The Workamper Show Podcast

Steven flies all over the country and to Mexico or Central America upon occasion. When his time is up, he flies back to wherever his family is parked at the moment. His wife is involved in roadschooling their three kids – ages 10, 8 and 6 – as well as planning all the family excursions when they arrive at a new destination. The children have acquired 92 Junior Ranger badges from the parks they have visited in the past year alone.

Workamping would fulfill Larry Hansen's desire to travel all over the country. But, because he was only 46 years old, couldn’t touch his retirement account or collect Social Security, Larry still needed to support himself for a many more years. But, he knew most people spend 60% of their income on housing and related costs, like electricity, water, property taxes, etc. As a single person, Larry knew he didn’t need much space in which to live, so an RV was a perfect fit. Because Workamping jobs typically offer free or deeply-discounted full-hookup sites, any money he made could be used to pay for food and experiences.

Dick and Melissa Karnes are originally from Oregon, but they hit the road full-time in June 2018 with their 12-year-old daughter, Madison, as well as two cats and three dogs. Since then, the family has been able to travel anywhere they want to go at any time because of a unique Workamping situation. Melissa is a mortgage underwriter for a Texas lender and Dick works as a certified RV technician fixing rigs in campgrounds they're staying in.

Rocky Mountain Recreation needs people to work in national forest campgrounds to serve as camp hosts, provide maintenance or landscaping services, and even serve in management positions. Some of the Workampers also serve as attendants in day-use areas who collect money and answer questions from visitors. There are no special qualifications to work for Rocky Mountain Recreation. Workampers simply need to like working with people,be able to provide good customer service and enjoy being outdoors.

Delaware North hires Workampers to serve as cashiers, stockers, food service associates, cooks, custodians, supervisors and managers. All the jobs are paid positions with wages ranging between $15 and $19 per hour. General Manager Erin Benike explains that next year the company will experiment with a schedule where people work four days in a row with three days off each week. That will give Workampers plenty of time to explore the many features of Yellowstone.

The Everglades encompasses 1.5 million acres of wilderness at the southern tip of Florida. People from around the world visit the park to enjoy hiking, canoeing, biking, kayaking, camping and fishing among the diverse wildlife. Flamingo Adventures needs a bunch of Workampers to staff many positions including camp hosts, cashiers, waitstaff, cooks, housekeepers and front desk attendants.

Dawn and Jorge Hernandez spent three years working in food service at Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. They also worked as camp hosts at a campground while Jorge worked in the front office and Dawn performed maintenance around the park. The job they keep returning to every year involves working at Adventureland amusement park in Des Moines, Iowa, where Dawn oversees 15 retail stores throughout the park and Jorge works at the park’s 320-site campground assigning guests to their sites and helping them feel welcome. They like working at amusement parks for the entertainment options that come with the jobs.

Dale and Margie Parker completed their first RV trip in a pop-up camper when they traveled 6,000 miles along the west coast. They have held a number of jobs over the years, including working at Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., doing retail work at Yellowstone National Park, serving as camp hosts at a campground in South Dakota and they even spent some time in Alaska. Dale really likes jobs serving as a camp host and Margie enjoyed working food service jobs at Dollywood and retail positions at West Yellowstone. They both like the ability to meet people from around the world traveling to popular tourist destinations in America.

The Sulzers have the freedom to travel at will because they have developed several different revenue streams to support them on the road. Both Danielle and Scott are certified RV inspectors. Danielle is also a registered RV technician and Scott is a certified RV tech. Together they do what’s called retail arbitrage with Amazon. Danielle also creates digital art and sells it online. They use affiliate links on all their websites to generate extra income.

Richard Ruppel is a former truck driver and HVAC installer from Milwaukee, Wisc., who just started Workamping this summer. He had three back-to-back assignments and is really getting the hang of the RV and Workamping lifestyle. He describes some of his typical daily duties as a campground host as well as what attracted him to Workamping and volunteering at various parks. He also describes the rather unique steps he followed to research and apply for specific jobs. It all comes down to being proactive and going after jobs rather than waiting to see if something opens up.