Employment Opportunities from the Road

[denali]

How does one go about becoming a work camper and at what type of parks? Any special website to visit where you apply?

[wheel interested]

We actually subscribe to workamper magazine and we get e-mail alerts as well to jobs. Many people find their own jobs by just stopping in or making an inquiry for work at a place they would like to be employed. Usually all that is required is an e-mail and resume with picture of you and RV. Many web sites for campgrounds and web sites for parks such as Dollywood and Disney and various other amusement and theme parks and state and national parks and forestry and the concessionaires that service them, as well as the army corps of engineers all have employment and housing information listed on their own sites too. Some jobs are in exchange for hook-ups and site and amenities, some pay for every hour worked and some have a combination of paid and volunteer hours.

A Google search will generally turn up many different opportunities and ideas. Also Google seasonal jobs and many more sites will be helpful to you. Here are a few links to workamping sites that I have used.

Job Listings For RVers: Help Wanted Ads For Workcampers And Working RVers

WORKAMPER NEWS - OPT IN

Work Camping, Work Camper and Work Camping

CoolWorks.com - Summer Jobs and Seasonal Jobs in Great Places

[denali]

Thanks, Carol. Great info that I'll be holding on to for when I'm closer to retirement. It sounds like a lot of fun.

Kim

[JDavid]

Originally Posted by denali

Wow! Awesome looking job, JDavid, but looks a little dangerous. Great pictures though. Especially the animal paw print ... looks like a very large bear!

It WAS a very large bear!

I have had some inquiries about the UXO field, if anyone wants info please email me at dsherer@emeraldstate.net with your number and I will give you the full story.

David

[Trex]

Originally Posted by wheel interested

Many successful Airstreamers are making a living on the road today. What I would like to know is what are the employment opportunities for people traveling in Airstreams and how do they find them or are they all self employed? In that case, what education or fields are best suited for working from the road and can you offer success stories or perhaps opportunities? I have some productive years ahead but no particular place to go. Help!!!

Many of the seasonal jobs in Northern Calif. are in service type recreation jobs....

Campground host: Try the Shasta Recreation Company, (SRC). The SRC has a contact with the USFS, Shasta Trinity National Forest. They clean the bathrooms, pick up the trash, and collect parking fees at the boat ramps on Shasta & Trinity Lake. Most host sites have NO shore power.
Shasta Recreation - Camping, Boating, Fishing, Water Sports and more!

Resort List: There are many summer jobs with private resorts on Shasta Lake...
Shasta Marina Resort, Packers Bay Marina, Holiday Harbor, Silverthorn Resort, Bridge Bay Resort'. The jobs run from Dock worker to Houseboat maid. One of the perks is most resorts give there employees a houseboat rental at 90% off the summer rates. Shasta Lake Houseboats, Shasta Lake Resorts - ShastaLake.com

Trinity Lake Resorts: (info from their web site), Trinity boasts unparalleled water sports opportunity from world-class trout and bass fishing, to miles of smooth blue water perfect for boating, skiing and boarding. Accommodations range from lakeside cabin rentals, nearby RV parks and campgrounds, and nearly 147 miles of shoreline for camping and anchoring private and rental boats.
Trinity Lake Resorts & Marinas on Trinity Lake | Forever Resorts



Also Mt. Shasta Ski/Board park hires approx. 200 employees per season.... it may be to late for this ski season, but something to plan for next year. The park is located one hour north of Redding, Ca. between Mt. Shasta City and McCloud on Hwy 89.

[wheel interested]

Amazon is looking for work campers for their 2011 peak season. Having completed the 2010 peak season and staying until the middle of January, the work was steady, the pay good and incentives very good. First week training consists of 5 hour (1/2) shifts, thereafter the shifts are 10 hours with a shift differential for night and weekend shift bringing pay to $10.50-$14.85 for overtime. When push comes to shove (at peak) 60 hour work weeks are permitted, you merely sign up on a sheet for OT, until then you work 40 hours and have 3 days off for enjoying Kentucky where the weather is mild until December. Besides free rv space and electric, water and sewer or pump-out there is a completion bonus of $500.00 (beware... heavily taxed!) and many extras in the way of giftcards for groceries and restaurants, and pizza parties, fruit and chicken or chili dinners provided in the employees' lounge and various prizes including Amazon discount and Amazon dollars. BIG place, with lots of stooping, lifting, pushing, walking, but guaranteed to get you svelt and feeling at the top of your game. Break time felt just like "senior lounge" at HS only with more couples and a few more years... Amazon couldn't have been more appreciative of their seasonal campers and it really showed in word and deed. It was also a lot of fun and seeing all those new products and gizmos was pretty cool too. The work campers get together with happy hours and games and dinners at their various locations and there are many campgrounds to select from including the beautiful state park of Green River Lake.

Although I am speaking of the Campbellsville Kentucky Fulfillment Center there are two other locations for seasonal campers, one in Coffeyville, Kansas and the other in Reno Nevada.

referrals will allow you to make some extra money!! As new or returning campers, you may refer your fellow campers to work with you at Amazon and get $50 for each referral! The main criteria is that they work a minimum of 30 days (and you do, as well!). You would receive your bonus for each referral as they meet that criteria.

ENTER TO WIN A KINDLE 3G!

Amazon’s Seasonal Camper program is now offering a Kindle 3G Sweepstakes! Complete this Entry Form and your name will be entered into a weekly raffle for a Kindle 3G – Feel free to pass this link around to your friends – anyone can enter to win! For more details on this, please read the rules and regulations on the website.

For questions or concerns, please contact us at seasonal-camper@amazon.com

Ashley McGuffin
Recruiting Assistant
mcguff@amazon.com

Just say Carol B. sent you, or better still pm me.

[TinCanLand]

Hello--

Is there a thread that already addresses setting up a mobile workshop, either in the trailer/dinette area or tailgate of the TV?

I do plumbing, electrical and mechanical work and would like to be able to take on paying or small courtesy jobs while traveling.

First thought was to go and get another utility body pickup, which could make an OK TV with a custom bed cover.

This forum is so huge, someone must have already addressed this. Appreciate any leads.

Thanks, regards, Steve

[SmokelessJoe]

Steve,


It seems to me that you already know the best answer: tow your trailer with a utility body replacing your truck bed.

You just need a work bench, either stand alone or attached to the truck bumper, and you won't have tools or grease and dirt messing up your trailer living.


Sergei

[SmokelessJoe]

You could carry one of those easy to set up easy to fold down light weight canopies for the work bench too.

[richinny]

a member here 'lewster' was using a sprinter van as a tow/work vehicle.

[wheel interested]

I am on my way to Amazon, early this year. Here is a request for work campers for the upcoming holiday season. I thought some of you might be interested.

GUESS WHERE I’M GOING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON…
I’m going to spend my holidays with the Amazon Seasonal Camper Program – and you can too!
The Amazon Seasonal Camper Program is ALIVE and BOOMING . They currently have hired TONS of campers like us for the Holiday Season….and want MORE!!!
THEY ARE STILL HIRING!!
So, what is the Amazon Seasonal Camper Program?
To meet customer demand during the holiday shopping season, October through December, they need more campers like us to come spend the holidays working a great job! There are 3 Amazon sites offering the Seasonal Camper Program – Campbelllsville, KY, Coffeyville, KS, and Fernley, NV. Amazon has provided opportunities for Fall/Winter employment to the Work Camper community for several years. The Seasonal Camper program has been wildly successful in making Christmas very merry and is a tremendous work camping job opportunity for us during the Fall and Winter months.
Here’s some info if you wanna check out this fantastic opportunity:
The Jobs
Amazon jobs are pretty physical and fast-paced. They are warehouse positions ranging from receiving or stowing merchandise purchased off the website by customers to picking or shipping those same items. There is a lot of standing and walking and you will keep moving – your 10 hour shift is sometimes over in no time!
Benefits
Amazon picks up the cost of your FHU campsite and provides a fun living and working environment! Wages are great and there is opportunity for additional wages should you be placed on night or weekend shift, as well as OT. AND there is a bonus at the end of the season! This is an opportunity to make some good gas money for your spring and summer travels. You may choose a site from one of the area campgrounds and Amazon will be directly billed for the cost of your stay while employed.
So….. Amazon is where I will be this Fall… YOU can be too!
If you have interest in joining the program at any of the 3 sites, send an email about your interest to seasonal-camper@amazon.com... Someone will get back to you from the site of your choice and guide you thru the hiring process. And hey, make sure you mention you heard this from my blog. J

[anticloud]

Originally Posted by wheel interested

Many successful Airstreamers are making a living on the road today. What I would like to know is what are the employment opportunities for people traveling in Airstreams and how do they find them or are they all self employed? In that case, what education or fields are best suited for working from the road and can you offer success stories or perhaps opportunities? I have some productive years ahead but no particular place to go. Help!!!

I am not a full-time Airstreamer YET, but I do work from home and have a portable job. I work mostly as a web designer, but I also do freelance writing in my spare time or when the web work is low.

[nvestysly]

Hi Carol,

I just picked up on this thread today. The information is very interesting and useful for me and Danielle. Seasonal work may be in our future and the Amazon idea looks great. We'll keep this in mind for the 2012 season.

Another idea for seasonal work for those still looking. In August/September H&R Block (and I presume their competition) gears up for the coming tax season. H&R Block charges a fee for their course. You have to take the course every year but I'm told there's a quick course for those who have worked for H&R Block in the past. They don't assure you a job but if you pass the course and you're flexible on hours and location you can likely find work. Obviously, Jan - April 15 is the busy time. Most of the tax forms they complete are the simple EZ and A along with a few schedules. Most people coming to H&R Block are interested in a quick loan or an early refund - the customers are generally not the types that have lots of complicated financial statements.

Lucius

[pxlchk1]

Something for consideration—

I had a gift-shop business (just a fun sandbox idea) that was 100% drop-shipped products. That's easy because you can fill orders on the road. All you need is a web storefront, a Paypal account, and vendors who will drop ship their products. -Best found at wholesale markets in major cities, not by searching the web. You'll end up finding junk from China.

Alana

[wheel interested]

Lots of unique and great ideas for working from the road everyone. Thanks for adding onto the opportunities. Let's keep the ideas and suggestions coming. You never know when one of these ideas will be a perfect fit for someone considering trying out something new.

Did you like your Amazon experience? Would you do it again? Realizing it can be a physical job, would you suggest it for somebody that is not particularly strong but who has no physical limitations? What did you think about the other campers? Any problems to be aware of?

Hi Lucius, I enjoyed working at Amazon in Campbellsville Kentucky (There are also work kamper programs in Nevada and Kansas) during the holiday peak season from November 2010 until the middle of January 2011. Others started as early as September. If I had not have gotten tied down with a local job I would have returned this past season. Standing and walking for 10 hour shifts can take some conditioning and they start you out with several 5 hour shifts before giving you longer days. A regular week was 4 days with voluntary overtime available very often and ability to work up to 60 hours a week during crunch time. The warehouse is 3 buildings long and 3 floors high so you could be walking many miles a day depending upon your job assignment. Reaching, lifting, bending, pushing and repetitive motion is what we stowers experienced regularly. It really was a fun experience. Most of the workkampers were of retirement age and many couples worked side by side down the isles in stowing new merchandise, but there are other departments and jobs to be placed in. There were contests and appreciation awards at Amazon and out of work get togethers and happy hours even camp fires and dinners organized by individuals and campgrounds. It felt like Senior Lounge at school when we had lunch or break! The comradery was wonderful. The area of Green River beautiful with abundant wildlife and water sports and marinas. I didn't have any problems. I did find it inconvenient to have to drag my hoses out in the cold to refill my water tank because I did not opt for permanent heated hook-up. That was a chore I wish my hubby had been along to do for me, that and toting the propane bottles to town for refill. Staying at some campgrounds would have more amenities than I had at the picturesque state park. It was a wonderful experience. Some do it every year, some find a season enough. Warehouse conditions can run from hot to cold depending on the area so temperatures can range throughout the shift. There is endurance required, but I had a blast. I miss Campbellsville, the people and seeing all the brand new Amazon products too!!!! For more on experiences join Work Camper and sign up for the Amazon forum. I learned a lot from those threads before I got on site for work. Plan to arrive early to have fun and check out the area before you begin your job. There is plenty to do and see.

[wheel interested]

One note to add however...

Any problems to be aware of?

I was part of the experimental summer pilot program in July of 2011 and exited the program before completion because of hot warehouse conditions and my body's reaction to it. There were unusally hot temperatures during an abnormal heat wave. Excessive heat, excessive humidity and excessive exercise caused vasculitis in both my legs so I left early. Others also experienced that condition, and my condition was milder in comparison. However that extreme of weather is not likely to occur during the regular fall and holiday peak season. But I though I would throw that out there in case someone would be considering summer work in the warehouse. It is not air-conditioned. I beleive the Nevada Fulfilment Center is howeve, but that should be verified to be certain.

[wheel interested]

I received a letter from Amazon for the 2012 Peak season already. I have worked in Campbellsville Kentucky for two seasons now and once you sign on it, is a position you can return to each and every year and they are very happy to have you return! If you want to work a few months then head South or West for the New Year this would be a perfect choice to fund the next season's stay and be an integral part of your work camping schedule.

Greetings to our 2011 CamperForce Team!

We hope this finds you well and enjoying your spring! We have been busy making plans and recruiting for our 2012 CamperForce Program and are wondering if you plan to join us again this fall!

Also, we are looking for returning campers that are interested in serving as a CamperForce Scout! To better understand our vision for the Scout program, please review the attached Job Description and if interested, please apply by completing the attached Scout Application at your earliest convenience.


We look forward to hearing from you!

Warm Regards,


Stephanie Clenney | CamperForce Administrator | Amazon
E:sclenney@amazon.com P: 270/849-2561 F: 270/849-2701

[wheel interested]

I am on the e-mail list for Recreation Resource Management. You can sign on to the mailing list and browse jobs online for free. Lots of wonderful situations for singles or couples for camp hosting and other recreational opportunities. Recreation Resource Management

"We need a host couple for this summer immediately at a campground on Mt. Lemon in the Coronado National Forest near Tucson, AZ. These positions pay a wage plus the host site and utilities.

Please contact Carey Hamblin at hamblin@camprrm.com with your resume or background if you are interested. Make sure to include your contact information. Please do not respond unless you are interested in this specific location." (May 4, 2012)

[nvestysly]

Hello Carol,

Thanks for keeping all of us informed about opportunities to work while on the road. Danielle and I are keeping the Amazon program on our mind for 2013. We already have plans for 2012 and by 2013 may need a cash infusion - Amazon may be just the ticket.

The host position also sounds interesting. We're looking at situations like this for 2013 and beyond so we'll do some more investigating.

See Ya Down The Road.

Lucius

[scorpiontimo]

Carol great job good to see you got things rolling and letting all know what is out there, We just completed our last work camper job at a park. had 3 rallys and have opened up a airstream restore and polish shop in the TX Hill country what a blast been open 4 months 5 small jobs complete, 6 in the shop and 3 comming in, there is alway work for those who seek it out.