The Workamper Show Podcast

Aramark contracts with a number state and national parks to provide hospitality services at Olympic National Park in Washington, Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, South Lake Tahoe in California, and Lake Powell National Recreation Area at the Arizona/Utah border. Some resorts hire people to work at the front desk, provide concierge services or do housekeeping jobs. Other sites hire workers to engage guests in various activities or to lead tours. Some resorts need Workampers in the food...

Austin Faught is the founder and president of RV Park Management, a company located near San Antonio. His firm owns two RV parks in Texas and one in Florida. However, his company also manages RV parks for people who buy campgrounds, but don’t want to manage the day-do-day operations of the business. Austin likes to hire Workampers because they understand what customers expect and they’re really tuned in to what it takes to deliver first-class service.

Greg and Bonnie Dixon are from Vancouver, British Columbia. They have been RVing since October 2017. In fact, they have put on 18,000 miles traveling between what they call the alligator line and the snow line. At their last Workamping gig, they met a woman who introduced the Dixons to the multi-level marketing company LifeWave, a firm selling products that employ phototherapy and acupressure to help people heal and maintain their health. Enjoying success in that business, the Dixons...

Janice Brea is a recruiter with eScribers and Dena Farbman is a Workamper who has been supporting her travel lifestyle by doing legal transcriptions for quite some time. There is an unlimited amount of work available, so people can work as little as three hours a day, eight hours a day or as long as they’d like because the transcribers are independent contractors. That means, they are self-employed in their own businesses, which entitles them to enjoy a variety of tax deductions, too.

Ed Bridgman is the owner and developer of Homestead RV Community, which is about 20 miles south of Mobile, Ala., and less than two miles from the Gulf of Mexico. Using a high-speed fiber optic network, the RV park offers the fastest internet service available and monitors water and electricity consumption at every site from a remote location. If people want to buy firewood or anything from the store, it is all done online and Workampers deliver it to the customer’s campsite a few minutes...

Jeff is looking for a Workamping solo or couple who is experienced in managing a campground or RV park. They may also be tasked with managing the on-site apartments and retail space, too. Compensation is set up differently than most other Workamping jobs in that the manager will receive a percentage of the gross income of the RV park. Jeff hopes that will be a big incentive to a prospective manager to help fill the park.

Workampers serve as park attendants, which mean they greet visitors to the park, help them check in to their campsites, clean up the bathrooms, and help with clerical duties at the office. The volunteers are expected to donate 24 hours of time per couple in exchange for a full-hookup RV site very close to the Washington/Idaho border. The project has enough volunteers for the 2021 season, but Andrew is looking for Workampers in 2022, at which time he will be transitioning two more campgrounds...

Cherry Republic operates six retail stores throughout Michigan, but hires 10 Workampers for its headquarters campus which is also home to the packing and distribution center. Workampers are utilized in the retail store, but also to serve samples or full glasses of wine to guests. In the distribution center, they assemble and label products before packing them for shipping. The paid jobs start at $10 per hour plus a free RV site.

Jim Nelson and Rene Agredano jumped in to the RV lifestyle as a favor for their German shepherd, Jerry G. Dawg, who lost a leg to cancer. They wanted to give him an adventure of his lifetime, but the experience changed them to the point they continue traveling in their RV to encourage others to “be more dog.” Since 2007, they have logged 170,000 miles working various Workamping jobs, but also developed multiple income streams to support their nomadic lifestyle. They founded several...

Last year, with everyone stuck inside for COVID, Denise Fuller saw an opportunity to encourage others to try quilting. She started a business she could run out of her RV to create kits that people can buy online. Designed specifically for RVers and others who live in confined quarters, the kits come with patterns, batting and other supplies to complete smaller quilting projects. She also describes the RVing adventures she has enjoyed with her husband, Mark, since 2012.

Workampers have been employed by Prairie Berry for the past five years and they’ve always been involved with serving samples. This year, additional Workampers are needed to help in the kitchen preparing food for the on-site restaurant and helping to set up for special events. We have interviewed a number of Workampers on this show and in the Workamper News magazine who have described their time at Prairie Berry as one of the best jobs they’ve ever had.

Park Ranger Rob Hill needs several volunteers to help create and deliver water safety presentations to area schools. For that reason, any Workampers with teaching experience and who love boating, canoeing or kayaking would likely love this opportunity. Rob is also looking for volunteers to help with maintenance of the property, serve as gatehouse attendants and simply interact with guests while overseeing the project. Workampers Mike and Sue Ward also come on the show to describe the...

For 20 years, ID Plans has hired teams of RVers to trek across the country performing physical surveys of commercial real estate properties, primarily at retail locations, like malls or strip shopping centers. The teams confirm and record all the assets on the property. It might be the location of light poles in the parking lot to the types of air handling equipment on the roof and even the position of security cameras. The compensation plan uses a formula based on the square footage of the...

Adventures add life to living, but they don't have to be extravagant, expensive or epic trips. Heidi Dusek, founder of Ordinary Sherpa, helps adults and families transform ordinary activities into extraordinary adventures. The money parents spend on trinkets for their kids that just add noise to their lives and clutter to the house can be reinvested into memory-making park admissions and tools like butterfly nets and fishing poles. Heidi helps other families build lasting memories and...

Anthony Montelongo, who owns a fifth wheel, started a mobile service business in north Georgia right in the middle of the COVID shutdowns. He completed five weeks of advanced training, went to work for an RV dealership to get some experience and then ventured out on his own by launching Certified RV Solutions in Ellijay, Ga. His company does more than just fix RVs. He also offers inspections as well as enhanced walk-through orientations for new buyers that go beyond the quick tour that...

Dan and Patty Harrison feel Workamping gives them a purpose for getting up in the morning. Like Patty said, people can fill their time with crafts, playing cards and activities like that. But, for the Harrisons, that lifestyle quickly got boring. Workamping allows them to use their brains while keeping busy and active. They also wanted a greater sense of purpose, so Dan and Patty started looking for ways to volunteer to help others in some way. That’s when they discovered Workamping as an...

Tracy and Lee Perkins have been crisscrossing the country a number of times and funding their travels by Workamping along the way. They have sold Christmas trees, harvested sugar beets, shipped products in an Amazon warehouse, guarded gates at Texas oilfields, and worked at several campgrounds in paid and volunteer positions. They constantly feel the tug to go see some place new. In fact, Lee said that whenever he wears a path from his RV to the pond, he knows it is time to move on.

Ranger Tyler Marye is looking for paid gate attendants, and that involves greeting guests on arrival, opening and closing the gates, issuing permits, collecting fees, and educating people about park rules. There are also a few volunteer positions open this summer.

Gerry and Ron Bays love Workamping at campgrounds. It saves them money and, more importantly, allows them to remain active in retirement and visit a number of places they'd dreamed about seeing. They share what attracted them to Workamping in the first place and describe some of the fun adventures they've enjoyed as well as lessons they learned along the way.

This week’s show features an interview with a dog trainer who is planning to use his RV to travel throughout his market area to put on training seminars for pet owners. Dan Ross is a professional dog trainer from southern California who has been in business for six years. He has developed a way to communicate with dogs that has become second nature to him, and he shares that knowledge with other pet owners in hopes they’ll bond more closely with their own dogs.