Do you want to start a part-time business you can do while traveling in an RV but lack ideas? If YES, here are 31 best ways to make money fast while traveling in an RV.
A lot of people are becoming really interested in travelling in their RVs whether on a full time basis or traditional travelling. However, one thing that usually stops people from taking this route is the finances that will support this type of lifestyle.
Even though it may seem difficult to fathom for some people, but it is very possible to earn a living while travelling in an RV.
You may have to put some sweat into it, but there are many RVers who work while traveling. In addition, if you are able to make money while in your RV, you may no longer be bound to having limited vacation days. This means more time to travel and explore new places in your RV.
Preparing to Work While Traveling
Before you pack up your belongings and start travelling in your RV, it is best that you should know with certainty what your new work life will be like. What technology will you need? Will you need – and have access to – stable internet regularly?
Will you need to work every day, or can you go days or even weeks at a time between shifts? These are all pertinent questions that you should have answers to before you even start travelling in your RV.
A lot of ways exist by which one can make money while travelling and as such you will have some great options to choose from based on your experience, interests and internet availability. Establishing your wants, needs and real life situation will help you choose the best option for you.
The main obvious reason why people work while travelling the country in their RV is to make money and as such you will need to have a PayPal account or/and a checking account with nationwide branches, or at least ATM access.
Travel and sight-seeing is also one of the main reasons people decide to go for the freelance lifestyle. These days, many are hitting the road in an RV to enjoy the beauty the country has to offer. Here are a few ways by which you can make money while travelling in your RV.
31 Best Ways to Make Money While Traveling in an RV
1. Amazon’s CamperForce
Amazon offers workcamping positions during their busy holiday season (which runs from early fall until December 23). They call this program “CamperForce”. With campers force, you get a free campsite at either their Campbellsville, KY or Murfreesboro, TN locations.
You also get a competitive salary (with time-and-a-half overtime), a bonus if you work until December 23, and a referral bonus. Most of the positions available through the CamperForce program involve packing, stowing, and receiving. Amazon looks for “flexible and enthusiastic” RVers with a positive outlook.
The company typically recruits for these positions during the summer months. Your duties will include packing boxes at one of the Amazon facilities for the three months before Christmas. This is one of the most popular jobs for RVers. You get free camping, a salary of $10 to $12 an hour and a lot of overtime.
2. Tutoring students
Tutoring can be quite an easy task if you have the passion and it does not always require a degree or certificate. Helping students in your country and abroad learn English as a Second Language, or ESL, is often open to anyone willing to tutor by video chat.
3. Transcription service
Transcription is an option if you have great listening and typing skills. You will need to upload and download files, so a reliable and fast internet connection would be necessary. A lot of people who do videos or audios need a transcription service.
It could be a lecture, court case, podcast, audio, interviews, videos, movies et al. Manual human transcription services are in high demand because there is no decent application or computer program that can transcribe audios to text with accuracy. You can make use of freelancer websites or transcibeme.com to get work on a regular basis.
4. Editorial Services
Here are some of the editorial services you can provide right the comfort of your RV:
- Editing – This involves checking facts making sure that a copy is free from any grammatical, stylistic and typographical errors.
- Proofreading – This is the last stop for a “finished” piece. The proofreader makes sure the copyediting changes have been properly made and no new errors are created in the process.
- There are indexing courses available and you can get indexing software in order to help you carry out this job.
- Developmental editing. A developmental editor works with a manuscript on big-picture things like organization and content issues.
- Book doctoring. This is an editorial service provided for manuscripts written by experts. They create a manuscript as best they can and then a book doctor puts it into publishable shape.
- Ghost Writing. As a ghost writer, you actually do the research and write the book and someone else’s name is attached as the author.
- Also known as business writing, this is writing that promotes a product or a service.
- Book writing. Do you have an expertise in something professional, such as accounting or interior decorating? Then you can write a book about it and make a lot of money from it.
- Magazine article writing. Magazines and newspapers are a great way to get your writing published before tackling the daunting task of writing a whole book.
- Web page content provider. Providing content for a web site is a good way to make some money writing.
All these services can be done anytime and from anywhere. And, the majority of the work can be done offline making it perfect for those with intermittent internet access.
5. Resorts, camp grounds, summer camps and RV Park
Resorts or summer camps can offer a lot in the way of flexwork for travelers. These types of gig afford you the opportunity to learn more and see more of your chosen location than may otherwise by possible.
You may be working as a camp counselor or tour director. Many campgrounds and RV parks need help and are looking to hire workers. Usually, you work at an RV park in exchange for a free stay, but there are cases in which you may receive an hourly pay as well.
Hours and work can vary. You may only work 5 hours a week at some RV parks and campgrounds, whereas others may be full-time jobs where you put in 40-hour weeks. Some of the tasks you may be responsible for include handling reservations, cleaning RV sites and bathrooms, working in a shop, and more.
6. Workamping
Workamping is likely a familiar term if you have been researching about travelling the country in your RV for some time. This is a very good option for those who are on a budget while they are travelling. Workamping allows you to trade your time and labor for a paid RV pad or housing.
In most cases, you will be working in some capacity for the RV park. You may be running the store, doing maintenance or even planning activities.
7. Rent out your house on Airbnb while you are away
If you plan to travel for a while, you probably will not be needing your house at that moment. Why not make some money from them? After all, you won’t be using it. Why leave it just sitting empty? The most common way to do this is through Airbnb, which has become incredibly popular.
You will also need to arrange for management of the place between one set of renters and the next. Various places can offer this service and you can advertise locally as well. Or, better yet, employ someone you know to perform the role. That way, you get some added peace of mind. With regular Airbnb, at least you get to check in on your place regularly. You don’t get that luxury if you are traveling.
8. Courier services
Since driving around in an RV means changing your location from time to time, you can make money as a courier along the way. Websites like Roadie will help you pay for your gas by transporting items from one place to another.
9. Travel Blogging/Vlogging
Due to the tremendous amount of people who use and rely on the internet on a daily basis, blogging has become a very profitable business to start. It only costs a couple of dollars to get started. Patience, along with a basic knowledge of SEO and being able to create quality content is essential.
You can become a travel blogger and make money sharing your adventures. Travel blogging is a natural fit for anyone who is living on the road. This gives you a fantastic chance to talk about your experiences and to get other people following along. You basically get to earn money while writing about traveling.
To monetize your blog, you can either sell an advert space, make use of affiliate marketing, sale eBooks or webinars or just simply use the Google AdSense.
Blogging can always be done as a side job in conjunction with any other job on this list. If you’re charismatic and have some knowledge to share, then you can start a YouTube channel for next to nothing. To startup and run this business, you will need to have an internet enabled computer or laptop.
10. Flea market flipping
Flea market flipping may be an option if your favorite pastime is digging through local thrift stores and garage sales. Don’t pick up too much as your space is limited. Make sure you are able to sell your flippable goods as well.
11. Photography
Irrespective of if you are a professional or an amateur photographer, you can sell your photographs. If you have a lot of pictures on your phone, you can sell the photos on apps or you can promote them on your Instagram account. Also, since you are travelling from place to place, you will be in a position to see a lot of picturesque locations that you can take a picture of.
You can sell your photos on applications like Phope or Glashot. The applications can be downloaded over Play store or Apple store. The apps allow you to upload your images from your smartphone directly to the apps and sell it there. With these applications you even get $5 for every photograph you sell.
12. Amazon FBA
This will allow you to make money as an online seller without having to actually store your goods. If you are reselling on Amazon FBA, you may still need to find a post office to mail your goods to the Amazon warehouse.
13. Sell products or services
As a full time RVer, you can make money by selling products and services either online or offline. Products or services that you may be able to sell include becoming an Amazon FBA seller, crafts, photography, antiques, RV products, repairing RVs, virtual assisting, and a whole more. The list is really large when you consider things that you can sell from your RV.
14. See if you can continue your job remotely
Due to advancement in technology, more and more employers can afford to allow their employees to work remotely from their place of work. This means that you can work from any location you choose to work from as long as you have a computer and a stable internet connect.
Some jobs may be remote from the very beginning, whereas others may be able to be switched to location independent, by asking your employer if it is allowed. Some employers will say yes, so don’t think you have no hope!
Jobs and tasks that you may be able to telecommute to include: Software engineering, Entering data and typing, Customer service, Bookkeeping, Programming, Transcribing, Editing, Purchasing, Web developing, Managing social media, Graphic designing et al.
14. Look for Day Labor
During your travel in your RV, there will definitely be places that need to hire day laborers. This does apply to summer camps too, along with a range of other locations. These roles may involve a lot of physical exertion while some may require that you have a specific skill.
During your travels, you should keep an eye out for local advertisements or postings on sites like Craigslist. But, these days, you’ll probably need to go through an online service. There are various staffing services that focus on day labor and can help you find the work you need.
These will often involve some vetting processes and getting accepted can take time. Still, they provide you with access to work you wouldn’t find otherwise.
16. Work on A Farm
There is a program in the united states of America that is called WWOOF USA that allows you to work on a farm, in exchange for room and board. The program has you working for half of the day. The rest of the time is yours to do with as you wish.
Even though this technique will not give you money per say, because you will not get paid, but it still has its advantages. You will get to save money you’d need to spend to park up for a while. You also get the chance to sleep in a normal bed and have a shower (or a bath). You might be missing those luxuries if you’ve been on the road for a while.
17. Become a street performer
Street performance can be a pretty good idea for making money if you are musically inclined. However, if you are still creative enough, you can always come up with a street performance concept that people will be willing to appreciate. All you have to do is to just perform at a busy area for tips.
The right performance in the right location can easily be profitable. You will have to check the local laws in the area you intend to perform in first.
Some areas require you to have a license or may place some restrictions on what you can do. Performing is best done in populated areas where you will have the most exposure. If you’re traveling in more remote locations, the potential audience may be too small.
18. Hold Local Classes
Offering tutoring services is one great way to make money, however, you do not need to restrict what you teach to formal education, you can also teach skills and any of your different talents. Think about the skills that you have, along with what people would want to learn.
You can teach pretty much anything, but for traveling, it is recommended to teach lessons that don’t need many resources. If you can teach outside, that’s even better. One of the best options is exercise classes, like yoga, HIIT or something similar.
If it’s a lovely day outside, you’ll often find that people want to join. You can advertise locally using flyers or signs. If you’re in the same place for a while, you could also look at listings in local papers.
19. Rent out Your Car
Today, there are a lot of companies that allow you to rent your car out for others to use. Even though this may not earn you a lot of money but at least your car won’t just be parked in the garage at home where it will be making a total of zero dollars.
This isn’t a fast way to earn, as you need to wait for someone to make a booking. You may also want to focus on long-term rentals, which would mean you have less to organize. There are some services that you can make use of if you intend to rent your car out such as HyreCar. Some of them even have insurance plans to help keep your vehicle safe.
20. Be a Mobile Professional
There are some jobs that really lend themselves to being great mobile professions. They include Nurses, doctors, hair stylists, dog groomers, RV maintenance et al. The RV community still needs certain services so if you can offer them up while at an RV park or in a community, this can definitely help you earn a living. Many of these jobs require current experience and/or certifications.
21. Gate Guarding
This is mostly popular in Texas. It involves covering the gate of your employee, visitor, and trucks for an oilfield and providing security for these gates.
Your duty will also include checking everyone that comes in through the gate. If you are lucky, your gate isn’t very busy and you have time to catch up on reading, writing, freelancing or blogging. This is a couple job and as a couple, you make $125 per day.
22. Selling Christmas Trees
Many tree farms are usually in need of people with an RV that will help them to stay onsite for the tree lots and sell from mid-November through December. They usually prefer a couple team to handle the customers and moving the trees around.
The job is done 7 days a week during the holiday season. The pay is usually a base amount with commissions, depending on the company. If you are interested in this sort of job, you should seek out Christmas tree farms in the area you are currently in and ask them if they have any vacancy.
23. Micro tasks
Micro task are those task that are short, easy to complete and low paying. Usually, the tasks pay a range upward of $0.01 per task with the ability to make sufficiently good pay to keep you on the road for as long as you wish. The most reputable company in this line where you should begin your search is Amazon MTurk.
24. Closed captioning
This is one of the better paying remote jobs that can fit someone who is undertaking an RV lifestyle. This involves providing live close captioning or on a project basis. Either way, the pay for such positions, especially on live events is high.
If the quality of your close captioning is high, you will be able to earn a lot of money. Previous experience is usually preferred. Aberdeen provides some of the highest rates in the business at up to $75 per hour of real-time closed captioning.
25. Develop online courses
If you are not a fan of face to face tutoring, then, you should consider creating an online course to teach other people that special skill that you have.
You will just need to create the online course once, and after that, people can sign up and take it at any time without needing you to be available to meet with them. This can create a passive income funnel for you in the sense that you can make your money without you presence being needed. The money flows in and minimal work is required to maintain it.
Websites like Udemy allow you to build a course in any area you want, whether it’s teaching concepts of a foreign language, how to paint a room, or prepare for a job interview. In order to be successful in this platform, you will have to take your time to create a quality course that will provide genuine benefit to enrollees. The more detail you provide on your subject matter, the better.
You can create an online course that can last from 30 minutes to a couple of hours. The average income for those on Udemy ranges from $6,000-$7,000 though it can be higher. To increase your earnings, promote your course on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
26. Start drop shipping
Drop shipping involves having items shipped directly from one warehouse to another without ever touching it. Drop shipping is a very viable Business model if you know what you’re doing that is. In order to determine the right niche, you should think of things that are otherwise hard to find – even online – and in your drop-shipping model, combine the shopping experience into an easy-to-find system for your customers.
For example, if someone wants Game of Thrones costumes for cosplaying, it may be hard to find each individual item of clothing on Aliexpress without digging through pages and pages of search results – but you can do the digging beforehand and present the whole costume as an easy-to-buy kit. You then drop-ship from Aliexpress.
27. Graphic design
This field is quite competitive, but if you are skilled and highly talented in graphic design, you will be able to command a high price. You can showcase your designs and make a living on the road from this. You should have an online portfolio somewhere like Behance where you display your work for potential clients to see.
28. Programming
If you are a skilled programmer, you can make a lot of money irrespective of the location you are in. Granted, programming can be quite stressful and time consuming, however, it can also be rewarding. You can also offer this service on freelance websites such as Fiverr and Upwork.
29. Podcast
A podcast is like a personal radio show where you talk about specific topics. You can create a podcast about your experiences while travelling the country and all the places you have been to. Before you think about monetizing your podcast, you have to make sure that it is filled with rich and engaging content. You can monetize your podcast through sponsorship, affiliate marketing or even sale of your own product.
30. Debt collector
Even though the job title of a debt collector may create a mental image of a muscular fellow going from destination to destination to harass debtors into payment of their debts, this however cannot be farther from the truth.
Yes, you need a tough skin in other to venture into this business, but you also need just a telephone and a computer to get the work done. Debt collectors help to collect late car payments, overdue credit card debts and lapsed installment loans. This business thrives even of if the economy is not too good.
31. Resume writing
Considering that the rejection rate of resumes is very high, it only makes sense that the service of a resume writer is often needed. As a resume writer, your task will be to write clear, engaging and professional resumes that stand out from the rest.
You will have to create or redesign the existing resume so that it can be persuasive, creative and formatted correctly to be able to result to an interview invite and subsequently a job.
32. SEO specialist
The internet is filled with millions of websites and one easy way that people get to find and visit these websites is through various search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, Bing et al. Due to the fact that there are a lot of websites in the internet, for a website to appear in the first page of a search engine it has to optimized.
This is the job of a search engine optimization (SEO) specialist. A lot of website now realize the importance of having a website that is SEO compliant, thus, this service is in high demand. The work of an SEO specialist is largely online based and as such it can be carried out from anywhere as long as there is a steady internet connection.
Also the work hours are very flexible. You can learn to become an SEO specialist in a local community college around or online. You can offer this service right from the comfort of your RV. On the average, SEO specialist earn an average yearly salary is about $51,100.
In conclusion, if you want to travel the country on your RV, it is very possible to use the skills you have to create a job for yourself. Many of the above options are pretty general in nature and can be done by almost anyone. Your education and work experience may open up even more doors.
For example, traveling nurses and masseuses are always in demand. Graphic design and programming are great opportunities for those with the know-how. In addition, it is also good to set a few passive income streams in advance of your travels so as to make things easier for you.
As you can see, there are many jobs and businesses that you may be able to work while traveling in an RV. Choices range from working online, telecommuting, working RV-related positions, finding jobs while you travel, and a whole lot more.