Note to self – If we ever hold another Gypsy Gathering rally at a commercial campground, we will require attendees to make their own reservations directly with the campground. The original plan was that the campground would have us handle the rally reservations, but it has become a nightmare as some people make reservations with us, some make them directly with Elkhart Campground, and some make reservations for the rally dates with us, but separate reservations for the days before and after our rally directly with the campground. At this point we know we have 30 and 50 amp full hookup sites left, but neither we nor the campground know how many of each.

We don’t mark up the camping fees, but the campground has weekly and monthly rates that may be less than the rally camping rates, which has left us scratching our heads when trying to help attendees who may be arriving early or hanging around after our rally to wait for the Escapees Escapade two weeks later in Goshen. Plus, people don’t understand that if they want extra days, the daily rate does not include the 7% local sales tax.

Note to self – I really like the Koni shocks that Redlands Truck & RV installed on our Winnebago Ultimate Adventure motorhome after our Western Gypsy Gathering rally in Yuma back in March. They give us a superb ride, the handling is great, and I would recommend them, and Redlands, to anybody.

Note to self – The Verizon internet service we’re getting from our air card here at Tra-Tel RV Park in Tucson is as slow as what we experienced a few months ago in Apache Junction. At that point, Verizon said it was because so many snowbirds were in Arizona, using up the bandwidth. Okay, that makes sense, but now it’s May, the campground is more than half empty, the snowbirds have packed up their RVs and hit the trail. So what’s their excuse now? We had much faster service in the small town of Show Low than we are experiencing here in the big city.

Note to self – I can’t please everybody, but some people ask so much that it’s not even worth trying, so don’t worry about it. I got an e-mail from a fellow who has been a regular blog reader and for the last couple of years, though we have never met. He is staying in a campground north of Phoenix, and is interested in getting a Silverleaf VMSpc engine monitoring system like I use in our motorhome, and has been asking me a lot of questions about how it performs. The other day he wrote me that he has the same engine/transmission combination that I do in our RV, and was planning to come to our Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally. He asked if he could borrow my Silverleaf system to use on his trip to Indiana to help him decide if it was worth the investment. My first response was no, followed by NO! I replied that I had never met him, I wasn’t in the habit of loaning expensive equipment to strangers, and that I needed it for our own trip to Indiana. I have pasted, in part, his response: “I bet you never shared your toys with the other kids when you were a kid either did you? I hate selfish people!!!! You wont see me at your rally or reading your stupid blog ever again!!!” Uh, okay, I’ll miss you (I guess). Where do these people come from, and how do they get my name?

Note to self – Whatever kind of onions I got into Friday were really, really nasty, because all day yesterday I still felt terrible and couldn’t keep anything down. There has to be an easier way to lose weight.

Note to Mom – It’s been a long time since you left us, but it was much too soon. I love you and I miss you every day. I wish you could have been here to know Miss Terry, you would have loved her, and I know she would have loved you too. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.

Thought For The Day – Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there. If your mom is still alive, be sure to tell her today how much you love her, because someday you will wish you could.

Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally! 

We know many RVers who work in RV parks around the country to offset their traveling costs. Typically, they work a set number of hours per week in exchange for a free RV site, and any hours over those agreed upon for the site are paid at an hourly wage. Some workamping RVers return to the same campground to work every season, while others prefer to move about and see new places.

Workamping in an RV park can be interesting, and can help you save some money in camping fees. However, as I always say in my seminars on working on the road, as well as in my book Work Your Way Across The USA, if your goal is to make the most possible money in a given time period, often you would be better off to rent a site in an RV park on a monthly basis, and got a job at the local Home Depot or a restaurant in town. RV park wages are just not that good in most cases.

But if you want to do something a little bit different, and still earn money, there are many, many opportunities out there to make money and have fun that don’t involve cleaning bathrooms in an RV park, serving French fries in a fast food restaurant, or working in retail stores. Here are ten jobs that RVers we know have done that you may never have thought of.  

1. Beet Harvest – We have known several RVers who have worked the sugar beet harvests in places like North Dakota and Minnesota. Jobs include everything from driving trucks to sorting the beets when they arrive at warehouses. One website on the sugar beet harvest claims that some workers make as much as $7,000 in a month or less.

2. Canoe & Kayak Tour Guide – From the Florida Keys to Michigan’s wild Upper Peninsula, canoe and kayak liveries are busy all season long introducing tourists to the joys to be found on the water. It’s a great job for RVers who want to make some extra money and spend the summer (or winter) paddling. 

3. Working For Amazon – During the Christmas rush, online retailer Amazon.com hires many RVers to work at their fulfillment center in Kansas. The last I heard, the wage was $11 an hour, plus bonuses, with overtime available.

4. Dealing Blackjack – The gaming industry, in places like Las Vegas, Reno, and Laughlin, Nevada, provides many working opportunities for RVers. Jobs range from dealing blackjack to working as a customer greeter in casinos.

5. Driving Tour Bus – From Alaska to the Grand Canyon to Florida, tourist areas provide many employment opportunities for RVers. Driving tour buses, ranging in size from extended length vans to full sized coaches, is a good way to make money while spending time in places where the tourists pay big bucks to visit.

6. Fish Cannery – This is hard, dirty, smelly, physically demanding work, but one fulltime RVer we know spends a full summer in Alaska working long hours at a fish cannery, and he tells us he makes enough in a season to pay for two years of fulltime RV travel.

7. Working The NASCAR Circuit – Every race car driver, from the superstars to the new guy in the pits, have somebody selling souvenirs with their names and car numbers on them. We’ve met a couple of RVers who tow a vending trailer behind their motorhomes and follow the circuit, selling souvenirs to racing fans.

8. Selling Christmas Trees – This is obviously a seasonal job, and is hard physical work, but we have known many RVers who sell Christmas trees on lots across the country, and several have told us that they have made $8,000 or more in less than a month. Many times the same companies who hire RVers to sell Christmas trees hire them to sell fireworks for the Fourth of July, and Halloween pumpkins on the same lots. One couple we know made about $7,000 in two weeks selling fireworks this past summer.

9. Horse Wrangler – I make it a point never to ride anything you can’t put gasoline in, but if you are an equestrian fan and are comfortable in a saddle, you may find work as a horse wrangler, leading trail rides at one of the many dude ranches in the Southwest. The pay isn’t usually top dollar, but tips can be good, and if you love horses, it’s your chance to get paid for playing cowboy (or cowgirl).

10. Gas Line Survey – There is a long, ongoing thread on the Escapees forum, on working as a gas line surveyor, and the RVers we have talked to who have done this work all say that it’s a great way to make good money and get a lot of exercise in the process.

For more ideas on making money as you travel, check out my Working On The Road web page. What are some of the ways you have earned money on the road?

Thought For The Day – My wife does all the driving; I just get to hold the steering wheel.

Register Now For Our Arizona Gypsy Gathering Rally