Looking for "time share" campground suggestions

[vectra400]

Thousand Trails...Coast 2 Coast...and I'm sure there are plenty more. As we are just going full time (yes....we made it) what are the best values for for these types of groups. All info is appreciated.
Stephen

[Seajay]

Personal opinion from Seajay...... You would have to run real fast to give me one of those ''time share'' things. If you want one go to e bay and buy one for a discount. In fact a friend of mine offered to give me a Thousand Trails deal if I would pay the maint. fees and the transfer fee. NO dice ....... they dont fit my kind of ''camping'' and I have put over 110,000 on my coach since 2000.
Research before you buy and get a Philadelphia Lawyer to read the contract before you sign it. These things are real easy to get into but really tough to get out of................. Good Luck ...

[GaryKD]

Hi vectra400,
What kind of timeshare are you interested in? There are those like mentioned in your OP. There are also those with fewer restrictions (one can stay longer) but also no affiliations (or few affiliations) with properties around the country. There are also organizations where one receives a significant discount off the retail rate. All of them have their benefits and drawbacks.

What kind of RVing will you be doing for the next 5 years? Follow the sun and stay put for months at a time (snow bird RVing)? Traveling most of the time staying no more than one month in the same place?

The bottom line and most important point is will you use it? The CGs must be located where you will want to be.

Please let us know.

[buck62]

vectra400,
With any of these programs like TT, C2C, ect make sure there is an "out" clause where you can cancel your membership when you want. Also watch out for the yearly dues they can be expensive and go up. After a lot of investigation I bought a C2C home park membership on Ebay for around $39 with $39 yearly dues and I got a written "out clause" that I can cancel after the first year. I have had it for several years and although I do not use it a lot I always get my years dues back, each night is $10. The seller's name is Dan at 352-242-4461. He will answer all your questions and is very helpful.

[two2go]

My $0.02 worth. We bought into a membership with AOR (Western Horizons second tier program) and RPI in 2004. We paid a total of $3k. Yearly dues have been about $180 total. Figuring the actual cost of camping vs. paying $25/night for comparable commercial campgrounds, we have more than recovered our investment. Good thing, as our membership has no value now (can't sell it). Knowing what we know now, we would still do it because we feel we got good value for our money, with one reservation. Most of the parks in the membership programs are past their prime. With their economic model, constant sales are required to make it work. In this economy, needed repairs and improvements are not getting done. On the average, most membership parks we have stayed in lately would score only in the 4-6 range on the Trailer Life scale. We are spending more time with monthly site rentals now and are considering quitting our memberships.

My advice fwiw: Research carefully before buying into anything. Be sure you are satisfied with the facilities you will be getting access to. Don't rely on pictures because they only show the most favorable view or were taken 20 years ago. Don't buy into a new plan sold directly by the company if you can possibly get a resale for less. You can try out Thousand Trails for $500 a year now I believe. That might give you an adequate taste for what is available. Buy Passport America for $50 a year. That will give you some good deals including access to some of the membership parks. I have a hard time believing that folks are still paying $5-10k for memberships these days and upwards of $400/yr dues, but I still see sales people working the prospects. If anyone has bought such, no offense, I wish you well, and hope you get value for your investment to your satisfaction.

[UFO Pilot]

Although it is not something I would buy, I know a few people who have Resorts of Distinction memberships and are happy with them.

[Larry & Rita]

All I can say after buying into a time share is DON'T.
We paid over 3k for ours and pay $395 a year "Maint. Fee".
They promised to buy into more parks that we could go too, after 5 years none have been. We still only have 9 places to go.
The WiFi is very bad in the last 4 parks we have been to, the parks need Maint. We can't get out, thank heavens we only have two more payments, but we will continue to pay the "Maint. Fee" yearly.
Someone is getting very rich with promises.
RESEARCH, RESEARCH,RESEARCH--ASK-ASK-ASK

[Superslif]

Here is a link to RV Online. They have a section of RV timeshares for sale.