Community Forums

Big B · 10-01-2013, 08:59 AM

I'm retiring Nov 30th. My wife and I will begin full time RV'ing next spring.

Are there organizations (memberships) that give us discounts at RV parks? We are already members of Good Sam. I've read about Escapees and their system. With daily prices from $25 to $60 that adds up quick.

We plan on touring the USA and Canada.

How do you all do it? I would greatly appreciate any and all experience and knowledge from you more learned full timers.

Thanks,

Brian & Pam McGrath
mcgrathb49@verizon.ent
06 F250 6.0 Diesel
06 Excel 30 RSO Limited
07 Honda Goldwing
04 Jeep Rubicon

PyrateSilly · 10-01-2013, 09:14 AM

Best advice is to actually ask the campgrounds which discounts they have and they will usually give you one anyway.
Both Thom and I are veterans so we usually get a military discount.
Good Sam's (camping world) will get you one at their parks
KOA will have one for their parks
AAA will usually be accepted at most parks
Passport has discounts available at quite a few parks
Of course there are the places like Thousand Trails, RPI and Coast to Coast, but since they are not near where Thom and I go we did not buy into them. If you are thinking about them I would go visit some around where you might be going and check them out first and NEVER buy at full price. There are always people selling memberships to them.
Oh and if you know you are going to be in an area for a while you might be able to move into a mobile home park and get dsl/cable internet for a few months at least ... lol.

There is one Thousand Trails place near here but after visiting it there is no way at all I would stay there. It may be the worst of the lot of them but we will not subject our RV to unstable electric (only 30amp anyway) and wi-fi only at the office/clubhouse.

aschuh53 · 10-01-2013, 10:06 AM

Welcome to IRV2

missourijan · 10-01-2013, 12:46 PM

Passport America & Good Sam are the only ones we use. We use Good Sam as a last resort. There are some books on Amazon, Don Wright's Free Campgrounds, Eastern & Western Edition, they list free and low cost sites. We have found a lot of city & county parks in those books. We also use www.casinocamper.com. If you are a member of the Elks, a lot of them have sites, some with Elec & water. Stay at the Corps of Engineers campgrounds, with your federal park senior pass you get 50% off at COE. There's also Cabela's, which offers long sites with no hookups. Do NOT buy any membership program your first year. We like the Coast to Coast system, however, do not have a membership. Like Thousand Trails you can get a resale membership for under $1000 (lists are available at any park that is a member of the Coast to Coast system). We only travel 6 months of the year, when we travel more it will be our first purchase.

PyrateSilly · 10-01-2013, 01:28 PM

RV Camp Discount Sites
http://www.bandofboondockers.com/
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en.html
http://www.camphalfprice.com/
http://www.escapees.com/
http://www.forestcamping.com/index.htm
http://freecampgrounds.com/
http://freecampsites.net/usa/
http://www.frugal-rv-travel.com/
http://www.fs.fed.us/
http://www.harvesthosts.com/invitation.htm
http://hasbeenthere.com/
http://www.overnightrvparking.com/
http://www.recreation.gov/
http://rvthereyetdirectory.com/
http://www.seeya-downtheroad.com/InformationPage/ThisLand.html
http://www.uscampgrounds.info/
http://www.gypsyjournal.net/Unfriendly.html
http://msstreets.com/2011/04/12/poi-megafile-rv-unfriendly/
http://www.radiobrandy.com/RV-Unfriendly.html

Winnie42 · 10-22-2013, 11:32 AM

I belong to Thousand Trails. Stay mostly at their parks in Ohio, Indiana and Florida. They are located throughout the US, mostly in coastal states.

Krashqueen · 10-22-2013, 07:24 PM

Great info on campsites

Air Baron · 10-23-2013, 03:43 PM

Find places that give you a weekly rate, monthly in the winter. When traveling, stay at Walmart. You should be able to keep it under $12,000 per year ($1,000 per month year 'round) and stay in nice FHU parks with good 50A and Wi-Fi. I would not sign up for any of the membership deals. Why give up your freedom?

WheelingIt · 10-23-2013, 05:48 PM

Weekly and monthly rates are almost always less expensive.

Also look at public campgrounds. If you qualify for the senior pass you can get 50% off camping in National Forest, BLM and such. A huge bonus.

Lastly certain states run excellent deals. For example New Mexico allows you to buy a yearly (one whole year!) camping pass for only $225, after which electric only costs $4/night. One of the best deals in the country!
http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/SPD/FeesPermits.html

Stickdog · 10-24-2013, 08:17 PM

Here's a tip, Don't make reservations at any of the reservation websites that charge you to make one. First if your fulltime you can decide when to travel so avoid Friday and Saturday and Holiday weekends. Most public campgrounds don't reserve all their campsites there are always some for walk ins so plan to park it on a Thursday-Sunday. Second get off the road early. We like to stop by 3:00 pm and this goes for both public and private campgrounds, you get the pick of available sites. We've pulled in to 100 site parks off the interstate that were near empty at 3:00 and turning folks away at 7:00. Following these simple rules we've always found a site.

halfwright · 10-24-2013, 09:02 PM

In addition to Elks, the Moose, VFW, and Eagles have cheap or free places to park. And, as has been mentioned, timing is essentional. No weekend travel and stop early in the day. One of the problems we had was getting out of the "vacation" mode. It took several months for us to quit rushing and trying to see everything as quick as possible. Now, we find a place to set up and might spend two weeks or more in the area. One thing we do that is a matter of taste is--We travel the back roads and stay off interstates as much as we can. The small towns and quite places have a totally different look and feel.
Find what works for yoiu and what you enjoy most, then do it.
Don't sweat the petty stuff and don't pet the sweaty stuff.
Most of all, HAVE FUN!!!