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05-11-2012, 09:54 AM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 95
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How to Keep the Cost Down
Hi All,
Started full-timing on March 1st and so far quite enjoying it.
We're living in an Open Range 5th Wheel and towing with a Ford 350 Super Duty Diesel Dually.
My major concern now is how to keep the costs down.
Can't do much about diesel...just need to drive less...but how do we save money on campgrounds? We have Good Sam and Passport America...which help somewhat.
I've seen some other memberships advertised...RPI, Coast to Coast...etc. Are they worth the up-front cost...we were told by people we met in a park that they paid $6,000.00 to join RPI.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Barabara
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05-11-2012, 10:07 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 366
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The $6000.00 price tag would be that you would buy a membership at a resort campground, then you could add RPI or C2C for an additional fee each year. I think it is around $140 - $170 a year for the RPI or C2C. The price on resort sites would then be $10.00 a night. And a lot of resorts tack on extra charges like a "resort fee", "50 amp fee", ect... I believe RPI also charges a $2.00 resorvation fee. But i believe you need a "home park" in order to get RPI or C2C. (someone please correct me if im wrong)
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05-11-2012, 03:54 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 676
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Nick Russell, the Gypsy Journal newsletter editor, always advises people that ask him to wait 1 year after they go fulltime to purchase any campground membership. You will know then what your travel patterns are and if it would be worth it to you. There are always resale memberships, never pay full price. Any campground in the coast to coast, RPI, or Thousand Trails system will have a board with memberships for sale at a much lower cost. You may have to pay a transfer fee. Last time I looked into it I could get a C2C membership with all transfer fees for under $1,000. That was at Treasure Lake in Branson, MO. Their home park yearly fees were $180. You need to choose a home park that has low yearly fees.
Your best bet to save $$ is to stay at parks for the weekly or monthly rates. We have Passport also and many times the campground has allowed us to stay longer than the advertised day limit at the Passport price. Not so much back east but elsewhere we have had good luck, just ask! When you arrive in an area find out the local grocery stores and shop what's on sale and use coupons. Eat most of your meals at home and take bike rides or walks for entertainment. When you arrive in an area with venues that you would like to see you have saved enough to splurge a little.
__________________
Jan & Thomas
2019 Jayco Octane 32C
2012 Ford F350 Super Duty
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05-11-2012, 04:06 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Alpine Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Traveling in North America
Posts: 2,248
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If 62 or older, make sure you get your Federal Senior Pass and stay, whenever possible, at Corps of Engineers park, you get 1/2 off the camping fee, so it is often $8-10 a night.
Stay longer in an area and ask about weekly and monthly costs at a park you like.
We have a couple of memberships (Western Horizon and Thousand Trails) purchased long ago and use them extensively ~ 120 nights per year. You might want to look into getting one of the new Thousand Trails zone passes if you are going to be in a zone for several months, that could save you some real money if you use it for 50 nights or so ($500 gets you 30 nights free plus $3/night for nights over 30).
Barb
__________________
Barbara & David O'Keeffe
Figment II (Alpine 2002 36 MDDS)
On The Road since 2006
Blog
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05-13-2012, 10:28 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 428
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The Federal Senior Pass allows you to to get free entrance into not only Corp of Engineers but also National Parks, Forest Service, BLM, BOR, National Monuments, National Historical Sites, etc, and allows you to camp for half the posted price there. State, county, and city parks are another places where you can sometimes find a nice campsite for less than the commercial rv parks.
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05-14-2012, 07:34 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Alpine Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Traveling in North America
Posts: 2,248
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Not all federal campgrounds give you 50% off, some will give you 50% off of the TENT rate, then add the difference for a w/e site.
Barb
__________________
Barbara & David O'Keeffe
Figment II (Alpine 2002 36 MDDS)
On The Road since 2006
Blog
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05-14-2012, 07:56 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Auburn, CA, Havasu, AZ & Mulege, BCS
Posts: 5,385
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I agree on holding your horses for some time before "investing" in lower camping rates at high prices.
After you are full time for a while, you will have met and had cocktails w/a gaggle of friendly folks who can clue you in to the reality of all the various membership & other options. You can buy a lot somewhere you want to stay for 4+ months a year, but you need to know you will want to stay there for many years. You can get campground memberships, but the same thing applies, you have to use it (A LOT) to make up that large up front cost worth while. There are plenty of folks in every situation. Stock up on booze, invite the neighbors over, and talk it up. Like killing two birds w/one stone. Sort of.
Happy trails!
__________________
Baja-tested '08 2-slide 36'
Alpine: The Ultimate DIY'er Project
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05-14-2012, 08:19 PM
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#8
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Litchfield Park, Arizona
Posts: 10,530
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Quote:
Originally Posted by missourijan
Your best bet to save $$ is to stay at parks for the weekly or monthly rates. We have Passport also and many times the campground has allowed us to stay longer than the advertised day limit at the Passport price. Not so much back east but elsewhere we have had good luck, just ask! .
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X2
IMO, Passport America is a no brainer. Try to get them to extend their discounts in to weekly or monthly stays or take advantage of discounts for extended stays whenever possible.
Great advice on waiting before plunking down a lot of cash for a CG membership.
Rick
__________________
Rick, Nancy, Peanut & Lola our Westie Dogs & Bailey the Sheltie.
2007 Itasca Ellipse 40FD
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05-14-2012, 08:20 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Country Coach Owners Club Solo Rvers Club iRV2 No Limits Club
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Vancouver, WA
Posts: 37,725
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Poptop
The Federal Senior Pass allows you to to get free entrance into not only Corp of Engineers but also National Parks, Forest Service, BLM, BOR, National Monuments, National Historical Sites, etc, and allows you to camp for half the posted price there. State, county, and city parks are another places where you can sometimes find a nice campsite for less than the commercial rv parks.
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Is this the same as my old Golden Access Pass?
Guess it is from the websites. I have the old paper one, they aren't issuing the plastic Golden Access passes anymore but I can turn mine in and get the plastic Senior Pass for no fee.
Even used mine in Hawaii when we were there one time.
__________________
2009 45' Magna 630 w/Cummins ISX 650 HP/1950 Lbs Ft, HWH Active Air
Charter Good Sam Lifetime Member, FMCA,
RV'ing since 1957, NRA Benefactor Life, towing '21 Jeep JLU Rubicon Ecodiesel
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05-14-2012, 08:27 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Everett WA.
Posts: 211
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I know everyone has their own idea of what's the best deal...mine has been Thousand Trails. I purchased my Platinum membership on Ebay for $850. $550 transfer fee and off I went. I can stay in any TT preserve nationwide for 3 weeks free of any charge. At the end of that time, I can simply move to another TT preserve for another 3 free weeks, etc. The only drawback I see is that you have to plan your trip or life (full-time) around where the parks are located.
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Wore out, Fed up and done! IT's PLAY TIME
1999 Monaco Windsor 40PB
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05-14-2012, 08:58 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Dallas,OR
Posts: 4,584
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No one has mentioned work camping. If you join the work camping force you can camp for free 1 to 3 months at a time. Sometimes you can get paid for it too for as little as 20 hours a week per person. We are camping 60 days for free this summer.
__________________
Don and Lorri
Resident Dummy.
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05-14-2012, 10:36 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Appalachian Campers
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sewanee, Tennessee
Posts: 713
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Barbaraok
If 62 or older, make sure you get your Federal Senior Pass and stay, whenever possible, at Corps of Engineers park, you get 1/2 off the camping fee, so it is often $8-10 a night.
Stay longer in an area and ask about weekly and monthly costs at a park you like.
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I second this. If you are banged up like my wife and I are, the Golden Access pass give you the same benefits, and the pass is free. Not only do the Corps of Engineers have parks, but other government agencies like the Tennessee Valley Authority have them and honor the National Park access passes.
We are paying monthly rates at the park we are at now. Water and electric on a lake view site costs us $325 a month. The park is open year round. When we get a monthly rate, we can go to a campground within a couple hours drive for a few days and know our site is waiting for us when we get back. We stay put most of the time, though.
__________________
SSgt. Richard L Ray, USAF (Retired) - Laura L Ray
Our second home is a vintage 1995 Jayco Eagle 277RB 'The Love Shack"
towed by a 2008 Ford F-250 Lariat Crew Cab short bed "The Green Goblin"
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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05-14-2012, 10:41 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Monaco Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Clovis, CA, USA
Posts: 13,090
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I joined the Elks. Most campsites are $20 or less with them. We went from Calif to Florida last year and stayed at Elks all the way except for a few nights in Texas and Florida where there weren't any Elks Lodges.
__________________
2004 Monaco La Palma 36DBD, W22, 8.1, 7.1 MPG
2000 LEXUS RX300 FWD 22MPG 4020 LBS
Criticism is easier than Craftsmanship
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05-19-2012, 12:34 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Palisade CO
Posts: 3,588
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Stay at least a month in each RV park. The monthly rate is much much less than the daily rate. We use Passport America while in transit.
For several years our average cost per night has been less than $10 per night - including electricity.
__________________
Clay WA5NMR - Ex Snowbird - 1 year, Ex Full timer for 11 years - 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N Workhorse chassis. Honda Accord toad.
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