There are so many workkampers etc out here on escapees, that I thought this would be a good place to ask this question.
Just what "job ideas" really work to make $ on the road?
I have seen people with ideas from selling avon, to walking dogs, to babysitting kids in the campgrounds.
But, What has really worked for you???

The answer to that just depends upon the person involved. Nick makes his living operating the Gypsy Journal RV magazine from the road. Others make a living by working in RV parks where the site is part of the wages.

I have never met an RV fulltimer who earned all of their living doing any of the things that you suggest. The vast majority of the work-campers on the road are not making all of their income but only supplementing what they receive from some other source. Most of those I know who earn all of their livelihood as they travel do not work in the RV parks but take outside jobs which pay much better and then they pay for a site to stay in. Others look for locations where one can be a campground host in some public park for their site and then also work in town to earn an income.

There are some seasonal jobs that are frequently offered to RV folks that pay very well for long hours for a short period. These are things like working in either the sugar-beet or the potato harvest crews. Still another seasonal job that is not difficult to locate is operation of a Halloween pumpkin patch, or a Christmas tree lot. Both usually pay quite well but have long hours for a pretty short season. We have met one couple who operated a fireworks stand for that season and did well from it. There are several companies that operate a shop in malls for the Christmas season who hire RV folks to manage them.

There are also many who live in RVs that follow the craft show circuits or who work flea markets. In such cases you need some means of carrying the goods you will sell as you travel. There are also some who have jobs that can be done via internet but that requires you to have a constant internet link that is high speed and reliable.

It can be quite difficult to make a complete living as you travel with some types of self employment because moving about prevents the establishment of a return clientèle. To run a business from the road can also be challenging because of things like tax licensing and local regulations. Most RV travelers find it easier to earn a living by working for others, but it can be done if you have an original idea and can develop a market for your product or services.

The job ideas you mention are the same on the road or off. What works with those are like Kirk says is as a supplement to a nice pension or take your existing job on the road.

Temp services can also be an option.

city...,

Kirk has said it quite well.

IMO, it is difficult, but not impossible to make your living entirely from "on the road" jobs.

I travel and make my living doing tax and accounting work. However, IMO, that is only possible because I have worked in the same profession for over 35 years and have a very loyal customer base. I do not rely on RVers or others that I meet while RVing as my customer base.

Traveling nurses have a great opportunity right now. Nurses are in demand and they can obtain 13 week contracts quite easily. That allows them to make a living and move 4 times a year.

Anyone that can work online (as I do) has a significant advantage. One of my sons lived in Southern CA and worked online for a company in Wisconsin for several years (programming job). He could have done that job from anywhere with a broadband access.

We have friends that make 100% of their earnings on the road. They do have some savings, but nothing that generates any significant earnings...no IRA's, no retirement, and no Social Security (yet...they are waiting to age 66). They live on the road by Workamping and getting paying jobs as they travel. Once in awhile they do rely on savings, but generally live a happy life on what they earn as they travel and work.

We both do a little work for pay on the road, but mostly we chose to do volunteer/mission type work.

Wife was an HR manager for the old Martin Marietta Corp (now Lockheed-Martin). She now does recruiting (headhunter) for several big companies. Since she recently started, it is too soon to know how it will go, but it looks promising.

I was an Air Force electronic systems officer (program mgr). After retiring from USAF, wife & I founded a custom home electronics business which we sold in 2000 to start fulltiming. I still do occasional consulting & system design work for local businesses as we move about.

Neither of us expect to make enough to totally support us, but we also have decent retirement income from investments, mil pension, etc.

It must be a very rare person that can totally support their family while fulltiming. Our older son (Apple Computer software engineer) could do it, as he works from his home and only rarely travels for business.

JMHO

Marv

I guess we're part of the minority! We make all of our income on the road doing various things. We don't have retirement, investments, inheritance, etc. We have to work to get any money we have. Now, having said that, let me also say, we don't have rv payments (we paid cash for an older one) we don't have car payments (same as the rv); just about the only thing we have to pay on is insurance, phone and direct tv.

We have worked at hotels in West Yellowstone, Rv Park, Christmas tree lot, Lowes, drafting (our original career) etc.

Bottom line is to me, figure out where you want to spend some time then see if you can find some kind of work that covers what you need covered and then do it. Also, keep your ears open, ask people what they do for money and be flexible.

Yes, it can be done. Many of us are doing it. It takes hard work, creativity, and flexibility.

And as Jim and Alona said, not having a huge nut to crack every month also helps a lot. The less you have to pay, the less you have to earn.

Being debt-free and managing expenses make it easier because you don't have to generate as much income to be comfortable.

Art mentioned travel nurses. Other medical professions lend themselves to this as well (if you're already in one of these you're aware of that) Radiology jobs (x-ray, nuclear medicine, etc.), therapy professionals (PT, OT, SLP), and others. This all relates to what we do for a living -- I'm a recruiter in the medical staffing industry and can work anywhere there's a cell phone signal and an internet connection.

It's hard to find a "new" job that you can do on the road and make good money while being fairly independent. Most people who do this have a long work history in a profession. So the place to start is to examine what you do, or have done, and "think outside the box" about what you could do with that skill on the road.

If you have a skill that's in demand local temporary agencies can be a good resource. You won't be as independent as some, because you'll need to stay in a town for several months, but that may suit your traveling style.

You might take a long-range planning approach by looking into jobs that take the least amount of training to start and going to school for that. Don't forget to check out licensing requirements across the country. X-Ray Technician is one example. I think being a barber would work. Tax preparer might be a good seasonal choice.

Mac

quote:

Yes, it can be done. Many of us are doing it. It takes hard work, creativity, and flexibility.

Nick,

As my dog (before he died) used to say to me "You are a god to me!"

You are one of the talented and fortunate few that can TRAVEL and FULL TIME RV as they earn a living. IMO, most fulltimers that also do significant travel rely on Social Security, pensions, retirement, savings or investments to live the lifestyle. It is a small number of fulltime RVers that earn their entire living as they travel (IMO) and enjoy the fulltime RV Lifestyle.

I consider myself one of the very fortunate few that can earn a good living while traveling. However, I would not want to live on only what I am earning. Fortunately, I have savings and Social Security (well, maybe, depending upon what happens).

FWIW...

I got to thinking about this as a possibility for me. Some of you might like the idea, some will hate it, and many will not be physically up to it.

But what about getting onboard with a lawn service? My step-son worked for one of the local lawn services a couple of years ago and made some very nice money. His situation was 'under the table', and that may not be of interest to some. (I won't comment on the ethics of that one, I'll leave that to you.)

It was seasonal, but depending upon the location you're in, it could work out to be a decent 3 to 6 month ride (or more if you wanted it). And it just might be good exersize, too!

Just a thought...



Brian

Brian,
Not sure, but I would suspect that work for a lawn service is probably going to pay minimum wage, or little more than that. It would probably be difficult to make enough to live very well in that line, but......... One of the advantages to many of the more traditional work-camping positions is that most come with an RV site and utilities as a part of the pay.

As to the "under the table" issue, I'd say that ethics is only part of the issue. Risk is also a significant factor, particularly if you are earning all, or most of the funds to live on in this way? Even the IRS knows that it does take some money to be able to pay your living expenses and might get pretty curious.

I think that there are probably more fulltimers who earn all of their living than some may think, but it is still far from the majority. It is also true that the majority of those who do earn all of their income do so partly by living a very inexpensive lifestyle.

quote:

I won't comment on the ethics of that one, I'll leave that to you

Hopefully the ethics of not reporting income is not an issue for anyone on this forum!

So, once you understand that it is ethically wrong, you still need to make a decision as to whether or not to report all income.

Of course you guys are right. I was just suggesting another possible alternative to the traditional workamping.

A typical workamping position might require 32 hours of work per week and offer a site with paid utilities. Depending upon the value of the site (what you'd pay in real dollars to stay if you were not workamping there) and what you could be making at a job, it might be a great deal or it might be a not so good deal.

In the case of my step-son and his lawn mowing job, he'd have come out way ahead even paying 1/3 in taxes for the area we're in... according to my rough calculations, something like $300/mo better, for the same number of hours worked.

I realize that different situations may be different, and there are endless variations of what workamping jobs offer. Some would probably work out to be much better than having a regular job. Gotta do the math... but that's just my opinion.

(I guess I've been watching "Deal or No Deal" too much lately! LOL!)

Safe travels,

Brian

We came across someone during the hurricane problems that traveled with chainsaws and such and went to the different campgrounds offering services in the area - seemed to keep busy. Also, even someone traveling with some piece of construction equipment - maybe it dug holes I think. Sounds bad making a living off of natural disasters but the people are thankful to have the extras for hire. Lawn mowing pays more than one would think even in a low-cost living area - demand here is high since many of the people are older. Cathy

Hi Cathy,

Good input!

As one who's lived through hurricane Katrina up close and personal, I was very thankful for people who came along to do things at a reasonable price.

I had one of these "chain saw guys" like you mention come in and do a job for me taking down some trees I didn't feel comfortable cutting myself. He charged me $800. I had gotten other estimates anywhere between about $3k and $7k for the same job, yes gouging big time. It was quite common. So I was very thankful for a guy from Missouri that was here looking for work cutting trees.

He made a pretty good money considering he and one helper were in and out of here in just a few hours. I was happy to get a job done that I didn't feel comfortable doing myself at what I considered a reasonable price.


FWIW...

Brian