The Workamper Show Podcast

In addition to working on the road and running an online business, the Meyers family takes part in a variety of youth service projects.

Right now, the park consists of 15 full-hookup RV sites and eight cabins. However, in the next six months, the campground will grow significantly with the addition of 100 new RV sites and another 20 cabins. The people who own the RV park also own another company in Rapid City called Custom Skirting, which crafts material to fit to the exact specifications of any RV to protect the underside of the unit so that it can be used during winter months.

Jennie and Meredyth Mustafa-Julock had a thesis about what might happen on the road, and developed a plan to test their theory. But, they certainly didn’t feel a need to know everything before jumping into the RV lifestyle. Yes, they joined Facebook groups and watched a lot of YouTube videos, but they generally figured it out step-by-step as they went along.

Michael Short has been RVing by himself since November 2020. He started because he realized that with everyone working from home due to COVID, his home could literally be wherever he wanted to visit. He founded a company called Pipeline Sales Optimization to help businesses and entrepreneurs automate their sales processes. At 45 years of age, Michael encourages people to think about what kind of lifestyle they want to live and then design a business or job around that so they don’t have to...

Utility companies hire Southern Cross to help monitor the condition of underground pipes by using sensitive sniffer equipment to detect any natural gas seeping up through the ground. Workampers walk above the gas lines and record their findings, which utility companies use to immediately dispatch crews to fix potentially major leaks, or to schedule routine maintenance. The job is one of the most lucrative Workamping positions on the market and the firm hires singles and couples.

Michelle and Scott McDonald have always enjoyed the outdoors. In the past, Scott worked in the outdoor recreation industry helping others to enjoy exploration, adventure and travel. Michelle worked in a classroom before jumping into curriculum development. She specializes in designing high-quality social studies lessons for children in kindergarten through 8th grade. Homeschoolers as well as students in public and private schools across the country use the curriculum Michelle designs.

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 Texarkana, Ark., and they have been RVing for about three years. When they started, Rick was a commercial plumber...

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...

Full-time RVers Allen and Margie Lundy teach people how to use proper nutrition to lose weight and get healthy. Part of that involves showing people how to make minor changes to their diet, like better portion control, and to embrace more nutritious food rather than relying upon the convenience of fast food and processed foods. Eating is just one aspect of a healthy lifestyle. The others involve exercise and proper sleep.

Today I will speak with a representative from Six Flags Darien Lake, which is an amusement park, water park, hotel, campground and amphitheater located in western New York state. Adrian Mudd is a human resources supervisor for Six Flags Darien Lake. He has been with the company for almost five years and oversees the park’s on-site work programs that recruit Workampers and international students to spend a season performing a variety of jobs. Six Flags needs ride operators, food and beverage...