Welcome to post 10 of 26 in the A-Z guide to full-time RV Living!
Full-time RV travel isn’t exclusively for the retired or independently wealthy. Whether it be a traditional job done remotely or an income opportunity you’ve never even heard of, there are a multitude of ways to earn while living a mobile lifestyle. In this post I’m going to share what that looks like for us along with several of examples of what kinds of jobs are possible while living on the road.
How we earn an income while living on the road full-time
For several years Mark & I dreamed of living on the road but thought it wasn’t possible since our jobs as wedding photographers meant we had to be in Colorado. After years of dreaming and experimenting we realized we could transition our business into being seasonal. We make ourselves available for bookings in Colorado six months out of the year. In that 6 month timeframe we travel in our RV throughout the mountains to wherever our work takes us. The rest of the year we are free to roam wherever our hearts desire.
Living on the road full-time without a mortgage cut down our expenses significantly meaning we don’t have to earn as much. We’re able to fit plenty of work into a 6 month window to cover our expenses for the year.
How to work while full-time RV-ing
Full-time RVers who work on the road typically fall into one of two categories.
1) Digital Nomads
Digital nomads use an internet connection to work remotely from anywhere.
2) Workampers
Workampers work at a specific location, either short-term or seasonally.
Two examples of how digital nomads make money
Freelance work
Writing, photography, videography, design, editing, consulting. There’s a wide variety of skills that can be offered and provided virtually. Check out fiverr.com to see what kinds of services people are offering that could be done from the comfort of your RV.
Go remote with your current job
Thanks to Starlink you can now have a stable, high-speed internet connection from just about anywhere. All Starlink needs is an unobstructed view of the sky to get you online (and a monthly payment of course). It’s now entirely possible to work a traditional 9-5, Monday through Friday job while also living a location-independent lifestyle.
Three examples of how workampers make money
Caretaking
There are people all over the country (and world) looking for caretakers to look after their property and/or pets on a long or short-term basis. Some of them pay, some of them offer free accommodations as a trade. Stringing together a variety of caretaking positions could be a great way to earn and travel at the same time. Caretaker.org is a great place to learn about caretaking opportunities.
Camp hosting
Thousands of campgrounds across the country employ people to manage the grounds and oversee check-ins and check-outs. Camp hosts are provided with a place to park your RV and earn a small salary at the same time. With many campgrounds being seasonal, this is one way to move around on a season by season basis.
Seasonal work
There are tourist destinations all throughout the country that have a high season and slow season. During high season, when an influx of tourists swells the population, employees of all kinds are needed to help with the demand of services. A few examples would be working a check-in desk, serving as a guide (rafting, fishing, etc), serving or cooking at a restaurant, working a retail store, just to name a few. Securing a spot for the season at an RV park would be the way to take advantage of monthly rates that are typically much lower than the nightly rate.
How to find workamper jobs
- Search “workamping” and “workamper” on Facebook to find various groups with job listings.
- Subscribe to workamper.com, a paid resource for RVers looking for workamping positions.
other ways to make money while living on the road full-time
Renting out property
Renting out your primary residence and/or an investment property can provide you with an income while living on the road.
Sell your art
Are you an artist that has dreamed of making an income from your art? Use your location independence as a way to travel to various art shows around the country.
The juggle of working and traveling full-time
Juggling a job while living on the road works in many different ways. For instance, camp hosting would mean living at your place of work (your location is determined by the job) where as freelance work or a remote job means juggling your work schedule plus the work of finding places to stay. If you like to move a lot, the lifestyle can feel like a job all on its own so it’s important to find ways to streamline your travel style so that it works in harmony with your job and doesn’t become a burden.
How the juggle works for us
For the six months out of the year that our business is active, we stay 14 days in every location. (14 days because that is the maximum allowed stay in one campsite on most public lands). That means when we’re busy with work we only have to dedicate two days a month to moving and all the other chores that come with the lifestyle (dumping tanks, refilling water, refilling propane, researching where we’re going). The more you move around, the less time you have for work, play, relaxing, socializing, etc. In the winter, when our business isn’t active and time is more abundant, we move and explore more frequently.
There are so many ways to marry your road-life and your work-life. For us, it took a lot of experimenting. If it doesn’t all fall in to place for you right away, don’t throw in the towel. Get creative and ask yourself what’s not working and explore your options. Talk to other RVers and Vanlifers and ask how it works for them. We’re always learning new ideas from other people and finding that there are endless ways to live a life of perpetual travel while earning an income along the way.
Read more in the A-z guide to full-time RV living:
- A-Z Guide to full-time RV Living: Anatomy of a Dream
- A-Z Guide to Full-Time RV Living: Bears, Bandits & Breakdowns
- A-Z Guide to Full-time RV living: Community & Companionship
- A-Z Guide to full-time RV living: Downsizing
- A-Z Guide to Full-time RV Living: Expenses
- A-Z Guide to Full-Time RV Living: Finding places to stay
- A-Z Guide to Full-time RV Living: Great Expectations
- A-Z Guide to Full-Time RV Living: Having a home base
- A-Z Guide to Full-time RV Living: Inspiration
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