At the Colorado RV Adventure Travel Show, Jan 6 - 9, Learn How One Colorado Man Makes the RV Lifestyle Pay

By: Bernie Jwaszewski, An RV Traveler Living His Research

My wife and I have been RVers for over 25 years going off on weekends and summer vacations. We love the lifestyle, but there are costs that go along with it that we wanted to defray. I discovered there are a number of ways retirees can “Make RV play Pay” and it’s a talk I’ve given at many RV shows across the United States. After all, so many of us enjoy the RV lifestyle, but may want to supplement our retirement budgets so we can visit the many fabulous places our country offers.

In 2006 I got serious about researching how to make the RV lifestyle pay. Many people defray their travel expenses by serving as “hosts” at campgrounds doing all the usual chores that most of the time include toilets. I was hoping to find something a little different that didn't have me stuck at the campground all day. I did some homework and determined that being a tour guide was worth a try. 

In 2006, I landed a summer job driving a historic red bus all over Glacier National Park. It was perfect, we parked our RV near the Glacier Park Lodge (east side of the Park) on the Blackfeet Indian reservation. The work was considered full-time but if “bookings” were slow I had an extra day off. The job paid for our driving to and from Massachusetts where we lived at the time, living and playing expenses for the entire summer and it was a pretty good gig driving a “red” bus at Glacier National Park in Montana and to the Prince of Wales hotel in Waterton, Canada. I was called Jammer Bernie. Here’s a link if you are interested in checking out job opportunities there:

https://careers-xanterra.icims.com/jobs/7727/red-bus-driver---summer-2016/job

To date, we have spent summers in seven National Parks, east coast to west where I worked either as a tour guide, for the park concession, or as a National Park Ranger. I absolutely love the opportunity to call a National Park my home for the summer and meet the people who visit.

One of my well-attended RV show talks is “Make RV play Pay”. The talk introduces a number of web sites a traveler can search when looking for campground or State/National Park work. Because web sites are always changing, I include some late 2015 tested links here. When you join me at the Colorado RV Adventure Travel Show, I can provide a more detailed list.

1.    Work-for-RVers and Campers is a free website that lists temporary, seasonal and mobile jobs across the United States.  http://www.work-for-rvers-and-campers.com/

2.    CampHost.org lists Public-hosting jobs with numerous federal agencies and campsites in 10 states. http://www.camphost.org/

3.    Coolworks.com lists employers that welcome Work Campers and have RV sites to accommodate your home on wheels. http://www.coolworks.com/jobs-with-rv-spaces

4.    Many National Parks have RV sites for Volunteers http://www.nps.gov/getinvolved/volunteer.htm

I’d like to help you navigate the crazy world of summer RV work so you can say,… “I can make RV play Pay!” Join me at the 26TH ANNUAL COLORADO RV ADVENTURE TRAVEL SHOW January 6 - 9, 2016, Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th Street, Denver. At the show, you can view 2016 motorhomes, travel trailers, fifth wheels, toy haulers, truck campers and tent trailers, as well as RV and camping accessories. For more information, check out CORVShow.com. Whether you’re into RVing or just want to enjoy the great American experience of travel, join Bernie J for his multi-media, audience-involved story of;

- “See America First” (who said this phrase first and when?)

- Finding great recreation jobs for couples or as a single, and

- Trip planning

What experiences has Bernie racked-up so far, while in retirement?

·     Host of a weekly Colorado Springs based radio travel show
Member of the Colorado Rocky Mountain Guides Association (RMGA)
Former National Park Ranger or private tour guide at 7 National Parks including Rocky Mountain National Park.
Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG) by the National Association for Interpretation (NAI) 
Docent for the City of Colorado Springs at the Garden of the Gods.

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