The Vivos Project is a community being developed near Edgemont, S.D. It was once an old U.S. Army base where ammunition was stored in underground bunkers. Those 575 bunkers are being converted into private homes that people can use as emergency shelters, vacation homes, permanent residences and storage facilities.
Digi-Key, a world-class electronics distribution company, is moving into a new location in Thief River Falls, Minn., which is about an hour east of Grand Forks. Workampers are needed to help move existing inventory to a new climate-controlled product distribution center down the road from the current location. Using handheld scanners, they’ll be tracking inventory from its current spaces to the new storage areas. They’ll be working overnight, but the pay is really good.
He said the problems he sees as a mobile RV technician are related to historically-high demand for RVs, yet manufacturers can’t find enough workers to build them. That means RVs are often rushed out the door before they’re truly finished – causing problems for RV owners and an opportunity for mobile service technicians to fix them.
Today I will be speaking with a couple from Arkansas who make a very good living as Workampers by conducting surveys of retail and commercial properties. These are not public opinion surveys, rather detailed descriptions of office buildings and strip malls which show locations of various features, like light poles, electric meters and sprinklers. Terri and Rick Morgan are from …
Anne, a long-time Workamper at Southern Retreat RV Park, describes how the 160-site RV park is planning to double in size this year with an additional 190 RV sites and even more recreation opportunities. The campground hires Workampers to serve in the front office and kitchen as well as to perform maintenance and housekeeping jobs. Because of the climate in Brunswick, Ga., the park is open year-round, but managers want Workampers to commit to stints of four to six months.
Kathy Belge is the founder of Solo Women RV, a platform where she shares stories about her travels and offers advice to inspire women, especially those traveling by themselves, to enjoy the freedom of RVing. She believes RVing offers healing power to women by helping them overcome limitations they’ve imposed on their lives. By getting out of their comfort zones and enjoying new experiences, women realize they possess hidden strength and skills that have been dormant for years.
Selling trees and fireworks really fits their lifestyle because it requires short-term commitments of a few weeks, rather than an entire season. Steve also performs consulting work for a lithium-ion battery company completing solar installs on RVs. Between the three jobs, the Mahoneys estimate they are working only 3.5 months a year and spend the rest of the time traveling. Their work plan really gives them a lot of flexibility to enjoy a lot of fun activities.
Duane and Jan Sawyer only had one Workamping job so far, but it was a winner. They spent a summer at a campground in California along a river beneath giant redwood trees only a mile from the Pacific coast. Duane was on the campground’s maintenance crew and Jan worked in the camp store. The experience was enough to prompt them to sell their home and hit the road fulltime.
It was the ability to live in Alaska that made that job so enjoyable because the Cunninghams had lots of time to explore the region. They initially thought it would be fun to work in Alaska, but then realized there was far more to see and do than they thought. That’s why they came back for a second season a few years later.
Lindsey Jaroszek is specifically looking for people to work at Lake Powell on the Arizona and Utah border, as well as Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, Olympic National Park and Forest in Washington, and Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. Workampers are needed in gift shops, restaurants, hotels and campgrounds. Some are also hired to rent boats or other equipment, lead hikes and conduct guided tours on land and water.
David Story is the operations manager for Cooper Landing, one of several locations maintained by Alaska Wildland Adventures. The company specializes in providing travel experiences for small groups of people visiting Alaska. He hires about 100 people every year to serve as housekeepers, food servers, shuttle drivers, maintenance workers, and even boat captains and raft guides. The company also needs course guides to describe the area and point out wildlife and landmarks to guests.
Crazy Horse Memorial, which is located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, hires about three dozen Workampers annually and pays them starting at $15 per hour. They also receive a $550 bonus after 90 days and, if they fulfill their agreement, Workampers receive an end-of-season bonus amounting to 25 cents for every hour they worked. Workampers don’t really require any special skills or training for the jobs other than being team players with a desire to help guests learn about Crazy Horse and the memorial’s significance.
