Workamping- Supporting your RV Vagabond Ways

What is Work Camping or Workamping?

The spelling is different but the meaning is the same. Work and camp! Work and RV! Your RV lifestyle can be supported by working on the road.

And it can be done in as many ways as there are workampers, tailoring workamping to your own talents, desires and ultimate ecomonic needs. Many of us have income from pensions, savings, investments, and Social Security. For some, this may not be enough.

And if you're younger and without these resources, you'll need to support yourself and your dependents to make a life on the road possible.

Yes, families are doing this too. I've met large and small ones, homeschooling, working and traveling in their RV's. It is field trip learning at it's best. Check out the link below to the Fulltime Families website for more information and support sources for RVing families.

What are some of those ways?

Like I said, there are myriad ways workamp. And here are a smattering of ideas and places to find workcamping jobs.

Workamping

Workamping is traditionally understood as working at a campground, mainly cleaning, groundskeeping and office work, usually shared by a couple, but singles are wanted as well, in exchange for a free campsite and wages, and often other forms of compensation including, electricity, ice, laundry and other amenities. It is usually part-time, which then allows you to enjoy the area, visit the sights and recreate however your heart desires.

There are hundreds and hundreds of workamper jobs in National and State Parks, National Forests, Bureau of Land Management and hundreds of private campgrounds around the country where Camp Hosts are needed.

The southern ones need workampers in the winter and the northern ones in the summer. Take your pick. Here are a few of the best sources I've discovered. But do a search and you'll likely find more.

• Workers on Wheels Newsletter at Work-for-RVers-and-Campers.com is a great online publication by Colleen Sykora, who provides a country-wide workamping list of RVer jobs. You can subscribe free at her site.

• Workamper News is a dedicated jobs site tailored for RVers.

• Work-Camping.com is a site representing Recreation Resource Management with a network of campgrounds they supply workampers for. They can be met at the annual RV Show in Quartzite AZ.

• WorkampingJobs.com is another site which happens to include many volunteering positions across the country.

• Coolworks.com, though not strictly for RVer jobs, is a great source for lots of jobs that are seasonal across the USA, including those for work campers looking for work that suit their talents or desires. Want to work at Disney Theme Parks, be a part of Amazon.com's CamperForce, volunteer at a museum or just do something cool once and move on? Take a look here.

But what if I don't want to "workamp"?

Frankly, though, lots of folks find ways to workamp that don't involve being a camp host or doing maintenance, cleaning and office work at campgrounds.

Assess your skills. Feel free to follow your dreams and do something you've always wanted to do for a living.

Turn your favorite hobby into a business. Peddle your wares around the country or online, or both! Create a website, like I did, to chronicle your travels, share your experiences in a specific area of expertise, or to sell your products.

There are some easily portable jobs that can be identified. In my travels, so far, I've come across the following ways people earn extra income working on the road:

• IT Professionals such as Software developers, Website Developers and Designers 
• Welders and Mechanics
• Artists such as Painters, Fiber Artists, Writers, Journalists, Clowns, Musicians, Graphic Designers, Photographers
• Crafters such as Embroiderers, Quilters, Knitters, Beaders and Woodworkers
• Teachers such as Tutors, Musicians and Painters who give lessons
• Consultants, Marketers, Life Coaches, Affiliate Marketers, Bloggers and other Freelancers 
• Business Owners, Insurance Agents, Multilevel Marketers, Website Owners, Distributors

This list is by no means exhaustive. But, where there's a will there's a way, applies here. Take what you know and or love, and discover where and how you can do it.

Maybe check out one of the above websites and secure a position. Or start a business that can go anywhere you do. Then you can be off and running.

But, most often, things come about very organically, by taking that first step of discovery, by trusting your heart and just beginning. Even if the beginning is doing some soul searching and then some exploratory research.

Putting one foot in front of the other, doing something everyday to begin living your dream is the first step in your action plan. Discovery is the key principle here. What do I want?

As I said earlier, I'm living my RV Vagabond lifestyle while building this website.

I'm doing it with the help of SBI, Solo Build It, a wonderful Canadian company that leads you step by step through the creation process, even if you don't know a thing about websites. I'm doing it at my own pace. My goal is that it be a help to others who want to become an RV Vagabond in their own fashion.

I am also building, with a partner, who I met on the road, an Embroidery business. People love to personalize all kinds of things with embroidery these days. And I love color and fabric and helping people! What fun! Check us out at our BPH Embroidery website.

So let me tell you how my desire to workamp took shape on my About Me page.

Maybe you will become inspired, even if it's just to start working from home or, better yet, begin laying the ground work for your own workamping plan for the road. You get to write your story!