Just because you’re a full-time RVer doesn’t mean you can’t make and sell things from your RV. If a father to three young kids can do it, so can you. The Price family’s story will inspire you to give it a try.
A Full-timer’s Tips On Making & Selling Things From Your RV
Josh and his kids make cool things on the road. Image: T. Price
Joshua and Tiffany Price hit the road last year in a fifth-wheel toy hauler. They joined the thousands of other families full-time RVing with young kids. When pulling into a park, the first thing people see is a family of five with a totally normal RV. But this Open Range Roamer 376FBH is modified to accommodate the Price Institute. It’s a rolling “place to learn, create, and build whatever the mind can conjure in a safe and educational way”. The family travels while making everything from furniture to toys to RV replacement parts.
“Seeing the expressions on other campers’ faces when they see the workshop is always fun. No one expects to see a space full of tools and automated machines at work in the back of a fifth wheel,” says Joshua. The tools at his disposal even include a CNC-router and 3D printer! “People get excited watching the CNC cut a custom sign or the 3d printer building, layer by layer, a replacement for a broken bracket or latch,” he says.
The logistics of figuring out how to make and sell things from your RV can seem daunting. But this family has nailed it. They are part of a worldwide community of “Makers”. This is a subculture of people who love making things from scratch and showing others how to do the same. We asked Joshua to share a few thoughts about his rolling maker’s workshop. He has loads of advice for others who aspire to become roaming makers. Here’s what he said:
“find a way of bringing that hobby or activity with you,” says Price. Image: T. Price.
What are the biggest challenges of having a workshop in your RV?
“One of the biggest challenges I didn’t fully comprehend was that my workshop no longer had walls and a roof.
When the weather is bad, projects on my picnic table-turned-workbench are exposed to the elements, and I have to be more cognizant of the noise I am making so that I don’t ruin the other campers’ peaceful experience.”
What are your tips for others who want to maintain their favorite creative outlets on the road?
If people have a hobby or a small business that gives them great joy and satisfaction, why would you deprive yourself of that just because you live an RV lifestyle?
I speak from experience when I say that the excuses you make to tell yourself that things won’t work is a copout. You have to find a way of bringing that hobby or activity with you. It will take a lot of clever planning and you will have to make sacrifices in other areas, but the initial effort is totally worth it. Assess what it is that you love so much about your creative passion, and see if there is something smaller or more mobile that can give you that same satisfaction.”
Rene Agredano and her husband, Jim Nelson, became full-time RVers in 2007 and have been touring the country ever since. In her blog, Rene chronicles the ins and outs of the full-timing life and brings readers along to meet the fascinating people and amazing places they visit on the road. Her road trip adventures are chronicled in her blog at LiveWorkDream.com.
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