Workamper Geoff Baker supports his travel dream by inspecting RVs and teaching people to drive them

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Today I am speaking with a man who was full-time RVing for ten years and continues to do so part-time. He supports his lifestyle by helping people make informed decisions about buying RVs, and he also helps people learn how to drive RVs once they make a purchase.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Workamper News. With its Diamond and Platinum membership tools, Workamper News is much more than just a job-listing website. When you put the tools of this professional service into action, you’ll find out just how easy it can be to turn your Workamping dreams into reality.

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Geoff Baker currently lives in Polk City, Fla. A native of Great Britain, he spent 27 years as a marine engineer in the Royal Navy before retiring and moving to Philadelphia. That’s where he met his wife and started driving motorcoaches throughout New England. Eventually, the couple bought a motorhome and toured America before opting to settle in Florida.

He and his wife were attending the Tampa RV Supershow in 2014 when he bumped into Steve Anderson, who was then the owner of Workamper News, as well as Terry Cooper, an instructor who was training RV technicians. Steve and Cooper had a booth at the show hoping to entice people to attend new classes to become RV inspectors.

Afterall, people get expensive houses inspected before buying them, so, logically, they should do the same thing with expensive RVs. Geoff agreed and enrolled in the introductory class, which took place in Bushnell, Fla., with inspector-specific courses offered a few weeks later in Daytona Beach.

When Geoff completed his training, there were only two inspectors in central Florida. After a few years of working in cooperation with RV Inspection Connection, Geoff ventured off on his own by launching a website and creating his own pricing structure. He started answering people’s questions on Facebook and his business grew steadily.

Geoff also took additional training so that he could fix RVs and key components on them, such as Dometic, Truma and Aqua-Hot appliances. Over the course of the past nine years, Geoff has completed more than 500 RV inspections.

It was 15 years ago when Geoff mentioned to his wife that someday he’d like to get an RV and travel all over the United States. The next thing Geoff knew, they were looking at motorhomes at a nearby dealership. A short time later, they started full-time RVing.

Eventually, the couple decided to settle in Florida where Geoff, once again, started driving motorcoaches shuttling tourists around the area. He was technically a Workamper because he and his wife lived in an RV park, but he drove big busses to earn money.

He continued driving busses while building his inspection business until his employer at the time imposed some new policies about employment that made him uncomfortable. Fortunately, building the inspection business gave Geoff the option to move into full-time self-employment.

Today, both Geoff and his wife are actively involved as inspectors. He zeroes in on the mechanical aspects and exterior condition of the RV, while she focuses on the interior. He also works as a driving instructor to help people learn how to operate motorhomes as well as how to back and tow travel trailers or fifth wheels.

Yet, the couple manages to find time to go RVing and even do some Workamping jobs at state parks in Vermont and Texas. In fact, they only inspect RVs about five or six months every year so they can enjoy the rest of the time traveling and holding down traditional Workamping jobs.

People can connect with Geoff by visiting inspectrv.com or by checking out their Facebook page where Geoff has posted photos of some of the strange things he has uncovered during his inspections.

Today’s episode is brought to you by Workamper News. Since 1987, they’ve been helping businesses of all types find and recruit Workampers, who serve in a variety of positions around the country to help further the mission of great businesses.

When you become an employer member at Workamper.com, you’ll have access to resources and support to help you develop and implement your Workamper-recruiting strategy.

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That’s all I have for this week’s show. I’ll have another interview on the next episode of The Workamper Show. Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy a safe and memorable summer!