Sylven and Adrian Watson are looking forward to the day they can uproot their lives and head out onto the open road. They have both done quite a bit of camping during their lives, and they just love being outdoors. Even though the couple has owned an RV for 14 years, they opted to enroll in the new RV Dreamers Journey course to get answers to some lingering questions so they could feel more confident about living in an RV full time.
Just doing two inspections a month, Bryan Carbonnell can bring in $1,400, on average. He can more than double that by completing minor repairs where he can charge $100 per hour. There are very few expenses, like insurance, that are deducted from his monthly income. Nor does he need to do a lot of promotion. They are both ideal Workamping businesses to operate on the road.
Lynn Hupp dreamed about the RV lifestyle for many years, and two major life changes earlier this year nudged her to jump out and make that dream a reality. Yet, she still wasn’t quite confident enough in her knowledge or abilities in order to become a full-time RVer. So, she enrolled in the Workamper News’ new RV Dreamers Journey online course designed for people like Lynn who want to soak up all the information they can about the lifestyle and the opportunities it presents. It required a minimal investment of money and some time, but she knew she’d get enough information to determine if the full-time RV lifestyle was right for her.
John Huggins and his wife, Kathy, founded the Living the RV Dream group. They were full-time RVers for quite some time and were one of the pioneers in creating online communities. The couple also served as Workampers nearly the entire time they were on the road. So, they are very well experienced in setting up and taking down an RV, and getting ready to hit the road again. The key is to develop a routine, and that starts will creating a checklist that is specific to your rig and your equipment. In this episode, John offers advice to take the stress and hassle out of RV set up.
As residents of New England, Don and Pat Hawes spend most of their winters Workamping in southern states from Florida to Arizona, but always returned to their northern home in summer to spend time with their children and grandkids. They were Workamping 20 years ago before they even knew what it was when they helped in the kitchen and ran special events at a seasonal RV park in New Hampshire in exchange for a free campsite. Through their experiences, the greatest benefit they’ve enjoyed has been the people they have met – either fellow Workampers or campers who were staying at the RV parks.
Jody Duquette is the executive director of Workamper News. As a Workamper herself, Jody knows that a resume is often the first impression someone makes with a prospective employer. A Workamping resume is different than a traditional resume that people often craft to get a professional job. There is specific information that employers are looking for when reviewing resumes from Workampers, and Jody explains how to ensure that information is included so it draws the attention of an employer.
In this episode, Jody describes the myriad of short-term jobs that are available to workampers. They can be part time or full time. Some last just a couple of weeks, some an entire season, and some until the workampers opt to move on to something else. Some involve working with people while others require workampers to work with animals or completely on their own. Some Workampers operate their own businesses from the road, while others simply work as independent contractors for other companies. The bottom line is that there is a lot of opportunity for people to enjoy the RV and travel lifestyle now, and get paid for it.
Evada Cooper’s story may have unfolded in an unusual way, but it was clearly divine inspiration that led her to make some life-changing decisions that would eventually help thousands of other people to follow her path. She faced several challenges in life, but rather than sulk about her situation, she stepped into the unknown guided by her faith and just followed doors as they opened in front of her. Even unfortunate experiences that she faced later proved to be springboards for helping people avoid those same situations and save money in the process.
After COVID-19 disrupted their plans for teaching tech classes at the National RV Training Academy, Texas RV Professor Terry Cooper came up with an idea for hybrid training which combines live two-way online classes with prerecorded videos and the workbooks used for their popular home-study course. It proved to be tremendously successful and attracted even more students than they had anticipated. So, Cooper expanded the hybrid model to include all the advanced training classes as well. It creates an easier way to learn to fix your own RV or make money repairing or inspecting RVs for others.
Hart-T-Trees operates more than a dozen Florida tree lots in cooperation with local businesses, charities and churches. For workampers, it is almost like having a turn-key, short-term business, where they partner with Hart-T-Tree farms to sell their harvest of trees. Workampers are guaranteed a minimum income, but they earn additional money based on the number of trees they sell.
Located at the entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park, Ruby’s Inn has grown into a destination itself. It now involves 800 hotel rooms spread over three properties as well as a 150-site, full hook-up RV park. Gift Shop Manager Lu Syrett is still looking for workampers to work a variety of jobs for the family-owned business this summer and fall. Ruby’s Inn is right in the middle of Utah’s picturesque Monument Valley.
Angie Rardon and her husband, Kevin, are from Temecula, Calif. They decided to retire from their jobs as a quality auditor and engineering tech at age 55 to pursue a dream of RV travel. In the process of winding down their careers and selling their home, they opted to get physicals before hitting the road. While Angie passed without a problem, Kevin was diagnosed with an early form of cancer. She talks about contending with that problem and describes all the places they have lived and the workamping jobs she has worked.
