Coast Deluxe Membership Program

[GaryKD]

I'm looking for responses from those who have a:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Coast Deluxe membership.
<LI>Coast to Coast membership.
<LI>Thousand Trails membership.[/list]Coast Deluxe is owned by the affinity group (they seem to own everything related to RVing). Affinity bought Coast to Coast, Thousand Trails, Encore, etc. I just had a presentation and they want $2K for a lifetime membership.

What have you been told about your membership? What have you been told about the future? What have your past/present experiences been like?
thank you,

[GaryKD]

I'm looking for responses from those who have a:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Coast Deluxe membership.
<LI>Coast to Coast membership.
<LI>Thousand Trails membership.[/list]Coast Deluxe is owned by the affinity group (they seem to own everything related to RVing). Affinity bought Coast to Coast, Thousand Trails, Encore, etc. I just had a presentation and they want $2K for a lifetime membership.

What have you been told about your membership? What have you been told about the future? What have your past/present experiences been like?
thank you,

[Jestme13]

Gary we have both a TT and a CtCD plan. We just bought the CtC plan in Jan in Fla at CW in st aug. we've had the TT for 4 yrs, and if we knew then, what we know now, we would have never bought the TT membership, as it stands this minute. The CtC is a great deal for the Traveler, plenty of CG's where we like to go, you need to ck it out. $2K ain't a bad price, compared to what TT wants!

PS: if ya buy a CtC please use my name, they'll send me a few buckaroos.

[GaryKD]

For those interested, I passed on making the purchase of this membership. It takes me a while and a lot of reasearch to spend $2K. I'll probably regret it, but I just couldn't get comfortable with it. It's just me, I guess.

[Toby]

Gary

IMHO, I think these type of memberships are for full-timers and not for the casual camper. I think the PA is the best deal going for the casual camper. BTW, close to the TT campground on hw27 near Disneyworld, there is an outlet on hw27 that (Re)sells these memberships. I went thru the sales pitch at this TT cg and I think the salesman almost cried when I told him no (for the 20th time) S/Toby

[Hitchhiker]

What do you with Coast to Coast experience think about this:

Today, I received in the mail a solicitation to take a one year 'Test Drive' of a Coast to Coast membership for $49.95 called Private Membership Camping. According to the propaganda in the offering, I'd pay only $8 per night to stay (up to three days) at any Coast to Coast CampResort, $13 per night for a Good Neighbor Park, or a 25% discount at Best Parks in America.

I'm not sure what the difference in these parks are but that's what the letter says.

The way I understand what's in the offering, I could walk away at the end of the year if I choose not to choose a Home Park. Or, if I choose one, they'll give 6 free nights of camping. I suppose there would be a hefty CG membership fee for a home park, but letter doesn't mention anything about fees.

I usually toss this sort of junk mail but for some reason I read this one. I wonder what the catch is? Are the parks fully booked all the time, would they not be available when wanted, or are they mostly sub standard parks?

What do y'all think, toss it?

[GaryKD]

Richard,
I have a tough time joining the big $ up front camping clubs. We belong to a few, as you see in my signature. They seem to have what I want and when I want it.

I've been to all the presentations and read all the junk mail I get. One never knows when the right deal will present itself. It is a really personal decision if the offering has value. For $50., I'd give it a try if the terms and conditions are okay with the way you will RV in the next year. If I received that offer, in the mail, I'd be hard pressed not to try it.

The organizations in my signature have all sorts of CGs. I've put a review of the one's I've stayed at in the CG section of iRV2. The biggest problem I have is they may not be where I want to be when I want to be there. Maybe I'm a bit lazy, but I don't like a CG too far from where I will be touring. For an over night stop, the PA CGs are tough to find, near an interstate. The T/L software that pops up CGs along your route sure makes it easy to find a CG when one needs it and close by where ever one is located. Thumbing through hard copy directories while stopped in a rest area to find a CG for the night doesn't do it for me.

[Hitchhiker]

Gary,

Thanks for the reply, I'm still on the fence regarding this offer. My apprehension is whether or not there's adequate availability of sites to the test driving Private Members during this promotional event.

If this was a mass mailing and the Affinity Group has any measure of success with it, I'd suspect these campgrounds would be overwhelmed with reservation requests from such 'test drivers'. I really doubt they would receive priority over a fully paid up Coast to Coast member.

Again, thanks for the reply. I'll probably toss this in the garbage.

[RUFINIT]

Richard,

If you are truly interested in Coast to Coast, then it is a good test drive before you buy. Wish we had that opportunity. We took over a friends membership (for the transfer fee) and have had it about 5 or 6 years. We have found most of the parks are off the beaten path i.e. not along freeways, where we travel. Occasionally we find one that works for us, but not to justify the cost. Dues for our home park are $99 per year and the C2C annual fee is $60 or $80 a year. (We did a three year dues purchase that saved some dollars per year, but don't remember the number.)

Also have found the parks usually aren't first rate. Also have noticed a lot have dropped off the list.

What makes it even less useful for us is our new coach is 45' long and that eliminates approx half the parks in C 2 C. Am going to drop it soon.

Hope this helps.

[Hitchhiker]

Thanks Joe,

I decided to toss the offer for some of the reasons that you've mentioned in your post.

Appreciate the information.

[MonacoMama]

Rufinit...
How is C2C for 40' RVs?
I know you are on Outdoor Resorts. Is that a "Buy your own lot" or do they also have a plan like the C2C plan...and do you have any other campground memberships that you have used or like?

[RUFINIT]

When we had a 38' moho, we never had a problem fitting into most C 2 C parks.

Outdoor Resorts is a place where you own your lot. There are not club affiliations. Some owners have their lots in the rental pool or rent them on their own. Pricey however.

It is in my opinion the nicest RV park in the country. The lots (after appreciation) are selling for a minimum of $200,000 and some have sold for upwards of $700,000. Crazy, but as an owner, I like how they have gone up. Three years ago they were $100,000 to $160,000.

I have no other memberships.

Attached is a link to the website for Outdoor Resorts in Indio and in Vegas. There is a coupon good for a five night stay (expires in July 2007) if anyone will be in the area.

[MonacoMama]

Joe...
We have already made our reservations for next month - with that coupon! Are you still there ... or have you made it back home?

[Adventurous]

Someone mentioned the C2C resale outlet on 27 in FL.
We bought our resale classic membership there for about $350. our home park is in Tennessee and cost $29. a year.... C2C anual fees for 3 years was $179. So all together we think we have a really good deal!!!
We have used the C2C and good neighbor parks. They want you to make reservations but we never do. We call on the day we plan to arrive and ask if space is available. According to rules you cannot make reservations within 48 hrs of arrival and it has worked out well for us. Also in Canada!!
So maybe you might rethink not joining.
We certainly are getting our money worth!!!