One of the first things most people think about when considering RVing full time is how to take their work on the road. We’ve been full timing for quite some time now, and while some aspects of working while traveling have changed (mostly for the better), we have always been able to find ways to make working on the road work for us.
Here is what you need to know before you dive in.
Finding Mobile Work
When we decided we wanted to hit the road full time back in 2015, my husband was already working as a freelance writer from home. I, on the other hand, was running an Irish dance school. Obviously, I couldn’t pack all of my students up and take them with me, so we needed to find other ways to make money in order to be able to travel regularly.
As I have always enjoyed writing and done it as a hobby, I decided I would also try my hand at writing professionally. I got started at a site called BlogMutt (now called Verblio), but quickly moved on to private clients. Meanwhile, I was also creating a set of online Irish dance lessons so I could continue teaching dance on the road, a business that has grown slowly over time.
I now write for a number of websites and teach dance on YouTube, Zoom, and in person when possible. I also run online theater clubs, and my husband still writes for the same sites he was writing for in the very beginning of our RV adventures.
How to Find Work that Works for You
Clearly, this isn’t the route everyone is going to take. Instead, the takeaway here is that you should take the work you do now—or something else you are already passionate about—and figure out how that can bring in income while you travel. The internet is enormously helpful in many cases, but for some people it makes the most sense to travel to wherever work is available.
Some ways to work from the road include…
- Crafting and selling their wares at festivals and events.
- Teaching classes and workshops, traveling to where there is demand.
- Offering mobile RV or vehicle repair work in busy campgrounds.
- Freelance work (writing, editing, graphic design, website building, etc).
- Work camping (working at a campground in exchange for a site).
- Traveling to seasonal work (Christmas tree farms, pumpkin patches, sugar beet harvest, holiday retail jobs, summer theme parks jobs, etc).
Sites like Upwork can help you find freelance work, and FlexJobs can help you find remote work. In some cases, you may have to do an internet search for certain kinds of work or even send out some cold emails to ask for gigs.
Connecting to the Internet
As mentioned above, many of the best travel-friendly jobs require that you connect to the internet on a daily basis. This can be tricky when traveling, as you never know what a campground’s internet might be like.
We learned quickly that relying on RV park internet connections was not going to work. Instead, we invested in a mobile hotspot. We chose a Verizon hotspot because, at the time, Verizon offered the best coverage. We were able to lease a grandfathered truly unlimited plan, and that—in conjunction with our T-Mobile phones—kept us fairly well connected for quite some time.
Eventually, we switched to using Starlink, which keeps us connected no matter where we are and makes boondocking more possible. That said, we can’t use Starlink effectively when we are parked under trees, so we do have to park our rig strategically. Additionally, since we can’t take Starlink with us on field trips and other outings, we chose to hold onto a Verizon hotspot for now. This works for us today, and we never find ourselves in a position where we are completely unable to connect to the internet.
RV Internet Options
Looking to find an RV internet solution that works well for you? Consider the options below:
- Mobile hotspot: You can choose a hotspot that connects to Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T towers. Some RVers choose to have a mix of hotspots so they can switch between them as they travel. Some providers (such as Google Fi) offer access to multiple carriers, so you can switch towers based on what works best in your area.
- Cell booster: If you choose to go with a mobile hotspot, you may want to invest in a cell booster such as a WeBoost. This will amplify whatever cell signal you can get, so you almost always have a decent signal to work with.
- Starlink: Until Starlink was released a few years back, satellite internet wasn’t very practical for RVers. Starlink was a game changer though. While it is a bit pricey, this satellite internet service is super portable and will keep you connected no matter how far into the wilderness you wander. Just make sure you don’t park under too many trees!
Setting Up a Work Space
Once we found a way to make money on the road, along with a way to stay connected in order to get that work done, we had to consider where we would do our work. For us, this was fairly easy. We are both able to do our work from iPads with keyboards attached, so we didn’t need any fancy computer setups.
For the most part, we both work at the RV table, but I’ve also been known to work from campground lodges, coffee shops, the truck, and even our friend’s Clam tent when I was in desperate need of quiet in order to get things done. I also teach dance and theater from our RV living area. I just prop the iPad up and teach away!
Making a Work Space of Your Own
Not sure the kitchen table idea will work for you? I get it. Consider some of these ideas that I’ve seen fellow RVers use:
- Clam tent: I’ve seen many RVers take the Clam tent idea mentioned above and use a tent as their everyday workspace. This works well if you don’t require a mounted monitor.
- Truck camper: I’ve only seen this once, but thought it was a great idea. The family towed a travel trailer and used a truck camper as an office space. Unfortunately, this did cause problems at some campgrounds.
- Cargo trailer: One person we met worked as a video editor. He had a whole super cool setup in a cargo trailer, which served as his mobile workspace.
- Toy hauler garage: We’ve seen a lot of families with toy hauler RVs, and many of them used the “garage” space as a workspace. This is especially nice if you need a lot of open space for any reason, and I myself dream of having a toy hauler so I can have an onboard dance studio. (Sigh… one day.)
- Bathroom office: This idea is pretty silly, but it worked well for the family who used it. The working parent, in this case, needed a private workspace with a door, which she got by setting up her office in the bathroom. Of course, this only really works if your rig has two bathrooms.
- Bedroom office: The majority of the RV office setups we see are in the bedroom. Many people mount monitors to the wall. Some have clever flip-down surfaces or desks hidden away under the bed that flip down when the bed is lifted. I love this idea from my friend Doug at Learn to RV.
Juggling Schedules
One of the most difficult parts of working on the road? Juggling schedules so everything gets done and you still have time for fun. This is something that we still struggle with from time to time. Our schedules and work and school needs are constantly changing, and this means we have to be reworking things constantly.
Some tricks that have helped us include:
- Working and doing school in the mornings and setting afternoons aside for fun.
- Having set fun days each week that are the equivalent of our “weekend” and involve going out sightseeing.
- Moving once every 2–4 weeks so we have time to see the sights while also keeping up with work, school, and household tasks.
- Having a written schedule that we hang on the fridge so everyone can see what is happening that week and plan their work around it.
- Trying to get some work and school done on travel days. (Obviously, the adult who is driving can’t work, but the passengers can.)
- Learning to say no. I have a bad habit of taking on too much work and have had to learn to turn down projects when my plate is getting too full.
There you have it—what I know about working on the road after years of experience. Hopefully, this helps you get started on your own full-time journey. Remember to keep an open mind and be willing to think outside of the box, and I’m betting you’ll do just fine!
