Camping Membership

[NIFFIT]

Being a part time full timer what camping memberships would you recommend? I have loked at the info on some of them (Western Horizons, CRA, 1000 trails) and they all seem to have there good and bad points. Is this something that would be worth looking at when we go to full timing or just go and stay were you end up?

[bdpreece]

You first need to see where the parks are located and whether you would use them. Figure out the cost of the dues against how many days you will be using the parks if possible. Never, never,never think that when you get tired of the membership that you will be able to sell it and recover your money. We are members of Western Horizon, Sunrise Resorts, and Thousand Trails. We use them all and enjoy them. If you make the decision to buy look for used memberships on Craig's List where you can pick them up for pennies on the dollar. My opinion is that right now Thousand Trails has about the best deal going in that you can get a one year East or West region membership from them by just agreeing to pay the dues for a year.

[Gary RVRoamer]

It all depends on where you travel. If you go where the clubs parks are anyway, you can save $$ via a membership. But if they aren't where you want to go, i'ts a waste. You can save a lot via Passport America, Camp Club, Freedom Resorts, etc. discount clubs as well, and you get a much wider selection. Each of those groups have 1000+ choices and the cost is much less - around $35-40 per year.

We bought a 1000 Trails membership in 2008, after avoiding any such commitment for years and years. Got great value one year, but health issues kept us from traveling to any of their parks the following year, so we paid for nothing in 2009. One year of missed opportunity like that can wipe out a lot of cost savings.

[GaryKD]

Hi NIFFIT,
The thought process is a bit more macro than looking at just the membership clubs. My coach is used year around. We spend about 6 months total in the coach. We are in touring mode for several more years. Once our touring is, for the most part, completed, our RVing will change to looking for more of a RV community and being parked more than being on the road. This means the membership clubs or a condo RV resort will be considerations.

The bottom line is try to visualize what kind of RVing you will do in the immediate future. My definition of immediate is the next 5 years. Once this is done, then work the business case for the purchases you are considering.