As park hosts at Memory Lake Campground in Grantsburg, Dave and Diane Engstrand park their RV in the prime spot for the summer and enjoy all of the benefits. The same is true for Pat Busch and Richard Groves at the Crooked Lake Park in Siren.

They are two sets of the many working campers that serve as hosts at campgrounds throughout the United States and Canada.

With the high price of fuel, hitting the open road every weekend has become an expensive proposition. So, many RV campers are finding a campground they like and parking their rig for a few months at a time before moving on.

The desire to stay in one location for extended periods has led to a change in the equipment and a change in how the campgrounds operate.

In the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s one would find many tents, pop-up campers, and pickup campers parked in the campgrounds.

Many of these campers were dependent on facilities such as bathhouses with toilets and showers and in most cases were short term visitors to the campgrounds.

Today most of the rigs one finds parked in a campground are totally self contained. That means the owners have all the cooking, heating and bath facilities needed to live independent of what the campground provides.

It is more convenient to have electric, water and sewer, hookups at the camping site and most campgrounds provide these as part of the rental fees. Cable TV and phone connections are available at an extra charge.

Many of these campers are full time RV’ers. They have sold their home and are living full time in their RV camper.

A little over a year ago, when Dave Engstrand learned that the Ford plant in St. Paul where he had been working for 20 years, was going to shut down operations in June 2008, he and his wife, Diane, decided to take early retirement and go to full time RV’ing.

“We had been talking about it for quite a while and we decided this is what we wanted,” said Diane.

“So, we sold the house and bought the fifth wheel,” explained Dave.

After Ford made the announcement about closing the plant, gas prices have skyrocketed and along with it the sales of Ranger pickups, which are made at the plant.

“So, they called me back to keep on working. I might be there another four years” explained Dave.

Having sold their house, the Engstrands parked their RV on a lot they had improved in the Atlas area. “With the well and septic system in and a garage built we were able to comfortably live there for the winter with no problems until the opportunity opened up here at Memory Lake,” said Dave.

Pat Busch and Richard Groves at the park in Siren, on the other hand, are totally retired.

When Groves retired in 2003 after 38 years in mechanical maintenance at Air Force bases as a civilian contractor, they settled in Arkansas in 2003 and purchased a small RV. “We started traveling to Wisconsin to visit relatives and out west,” said Busch.

“Then, like most RV people, we got a little bigger RV,” she added.

In April, 2007 they sold their house in Ash Flats, Arkansas and started full time RV’ing. “When we started full time we went to Branson, MO and talked to people in a campground there about how to do full time RV’ing,” recalled Busch.

“They told us about work camping and that when we stop at a place we should just ask if they needed anybody as work campers,” explained Busch.

“The first campground we stopped at was Heartland RV Park in Hermosa SD. We walked in and asked if they ever hired work campers and they hired us on the spot. We worked their all last year,” said Busch.

“We were planning on returning to Hermosa this summer until we heard about the opportunity at Crooked Lake from my mother who lives in Spooner,” said Busch.

The duties and responsibilities of work campers typically include cleaning and maintaining the bathhouses, picking up the trash, picking up around the grounds, taking reservations, checking in arriving campers, both transient and seasonal.

There is an obligation to be available daily and on weekends. “We do have the enjoyment of having the prime camping spot,” said Dave Engstrand.

RV’ing is a great experience according to both couples. The new fifth wheel campers are very roomy and comfortable.

“This is a 38 foot Double Tree Mobile Suite model and it is more like a regular home than a motor home,” explained Dave Engstrand.

Engstrand explained that the unit must be less than 400 square feet to be considered to be a vehicle and then be licensed as a mobile home avoiding paying real estate taxes. “Some states have a maximum length restriction as well,” he added.

Both couples have had their share of learning experiences over the years.

“We have done the usual, gone down the road with our steps hanging out, our TV antenna up, or our windows open, if it can be done we’ve done it,” admitted Busch.

“Over the years we have learned,” she went on.

“One of our most memorable experiences was when the Explorer we were towing was hit by a driver running a red light in Omaha Nebraska. It totaled the Explorer and cost us four days of our vacation to get the motor home repaired,” recalled Diane Engstrand.

The positives far outweigh any negative experiences they claim.

“I took my first trip in an RV in 1987 and we owned our first motor home in 1990,” said Engstrand. .

“We used our RVs for vacations every year,” said Diane

“We usually spent two weeks to Florida and two weeks out west,” Dave added.

“Our kids make the comments that those are memories that we will never forget. We still talk about our vacations and they kept going with us until they were 28 years old,” Diane went on.

“We probably could have saved a lot of money if we hadn’t done that but we would not have been able to spend the time with our kids accumulating all of those good memories,” said Dave.

“We have made some good friends. That is what is great about RV’ing,” said Busch.

Plans for the future for both couples include extensive travel throughout America.

“We plan on spending summers in the mountains out west and winters down south and maybe a trip to Alaska,” said Engstrand.

“Because Richard spent his career outside the United States we would like to explore America from the east coast to the west coast,” said Busch.

“We have been wintering in Mexico and are hoping to be on the east coast this year,” added Groves.

The couples recommend taking advantage of groups and publications that are available for people that RV.

Busch and Groves are members of the Escapees RV Club and Engstrand recommends Workamper magazine for those considering the camp worker approach to full time RV’ing.

Memory Park campground fees are typical.

Daily - $20

Weekly - $120

Monthly - $350

Seasonal (six months) - $1200

“We will never own a house again,” said Diane Engstrand.

“And we will never pay real estate taxes again,” beamed her husband, Dave.

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