11 Cool Ways to Get Paid to Drive a Car Across the Country
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Do you love to travel? Do you hate the hassle of finding a good deal on airfare? Well, here's a new way to see new sights – get paid to drive a car across the country! Yes, it's true. There are plenty of ways to earn money while commuting from one side of the country to the other or to at least break even. It's a great way to see America while saving money at the same time.
In this blog post, we'll tell you everything you need to know about getting paid to drive a car across the country without resorting to delivering food. Pack your bags and get ready to hit the open road!
11 Best Ways to Get Paid To Drive A Car Across The Country
1. Relocate a Vehicle
Relocating vehicles is a great way to earn money while driving across the United States, especially if you don't want to use your own car. If you've got a good driving record, there are many programs that will pay you to relocate vehicles, ranging from auto dealerships to rental car companies.
Driveaway USA is one of several companies that will pay you to relocate vehicles, also known as car shipping or vehicle delivery services. You can find a driveaway service based out of the city you live in so that it's easy to head out without needing to travel to the departure location.
The requirements are pretty simple to drive for these vehicle delivery services – you must have a valid driver's license, be at least 21 years old, have car insurance, and have a clean driving record.
The company allows you to drive either class A or class B vehicles, has full-time and part-time opportunities, offers a referral bonus program, and even has a safe driver incentive program. This is a great alternative for contractors who don't want to drive trucks but still want to earn good money.
You can expect to earn anywhere from $100 to $2,000 per week, depending on the type of vehicle you're relocating and the distance you're traveling.
Transfercar is a similar program that will pay you to relocate vehicles for a rental company. The requirements are the same as Driveaway USA, only you don't earn as much, if any, money driving for them. However, it's a great way to get a free rental car for at least part of your road trip, which could save you a tremendous amount of money for the rest of your trip.
- Potential Earnings: $100 to $2,000 per week
- Ease of Onboarding: 7/10
- Special Requirements: Class A or Class B license
2. Drive an RV Across the Country
What's better than driving across the country in a vehicle? Driving across the country in an RV, of course! You can actually get paid to drive an RV across the country and take yourself or your family on a vacation at the same time.
One great platform for finding RVs to drive is Immova. This is one of the most comprehensive databases for relocation and you can filter it by RV type, city drop-off, and the number of passengers coming with you.
You technically pay between $1 to $10 dollars each night when you relocate the vehicle, but you're often compensated with fuel costs or travel allowance, which leaves you coming out positive in the end. And of course, you save money on your lodging since you're driving an RV.
- Potential Earnings: $1 to $200 per relocation with gas allowance
- Ease of Onboarding: 7/10
- Special Requirements: Class A or Class B license
3. Deliver With Roadie
Roadie is a growing company owned by the delivery service UPS. It helps people receive same-day or next-day deliveries by connecting drivers with senders. It's a great way to make money with your car by making local deliveries if you're already planning on making a long trip.
When you're a Roadie driver, you make money driving by accepting delivery gigs to deliver packages along your route. The company offers an estimate of how much you could earn for each gig before you accept it. Roadie is available in the contiguous United States and parts of Canada.
To become a Roadie driver and earn money delivering goods, you must be at least 21 years old, have a valid driver's license, and pass a background check. You can expect to earn somewhere between $10 to $700 per gig, depending on the distance, size, and time frame of the delivery. The average pay is approximately $13 to $20 per trip for local deliveries.
If you're already planning to drive your car cross-country, you can choose several gigs delivering packages that are along your route from point A to point B so that you're not driving out of the way.
- Potential Earnings: $10 to $700 per delivery
- Ease of Onboarding: 8/10
- Special Requirements: Valid driver's license and background check
4. Become a Mover
If you're in good shape and have access to a box truck (or can rent one on a platform like FetchTruck), you can make money by becoming a mover. You can advertise your moving services on platforms like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. You can also join a moving company as an independent contractor (or start your own with these awesome moving company name ideas).
The requirements for becoming a mover are pretty straightforward. This is a great way to make money as an 18-year-old (or older) and you must have a valid driver's license. You'll need to be able to lift heavy objects in and out of box trucks, so being in good physical shape is important.
Looking into insurance is also a good idea, as you'll be liable for any damage that occurs to the items you're moving. Movers typically earn $12 – $25 per hour, but this will depend on your location and the going rate in your area.
An easy way to get started is to sign up for Bellhop, a company that connects independent movers with customers. You can work as little or as much as you want. Earnings are deposited directly into your bank account every week.
- Potential Earnings: $50 to $1,000 per week
- Ease of Onboarding: 5/10
- Special Requirements: Option to get bonded and insured, background check for Bellhop
5. Start a Travel Blog
Do you have a dream of visiting every National Park in the United States? Or maybe you want to backpack across Europe on your own schedule? Whatever your travel goals are, you can get paid to travel by starting a travel blog.
A travel blog is a great way to document your travels and share your experiences with others. It's also a great way to get paid to drive a car across the country. You can monetize your blog through advertising, affiliate marketing, or selling digital products.
You'll want to set up your blog before you head out on your journey through North America. This involves choosing a platform (like WordPress or Blogger), choosing a domain name, and designing your blog. You can find more information on how to start a blog here.
Once you've got your blog up and running, you can start pitching travel brands and working with companies as an influencer. You can also apply to be a brand ambassador for companies that you love. As a brand ambassador, you'll receive free products and travel opportunities in exchange for promoting the company on your blog and social media channels.
Travel blogging is a great way to make money while driving because you can work from anywhere – as long as you have an internet connection. You can easily make $500 – $3,000 per month.
The only caveat is that it takes quite a bit of time and dedication to build up a successful travel blog. So this isn't the best idea for someone looking to make a quick buck. But if you're in it for the long haul, travel blogging can be a great way to fund your travels and see the world.
- Potential Earnings: $50 to $5,000 per month after 6-12 months of publishing
- Ease of Onboarding: 4/10
- Special Requirements: Web host and URL purchase
Our list of travel blog name ideas can help you come up with a great name for your blog.
6. Join Uber and Lyft
The gig economy has helped fuel the rise of Uber, Lyft, and other apps. These are popular ride-sharing platforms that allow you to use your personal vehicle to give others rides. People with their own vehicles can start a driving job as a side gig and can sign up to be a rideshare driver in just a few minutes.
Once you're approved and get an inspection on your motor vehicle, you can start making money by giving rides and getting paid to drive a car across the country. Just make sure you have adequate car insurance that meets the needs of your particular driving service as well as any additional requirements from the app's driver sign-up process.
In general, Uber and Lyft drivers are able to drive anywhere in the state where they're registered and sometimes to neighboring states. So if you wanted to take a road trip from San Diego to San Francisco, you could set your app to pick up riders along the way.
Just make sure to keep your car clean and put any of your road trip gear in the trunk to provide your customers with a pleasant experience and get a good rating and customer tips. If you can give a customer a great experience, this is the perfect way to make money fast for your road trip.
- Potential Earnings: $100 to $5,000 per week
- Ease of Onboarding: 7/10
- Special Requirements: Vehicle owner background check, vehicle inspection
7. Put Advertisements On Your Car
Another way to get paid to drive a car across the country is to put advertisements on your car (it's one of the great ways to get paid to advertise) in the form of car wraps. You can sign up with companies like Wrapify or Carvertise, which specialize in these types of car advertising, and they'll send you a wrap to apply to your car. The car wrapping will have the company's advertisement, and you'll earn money based on how many miles you drive.
This is a great option for someone with a reliable vehicle who is already on the road a lot. You can make money on your own schedule without changing your driving habits semi-passively. These car advertising programs are best for rideshare drivers as well as drivers doing delivery services that spend a lot of time on the road.
And it's a pretty passive income stream, as you don't have to do much other than apply the car advertising wrap and drive normally.
However, there are some downsides. First, you'll have to give up some space on your car for the advertisement. And second, you may not be able to get wrapped if you live in a smaller town. You also need a car that's in good condition to be accepted into the program.
If you meet these requirements and don't mind driving around with an advertisement on your car, this can be a great way to make some extra money and boost your monthly income if you live in one of the major cities, between $350 to $1,500 per campaign.
- Potential Earnings: $350 to $1,500 per advertisement campaign.
- Ease of Onboarding: 6/10
- Special Requirements: Newer model car in good condition, proof of daily mileage or rideshare contract
8. Work As a Secret Shopper
The gig economy has created more opportunities for people to make extra income by taking on secret shopping assignments. Secret shopping jobs are a great way to make some extra money while on the road. You can sign up with companies like Intelli-Shop and other apps. They have an online job board that allows you to select gigs across the country. You can search the board in any area you happen to be driving through.
These assignments usually involve going to a restaurant or store and assessing the customer service that you receive. You'll need to take note of your experience and often fill out a survey afterward.
This is a great way to make extra cash while traveling, as you can usually do the assignments during your own hours. And you may even get free meals or products out of it, saving more money on your road trip.
- Potential Earnings: $10 to $200 per secret shop
- Ease of Onboarding: 4/10
- Special Requirements: Secret shopper account (various companies)
9. Start a Road Trip YouTube channel
Are you comfortable on camera? If so, you could start a YouTube channel documenting your road trip. This is a great way to make money while driving, as you can film the videos while you're on the road.
To be successful, your videos will need to be high-quality and offer value to viewers. You can do this by featuring interesting destinations, providing travel tips, or doing vlogs (see blog vs vlog) documenting your day-to-day experiences.
If you can grow a large enough following, you could make money through YouTube's ad revenue program. Another option is partnering with brands that are relevant to your channel. You could also sell merch featuring your channel's logo once you've gained a significant following.
In addition to creating content, you'll need to take time to market your channel in order to start making money online with this method. You'll also need to grow your audience as well as edit and upload your videos. But if you're successful, this can be a great way to make money while road-tripping and long after as the channel ages and grows.
- Potential Earnings: $50 to $5,000 per month after 6 to 12 months of publishing
- Ease of Onboarding: 3/10
- Special Requirements: YouTube account
10. Walk Dogs Along the Way
A classic car trip requires taking several breaks and stretching your legs. So why not make some money while you're at it by walking dogs?
You can sign up with a dog-walking app like Wag and get paid to walk dogs while on the road. Once you sign up for Wag, you'll enter your home address and location. However, you can always toggle the location to wherever you are at the moment, whether that's in your hometown or on the other side of the country.
You'll see a list of available dog walks in your area and can choose to accept or decline the gig. Some walks are available ASAP while others are scheduled for a certain time of the day. Once you accept, you're given all the details of the walk, including the address, start time, and duration.
After you finish the walk, you'll take some photos of the dog and confirm that everything went well. The owner then gives you a rating and you'll get paid through the app.
A Different Way to Make Money As You Drive
This will not only fund your road trip but will help make sure you get some exercise along the way.
If you're looking for a free place to stay during your travels, consider registering for Trusted Housesitters. This platform allows you to housesit for people while they're away. In exchange, you get to live in a city without spending any money.
It costs $167 a year to register for this service, but it can pay for itself in just one or two housesits.
- Potential Earnings: $10 to $900 per week or free lodging
- Ease of Onboarding: 6/10
- Special Requirements: Wag, Rover, or Trusted Housesitters account
11. Sell Stock Photos
One of the best things about driving a car cross country is beholding the beautiful sights. These days, even the most basic cell phones can take great quality photos. If you have a knack for photography, you can make some extra money by selling your stock photos.
There are a number of websites where you can sell your photos, such as iStockPhoto, Shutterstock, and Getty Images. You can use sites like Etsy to sell your photos as digital downloads. You can also start a stock photo website.
To make money from stock photography, you'll need to take high-quality photos that people will be willing to pay for. This means avoiding cliched images and instead focusing on original content. You can find inspiration for what sells by browsing the popular categories on stock photo websites.
When uploading your photos, be sure to include keywords in the title and description. This way, people can easily find and purchase your photos.
And as always results will vary
The amount of money you make will depend on the popularity of your photo and the website you're using. But if you have a large portfolio of high-quality photos, this can be a great way to generate some extra income while on your road trip.
If you take some time to learn about composition and lighting, you can take even better photos that will sell for more money. You can find plenty of resources online to help you improve your photography skills.
- Potential Earnings: $10 to $2,000 per month after 6 to 12 months of listing photos for sale
- Ease of Onboarding: 7/10
- Special Requirements: Camera, an account on a platform to sell photos on
The Bottom Line - Final Thoughts
These days, especially with entrepreneurs escaping the 9 to 5, it's becoming easier to make a living on the road and make your car work for you. It only makes sense that checking off a bucket list item like driving cross-country would come with some earning potential.
Whether you want to make a full-time income or just some extra cash to fund your travels, there are plenty of opportunities out there without having to change your driving habits. Whether that's through a rideshare app, or delivery gig jobs, with a little creativity and effort, you can get paid to drive a car across the country without resorting to delivering food orders.
So what are you waiting for? If you're planning a cross-country trip, consider one (or more) of these money-making ideas to fund your journey.
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