Back in August, we wrote about jobs and hobbies to do while you full-time RV or snowbird. Now we will go into a little more detail about what these jobs and hobbies are and how to obtain these positions.

The first job that we covered was Workamping (or work camping). Workamping is growing rapidly, especially as retirement RVing and fulltime RVing both increase in popularity. Workkampers traditionally live in their motorhome and serve as camp hosts, do maintenance, or serve in other skilled jobs and receive free campsite fees and sometimes a small salary in return. A workamper could actually be a couple, single person, or family. Workampers also can be retired or non-retired fulltime RVers.

The nice thing about workamping is that you can choose different locations around the country based upon your desired location and/or the part of the country you want to see. Want a Grand Canyon RV vacation on a limited budget? Secure a workamping post close to the Grand Canyon. Always wanted to go on a Yellowstone National Park RV vacation? See about workamping opportunities in Wyoming or Montana.

If you would like to try to be a workamper, here are some resources for you:
1. Work-camping.com – Recreation Resource Management’s website showing you work camping opportunities in the United States and how to apply for a workamping position with Recreation Resource Management.

2. RV Park Store- Work camping jobs and camp host positions throughout the country.

3. Workamper.com – Helps great people find great jobs in great places. Many workamping resources to find the perfect work camping job for you.

In addition to work camping in the traditional sense, others also find seasonal work at Amazon and other companies. Check out this neat article about Amazon and work for RVers and check back at our next retirement RV’s post for more details about jobs and hobbies for full-time RVers.

There are so many reasons to retire in a RV. So, how do you choose just a few for a short list?  The Top 5 reasons are shown in this post and the next Top 5 will be shown in the next post here on Retirement RVs.  Here are Retirement RVs top 10 reason’s to choose retirement RVing, in no particular order:

10.  Learning -  Not only are there interesting new things to learn about your Retirement RV, there are countless new places to learn about around the United States.  Not only can you visit our National Parks, there are countless historic homes, museums, and historic sites to learn about all of the historical moments that you didn’t quite grasp from the school history books.  If you would like to learn more about living the frugal life through RVing, check out this free RV Lifestyle webinar.

9.  Meeting new friends – RVer’s have the reputation of being some of the friendliest folks around, so it is fairly easy to meet new people, who eventually become new friends.  Some retirement RVer’s meet on the RV Forum’s through common interest topics and decide to meet up if their paths cross in the same State or at the same RV Show or rally.  Some RVer’s meet nice RV neighbors at the RV campground and become life long friends. You never know who you will meet when you Go RVing.

8.  Reconnecting with family -  Some non-RVer’s (and sometimes some RVer’s) wonder how your marriage can survive fulltime RVing.  Other RVer’s wonder how your marriage can survive WITHOUT fulltime RVing.  No matter if you are a fulltime retirement RVer or you RV for short vacations, RVing is an excellent way to reconnect with your family.  You have many hours on the road to just talk to each other, you have many hours around the campfire to tell stories, you have the boundless beauty of nature (without the TV blaring in the background) to really listen to each other.  Take your grandkids with you to really get to know them or allow your adult children to visit for mini vacations and learn what’s happened with them in the past couple of years.  The chances to reconnect with family are endless when you RV.

7.  A new challenge -  You have put in your years of work, you have raised your children, you have been involved in your community…now what?  Is it time for a new challenge?  Retirement RVing can be the perfect choice for a new challenge.  Research which motorhome is the best choice for your needs through a RV Finder and reading RV Forum posts.  Learn how to drive the RV, pack the RV, set up the RV, run the RV generator, and book reservations.  RVing 101 type articles can help.  There is never a shortage of new challenges and exciting adventures when you retirement RV.

6.  Mobility -  Need to get to a family members wedding?  Going to a out-of-State family reunion?  Want to visit your family who lives across the country?  Needing to help someone move? When you have a retirement RV, it is so easy to go anywhere at the drop of a hat.  You have all of the comforts of home and it is so easy to be mobile.

Next post, Reasons for Retirement RVing, numbers 1-5.

A common question for those RVer’s who would like to retire and go full-time in their RV, is what do I do for a hobby? For certain retirees who did not save up enough of a nest egg and/or need the extra money, the question might also be, what do I do for a job while I am a full-timer? The question of a job also comes about for those who have not yet reached retirement age, but would like to full-time in an RV and work from a beautiful location instead of an office.

Although, there are mostly minimal costs associated with full-time retirement RVing, site fees alone can run $400-$1000 a month (which most often includes electric, laundry, and propane) and if much traveling is involved, gas/diesel prices can be substantial since most RV’s get poor gas mileage.

So, what kinds of hobbies and jobs do retired full-timers and/or non-retired full-timers do? Here are some examples:

• Workcamping- Volunteering around a campground by hosting, cleaning, doing maintenance, etc. in exchange for site fees
• Computer support jobs
• Temporary employment- A job for 6 months out of the year while staying in the same place, then moving on.
• Entertainment business jobs- Sea World, Disney, Branson, Gatlinburg
• Artists – painters, etc.
• Jobs in the event circuit business- Ex. Taking photos at race events, producing the photos, and selling them on the circuit
• Medical Transcriptionist jobs
• Online index database jobs
• Proofreading
• Construction Jobs
• Repair Jobs
• Landscaping Jobs
• Traveling nurse jobs
• Part-time work as tour/charter bus driver, at private RV parks, at chain RV parks
• Volunteer work for National Park Service
• Volunteer work at retreat center
• Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ranger jobs
• Seasonal Park Ranger positions

If you are interested in learning more, here are further links:

For more information on Work Camping

For more information being a Working Full-timer

For more information on Used RVs to full time in or RV Sales for new RVs.