Author: Fred

All of the articles on my blog come from being a camper from the time I was eight years old. I bought my first RV when I was 30, a tent trailer. I traded the tent trailer for a 26' bumper pull trailer, then a 5th wheel, and I now have a 38' Newmar Mountainare Class A motorhome. Once I retired from the Motion Picture Industry after a 39 year career, my wife and I sold the house, and moved into the motorhome. We have been traveling, managed an RV Park in Washington, worked at a lake in Southern California (I was the Maintenance Manager), and are planning our seventh season as the campground hosts at a campground in the Los Padres National Forest, in Southern California. We love the Full Time RV Lifestyle. See my course on https://howtofulltimerv.com
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RV and Motor Home Insurance

A motor home with the forest behind

 

Why You Need to Insure Your RV

Most states in the United States require that all vehicles have at least liability insurance in case of an accident. This includes insurance for your motor home. Insuring you motor home will protect both your motor home and your finances. The policy you purchase should pay for any damages to you or your motor home in the event of an accident. You will need to research which insurance companies are willing to issue policies on a motor home.

First, if you are already doing some form of business with an insurance group you should look into their services for starters. This is because in various cases you can get a discount for having multiple policies with the same company.

Where to Look for RV Insurance

The internet is another great place to go to check for insurance companies and the products that are available in your area. You could consult with RV Facebook groups to get suggestions for motor home policies that are available. You should remember to then look into the reliability of the insurance companies that you are considering to make sure the company trustworthy and safe. Check the Better Business Bureau or Chamber of Commerce.
Family members, friends, or church members can be a great source to get recommendations for a reputable insurance company. Many insurance companies will do business exclusively online as well. You can look for motor home insurance online, but you should watch for the companies that have these policies available. This is because not all of these groups will be well set up or reliable. Again, the reliability and trust of these companies is something that you should look into. Of course, you should know that some companies will have special online discounts for customers who reserve their policies online.

What Your Policy Should Include

You should look into a policy that insures both your motor home appliances and your tow vehicle. Automobile insurance does not cover your appliances, this could result in multiple thousands of dollars to replace damaged equipment due to an accident or fire. get a policy that covers personal property. If you are like me, you have computers, lap tops, navigation equipment, communication equipment, cell phones, clothing, and the list goes on. Some states do not allow this coverage, so check on this too.

You can easily find information on these companies through reviews of their services. Check for online reviews about the insurance company. Motor home insurance is something that you should use for your motor home. You can find this form of vehicle insurance through various different offices around the country, including some online sites. You can even get discounts by going online or by sticking with the insurance company you may already have policies with. The best recommendation would be to start by calling your current automobile insurance agent.

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Transporting Invasive Species in Firewood

Buy It Where You Burn It poster

Burn it Where You Buy it

Burn It Where You Buy It is a slogan for the Firewood Task Force. This organization is educating the public on what happens when you move firewood from one location to another. Namely the transporting of invasive species. Non-native insects and tree disease have been identified as the cause for the decimation of California, Oregon, Washington, and now Western Canada’s forests.

Why is this a Problem for Campers?

Over one million Americans either travel or live in their RVs. Just last year in 2018, over 10.5 million households owned an RV. Millions of other Americans are choosing to do stacations, camping locally instead of taking road trips. If each of these campers or RVers moved firewood from one forest to another, the spread of invasive species can multiply exponentially.

What is at Stake?

Years of drought have left our forest trees dry and vulnerable to insects. A healthy tree has moisture and sap to help it to fend off invaders. In a wildfire, dry trees burn at a faster rate than healthy trees. We can look at the loss of 29,570 acres of Lassen National Forest in Northern California in 2020, in fact, in 2018 the entire city of Paradise burned to the ground. The Sierra Nevada forest near Yosemite in Central California, has miles of burned out forest land that is currently closed to the public for reforesting efforts, due to past wildfires. The San Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear, California has a forest that has been severely damaged by the bark beetle. Nearly every forest in the warmer regions of California, Oregon, and Washington show the signs of the bark beetle.

Just one Invader

There are many different invasive species and plant diseases that are being moved throughout the Western American forests. The Bark Beetle, part of the family of beetles known as Scolytidae, is only one of them. This is an insect the size of a grain of rice. These beetles eat the bark or phloem, of a tree. This invasive insect has migrated from Central America, possible in crates of produce, to the Mid-West. The beetle burrows into the bark of a tree, sends out pheromones, and hundreds of other beetles join them to attack a tree. They lay thousands of eggs under the bark of the tree, and suck the moisture out of the tree, then move on to surrounding trees.

How are they moved?

A camper or homeowner, that unknowingly purchases firewood from an infected forest, and moves it to another location, is in fact complicit in the destruction of our forest resources. Imagine this, a camper brings a bundle or infected wood to a forest to have a campfire, they have one or two pieces of said wood left, they leave the wood behind, and the bark beetle finds a new forest to attack.

We need to learn to’ Burn It Where We Buy It’ so we can stop the spread of invasive species in our forest. Know what is at stake, possible massive, out of control wildfires. The loss of, not only human life, homes, and entire forests. All it takes is one invasive species. The public can help to curtail the spread of invasive species. Go to the U.S. Forest website nsa.gov/burnitwhereyoubuyit and learn more, or click the link below.

Click this link to view a video about Burn It Where You But It.

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8 Different Types of Wood

Different Wood Types

Different wood types

Have you ever looked into the difference between one kind of wood you are considering burning an another? When you are going camping and plan to cook your meal over the firepit, it is good to know about firewood. Some wood is good for a fast-warm fire, some wood is good for cooking over and some wood should never be burned. Let’s examine a few of the 8 different types of wood.

                Hardwood- Hardwoods are usually darker in color, burn slowly, and create good coals to cook over. An example of hardwood is: Oak, Birch, and Ash.

                Softwood- Softwoods are usually lighter in color, lower in density, create more smoke, and are lower in heat. You can cook over softwood but you will need more to keep a campfire going. An example of softwood is: Cedar, Pine, and Larch.

                Manufactured Wood- Manufactured firewood is made with sawdust and woodchips that are pressed together in the form of logs, bricks, or pellets. They have a lower moisture content, so they burn cleaner, leave less ash, and burn more efficiently than cordwood. A pressed wood product name example would be: Duraflame or Pine Mountain.

                Non-local Wood- This could be wood that is transported anywhere from a few miles away to hundreds of miles away. By moving this wood, you could introduce invasive species (insects like the Bark Beetle) or tree diseases to a new forest. This practice has damaged our forests from Central America to the forests in Western Canada. Burn It Where You Buy It.

Read Firewood and Invasive Species

                Green Wood- If the wood comes from a freshly cut tree, it will contain more moisture and sap. This will result in a smokier fire than seasoned dry wood. At issue here is embers that fly out of the firepit and gets all over your food if you cook over the firepit, and these embers also can fly into nearby brush or pine needles.

                Painted or Stained Wood- Painted or stained wood releases chemicals into the air when burned. This air is carcinogenic to those who breath it.

                Driftwood- Due to the salt content that has been absorbed into the wood, chlorine gas can be released into the air and is carcinogenic to those that breath it in.

                Large Logs- Not all wood that a camper finds in the forest should be burned in the form that campers find it. Not only should logs that are burned be able to fully fit into the firepit, they should be no larger than 5 inches in diameter. Having a axe or hatchet is highly recommended if you are going to collect firewood in the forest.

Knowing the difference between different types of firewood can greatly increase your enjoyment when you have a campfire, cookout, or barbeque. Not all wood is safe to burn and could actually cause health problems. Moving firewood from one location to another can decimate our local forest. Remember to “Burn it Where You Buy It”.

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8 Types of Wood That Camper’s Should Not Burn

The Lure of Camping is to enjoy the great outdoors

Do you know what wood is not safe to burn?

As a camphost, I am amazed at what campers bring to the campground to burn. Unless you were in a scouting program as a child, there probably will be no way of knowing what firewood is. Of course, you can make do a Google search to learn about firewood, but most people believe that all wood is burnable so they do not get the education they need. Let’s take a look at unsafe wood and why you should not burn it:

             1)   Painted wood- When paint is burned, it releases chemicals that are toxic to breath

             2)   Stained wood- Just like with painted wood, there are chemicals that are used to manufacture stain, when burned they are carcinogenic If you use painted or stained wood to cook your meal over, the food will absorb these toxins.

              3)  Creosoted wood- creosote is a wood preservative made with coal tar and is carcinogenic, an example of which is a telephone pole, the barriers that line US Forest campground, or pressure treated wood. There is a build up in your fireplace at home that is called creosote, this residue is soot and it is a not chemical, so it is not carcinogenic.

              4)  Manufactured wood- Plywood and particle board are manufactured using glues that are chemical based, smoke from burning these products are toxic to breath, imagine cooking your dinner over them.

             5)   Colored paper and Pizza Boxes- We see this in the campground all the time. Any thing with colored ink or made using dyes, can be toxic when burned. Also, campers should notice that when paper burns in a fire pit, the embers waft up in the air, can be caught by the wind, and blow into dry brush nearby.

             6)   Styrofoam cups, bowls, plates, plastic wrap, plastic dinnerware, and plastic water bottles are petroleum products, these too are toxic and carcinogenic when burned. Do not put them in your firepit.

              7)  Pallet wood- Pallets are made with softwood that ordinarily would be burnable but they are treated with a wood preservative called Methyl Bromide, a nasty chemical when burned. Plus, pallets often are used to haul barrels with other chemicals in them, like formaldehyde. Imagine burning that.  And the nails are hazardous to the campground host that has to clean out the fire pit after pallets have been burned in them.

             8)   Plant life- I actually saw a camper put dried poison ivy in his firepit as a fire starter, handling this plant can result in a severe rash. Burning this plant can release the oils in the plant, so breathing it can be dangerous to your lungs. Know what is in your environment and avoid what can bring harm to you. All campers should Google the flora and fauna, or plants and animals that are in the area they plan to camp at.

A camphosts job is to educate and inform. I have had to tell people the dangers of painted, stained, and manufactured wood, I have cleaned out many firepits that have plastic residue in them, and I have warned people about poison ivy. Know your surroundings, Read the Information board at the front of the campground. Do a Google search on plants in the area you are camping at. Please feel free to ask your camphost or the RV park owner about the safety of plant and animal life in the campground.

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How Do I Get A Camphost Job?

How to get a Camphost job


If you are interested in how to get a campground host job, there are a few things you should know. Camphosts jobs are not a career job, typically they pay local minimum wage, they are jobs for people who enjoy people and working in nature. The camphost is responsible for keeping up the facilities, enforcing the rules, and collection of camp fees.

A person who is interested in becoming a camphost can go online and search for camphost jobs. You will find posting s for jobs all over the country. There are listings for the U.S. Forest, National Parks, RV Parks, membership campgrounds, BLM land managers, US Military campgrounds (you must be a veteran to apply). State park hosts, or County park care takers. Decide whether you want to work at the beach, a lake, river, forest, city, or country, there will be an opportunity at one of these.

There are a number of ways that people are hired to fill available positions for camphosts. There are unpaid volunteer jobs, site trade plus salary for hours worked over and above cost of site, and free site with all hours paid. Being retired and on Social Security, this works well. Usually there will be an application online that you can fill out and send in. So, you should decide ahead of time where you want to work.


What does a Camphost do?


The camphost, park host, or docent serves campers by offering information, explaining regulations, and collecting fees. They direct people to hiking trails, give information about nearby activities, and at times lead campers to their camp sites.

Campground rules are universal, they are designed to ensure that all campers have a pleasant camping experience. These rules are generally posted at the entrance to the campground, it is the camper’s responsibility to be informed of the rules. An apt saying for the camphosts is, “We don’t make the rules, we just enforce them”. Take it easy on the camphost, they are doing what they were trained to do.

Another duty of the camphost, is to make sure that fees are paid by campers. And that is right, you guessed it, the camphost does not make the fees, they just collect them. Once a week, a camper comes in and complains about paying their camp fees, then the camphost patiently explains that the camp fees are used to maintain the facilities these campers came to use.

The camphost cleans the restrooms, mows the grass, cleans the roads, empties the fire-pits, paints and repairs buildings, if needed, and enjoys the surroundings that they are privileged to live in.


Showing Respect for the Camphost


What does it mean, show respect for the camphost? In order for campers to have respect for the camphost, they perhaps need to know a little bit about the camphost position. A campground host is a person between 18 and 80, it is not a career job, it pays minimum wage. In fact, many camphosts are retired from another line of work entirely. Sometimes, the camphost may be a person who grew tired of the corporate grind, the busy city life, or wanted a job that allowed them to travel.


Although Camphosts jobs are not a career job, they are jobs for people who enjoy people, travel, and working in nature. The camphost is responsible for keeping up the facilities, enforcing the rules, and collection of camp fees. You can find a campground job anywhere in the country, at any type of location you desire, and they should be shown respect.

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Camphosting and Rule Enforcement

This image depicts camp activities at Lake Piru in Southern California

We Don’t Need No Sticking Rules

Every camper should already know the rules and the camphost is responsible for rule enforcement. So as a camphost, I say that when you go camping, you should know and follow the rules? Why are there rules for camping anyway? Yes I get asked that. Why does the Camphost interfere with my trying to have a good time?  Where are the rules anyway?  To answer why there are rules, a campground is a mini community, with neighbors, families, and friends. Everyone came to have a good time. But your good time should not take away your neighboring camper’s enjoyment of the campground. The campground host, also known as, the Camphost, is tasked with facilitating the enjoyment of all campers in the campground. The rules are based on principles of safety, comfort, and respect for the individual, the environment, and the property.

The rules that campers are asked to obey are universal to every campground in America, they are clearly posted at the entrance to the campground. This means that it is the camper’s responsibility to read and know the rules.  As a Camphost. I just don’t understand why campers feel that by removing the walls of a house, they can cut loose and not be respectful of others.

What are the rules?

                Pay your camp fees- If a camper does not have a reservation, they must pay their camping fees, within 30 minutes of choosing your camp site, these fees are clearly listed at the entry kiosk and pay envelops are likely provided.

                Speed limits- Camping is a family activity, you never know when a child may dart into the road; animals such as squirrels, fox, deer, and bears can be on the road; few campgrounds have sidewalks, campers use the road to access campground amenities. 15 MPH is a safe braking speed in a campground.

                Site condition- Don’t leave trash laying around the site, Forest Rangers can cite you for trash on the ground. You should leave the site cleaner than it was when you arrived. If there are no trash containers available, take out what you brought in. Pack It In, Pack It Out.

Campfires– It is the camper’s responsibility to know if there are fire restrictions in place, to know if permits are needed and where to obtain them (online on the US Forest website or at a Ranger Station), and to know if the they are allowed to bring firewood into the campground. Fire safety is ALL camper’s responsibility, do not go to bed, take a walk, or leave the campground with a fire going. Most of the wildfires in America were started by careless campers. Be fire aware.

                Pets- Going camping with your dog is a great experience, not picking up after your dog or keeping your dog on a leash is bad manners. A barking dog is annoying to all campers. Last season, the Forest Rangers told me that a camper had lost two dogs, the camper believed that the campground host should be responsible for finding their dog, I found out that they went 4x4ing and left the dogs tied to the picnic table, the dogs got loose. It is not the camphost responsibility to watch or find a camper’s abandoned dogs.

                Dishwashing- It is bad form to wash your dishes in the fresh water spigots or bathroom sinks, a camper should bring a pot for hot water and dishwashing pans in order to wash dishes in their site. Using hot water will assist in the health and enjoyment of all campers in your group. Dispose of your dirty water safely.

                Children- Camping is a great family activity, guests are responsible for the behavior, activities, and the where-a-bouts of their children at all times. The camphost may send out for law enforcement or emergency personnel if needed, but it is not the hosts responsibility to look out for camper’s children.

The rules in a campground are for safety, comfort, and respect for other camper’s, the environment, and for individuals. The Camphosts responsibility is to enforce the rules of the campground, it is the camper’s responsibility to know what the rules are.

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U S. Forest Service Campgrounds

The USFS campgrounds are different from your average resort style campgrounds in the lack of amenities that are available. Many of these campgrounds are dry camps, meaning that they do not offer electrical, sewer, or water hookups. Usually, these campgrounds are located in a forest, next to a lake, by the ocean, or by a river. Some USFS campgrounds still offer water but as the water systems age or become unpotable, the wells are capped off and are no longer available. Water systems require weekly or monthly testing by trained water specialist, there are not enough trained water specialist in the United States to properly ceritify the safety of the water systems that remain, so often the water systems are shut off for the safety of campers.

The ranks of the USFS has greatly dwindled in the wake of budget cuts, lawsuits, and misuse of the campground facilities. Many of the campgrounds in the USFS system have been closed due to neglect, damage to the facilities by vandles, fires, and lack of funds to properly maintain them. The lack of funds may be due to lack of personnel to make sure that campers are paying their fees. Many people seem to believe that if there is noone in the campground to enforce paying, they do not need to pay, so there is again a lack of funds to do repairs.

The USFS has been forced to enter into contracts with private companies to maintain, protect, and service the campgrounds. These companies hire campground hosts to live on the premises in order to enforce the rules, maintain the facilities, and collect the campground fees. Often these campground hosts are retirees that live full-time on the road in their RVs. These companies pay a portion of the monies collected from campers to the USFS, they put a set amount of the fees into repairs in the campground, and they pay whatever staff that are required to achieve adherence to the contract. There is no ownership whatsoever of the facilities by these companies, they belong to the United States and it’s people, they are stewards of the land.

As a campground host, otherwise known as a work-camper, I have found this lifestyle has its own rewards, they meeting of people from all walks of life. I have however,  seen that a good many campers today, do not know how to camp. Fire safety is a big pet peeve for me personally. I have three to six campers every weedend that leave the campground with their fire still blazing, this is the most irresponsible occurance that can a camper can commit. Everyone knows that it only takes a spark to get a fire going, yet they are willing to walk away from a burning fire-pit, to go to bed, to go hiking, or worse to go home. In the year 2017, California alone had six fires that burned hundreds of structures, cost untold millions of dollars to extinquish, and cost numerous lives. One spark.

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5 Frustrations of a Camphost

An RV park in Grants Pass, Oregon

1 )Contract Violations

What would cause a campground host to be frustrated? Before a camphost accepts a position at a campground, they negotiate a contract with the employing company, RV Park owner, state, or county. When these contracts are violated, they can be very frustrating for the camphost. This could be as simple as being asked to work hours that not in the contract, grounds work that the employee is physically incapable of doing, or being promised a full hook up (FHU) site, that is in fact, not full hook up. An example of a full hook up violation was at a campground that I worked at, that did not have an actual sewer hook up for the camphost.  The employer remedied that situation by providing a macerator pump with a 75-foot garden hose to dump into a vault toilet, it worked but it was not what was promised.

2) Other Work Campers

It is not surprising that you get all kinds in this industry, workers who do the job as trained and workers who try their best not to do a thing and get paid for it, you wind up doing their job and yours. One worker at campground my wife and I worked at, would not go anywhere without his dog, the dog was his excuse not to do his job. Another employee who did not stay at the campground, never showed up and got paid for it, of course, I did his work. Employees at a campground need to work as a team in order to best service the campers needs, dogs should be left at home.

3) Wanted: Your Fire Dead Out

Unfortunately, ten to fifteen campers per week come to the forest, have a campfire, and either go to bed, go for a hike, or worse, leave for home with a camp fire burning. This angers me as a campground host! In the forest, wind comes up at all hours of the day or night, one spark in the pine needle carpet in a forest campground, can decimate our forest. No one should leave a camp fire until they can safely put their hand into the ashes without getting burned. Learn the principle of Sprinkle, Scatter, Sprinkle. Responsible campers or day use visitors should carry water to put out their fire, or have a shovel to smother the fire with dirt. If they do not have one of these two things, they should not have a fire. It is frustrating for the camphost to have to put an irresponsible campers fire out. I tell everyone that the camphost should only put the fire out in their own site, not an irresponsible persons fire.

4) Pack It In, Pack It Out

When a camper goes to a campground that does not have trash cans provided, they must take their trash home with them. How do you know that there are no trash cans provided? You look up the campground online to see what amenities are provided before you arrive at the campground, and you plan accordingly. Cleaning up after a lazy camper is not my idea of a good time. Campers need to practice the principles of leave no trace.

5) I’m in Love with My Car

Not sure if you follow the band, Queen, but they had a song named, “I’m in Love with My Car”. Vehicles in a U.S. Forest campground are to be on the asphalt at all times. In a forest campground, a hot engine over the pine needle carpet could cause a fire. If your vehicle does not fully fit into the site and the camphost asked you to park it in overflow or to pay for another site to park it at, do it. US Forest campgrounds have barriers to keep vehicles on the asphalt, but campers take these out so they can have their precious vehicle next to them at all times, and to add insult to injury, they burn the creosoted (cancer causing when burned) barriers.

Camphosting allows a person to live and work in nature. Unfortunately, there are many frustrations that can steal your enjoyment of hosting. Just a few of which are contract violations, fellow employees that do not pull their weight, abandoned fires, micro trash clean up, and vehicles that are not parked correctly.

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11 Types of Work Camper Jobs

The beauty of the forest is why we camp

What jobs do campgrounds hire for?

When you are searching for a campground host job, you will find 11 different types of jobs. All work camper jobs have the purpose to serve the needs of campers and maintain the campground facilities. If you have a background in a useful field for the campground, even the pay scale maybe higher than the usual minimum wage most campground workers earn. Let me show a partial list of what is available in the work camper industry.

               1) Manager- If the RV Park is not owner-operated, or for US Forest campgrounds with more than one campground, there may be a need for a manager. These employees should be able to lead a staff of one to twenty, have knowledge of the campground industry, know the Campground Masters program, and be able to accept a fulltime position. The pay rate is higher for the manager. There is often an onsite accommodation offered. And a long-term contract may be available.

               2) Camphost- There are several names for this position. Park host, workamper, work camper, to name a few. These employees tend to work on a seasonal basis, typically April to October, directly service the needs of the campers. Collect fees, lead campers to their sites, sell firewood, enforce the rules, and help to keep the campground clean.

               3) Relief camphost- These employees cover for the hosts on their days off, may cover lunches for store employees, and assist management as needed. These are seasonal positions.

                4) Kiosk or Gate house worker- These employees collect fees from visitors or campers as they enter the park. Or they may take phone reservations at a busy campground. This could be seasonal or part time in the slower winter months.

              5)  Volunteer workers- These employees are often called Docents. A docent is a person who instructs visitors on the local flora and fauna (plants and animals) of an area, they may act as trail guides, and trade their time for a site at the campground.

               6) RV Camp Employee- These employees help the campground owner to operate the park in areas of store clerk, grounds maintenance, pool safety, game amenities, etc. They may be onsite or offsite employees.

               7) Activities Director- These employees organize activities for campers. They usually live off-site and may have come from a recreation, teaching, or human resources background. Table tennis, shuffle board tournaments, whiffle ball games, board games, barbeques, dances, concerts, are just a few of the events that this employee may organize and oversee.

              8)  Grounds Maintenance- These employees can live onsite or offsite according to the needs and size of the campground. Although the camphost will assist with grounds when the campground is not busy, a full-time grounds employee maybe needed to keep focused attention on the grounds of the campground or RV Park. These positions could be seasonal or year around.

              9)  Marina dockhand- These employees are needed for lake campgrounds with rental boats. They may live onsite or be hired locally. They could be seasonal if in snow country, or year around in temperate climates.

              10)  Store clerk- There are several ways that a campground can cover a store, a camphost couple could have the husband hosting and the wife in the store or they can hire an offsite local.

                11) Pool lifeguard- Most RV Parks hang a no lifeguard on duty sign up, but if the park is large enough, a full-time lifeguard may be necessary. These employees would likely be hired locally and live offsite. Unless the pool is indoor, this will be a seasonal job.

Naturally the number of camphost jobs that are offered to run and maintain a campground, is factored on the size, use needs, and finances of the campground or RV Park. More employees are needed in the summer months and of course just a skeleton staff remain in the winter when most amenities are closed or not available. The wage scale for campground workers is based on experience, the needs of the campground, and the position applied for. I have been a camphost for seven years, I have done nearly all the positions listed above, and I highly recommend working in a campground.