
Download Speed is:: 83 kB/s
Tested From:: http://testmy.net (server1)
Test Time:: Sun Feb 26 2006 12:34:00 GMT-0600 (Central Standard Time)
Bottom Line:: 12X faster than 56K 1MB download in 12.34 sec
Diagnosis: May need help : running at only 36.22 % of your hosts average (myvzw.com)
Validation Link:: http://testmy.net/stats/id-RCTWL7GU6

JC

[drsogr]

Thanks thats good to know. I knew other companies probably had some sort of service like this, but I have never checked into it. I will have to check with verizon when I make the jump.

Thanks,
Derek

[BSDeality]

I'm currently using Nextel, I'm not sure what their data-plans are, anyone know?

I don't have the laptop mounted in the truck because 1) i don't want it that exposed to passerbys. 2) I don't use it while driving (gps is on the dashboard).

What I do is put in as much information (cust name, address, phone numbers, email, work description) about the job before I get there. This speeds up the process when I go to fill out the estimate. I go, measure out the job, and all I have to do is put in some numbers into the laptop. I use my tailgate as my "office" for putting the numbers in if we're outside, sometimes people will invite me inside and I can still print outside. I hit the print button and do a little small talk, walk to the back door of my truck and pull out the paper.

You've got to strike when the iron is hot, and having an onboard software/hardware system does just that.

[BCF]

Slick setup you've got. I've been thinging about this sort of setup for a while, since all my cunstomers are one timers, just haven't found the time. I'd really like to get a touchpad laptop, that way I can just enter my measurements and drawings into that, saving a lot of paper. Problem is I'm not sure how it would hold up when I do estimates in the rain. But I guess I could still use some paper.

I've been thinking about the Nextel/Sprint plan, but can't afford that and cable, and not sure if just the Wifi could leave me in the dark.