Can You Workamp and Earn a Decent Living?

With so many people considering part time or full time RVing, there are lots of travelers (and potential travelers) looking into the possibility of doing the workamp thing either with remote work or by finding jobs on the road.

But is it difficult to find jobs for RVers? Can workamping jobs be found by searching traditional job listings? And if not, how does one find a workamping job? More importantly, can you earn a decent living by workamping?

In today’s post, we’re tackling the idea of combining work with RV traveling. And after just about 20 years living and working on the road full-time, we know a thing or two about workamping.

So, let’s hit the road and get to work!

What Does “Workamp” Mean?

The word “workamping” was invented (yes, seriously) to create a single word to express the combination of work and camping. Simply stated, if you’re working and camping, you’re workamping! This concept, however, can mean many different things.

Workampers sometimes take short-term jobs in a single location while living in their RVs. Others take on remote employment and do that work from wherever they are. There are as many ways to “workamp” as there are non-traditional jobs available to travelers and nomads.

Let’s take a look at several of the most popular ways to work and camp!

Seasonal Jobs

Many full-time RVers find seasonal jobs in various locations and travel to them when they need work and jobs open up.

Fulfillment centers, for example, may need lots of extra employees around the Christmas season. Amazon is one such employer, and many nomads move to areas where there are Amazon fulfillment centers offering work around the holidays.

This is hard work and is sometimes reported as being unpleasant. But many campers report that it’s worth the paycheck based on the number of hours they work, especially around the holidays. (As of Jun 30, 2022, the average hourly pay for an Amazon Warehouse in the United States is $16.46 an hour.)

For those physically capable of being on their feet for MANY hours a day and moving packages, the work is there, and many nomads appreciate the ability to find work when they need it.

Examples of other seasonal jobs include working at Christmas tree farms leading up to the holidays, working as campground hosts, (these jobs are sometimes available year-round depending on location), or as water park and event attendants. National parks even have seasonal jobs available during their busy seasons.

There are also seasonal events such as the Michigan Beet Harvest which is very hard work, but some campers go back year after year.

Campground Host Jobs

We just mentioned seasonal campground hosting jobs in the paragraph above, but this job is worth its own section. There are many hosting jobs available every year and again, some are year-round jobs (depending on the location).

Pay varies with these jobs but they often include a free campsite where you can stay while you’re working as the camp host. Likewise, RV parks frequently offer a free RV site to workers in addition to pay. The average campground host job in the U.S. in 2022 pays somewhere around $500 per week in addition to the free site, depending on the state and the host job.

On-Site Jobs for RVers

Another way to workamp is to locate a job in an area where you’d like to visit and stay for a while. Finding jobs like these that specifically target nomadic workers is far easier than it used to be.

In fact, you can join a site like Workamper News that specifically searches for jobs for RVers. You can search by state or by type of job. You can even search only for jobs that don’t require internet access. Workamper News offers a resume builder so that you’ll have an online resume to include with your applications.

Remote Work

There has never been a better time to find remote work. When offices were closed during the pandemic, many employers found that remote workers make great employees. Some companies found that having remote employees worked very well and that hiring remote workers actually lowered the company’s overhead. In some cases, those savings were enough that they’ve found ways to allow former on-site workers to remain remote.

There are many different types of jobs that can be done remotely. And now you can find available remote jobs by simply searching regular job listings like Indeed and Zip Recruiter.

You can also join a service like Flex Jobs and search only for remote jobs, either full-time or part-time.

Run a Business

While running your own business from the road may not be strictly considered “workamping” in the traditional sense, this has been our chosen way to earn a living while staying mobile, and it has worked out very well for us. We ended up running three businesses from the road, and have been able to earn a living on the road for about 20 years.

You may notice from our post on our RV internet solutions for 2021 that we have a lot of high-tech gear to remain connected while on the road. We also have a large bank of RV solar panels to power it. All of it is needed to run our businesses, especially because we boondock A LOT. So, we need internet connectivity even when we’re in the middle of the desert or in the forest…or up in the Alabama Hills!

Starting Your Own Mobile Business? Attend The RV Entrepreneur Summit!

If you’re interested in running a business from the road, but haven’t done anything like that before, the RV Entrepreneur Summit is THE place to be. The summit is where you can learn from other experienced nomadic entrepreneurs who’ve already gotten their businesses up and running. Along with other successful business owners, we gave a presentation during the 2021 summit.

But another great aspect of the event is being able to connect with other aspiring mobile business owners. Get ideas from fellow RVers about what works and what doesn’t. Meet others who share your same drive to build a business that can support you and your family while remaining mobile. And make a lot of great friends!

In 2022, the event will take place once again in Montrose, CO. We highly recommend this indispensable opportunity to learn from those who’ve already figured out so many different ways to earn a living on the road.

Even if you’re unable to attend the RV Entrepreneur Summit this year, the RV Entrepreneur Podcast is a wealth of information and inspiration. Back in 2016, we appeared in Episode 27. So, if you want to hear some of our own insights about starting and running a business from the road, this interview will share our perspective from where we were 6 years ago.

Looking For Other Workamping Ideas?

If none of the options above are of interest to you, be sure to check out these two great podcasts to get inspiration from what others are doing!

• RV Entrepreneur Podcast
• The Workamper Show

Both of these will help you to uncover interesting ways other RVers have managed to work while living a nomadic lifestyle!

Can You Make a Living Workamping?

Yes! Again, we’ve done it for a couple of decades, and we have many friends who earn a living workamping as well. And we know lots of retired RVers who do volunteer work as they’re traveling.

There are many different ways to combine camping and working. Now all you need to do is find the right fit for you!

Have You Explored the Workamp Revolution?

If you’ve done some workamping, we’d love to know how it has worked out for you! Drop us a comment and give us the details.

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