Written by Vince Wheeler

How Workamping Can Fund Your Travels

If you like to travel and want to do it as a lifestyle, you’ll likely need to earn a living while you do it. Workamping (work camping) is a process of combining working and camping. There are tons of jobs around the country that accommodate people who travel full time. In many cases, you’ll sign a contract for a specific length of time. You’ll likely need to stick with each job for a few weeks to a few months. In many cases, you receive a bonus for sticking out the entire contract. These jobs provide basic income to fuel travel. Some jobs pay pretty well, others barely pay, and some don’t pay at all. The jobs that don’t pay, tend to provide a really good upside to a select group that prefer the benefits.

Let me explain: Some jobs will allow you to live in a busy tourist area during the peak of the season. They often give you a place to park your RV, and full hookups. In exchange, you’ll require you to work one or two full time shifts per week. The rest of the time you can do anything you want without the overhead of paying for in-season peak rates to park your RV. There are tons of options for each traveler’s needs. These aren’t careers. Just jobs to pay for travel; and often on a shoestring budget. Some jobs aren’t classified as workamping, but perform the same service and often for higher rates of pay. For example, traveling medical professionals often are required to stay up to six months in a specific job, and get paid the same as they would in a normal job and sometimes even more than standard pay. You can choose were you want to work, but you’ll be stuck in one or two places each year.

What Kind Of Jobs Do Workampers Do?

You could work in state parks, national parks, fishing jobs, forestry jobs, harvesting crops, working in restaurants, hotels, amusement parks, and many other fields. The more the United States embraces a gig economy, the more options there are for paying for your travels by working small gigs. I’ll outline a few of the most popular jobs and highlight the pros and cons of each.

1. Sugar Beet Harvest

Every year, during the late fall and early winter, sugar beets are ready for harvest. These jobs are usually in Montana and Minnesota. The two largest companies in the sugar beet industry are Sindey Surgars in Sidney, Montana. The second is American Cyrstal Sugar Company in Red River Valley, Minnesota. This job usually requires an RV with full hookups. Vans are typically not acceptable.

Pros: You can make really good money in a short period of time. A season usually only last two to three weeks. Someone who works for the full two weeks will average $2,500 a person. That means a couple will take upwards of $5,000 to get back on the road. If you’re frugal with your money, that could last long enough to get a summer workaming job and only need two gigs per years. Of course, that depends on your willingness to be frugal. Either way, you make good money in a short period of time.

Cons: You will work long hours in cold weather. The average day is 12+ hours long. Depending on where you are in the country, it can be a long drive. You are heading up to states that border Canada. Because most people travel with the weather, you’ll need to consider the gas money you’ll need to spend to get up north and the money you’ll spend to get back south.

Notes: You may be able to work for peripheral businesses, such as driving a truck or working on the surrounding farms. These jobs can often pay more and some even have farm houses that you can stay in if you’re a vanlife traveler.

Resources: Check out Sugar Beat Harvest to apply for jobs and get more details.

2. Pumpkin Patches And Christmas Trees Lots

In September, pumpkin patches are beginning to set up. These lots tend to morph into Christmas tree lots after Halloween. These are also really good paying jobs, but they tend to require really long hours as well. You will be expected to set up the pumpkin patch, keep pumpkins stocked up, monitor and sell tickets for jumpy houses and attractions, and keep things safe. After Halloween, you will be expected to break down everything and set up the Christmas tree lot. In many cases, this includes a different set of jumpy houses and other attractions. You’ll be expected to keep the lots full of trees. Most lots also have someone spraying fake snow onto trees. In both cases, assuming you’re the manager of the lot, you will also be in charge of the additional staff. Besides the pay, the tips can be amazing.

Pros: You can make good money and in almost ever situation, you’ll have the ability to keep your RV right on the lot. This will make your time off more valuable since you won’t have to travel back and forth to an RV park.

Cons: These are really long hours and very physical. It isn’t for people who can’t perform physical labor.

Resources: The largest owners of Pumpkin Patches and Christmas Tree Lots is Seasonal Adventures. You can find more information and apply online by visiting their website

Bennett’s Best operates lots in California. If you’d like to contact them, this is their website

3. National Parks And State Parks

Most national parks and state parks jobs are volunteer jobs. This isn’t an absolute rule. In some cases, you can find paid jobs within the state and national parks. With that said, in general you are expected to donate time in exchange for an RV spot and full hookups. These jobs are good for retired people or people who don’t need additional money to survive, but could use free camping to offset their expenses. It is an awesome way to get to see national parks during the peak season without having to spend money. In additional to the free amenities, if you perform 250 hours you’ll receive a “volunteer pass” that waves the following fees for all national parks, BLM land (Bureau of Land Management), Bureau of Reclamation, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land.

Fees That Are Waved:

• Entrance
• Standard amenity fees
• Day use fees for a driver and all passengers in a personal vehicle at per vehicle fee areas (or up to four adults at sites that charge per person). Children age 15 or under are admitted free.

Pros: You get to stay in parks for longer than normal visitors are allowed to stay. You get paid RV lots with hookups. You get a volunteer pass to visit other parks. This allows people with less financial needs to reduce their overhead and save money, while getting more benefits than the general public is allowed.

Cons: You aren’t typically paid to do these jobs. If you are struggling with income to fund your travels, these jobs aren’t going to be the best option for you.

Resources:
Visit www.nps.gov and search “jobs” in the search box. Different opportunities are opening up all the time and this is the most up to date information you’re going to find.

4. Amazon Workforce

If you don’t mind being on your feet, moving around for your entire shift, than Amazon is an option you might enjoy. Being the largest retailer in the world, Amazon is inconstant need for labor. These are physically demanding jobs, so you should expect to work hard running around a warehouse or standing in one area packing boxes. Another benefit is Amazon has recently decided to start the pay for all their warehouse jobs at $15 an hour.

In addition to the relatively high hourly rate, Amazon Workforce also offers the following benefits:

• Up to $550 a month per campsite
• Assignment Completion Bonus: $.50 for each regular hour worked and $1.00 for each overtime hour worked after assignment ends
• Medical and Prescription coverage available after 90 days
• Overtime pay
• Weekly pay schedule
• 401(k)

Pros: You’ll get one of the highest hourly rates for most workamping jobs. When you add in the $550 RV site. The assigment completion pay and other benefits, you aren’t likely to find many temperary jobs that pay this well.

Cons: These jobs are notoriously difficult. Most people aren’t use to walking around or standing in place all day. It can be very tasking to the average person who is use to a sedimentary lifestyle. If you are walking all day, you can expect to be walking upwards of 15 miles a day. One day might not be too bad, but do that for a few weeks or months and it adds up quick. If you like fitness and are ready for the challenge, this could be great for you.

Resources: Amazon Camperforce

5. Gate Guards

As a gate guard, you will work at an oil rig checking contractors in and out as they come and go from the property. Oil equipment is expensive and security is important. Some days might be super easy and you’ll be watching videos and listening to music all day. Other days will require you to be up and down as traffic is heavier. This can be especially true on rig moves. In general, you will check IDs., take a picture of trucks and the occupants of them. That’s about it. This job is physically easy. You can make as much as $185 a day. With that said, you will work 12 hour days in general and it’s common to work 7 days a week.

Pros: You can make great money in a short period of time. It wouldn’t be difficult to make $5,000 in 30 days. Despite the long hours and no days off, you can put away $10,000 or more in three months of work. That’s enough for most travelers to live off of for the rest of the year.

Cons: You will work almost every day and each day will be 12 hours long. When you add that to the drive time to get to the RV park, you will be working, traveling, eating, showering, and sleeping almost the entire time.

Resources:

• Guard 1 Services
• Gate Guard Services
• SS Gate Services

6. Hotels And Restaurants

If you have experience in the hotel or restaurant industry, many areas in the country hire staff to fill those jobs during the seasonal rush of tourist. In particular, Alaska has tons of jobs in these industries. The pay isn’t the best in many cases, but some provide a good chance to get tips that can help make up for the low pay. The upside is the opportunity to get free housing and meals in some of the most desirable resorts and lodges in Alaska. On your days off, you can explore the wilderness and all the other adventures Alaska has to offer. This isn’t exclusive to Alaska. Many parts of the country have jobs in resorts. A good rule of thumb is to consider whether or not an areas has a lot of people living their in the off season. If not, there’s a good chance they’ll need to hire people to come into the area for the tourist season. These are most typically remote wilderness areas. If you’re not into wilderness regions, there’s still a lot of jobs in this field. Cruise Ships are a great alternative. They tend to require contracts for 3 months to a year, but you get to travel for free and get paid while doing so.

Pros: The ability to explore and seek adventure in beautiful Alaska or other parts the country. When you are being given room and board as part of your contract, you can save up almost all your wages for travel when the job is over. The food you are given is amazing and usually cooked by professional cooks and chefs.

Cons: Often the rooms staff are given are less desirable than what guest get. The pay isn’t always the greatest. Often tips are your best chance at making decent money. Check the pay before accepting the job to make sure the trade-offs are worth it to you.

7. Managing General Stores, Canoe, Boat Rentals, And More

There are a lot of jobs in the service side of the tourist industry. When people visit lakes, parks, and other outdoor attractions, people are needed to manage the general stores, help rent out canoes and boats, and even work with horses for people looking to go horseback riding. These aren’t usually as physically demanding as some of the other jobs are, but they still require some physically effort. Most people like to move around during their day and being next to a beautiful lake renting out canoes and boats is a nice job. If you love horses, than there are options to work with them that might be super rewarding. These typically come with low pay, but often provide free RV spots with full hookups.

Pros: Working in nature and sometimes with animals. Being able to work on a marina allows you to interact with visitors and be on the water all day. If nature and people are your thing, then these jobs might be a perfect choice for you.

Cons: Low pay is probably the biggest negative. Most people who work these jobs enjoy the opportunities to work with animals and in nature enough that the pay is secondary.

Resources: Work Camping

8. Petitioning And Other Political Work

I have made really good money with state initiatives (Petitions). I normally work in California, but several states around the country also have these. The basic job is to go out and get people to sign petitions for different issues. Each petition pays anywhere from $1 all the way up to $24 (the highest I’ve ever personally seen). I’ve consistantly made $300-500 a day in the peak of the season.

Usually you start out making $150-200 a day. I say usually because that assumes you can actually do this job. It requires a thick skin and some basic sales skills. You get rejected more in this job than you do in almost any other type of “sales” job. The volume is rediculous. I speak to over 1000 people a day. The pay is awesome if you keep at it. There are times when you can clear $1000 a day, but those are rare situations. In California, you have the right to petition in front of any business that also allows people to “recreate” or spend communal time. For example, if the business offers banking, food services, a coffee shop, and other sersvices, it qualifies as a “town center” based on California free speech laws under the state Constitution. With that said, many store managers will call the cops on you. In general, the cops won’t get involved because they know we have a legal right to be there. There are some grey areas in the law and you need to be careful, but if you learn what you can and can’t do, you can make enough money in 6-9 months not to work for a year (depending on your spending and saving habbits).

Other states don’t provide access to store fronts, so door to door or sidewalks are going to be your best bet. Since I don’t work other states, I’ll have to let you learn from petitioners in the state you work in.

Pros: You can make $10,000 or more in a month if you work a lot of hours and grind away at this. Being frugal and saving pennies could allow you to work six months and take a year off until the next election cycle.

Cons: This is a high stress job. You will likely have cops called on you several times a week. You get use to it and cops rarely do anything about it. You also get “Karens” who give you crap about any issue you promote. One side of the political isle will always want to give you a piece of their mind. You will grow a thick skin if you do this for long.

Resources: If you’re in California, email me and get you a contact for the area you plan to work in. If you’re working in another state, try the Facebook page: “Let The Voters Decide”.

8. Digi-Key

From the few videos I’ve watched from people doing this job, it seems like a winner. They are more reasonable than Amazon Workforce. You get paid about $20 an hour and you also get a free RV space. If you put in a full time schedule, you can make a good amount of money in six months. From what I can tell, you need to commit to working at least five months. $20 an hour is a fair wage for the work and by getting free rent, you can save all your money (minus food and minor expenses). I am seriously considering doing this job next summer. If I do, I’ll update this with my personal experience.

Pros: About $20 an hour with free RV spots. Reasonable work expectations with fair pay.

Cons: You might not want to be there in the winter if you don’t have a winter proof RV. Minnesota has some crazy winters. Expect sub-zero (F) weather.

Resources: The same company that does the sugarbeet harvest also provides this job. Here’s there website!

Final Thoughts

There are tons of jobs that allow you to work while traveling. If you build a schedule for yourself, you can travel all over the country, letting other people pay for your RV hookups, and make a little money for the times you aren’t working. The jobs range from physically demanding to easy walks around the park. In most case, the pay can be great if you work hard and long hours. If you are more about taking it easy and leisurely, than you can still make a living. Just not as good of one. You really just need to get in where you fit in. Decide what sacrifices are worth it to you. I’ve only listed a few of the options you have. There are jobs cleaning fish in Alaska that pay really well, but are so hard few will make it long enough to even try. With that said, if you feel up for the challenge, go for it! With unemployment dropping below 4% as of the time I wrote this post, I can only expect the job market to get more competitive and the opportunities will follow. Get out there and enjoy your travels while making enough to keep you on the road!