Jim and Naomi Coleman are from Idaho and have been RVing pretty much their entire married life, but doing so full time for the past five years. Friends introduced them to workamping, and the more they learned about it, they desired the same type of lifestyle. They applied for a job, were hired on the spot and wound up staying for four months.
Julia and Carey Bryant first learned about workamping a few years ago when the camp host at the campground they were staying at described the experience and lifestyle. After getting involved with the Workamper organization, they stumbled upon a great job for workampers and that involves traveling through a region of the country grading campgrounds and selling advertising for Good Sam.
Tim and Loretta Killian are RVers from Jacksonville, Ill., which is just outside of St. Louis. They have a 28-foot fifth wheel that they use primarily for weekend trips. They purchased an older RV and then did some remodeling to better suit their tastes and lifestyle. Now they are in the process of downsizing.
My first guests are Tom and Mickey Ryerson. They are from San Antonio, Texas, where Tom works in building maintenance and Mickey works as a nurse. They are planning to retire in 2021 and are already preparing for that day. My next guests are Melody and Keith Paluch, who are dreamers from Canton, Texas. They attended the 2019 Workamper Rendezvous to learn more about the RV and workamping lifestyle. They were on a fact-finding mission to investigate what type of RV to buy for full-time use.
Girl Camper started with one woman’s dream. Janine Pettit loved being outdoors and wanted to encourage other women to join her on some adventures. Today, the group has taken on a life of its own with nearly 50 chapters around the country. She explains how Girl Campers are going places and doing things
Randy Lehnhoff and Marjory Snyder have held a variety of jobs from Alaska to Key West with stops in California, Iowa and Phoenix. But of all the places they liked the most, Utah tops the list and they explain why. Megan Raphael and her husband They have a smaller 22-foot travel trailer and take it on several extended trips every year. But, they’re investigating the full-time lifestyle or at least opportunities to be on the road for longer periods of time.
The first interview is with Dave Meuer, a gentleman from Albuquerque who has been traveling for decades with his wife and six kids as they visited nearly 30 states. The second guests are Brett and Connie Ridgway, who are from Katy, Texas. They had four children who are all grown and on their own, so the couple is ready to play.
Ronnie and Marci Stacy, who are from Dayton, Ohio. They have been weekend warriors for quite a while, but plan to embrace full-time RVing this spring. Olen and Jeanette Criswell, who are from Peoria, Ill. He, too, is going to retire in 2020. However, neither of them wants to spend retirement sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch.
Trey Selman is the executive director of the RV Safety and Education Foundation, an organization that teaches people how to operate their recreation vehicles safely and to follow weight guidelines. Trey describes their RV Academy and the type of online training it provides that includes RV basics, driving safety, tire and weight safety. RVSEF is planning a conference in May in Elkhart to discuss a number of safety-related issues and offer some live training.
Deborah Cole was already retired and waiting for her husband to follow her lead. They have been camping for years; first in a tent, and then in a popup before upgrading to a 27-foot travel trailer. Dee Kettleson has been married 44 years and has two grown sons and seven grandchildren. The family started tent camping when their youngest son was just six months old. They both attended Workamper Rendezvous last October and describe what they learned and how it is preparing them for the RV lifestyle.
Howard and Linda Payne are natives of Louisville, Ky. They both worked professional jobs when, in 2005, they turned 42 and realized they wanted more freedom and flexibility in their lives. They bought an RV and hit the road that August. Since then, they have worked nine different workamping jobs and have some great stories to tell.
Tom Ramler hires workampers to maintain the facility in a variety of different jobs. For example, they might do handyman repair in the dormitories. They can feed livestock used in the agriculture classes. They may work in greenhouses or mow the grass around campus.
