25 Jobs You Can Do Right from Your Campervan (Goodbye 9-5!)

Some of the most common questions from aspiring van lifers are, “How do I make money on the road?” and “What are the best van life jobs?” We have good news! There are many remote jobs for van life that you can consider, no matter what your experience level is.

Due to the huge increase in remote work after the pandemic in 2020, more and more companies are transitioning to a more remote model. This means more remote jobs for van life!

We’ve outlined some of the best van life jobs, allowing you to work remotely on the road.

Freelance Writer

Before I made money as a successful blogger, I did tons of freelance writing. I think this is one of the best van life jobs out there.

There are so many opportunities for freelance writing out there it’s mind-blogging. Many companies, especially start-ups, have a need for writers for blog posts, web copy, sales emails, etc. In fact, I hire several freelance writers for my website, The Wayward Home.

Newspapers, magazines and online publications often take pitches from freelance writers. I’ve done a lot of freelance writing from my sailboat and from my van, and have written for publications such as Good Housekeeping and Marie Claire.

And guess what? Some of these publications cover RVing, sailing and van life.

One of my favorite freelance travel writers, Lindy Alexander, has tons of cool resources and courses to help kickstart your freelance writing career as a van lifer. Check them out below:

• 5 Ways to Get Featured in a Magazine
• 9 Markets for Food Writers
• 10 Successful Magazine Pitches
• How to Break into Travel Writing Online Course

I’ve followed Lindy’s email list and adventures as a travel blogger for years, and love her advice and transparency. She makes great money freelance writing.

I honestly think freelance writing is one of the best van life jobs out there, as you can do it anytime, anywhere, with the right internet connection.

Virtual Assistant

Demand for virtual assistants is growing as more individuals and companies move their businesses online.

A virtual assistant is someone who helps a business owner with his or her online company. (Curious? Check out the Fully Booked VA Mini Course now)

I have someone helping me manage my blog, The Wayward Home. He proofreads blog posts and adds images, schedules notifications and helps manage my Facebook group. Even small businesses like me need virtual assistants!

If you’re a virtual assistant, you can do work from anywhere, for anyone. There are so many types of jobs you can do as a virtual assistant that you can basically make up your own job description.

Here are a few examples of tasks a virtual assistant can do:

1. social media scheduling/marketing
2. writing (blog posts, website copy, marketing emails)
3. bookkeeping
4. proofreading and editing
5. customer service
6. email management
7. website management
8. blog management
9. affiliate program management

Want to see what being a VA is all about?

Check out the VA Jumpstart Program now.

Proofreader

If you’re good at catching a misplaced comma, semi-colon or spelling errors, proofreading may be one of the best remote jobs for van life out there.

There’s a really high demand for proofreaders, especially due to the rise in self-publishing. People who write those fiction and non-fiction books need someone to go through their copy and look for errors.

If you’re interested in proofreading but not quite sure yet if its right for you, there’s a free webinar offered regularly by former freelance proofreader turned proofreading instructor Caitlin Pyle.

She’s taught a lot of people how to make a career for themselves proofreading! In fact, she left a deadbeat career to make tons of money proofreading.

To check out the free webinar, go here: Webinar: Learn the Skills you need for a career in proofreading.

Transcriptionist

When you think of a transcriptionist, you probably think of people who transcribe legal documents.

But there are tons of opportunities out there for people who like to type and who also have a keen attention to detail, making this an excellent remote job for van life.

With the explosion of video online, many companies are hiring transcriptionists to turn those videos into written documentation to be used for marketing, training, blogs or website content.

Curious? Check out this free ebook: The Truth about Transcription

Or take a free minicourse:

• Free General Transcription Mini-Course

Online Education Tutor

If you’re an expert in your field, you can become an online tutor for high school and college students online. 

You can offer tutoring in fields as diverse as accounting, biology, chemistry, psychology, US History or Calculus.

So how can you get a tutoring job while living in your campervan?

Sign up with a company like Course Hero, which connects educators with students. 

Course Hero requires that you have a Bachelor’s Degree from a U.S. or Canadian university and that you currently reside in the U.S., U.K, Canada, Australia or New Zealand.

You don’t have to be a professor or teacher in your field, but you must be able to show expertise.

Data Analyst

Another one of the best remote jobs for van life is a Data Analyst. The world is becoming more data-driven every day, and even small businesses are wanting to understand the data they generate.

This could include researching website traffic statistics, social media engagement, email marketing campaign results, or even sales trends.

Some companies will even hire Junior Data Analysts right out of college and provide training to help them in their long-term career goals.

Many Data Analyst projects are delivery-based, so as long as you complete the requested tasks by a specific date, everyone is happy. This means you can work your own hours as long as you attend the required meetings.

Here’s an article about some of the best data analytics certification courses you can take to help you find the perfect van life jobs!

Dog Walker or Pet Sitter

If you’re a dog lover, you could make some extra cash while living in your van by dog walking or pet sitting. It’s not necessarily one of the typical remote van life jobs out there since you have to show up at a specific location, but you can still make money on the road doing it!

You can sign up with an app like Rover or Wag!, and then set your own schedule, availability, and location within the app.

This can be convenient if you know you will be in an area for a specific amount of time, allowing you to offer up pet-sitting options as well. Many of these gigs are in-home, so you can even get a break from living in a van while your pet sitting.

Pet (and item) Transportation

There is a huge need for cross-country or cross-region pet and item delivery service. Surprised? Same here!

Not necessarily remote work, but this is a great opportunity to make money as you travel around in your campervan. You could even think of it as getting paid to drive to your next destination! Companies like Secure Pet Transport hire drivers as full-time employees.

You can also find contracted pet transportation jobs on job boards like Indeed.com.

Some companies require your vehicle to be specially equipt, specifically for pet transportation. Requirements are typically a van with high-impact crates installed to ensure the pet’s safety. If you don’t want to take up valuable space in your van with a dog kennel, some companies provide a vehicle for you to use.

Pets aren’t the only thing needing to be transported across the country. Sometimes someone doesn’t want to trust a normal shipping service and hires a special company like Citizen Shipper to transport their beloved item. Maybe you invest in a small trailer and offer up motorcycle transport, or if you are comfortable (and your vehicle has the capability) towing larger items, you can transport boats or cars.

House Sitter

Along the same line as pet sitting, house sitting is another non-online job that allows travel. Apps like Mind My House offer global house-sitting opportunities, so you could even take a vacation and possibly get paid for it!

Trusted House Sitters is another good app to find house-sitting gigs at. Sometimes living in a van just gets tiring, and you need a little break. House sitting is the perfect opportunity to reset and make money. However, keep in mind that Trusted HouseSitters is not for pay, it’s a trade deal.

Local Handy Person

If you’re interested in non-seasonal jobs but open to day work, a local handyperson is great for someone with specialized skills. They are in person jobs, but you set your own availability and only find jobs when and where you want them.

Temporary and seasonal work is usually more than a one-day job, but apps like TaskRabbit allow you to set your location and expertise, so you know what you’ll get. You can offer everything from putting together Ikea furniture to Christmas decorating and gift wrapping to party cleanup and even delivery service.

If you’re an especially handy person and planning to be in an area for a while, Thumb Tack offers higher-end services in the same way that Task Rabbit does. You can help someone move or remodel a bathroom.

These apps are great ways to earn money if you’re not someone who enjoys online van life jobs.

Oversized Load Vehicle Escort

Here’s an option for those not looking for online jobs for van life: an Oversized Load Vehicle Escort! Have you ever seen the vehicles in front and behind the huge semi trucks, with blinking lights and an “Oversized Load” sign? That could be you!

The best part is this job doesn’t require a Commercial Drivers’ License. Some companies, like Specialized Inc., even provide training.

Freedom Pilot Car Services hires contractors on a per-project basis.

The main caveat with this job is that depending on the state you want to pick up the gig in, you may have to get a state-issued certification to be able to escort an oversized vehicle legally. Some vehicles are also prohibited from being escort vehicles due to limited visibility.

Here’s a video on how to become a pilot vehicle driver.

If you have a smaller camper van like the Dodge Ram Promaster City, you can see how this company converted a van for this specific task, complete with living space!

Amazon FBA Business Owner

You can create a thriving online e-business if you go with something like Amazon FBA.

So what exactly is Amazon FBA?

The FBA part in Amazon FBA means Fulfillment by Amazon, which means you send products to Amazon, and they ship them out to customers.

You can do two types of products: buy discounted products in a store to resell or create your own products. The former is called Retail Arbitrage, and the latter is Private Labeling.

There’s a lot that goes into starting an Amazon FBA business, so I’d suggest taking this free ecourse:

Sign up for the free Amazon FBA Starter ecourse now.

Fiverr Services Seller

If you’re just getting into the world of online work in your campervan, you can start by selling your services cheaply on Fiverr.

You can offer anything from graphics and digital design, to writing, to video and animation, to digital marketing.

You set your own rates and get your own clients.

It’s one of the easiest ways to make extra money. I’ve hired freelancers from Fiverr to help me on my blog! Everything from signature creation, to logo design, to an animated splash page for my YouTube Channel.

Join Fiverr today and start making money remotely.

Graphic Designer

Graphic design is a great remote job, as many small businesses need someone to do their visuals! Even small businesses like me need graphic designers to create logos and Pinterest pins.

Graphic designers can work in marketing, technology and commercial industries.

They create posters, pamphlets, marketing materials and billboards, edit photos and choose fonts. 

If you don’t know anything about graphic design, that’s okay. There are tons of affordable online courses:

• Graphic Design Bootcamp: Part One
• Graphic Design Masterclass: Learn Great Design
• The complete graphic design for beginners’ course
• Adobe CC Masterclass: Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign

Digital Marketer

A digital marketer can do a variety of jobs meant to help market a business. Some of the tasks include email marketing, social media marketing and search engine optimization.

One idea is to create Facebook ads to drive traffic and interest to a small businesses’ website.

To learn how to become a digital marketer, check out these cheap courses:

• The complete digital marketing course
• The ultimate Google ads and Adwords training
• Google analytics certification course
• Social media marketing mastery

Social Media Manager

Something like a virtual assistant but not the same as a digital marketer is a Social Media Manager. This is a great van life job as long as you have consistent access to the internet, and typically all you will need is a phone!

Social media management takes time, and some businesses just need someone to log into their social media accounts and respond to comments, messages and engage with their audience. Something as little as 15 minutes a day can make a huge difference in social media engagement and growth.

Oftentimes a small business has a graphic designer in-house who can design all of the social media posts, but they don’t have time for engagement.

If you invest in a social media scheduler like Buffer, you can schedule our posts and then just take a few minutes a day to interact with your customer’s account(s).

Bookkeeper

If you’re into crunching numbers, you may want to think about starting your own virtual bookkeeping business.

There is an incredibly high demand for bookkeepers, and the best part is that you don’t need to be in any specific location to do the job. You are able to work virtually from your computer from your campervan or RV.

As long as you have a reliable internet connection to work with, your bookkeeping business goes where you go! 

This business is obviously for a very specific type of person. In order to find out if you fit the criteria, I invite you to watch this FREE video webinar , presented by the Founder of Bookkeeper Launch, Ben Robinson. 

During this FREE class about starting a virtual bookkeeping business, you will discover:

1. Exactly what the business is (and is NOT),
2. What you need to know (and have) before you start…are YOU a good fit, and
3. The 3 step system to launch your own business.

Click here to sign up for the FREE class on bookkeeping.

Etsy Seller

Selling printables on Etsy is a great way to make money online. RVer Emily Burton has an Etsy shop, The Paper Giraffe, where she’s a  top 1% seller with over 1,400 reviews.

Emily sells invitations, banners, wall art and signs that people can buy, download and print. It’s the perfect mobile business as it involves no inventory.

This isn’t exactly a full-time job, but can help supplement your income.

Interested in learning more about selling on Etsy? 

Check out this FREE Etsy Printables ebook:

Download the free Etsy Printables ebook now.

Essential Oils Marketer

Essential oils are all the rage right now, and you can easily get set up to start selling them online.

Joni Zander, who lives in a gorgeous camper van, makes a living selling essential oils with dōTERRA.

She loves her business because she doesn’t have to carry inventory in the van; she just has a few of her favorite essential oils on hand.

“dōTERRA is the world’s largest essential oil company, so I educate people on how to use essential oils to support their health, and I also help them purchase the oils with a wholesale customer account,” said Joni.

Web Designer

A web designer designs websites for businesses and sole proprietors. They decide on styling, colors, fonts and images that appear on the homepage and any other pages.

Usually, a web designer uses a combination of HTML, CSS and existing themes to create a stylish and informative website.

Web designers are in high demand, and its a job you can do with simply a computer and an internet connection.

Check out these resources for becoming a web designer:

• Wordpress Theme Development with Bootstrap
• Web Design for Beginners: Coding in HTML and CSS
• Master Web Design in Photoshop
• Learn Photoshop, Web Design and Profitable Freelancing

Nutritional Coach

A job that quickly turned into a possible van life job during the pandemic is being a Nutritional Coach. Once virtual meetings became more acceptable, Nutritional Coaches started offering their services online.

Many people struggle with nutrition and just need some support with meal planning and someone to hold them accountable. Other people need help with their overall mindset to kick-start their nutritional goals.

Jennifer Ismar just started out van life herself, bringing her Nutritional Coaching Business along with her on the road.

Here are some resources to help you get certified as a Nutritional Coach:

• Fitness Mentors Certified Nutrition Specialist Certification
• National Academy of Sports Medicine Nutrition Courses and Certifications
• International Sports Sciences Association Nutritionist Certification

Fitness Coach

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A post shared by Claire P. Thomas (@clairepthomas)

Along the same lines is a general Fitness Coach. With online classes, apps, and virtual mentoring so widely accepted these days, a fitness coach can be a great option for a van life remote job.

Clair Thomas has been a very successful fitness coach for many years, two of which were while she was living in a van.

Her upbeat personality, paired with picturesque scenery as a background to her many workouts, can’t help but inspire you to get into shape. She’s made a successful online business by offering app subscriptions, merchandise, a fun cookbook, and is an affiliate partner to multiple nutrition supplements.

If you’re interested in becoming a certified fitness coach, here are some resources to get you started:

• American Sports and Fitness Certifications
• ACE Fitness Personal Trainer Certification

Life Coach

Probably one of the harder van life jobs to get into is Life Coaching. Not that it’s hard to get into, but it requires a much more personal touch and lots and lots of networking to build rapport within a community to get clients.

With dedication and the right networking, you can make Life Coaching your full-time job while living in a van. This one will absolutely require a stable internet connection. You wouldn’t want to lose connectivity in the middle of a coaching session while a client is sharing their struggles with you!

Life Coaching is a dream job for many and is absolutely a viable way to work remotely while living a life.

If you’re ready to take the plunge into Life Coaching as your remote work option, here are some resources to get a certification so you can get started:

• Certified Life Coach Institute
• The iPEC Coach Training Experience

Which Remote Jobs for Van Life Will You Try?

As you can see from this list, many van life jobs allow you to work remotely. You can also find remote jobs by searching LinkedIn or any other job board and changing the criteria to “remote jobs.”

Most job boards have updated posting criteria to include if the job can be filled by a remote worker or not, so employers have to enter this information.

You can find remote jobs in Facebook groups that promote van life jobs or share various ways to make money on the road while living in a van.

What remote jobs for van life would you like to try? Did we miss something? Share your ideas in the comments below!