Workamping 101

The first thing you might as is, "What is workamping?" Workampers are people who are campers that exchange any work for a campsite or pay. Most of the employees are full-time RVers, needing work for pay or for a free stay. Not all workampers work at campgrounds for a campsite. Some work at companies that either pay them a salary, pay for their campsite, or pay them a salary and their campsite. Most people know of workampers as campground hosts at an RV park. But, now there are so many other jobs you can do in exchange for a campsite or pay.

The definition of Workamper on the Workamper.com website is as follows "Workamping includes any activity that involves the exchange of man/woman hours for anything of value."

Workampers are adventuresome individuals, couples and families who have chosen a wonderful lifestyle that combines ANY kind of part-time or full-time work with RV camping. If you work as an employee, operate a business, or donate your time as a volunteer, AND you sleep in an RV, you are a Workamper!

This workamp lifestyle used to be mostly retirees needing to supplement their retirement. These days there are so many younger couples, families, and single RVers, workampers are all ages.

WORKAMP WEBSITES

Indeed

Workamper (Shane working pool maintenance)

HappyVagabonds

WorkampingJobs

KamperJobs

KOA

WORKAMP JOBS AT CAMPGROUNDS

-Office staff -Marketing

-Maintenance -Pool Maintenance

-Activities -Campsite Valet

-Grounds Keeping -Campground Host

-Kitchen Staff -Bartender

-Housekeeping -Woodworker

-Social Media/Website -Painter

-National & State Park volunteer -Chaplains

(Patty working kids activities)

WORKAMP JOBS not at campgrounds

-Beet Harvest

-Amazon

-Amusement Parks

-JC Penney

-Oil Field Gate Guard

-Transport RVs

-Christmas Tree & Pumpkin Lot

-Fireworks Stand

-Tour Guides

-Lighthouse Manager

-Stocking Retail Stores

-Income Tax Preparer

-Zoos & Wildlife Refuges

These are just a few jobs, there are so many more out there to look for. The best way to look for jobs is to google workamp jobs in the state you are wanting to work. It will come up with all the websites and jobs available in that state. Lastly, you can just call the campground and ask if they are hiring workampers. This is how we have found several jobs. We find a campground that looks nice and in an area we want to visit, call the manager and ask if they had any workamp jobs. If they do they will ask you to send your resume and will then set up a phone call interview.

Another way to find jobs is to check out social media groups. Facebook has several workamp groups. They have groups of companies looking for workampers, and where you can post if you are looking for a job. They also have a few pages that have reviews of the campgrounds or companies, this way you can see other people's experiences. These groups are great for all kinds of information and where you can ask any question you have about workamping.

FACEBOOK GROUPS

Workampers

Workamping Today

Workamping Opportunities

Workamper News

Workamping Reviews, The good, bad, and ugly

Workamping Jobs with Wages

Workamping for full Time Rvers

Workamping Reviews

Workamping in the USA

Full-Time RV Work Campers

Check out our next blog post for how to start once you decide workamping is for you.

Credit: www.workamper.com

Lake Medina RV Resort

1218 Leibolds Point

Lakehills, Texas 78063

830-751-2640

Lake Medina RV Resort

Located in the beautiful Texas Hill Country you will find Lake Medina RV Resort. This campground is located 40 minutes outside of San Antonio, on Medina Lake. Perfect quite place to retreat after touring the big city. The campground is located on a 700-acre working ranch, with horses and cattle. The ranch was purchased in 1882 and has been passed down 6 generations, there are three generations living on and running the campground. The staff are friendly and helpful, we keep coming back because it feels like home to us.

The campground has 95 spacious full shaded sites, large enough for any type or size RV. No camper, they also have six hill-top cabins you can rent for your stay. If you love to explore, they rent kayaks and paddle boards, to take a ride down the Medina River. At the end of a day after site seeing, relax in their saltwater swimming pool and hot tub. They have a brand-new basketball and pickle ball court, if you like to stay active while you’re camping. Also, there are two hiking trails, where you can see views of the lake and the beautiful Texas hill country. We always look forward to their weekend events, like wine tasting, kid’s crafts, hayrides, and so much more.

The campground is located about 40 minutes from San Antonio. San Antonio is a great tourist location for any RVer. San Antonio is home to the Alamo, and five other historic missions. There is the River Walk that is located just across from the Alamo. The Riverwalk is a pedestrian river that has restaurants, bars, hotels, shops and a large Hispanic Cultural experience. There is a historic boat tour you can take to learn all about the river and San Antonio history.

San Antonio is also full of museums, Six Flags, Sea World, San Antonio Zoo, wineries, breweries, and even ghost tours.

There are a lot of small towns around Medina and San Antonio, that have a lot to see. Bandera is close to Lake Medina RV Resort and is called the Cowboy Capital of the World. They have cowboy shows, a museum, and horse rides. Another small town near the campground is Boerne, Texas. Boerne is a German-Texas town, settled by mostly German immigrants. Boerne is located on the Guadalupe river, which is great in the summer time for taking a tube ride down the river. Boerne also has two caves to visit, a lake, and a lot of great German food restaurants.

DIY RV Faux Wood Mantle with Hidden Storage Door

RV Renovations

June 15, 2021

When we started renovating our living room. I knew I wanted to get rid of the ornate wood molding that was over the fireplace. But, had no idea that there was a hole behind that ornate wood trim. When we removed it before we started to paint, to our surprise there was a hole behind the trim. Great, now what are we going to do? We can't put it back now, nor did I want to mostly because it was dental molding and would take forever to sand it to paint. Shane right away wanted to put in our soundbar. I was not on board with that at all, that would look horrible just sticking out. Thank goodness it didn't fit right away, I did not want to be looking at a soundbar sticking out. The reason I love our living room is that the TV can be hidden with the touch of a button. (Picture on the right is before all the renovations.)

It took me a couple of days and a lot of Pinterest searching to finally figure out what I wanted. I saw a few mantles in RVs and mantles in houses that had the door. But, I couldn't find a mantle that had a hidden door in an RV. I asked Shane if he could build a wood mantle as you would have in a house. This one would be different, I would want it to open so that we could hide his soundbar behind the door. When he wants to listen to his music, movies, or sports we can just open the door.

Tools Needed

Table saw - Or have it pre-cut at a hardware store

Wood - Cedar or Pine 2 - 1' x 6"

Wood Screws

Electric drill or screwdriver

Sander

Sandpaper 60 & 120 grit

Flip down hinges

Stain color of choice

Shelf L-bracket 1 1/2"

Build the Box

The first thing you want to do figure out what kind of wood you want to use. We chose cedar planks because we had some leftovers from the trim we used over the slides. But, you could use pine or whatever you have laying around. I have seen some made with wood from a pallet, this could save you a lot of money. We measured the empty hole above the fireplace and added one inch all the way around. We cut the wood to length so it covered the hole and there was extra room to attach it above the fireplace.

Next, we had to decide how thick we wanted it. Well, actually, how much room we had available when we closed the slides. When we close our slides there are about 12 inches available. We wanted to make sure the slides were able to close with the mantle up. We decided to go with 3 1/2 inches for the width.

We made the measurements for all 5 pieces of wood. The three long pieces will be the same length, but the top and bottom will be a different width. And of course, your end pieces will be a different width and length. You will just need to decide measurements based on what you need.

The measurements we used are below.

Front board - 45" long x 5" wide

Top & bottom board - 45" long x 2 1/2' wide

Side board - 2 1/2' long x 4 1/2' wide

After you have cut all your pieces you can screw them all together. Originally, we nailed them together. Shane was putting in the soundbar later, and it fell apart. So, use the screws from the beginning, learn from our mistakes.

To hold the front onto the box you will need to use cabinet flip-down hinges. Linked here. This will enable the front door to open and the hinges will keep it open. We tried several other hinges and the boards wouldn't open level. These are the only hinges that we could find that worked. We found ours at Lowe's, but I linked them on Amazon above, so you can purchase them from there as well.

Sanding

After you have it all put together, you will notice that all the wood is not perfectly flat. It will be a little uneven in places and not a square box. If you don't have a wood plane, it will definitely be rough and uneven.

First, we sanded it all down with 60-grade sandpaper on a sander, to help with all the rough edges and even it all out. After you sand it down with the 60 grade, use a 120 grade to smooth the entire mantle. The 60 grade will make it more even all over but will leave it a little rough. Go back over the whole thing using the 120 by hand. You want to use your hand not the sander so it only smooths and doesn't take off any more of the wood.

After you complete sanding with both grits of sandpaper, there will be dust all over the wood. You will need to clean up all the dust with a clean rag. We love to use the cheap IKEA white dish towels for projects like these. Some people use a cleaning solution to clean after sanding, but we never have.

Staining

Once your mantle is built, sanded, and cleaned it is time to pick your stain. I used the same stain that we had used for several projects in the RV to keep it cohesive. But, you can use any stain or paint that you want. If you decide to paint, make sure you use a primer before you paint. For stain, we use a clean dish towel, you guessed it another IKEA rag. They are only .79 cents, We buy a ton every time we go to IKEA, they are amazing and can be used for everything! Wipe a couple of coats of your stain on the wood, then use a clean rag to wipe the stain off. Let the wood completely dry outside before bringing it in to hang.

Hanging

To hang the mantle you will need two people to hold it and make sure it is level. Set the mantle on the fireplace wall where you want it to go. Use a pencil to mark where the L-bracket needs to be. Screw the L-bracket on the fireplace wall first with wood screws. Then, you can just sit the mantle on the L-bracket. Screw the other L-bracket half into the mantle. Then the mantle is complete. Now you install your soundbar in the hole when you open the front door of the mantle.

Photos

Here are a few photos of the mantle open from the front and the side.

Side view, you can see the hinges we used.

Front open view, this is where the soundbar goes. The front of the mantle stays open if we have the soundbar turned on. If the soundbar is off we close the door and I don't have to see the ugly soundbar.

PIN IT

Written by: Patty Gill