BOONDOCKING...vs. CAMP HOST JOBS

Honestly...it takes a LOT of faith to get a great camp host job or to otherwise find  your perfect "free spot".  We lucked onto a terrific ebook on free camping sites at:  www. frugal-rv-travel.com, "A Frugal Shunpiker's Guide" by Marianne Edwards.  It cost a few dollars, but was so worth it.  [Click on our Amazon link at the top-right and get your own boondocking books.]  True to Marianne's word, she sends detailed updates and/or corrections.  We have also tried our luck by "surfing the web" for free spots...and the truth is, even web pages where the author seemed quite knowledgeable and the information very detailed, we'd be off on a wild goose chase most often.  BLM camping spots would have new development, if they were close to "civilization"; and roads to some destinations were mere figments of some one's imagination (or poor memory).  We learned the hard way its best to talk with someone who has camped-4-free very recently and can give you reliable information.  Let's give you a recent example of one of our "goofs":

First, we went on internet info on a road west of Tucson that went from rough to sandy dirt and then to desolation.  We felt we needed "protection", especially after reading the "welcome" sign below.  Bob had never fired his bit of a gun, so he decided to see if it actually worked.  It did, and I took a bit of film to prove it.  Then check out the last photo of our actual camp site.  Seriously...what is there to do at this spot?  It was coming into focus:  These spots are free because that's what they are worth.  We locked ourselves into the RV and waited for first light.  It was the very next day, in the nearby Arizona Sonora-Desert Museum, we happened to run into an officer who did border patrol in the area.  He told us we were crazy to have camped where we did....that there were regular shootings in the area as it's a hotly contested drug trafficking route.  The sign with the bullet holes was not even close to being a sufficient warning for the risks involved in being alone at night (anywhere) in the area.  Ahhhh.....crap!

The above shadows belong to two lonely, nervous campers.

So....what about free camping as a camp host?  We got a job offer at St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, a preserve for open grassy forests of longleaf pine that were once commonplace throughout Florida. Their brochure reads, "The pine flatwoods form a backdrop for other biological communities, including cypress domes, scrubby flatwoods, sandhills, a beautiful strand swamp, and over 50 protected species.  Photographers, bird-watchers, and nature enthusiasts can explore miles of trails on foot, bicycle, or horseback. Canoeing, boating, and fishing on the St. Sebastian River are popular activities. "

The job offer came with the following attachment explaining the cost of a "free" camping spot.
Responsibilities of camp Volunteers
In exchange for a free campsite, volunteers are expected to perform 20 hours of service every week per Camp site [that's 20 hours for each of us, 40 hours total]

Duties include:

• Open gate every day at 8am. (Rotational with other volunteers as available)
• Close gate every night at sunset, check trash at spillway.
• Respond to visitor questions regarding the preserve.
• Work the Visitor Center as per scheduling (Fri – Sat, 10 to 4:30, Sun 12 to 4:30)
• Clean Visitor Center and North office each week   (take trash to dumpster)
• Clean bunkhouse    
• Check shop (sweep and take out trash)
• Check camp sites     (clean out fire pits and pick up trash)
• Pick up trash along roadways.
• Mow and weed eat: Parking lots, shop compounds, camp sites and camp host areas.
• Trail maintenance (may require operation of heavy machinery)
• Miscellaneous projects to be assigned

We came close to taking this job, as the preserve was not far from Miami beaches, but isolated and "wild"...actually too wild, as we couldn't get the internet there...and there was no church or grocery store close by.  As much as we love camp hosting, there is no such thing as a FREE SITE.  Nope...you pay, but almost to a person we hosts love the work and would do it for free.

If you have your mind made up you must have a free site, then just park on the road in front of a good friend's house.  That's just what we're doing in the following pictures:

Now...because I need the money, please notice my gorgeous stone necklace and then get curious enough to look me up on ebay.  Just click "Advanced" to the right of the search box and then go almost to the bottom of the page and type in my seller name:  RunningHorse48 ... and then you can see all of my astoundingly gorgeous diamond polished stones set in hand-crocheted adjustable necklace bands.  I'll give you a 20% discount if you mention you visited my blog.  Appreciate you!....and thanks, sincerely.

Funeral Counselor Bob's FREE Tips (from his pre-host life)

Bob in his Official Funeral Attire ($600 suit)

Tragic deaths, no funeral plans, grieving families being taken advantage of.... I've seen it all.
After years of working with people and seeing the funeral business from the inside out... I have to share tips to help family members get the best possible treatment when that time of loss comes. I want to see you being treated fairly!

Here's Bob's free Guide to Pre-planning Funeral Services: It is such an emotional time, infused with a high level of confusion, that a lot of advance thinking on the subject is needed to help make things go as well as they can at the time of need. I would like to start out with a few important points of understanding that will be of help to you while facing the responsibility of taking care of a deceased loved one. The last thing that should happen to you is to be taken by the Funeral Business.

1. Funerals are for the living, not the dead. If you are anticipating a death, take care of the details in advance with the funeral home. If you have had an unexpected death and have to deal with a funeral home, read and study the next expense tips with extra care.

2. Understand that the mark-up on caskets is between 200% and 350% in most cases, and with casket discounters the mark-up drops to around 35% to 70%. Tip........ when given the the casket price at a funeral home tell them that in order to get your business they will have to drop their prices to match the outside-of-funeral-home open market prices... If they start telling you that your loved one deserves a higher quality casket and that the higher price reflects quality and more padding and added water protection, you will need to change your selection of a business to work with. Yes, there are some differences with quality, but not to the degree that you would pay $3000 more for the same unit elsewhere. Most casket lines start at the low end at around $1000 and go into the high end at up to $10,000. The $10,000 dollar casket might only cost the firm $1650 in some cases. In almost all cases the outside appearance of cheaper discounted caskets is good looking and offers similar construction. Get a better price on the casket.

3. Do not get caught up in the vault upgrade. Vaults are mostly made of concrete and choices are advertised as "regular" and "water resistant". Some have copper linings and some have plastic. Tip...... For a long time you would hear the funeral director say something like, "This vault will keep your loved one dry and out of the water". The Federal Trade Commission has now mandated that the industry can only say, "water resistant", meaning that all vaults will eventually allow water to seep in. The wholesale cost (to the company) of the regular vault is currently around $150 to $225. The more expensive "sealed" or water resistant vaults cost the company $350 to $450. Knowing these numbers will help guide you in your purchase.

4. "Professional Services" covers embalming, cosmetics, transporting remains to a chapel for service, transporting flowers, and set up at location and transport to graveside for burial. Tip...... The big decision here is whether to have a graveside funeral or a chapel service. Both have their pluses and minuses, but the thing to remember at this point is the cost. Funeral director expenses need to be earned and paid--they have to make some money to be in business. The thing to keep in mind is that I have seen these expenses vary by 2 to 3 thousand dollars. Call around before you need to in order to select where you want to do business. Ask the question: "How much are professional services?"

5. Cemetery Costs - The main expense of the cemetery, which may be considered a separate cost from the funeral home if the cemetery does not own the funeral home, is opening and closing of the grave site. Other costs would be the vault setting fee and the marker. Tip......Markers can be purchased outside the funeral home or in the funeral home. A significant savings can be had by using an outside source. Cemeteries make a fortune on opening and closing fees...often times becoming abusive with their charges. It takes about 25 minutes for a well-trained worker to prepare a grave site. It takes about 20 to 30 minutes for two workers to cover it over and replace the grass. The cemetery is probably paying a total of $40 for wages and about $100 for rental on the back hoe, so this can be a guide for estimating the actual cost.

6. Limo upgrades, cards and programs to hand out at the funeral, and death certificates. The company makes high profit on these options. Depending on how you are handling everything, you may do the funeral service program and/or cards on your word processor and have it printed off at a fraction of what you would be charged. Death certificates are important to get, and the price is regulated by the state you live in. Usually 4-8 of these will do the job. You will need them for insurance companies and Social Security notification. They generally cost from 5 to 10 dollars a piece.

7. Obituaries have gotten out of hand as far as expense is concerned. The funeral home gets a small kick back from the newspaper when they put an obit in for you. About 20 years ago newspaper companies did this for free but have discovered a huge profit in charging. Tip....... The service a funeral home provides to handle the obituary is a good one. People want to be notified of the death and informed of any services. But the time to say all of those nice things about the deceased is before they die, so they can benefit from your kind words. Generally, the shorter the better and also the less expensive. Try not to go on and on...just so it "looks good" or the deceased seems "important". It is an emotional time, but any regrets you may have cannot be redeemed by throwing money at the funeral. The extra money you will save will provide a good family get together after the services and meaningful memories.

By looking this page over and using it as a guide you will be ready to do business and take care of matters. Please feel free to post your encounters so others can learn. I can try to answer questions if you email me at camphost.white@gmail.com . Generally the people who work in the funeral business are good people, but they are being pushed very hard to upgrade and capture the business.

Remember, if you say, "Look... if you want my business, you will have to work with me or else I will go somewhere else," you should be protected from any salesman who tries to take advantage of your emotional need to "do the best you can" for the deceased. Funerals really are not for the deceased.

Get to know Bob, retired from the funeral business, but feeling obligated to help family members get fair treatment when that time of loss comes.