snail powered Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Full time RV living requires some form of cash flow. Not everyone has a trust fund or a large enough retirement to fund this type of venture. That means finding a way to create cash flow while traveling. But not everyone knows when they decide on full time RV living what it is they can do to create a cash flow. Of course not every business is going to get you rich quick and pay per hour will vary greatly depending on demand for what you produce. It helps you already have established a portable business. I know a few people who are stock brokers, they do very nicely and can afford a land yacht lifestyle in a big diesel rig. I myself am fortunate to have years ago established an interest in making miniature sized objects and have customers for them. I do have to focus on projects that are the most suitable for making in a tiny space and are easy to store, ship and find materials for. Another choice I have is to create and sell plans for projects, plans that people can download from the internet that involve no material objects that need shipping. There are many ways of generating some income creating things or finding things to sell, or doing things like writing about the lifestyle, taking photos, becoming a roving tinker, craftsman, or even a consultant. Plus there are work camper host opportunities around too. But I thought I would start a thread for showing some ideas of what people do to supplement income, some things that involve very little outlay in startup cost that would be beneficial to those who need some work/travel opportunity during retirement years or even just a way to make some extra gas money for more travels. So to kick it off here is a link to a story about finding a free material source and turning it into a product that can be sold while traveling in the location it was found in. It is a posting from a blog with other concept ideas for products but this one is unique its possibilities of combining vacation beach combing fun with work. The beaches have a number of opportunities for found object recycling into money. But this one literally has a different twist to it. http://designskool.net/salty-knits-by-marnie/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredNewell Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 My wife and I lived in a fifth wheel rv while working a job away from our house. In other words, we commuted home only on the weekends. My son, after a year of college, came home to re-think what he wanted to do in terms of college/work. He stayed with us for a year. Here's how he stumbled upon a handyman business and didn't even know he was that handy. 1) Little old neighbor lady and her mom had a bag of fertilizer in the trunk of their car. They asked us if our son would work for them. He went over to find out that all they needed was to move the bag to the back yard. (He obliged, and did it for free.) 2) Next, an elderly man heard about this and hired our son to wax his motorhome. 3) Another neighbor needed a pipe repaired (plastic irrigation pipe 3" below the lawn). He figured it out, learning that the guy at ACE hardware has "how-to" advice. The jobs began to pile up and he found himself working 4-5 hours per day for cash and tips. I told my barber about this (same town). Turns out he lived in a mobile home park a mile away. We learned from him that someone was needed to clean gutters, wash windows, do light yard work... Before our son returned to college, he had a pretty good low-overhead business going. I think if he had struck around, it would still be going. I think his rate was about twice what local jobs paid. He's a good worker, and not too proud to do any honest work. Since then, he's always been able to find work as needed. He teaches at a trade school in Laos now. It's amazing where life can take you. And how it can surprise you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredNewell Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Another story - A neighbor works as a handyman. He used to be an aerospace engineer, but found at age 50 the job market had dried up for him. He took a part time job helping a handyman, and paid attention. Now he has work wherever he goes. We live part time in another RV park M-F. In our town there is a Del Webb senior community. He works there and gets all the work he wants - self employed as a handyman. The houses there are all similar to each other. Once you repair one problem, the neighbor's house will need the same. This is kind of like work camping, but not directly for the RV park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredNewell Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Dog walking/pet sitting. Birddogging (keeping a eye on someone's stuff while they're away - pick up mail - keep things in order). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snail powered Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 Dog walking/pet sitting. Birddogging (keeping a eye on someone's stuff while they're away - pick up mail - keep things in order). There are some good opportunities for living in RVs and doing birddogging. Free RV parking space and utilities for house/land sitting for extended periods of time on someones property. If you luck on a repeat customer who has a second home and are gone for part of every year it can be a great deal for living on a very nice property. Easier to find that kind of work if you have ties to an area and know people there but there are other ways of finding those jobs. I had a birddogging job in Honolulu that was for 3 to 4 weeks at a time for a couple of years. Not in my RV though and I bought my own plane ticket. Still it made for a great vacation that included the use of a car. I covered my ticket cost with air miles. It was for someone I met in an online forum. So we were relative strangers but not total strangers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 There was a gal on this site home site that ran an ebay resell from her Toy home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnynshare Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Since I am still active in the bar I have visions of doing an impromptu legal practice out of the Sunrader. Maybe with a sliding scale so poor people could have some help too. Not to get clients but to give an overview of the system and different strategies to use. Then I get lazy and seem to never run out of excuses for just sitting back. Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snail powered Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 I came across a place that is looking for a park host for May through September. It is a small country club park near Shelton, WA. They have a 9 hole golf course and it is on lake so lots of recreation potential. This is not a busy state or in and out RV park situation. The camping lots are individually owned by the people who use them. Stipend is included as well as your utilities and of course the space to park your RV. This is a nice area to spend the summer if you want to get away from the heat. http://www.lakelimerick.com/park_host.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passman Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I came across a place that is looking for a park host for May through September. It is a small country club park near Shelton, WA. They have a 9 hole golf course and it is on lake so lots of recreation potential. This is not a busy state or in and out RV park situation. The camping lots are individually owned by the people who use them. Stipend is included as well as your utilities and of course the space to park your RV. This is a nice area to spend the summer if you want to get away from the heat. http://www.lakelimerick.com/park_host.html Lake Limerick is a beautiful area. I considered moving there in 08 but the high HOA fee dissuaded me. I live about ten miles away in another lakeside community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snail powered Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 Lake Limerick is a beautiful area. I considered moving there in 08 but the high HOA fee dissuaded me. I live about ten miles away in another lakeside community. Is it one where you can buy a lot? I am collecting a list of spots like that are near the water in WA state. It is for my spring, summer, fall residence. Of course I will have to save up for it and my son says he will chip in as will my best friend. I just don't want something where the board members are totally uptight control freaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passman Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Is it one where you can buy a lot? I am collecting a list of spots like that are near the water in WA state. It is for my spring, summer, fall residence. Of course I will have to save up for it and my son says he will chip in as will my best friend. I just don't want something where the board members are totally uptight control freaks. The board members here aren't total uptight control freaks, the yearly HOA is reasonable and you have access to two lakes, many parks and a private boat ramp on Hood Canal. Lot prices are reasonable also http://www.timberlakecc.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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