So you have decided you want to sell everything and hit the road as a fulltime RVer? But how do you support this decision? This post is all about how to make money as a fulltime RVer!
This post is all about ways to make an income while traveling in an RV. This is NOT a one size fits all deal, and you may need to niche down on one or multiple streams of these ways to make income.
- Blog/Vlog
- Freelancer
- Sell goods & Products
- Mobile RV Tech
- Rentals
- Traveling Trades
- Affiliate Marketing
- Workcamping
- Remote Online work
- Seasonal Work
- Local Services
- Temp Agency
- Job finding Resources
Blogger or Vlogger
Are you a writer or videographer? This could be the job for you. What can be better than making money by sharing your adventures as you travel the country? When we started our fulltime RV adventure, we thought for sure this was a way we could make money as fulltime RVers, but we never imagined how challenging and competitive this would be.
There are many fulltimers out there that are very successful as bloggers and/or vloggers. Be warned, there is a very long path to success, and for every fulltimer that is successful in this, I would guess there are 50 (or more) that are NOT.
Freelancer
Are you creative? Why not freelance? A freelancer is an individual who earns money on a per-job or per-task basis. Freelancers are typically independent contractors and not usually employees for specific individuals or companies that work exclusively on a particular project. There are many platforms out there to find freelance work and create a portfolio.
Sell Goods & Products
This is a deep hole to go into, so I am going to just skim the surface. There are so many opportunities to sell goods and products online. We have known many fellow travelers from different walks of life who sell many different things, both handmade, used, and new.
Hand Made Goods
On and off the road, we have several friends who create things they sell on online marketplaces such as Etsy, Shopify, Big Cartel, Squarespace, Wix, Ecwid, IndieMade, Bonanza, or Amazon Handmade. So wether you are selling leather wallets, custom tumblers, or baltic amber jewelry, there is a global market for your goods available.
Resale of products New or used
During our time on the road, we have met many different fulltimers that sell new and used products online. We had several friends that would spend time shopping in the local stores for items that are popular and in demand on Amazon. Many would comb through the clearance items at Walmarts to buy low and sell high on Amazon.
An example that blew my mind was a couple we know found some crazy flavored Oreo cookies at a Dollar General in Virginia they bought for $2.99 a package, and on Amazon at that time the same package was selling for $19.99.
Thrifting can be a fun traveling hobby because you can find unique, region-specific items. If you’re crafty about it, you can turn around and re-sell what you find online via ebay, Poshmark, craigslist, etc….
Dropshipping
If you do not know what this is, Dropshipping allows you to sell products online without having to worry about storage, fulfillment, or shipping. Instead, your supplier or manufacturer ships the product directly to your customer once an order is received. So you don’t ever have to touch a product or worry about managing the physical product. You set up the storefront, manage the sales and the dropshipper handles fullfillment.
Mobile RV Tech
Are you mechanical or handy? There is a huge market for mobile RV technicians or inspectors. RVs are not typically built with fulltime living in mind, and because of the build quality combined with the additional wear and tear from fulltime living, RVs tend to require a lot of maintenance.
RV technicians are in huge demand, and typically demand a high hourly rate while completing repairs. I know there are a few schools out there that will train and certify you as a technician and/or inspector.
Rentals
You can rent out your RV or house/houses. We have met several RVers in our time on the road that use rentals (whether it be short or long-term) as a source of income. Obviously, there is a huge risk and investment to get into property rentals, but if you have the assets to do this, there is no better way to provide a passive income and build wealth.
Traveling Trades
Are you a nurse or a journeyman electrician? Take your skills on the road. There is a huge need for skilled workers all over the country. We have known several traveling nurses, and even Brittany’s boyfriend was a traveling dialysis. Usually traveling medical professionals get contracts that can range in a time frame, but usually 3 months. There are recruiting companies that set up the contrats, and usually the pay is loaded with benefits like rental reinbursement, daily food, etc depending on the contract.
Affiliate Marketing
From the Dictionary
af·fil·i·ate mar·ket·ing
noun
A marketing arrangement by which an online retailer pays commission to an external website for traffic or sales generated from its referrals.”most of my earnings are from affiliate marketing, direct ad sales, and sponsored posts.
I don’t want to get too deep into this, there is tons of information out there on it. we dabbled in it and did not commit the time to it to be successful, but know many people that have been very successful in this way to generate an income. The biggest thing I can say is to make sure it’s a product or service that you believe in and can be/or are passionate about.
Workcamping
I can’t find the statistics on how many campgrounds there are in the continental United States, but it’s in the hundreds of thousands, and I would bet that a large percentage of them need employees. This is particularly great if you want to do a deep dive into an area, and plan on spending a longer amount of time there, but do not want to pay the increasing rates for long term RV stays, so workcamping could be the answer for you.
Workcamping is a combination of work and camping. A Workamper combines part-time or full-time paid or volunteer work with RV. Workampers generally get paid in the form of a free campsite, usually with free utilities and/or wages.
We have personally taken a workcamping job at a National Forrest campground when we came back home to Montana in 2019. Our position offered an RV spot, water, septic, satellite internet (no cell service), and since electricity was not available on-site, gas money for our generator.
Remote Online work
This is possibly the most diverse category in our list of how to make money as a fulltime RVer. In our world today, the opportunities are endless for companies and jobs that can be performed remotely as long as you have a strong internet signal.
Some examples of remote online work: Social Media Manager, Data entry, Bookkeeper, Graphic Designer, Web Designer, Tech support, programming, customer service, virtual assistant, consulting, and the list goes on and on!
Seasonal Work
This is exactly what the title says. Rvers follow the work to; farms, amusement parks, state or national parks, pumpkin patches, Christmas Tree sales, even Amazon, or just about anything that is seasonal.
Local Services
Want to find a good way to explore an area you are in, sign up for a local delivery service to make some money. When we first landed back in North West Montana in 2019, Doug did Door Dash to make extra money. Brittany is even doing it part-time where she is now, and uses it as a way to not only supplement her income but also learn the area.
The work is easy and there is great income potential. Since then many different platforms have popped up like Grubhub, Uber, Uber eats, Lyft, and many more.
Some of the cons are:
- Wear and tear on your car, and your tow vehicle is not a good option for being a delivery driver
- You pay for your own gas (but can write off mileage on taxes that more than reimburses the cost)
- Nothing is guaranteed, your income is based on unpredictable business.
Temp Agency
Most towns/cities have temp agencies and there are even some nationwide agencies that you can sign up for, and just change your location. Temp agencies help connect local businesses with temporary workers for temporary or contract work. You are employed by the temp agency, and the business pays the temp agency. The nice thing is you can still select and choose the day or date ranges you will be available and can even line up jobs in advance.
Here are some resources to help you find jobs.
Some of these are free, some are not. But here are some sites that I have used to look for work. I am also a part of some Facebook groups for “Work from home” jobs.
