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I worked at a ski area that also has a campground, taking care of a campground with hook ups is a lot of work, it's a 24/7 job.
Make sure it's not a "volly" "job" and that it does pay.
The average salary is $31,000. Average campground host salaries can vary greatly due to company, location, industry, experience and benefits.
This salary was calculated using the average salary for all jobs with the term "campground host" anywhere in the job listing.
Sounds like you got a lot of good advice so far. There are a lot of people doing what you are thinking of doing, and they love it! Google RV.net Open Roads forums for information and helpful people who'll be happy to answer your questions.
Sounds like you got a lot of good advice so far. There are a lot of people doing what you are thinking of doing, and they love it! Google RV.net Open Roads forums for information and helpful people who'll be happy to answer your questions.
Please don't invest your scarce dollars in any equipment until you have a signed contract. Don't just verify that it is a paid job, verify that the job is yours.
I've never heard of camp ground hosts being paid, and even if they are, most campgrounds are seasonal. Campground hosts in my area are only "working" for 3 months out if the year.
If they are paying for hosts, then you had better be expecting to clean bathrooms every day and not just sit around making sure fees have been paid. They have plenty of free volunteers for the sitting around type of job. If they find they must pay in order to get someone, then that is because the job has become less desirable.
C.O.E. campgrounds and others run by the government often depend on volunteer help. They'll provide a site in return for 20 hours or so of work weekly.
Hosts/workers are generally paid at NFS campgrounds and national parks that contract out the campground maintenance rather than handle it through gov. agencies. The hosts I've talked to seem to make about what was stated above -- hookups and maybe propane plus $10/hour for 20 hours or so. Some get up to 40 hours. As Oregon points out, there's more to the job than just welcoming campers and taking their money. The sites have to be cleaned including firepits when someone leaves, restrooms must be cleaned daily, etc.
Commercial campgrounds usually pay about the same. You've really got to shop for the jobs, as there seems to be a wide range of pay scales. Some provide the camp spot plus payment for all hours worked and some make you earn your camping spot by working the first 40-80 hours every month before they'll pay any cash.
Some campgrounds, especially commercial ones, open earlier in the season and remain open later into the fall season too. I talked to a couple in Buffalo, WY last year who started a couple weeks before the May 1 opening (trimming trees, raking leaves, painting, etc.) and usually stayed through mid October (6 months). They'd been working at the same campground every summer for several years.
I doubt you'll find many places that are willing to sign a contract with you before you own a camper. It doesn't usually work that way. And many of them want a picture of your rig before they'll hire you, as they don't want something trashy-looking in their campground; however, if you're looking for campgrounds near where you live, you might be able to work something out.
5th wheel campers are really easier to hookup since you can see the pin and hitch through your back window. And as Stealth pointed out, they do tow better. I'm on my 3rd one and have never had one that didn't tow great. Setup is about the same as a travel trailer would be. It takes me about 15 minutes to unhook and set up, and that includes placing/pinning the outdoor carpet, extending the awning, setting out the lawn chairs, extending slide-outs, leveling, chocking, stabilizing, hooking up utilities, etc. It's not a major chore. It takes about the same amount of time to hook up and be ready to roll.
It does take a bigger pickup to haul a 5th wheel, however, as they're designed to have about twice as much weight on the pin. That's one reason they tow so much better, but it does require more truck. A few very small 5ers can be towed with a 1/2-ton, but most require at least a 3/4-ton. I've had a 25-foot, 30-foot, and currently a 28-foot 5er, all towed with the same 3/4-ton diesel. If you won't be doing much traveling, a good sized gas V8 engine would probably be your best bet. Their initial purchase price is much less. If you travel a lot, the fuel savings will make up for their high cost, but if you won't be driving much, your fuel savings won't be much.
One other thing to add.... In recent years many manufacturers have been producing "half-ton towable" 5ers. Most of these are really marginally towable by any half-ton, and the half-tons they're referring to are mostly the 2012 models and newer which have higher payload capacity. You said you might buy an older truck, and I wouldn't plan on hauling a 5er with any of the older half-ton pickups. You might want to just look for a 3/4 ton pickup anyway, as you'd then have some options for the RV.
Some NFS campground jobs require you to have your own truck (which you're reimbursed for per mile), so having a class C might preclude you from landing some jobs. You'd also want a smaller vehicle for running around, so you'd have to tow something behind it. Some vehicles can't be towed easily and require a tow dolly or worse. I'd look into that thoroughly before buying a motor home.
Campgrounds have become very picky who they use in today's marketplace and it is not uncommon for dozens and dozens of experienced work campers to apply for one job opening. I am sure you are wanting to be a work camper (manual labor) and not a camp ground host as most campgrounds expect the host to have years of work camping experience along with often times a degree in accounting, bookkeeping ect.
Most of the better paying work camping jobs are taken long before anyone outside the circle even knows its available. You can find work camping jobs all over the US at various campground but most pay very little if anything at all except for free site use. Also many campgrounds will require pictures of both your RV and yourself long before they even look at your application. Today's trend is normally the campground will hire a husband/wife team to work camp, the wife will do office work and light housekeeping duties and the husband will do outside maintance/landscaping type work... Most often the couple is required to do a total of 20-40 hrs per week combined and in return they get a free site. Anything over those hrs are normally paid just minimum wage but that is rare.....Why?. It is done this way so the work campers don't have to worry about taxes, or any residence issues that might arise like if they take a payroll job.
Look at a Casita, there are several people who are fulltiming in them with very little maintenance and seem to be holding up well. You might also consider a Nash 17 made by northwood.
Recently I met a couple with a Casita who tow it with a small truck and are fulltiming, they said they really love it and also have been campground hosts while living in it.
If you don't care about an actual salary, but are in it for simply a free spot with some electricity/propane/small stipend (and the adventure of it all), then you will probably have good luck. Look toward the smaller, more rural National Forests districts--they can often struggle to find volunteers. Sometimes you can sign up to volunteer to do other work and get a pad on the district compound instead of in the campground being a host. Sometimes they need volunteers to simply babysit a historic spot, or to do wildlife surveys, or trail maintenance, etc. Like I said, the best chances will be the smaller, out-of-the-way NF districts, as opposed to NPs or well-known NF districts, or districts close to large urban areas.
I don't know much about RVs (I'm a tent-camper), but remember that it still gets very chilly at night during the winter in the SW. You will want to be at a very low elevation (I'm thinking around 2000) and have a good heating system. Just another thought to keep in mind while shopping around. I was in Tucson in February and got froze-out (again, I was in a tent, but still, it was freezing!!!).
That 1" shank bar will not tow much more than a small utility trailer. Other than that i share the same dreams. I've stayed in Cortez for a few days at the campground in town while we visited Mesa Verda, Moab, Arches,Canyonlands and up to Silverton, Telluride and such. Also an avid 4x4er. Unfortunatly we have too many bills for me to workcamp. Try RV.Net RV and Camping Forum ? RV, Trailer, Camper, Motorhome, Camping and Campground Information and look under their workcamping subforum. Good luck with your adventures.
Location: Just transplanted to FL from the N GA mountains
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While rv.net has the most active boards (at least in my opinion)... escapees.com has a wonderful working on the road section on their forums. You might want to check them out as well.
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