KOA or Good Sams? Or?

[Pianotuna]

Originally Posted by Rick Ward

We recently purchased a class A.
Considering a campground membership.
We are out of Southern California.
Which is better, KOA, Good Sam, or ?

I have had both and now have neither.


I tend to use the trip planner from https://freecampsites.net/

[oh no]

Good sam are more common check out Harvest host

[sally.moore]

We just pulled into an RV park in Bassett, VA. The only one in this town to my knowledge. We will be here 11 nights. They take Good Sam. We saved $45. Pretty much pays for a yearly membership. We have KOA also. Both really come in handy when you are full timers.

[partskenn]

We have both. Not all KOAs are great, but if you're in unknown territory your odds are a bit better with them than some other random park. Plus the app on your phone is very convenient. Besides the 10% discount, we usually average about 2 free stays a year.

[CamJam1]

We've always avoided KOA, generally thinking they were expensive, crowded and came with lots of noisy kids. Recently though we've stayed at a couple of KOA Journey that have made us rethink that. We got delayed for three days in Fillmore, Utah due to high winds last spring and the KOA Journey there was one of the nicer parks we've ever stayed in.

[JerryP]

We use KOA and Good Sams. I also have Good Sam's Emergency Roadside service.

KOA has a great website. I usually let my yearly membership expire and renew it when I start my next trip.

Regards, Jerry

[biosensai]

We’re out of Murrieta. Also being a So Cal resident, you’re answer is simple. Check out the various RV park review websites in the areas you are likely to frequent. You’ll not find KOA’s at the top of the list on the west coast very often. Virtually everyone takes
Good Sam. We are currently finishing a 5,000 mile, 2 month trek up to I-70, to St. Louis to Nashville & home on I-40. Based solely on reviews, we stayed at more KOA’s this trip than ever before. Our annual membership more than paid for itself. We have a lifetime membership with Passport America. Didn’t use it once this trip. Good Sam, virtually everywhere.

[tropical36]

Originally Posted by Rick Ward

We recently purchased a class A.
Considering a campground membership.
We are out of Southern California.
Which is better, KOA, Good Sam, or ?

We haven't bothered with any of them for awhile now.
I can usually get a 10% veteran's discount
anyway and usually avoid overpriced KOA's.
Also with prices going out sight for fuel and campgrounds, we're hitting the rest areas and Wally World more and more. Like the easy in and out convenience without the dirt and then there's the shopping for food and such which is required anyway. If the WM has a fuel station, then so much the better.
Just filled up with $300 worth of Diesel@$3.39.9/gallon the other day with a stop in TN, so that should have paid for out stay, along with the store shopping.
In a CG now for washing clothes, dumping tanks and fresh water.

[crazylady]

We have both but use the KOA more for the RV sites then good sams. Good Sam we use at camping world. So it has the best of both worlds.

[LarryinID]

We avoid both but are fortunate to live and mostly travel away from high population density areas. KOAs are the bottom of my list…but I have to admit I no longer try them so do not have current data. By and large we avoid all commercial RV parks.

I mostly use the Ultimate US public campgrounds app. Mostly camp free but will spring $10 w senior pass tor National Forest and Park CGs. Have no hesitation to just pulling off to the side of the road for a night.

Only reserve ahead if it is a destination unlikely to have FCFS, e.g. many National and State park CGs. We especially like county fairgrounds which are reasonable and usually good and sparsely populated. The above App helps find them.

[2cyber71]

I don’t know why people bad mouth KOA?
Yes, KOA campgrounds near National Parks and Resort areas are high, so is all the other campgrounds.
Also, I frequent KOAs on the road, they almost always have a big pullthru so I don’t need to unhook. I will pay extra just for that. How many did go to this year on the road overnight, oh about 30 or so. They only bad one was Rapid City KOA. But that’s ok.
I say it all depends on where you go and when.

Just one example, looky!!!
Example. The West Glacier KOA was high, but so was al the other 10 crummy CGs near it.
I’ll take West Glacier KOA any over those other ones any day, any trip.
Here watch
https://youtu.be/Ba67KQ8FaZE

Driving thru overnight heading west and east, the KOAs were about the same price and at times even less than other CGS.
When I travel I need the correct site, I don’t unhook, KOA a has never let me down, except Rapid City KOA. ( Even called them 3 times to check the site I was getting, they just didn’t care ) weird I never call 3 times, but just talking to the nut at the desk I got the feeling they were not on the correct page, I was right)

[Ltripreno]

I think the key feedback/message is that everyone camps differently. And has a variety of experiences with the various options.
We joined a membership program (similar to a timeshare) which promised all sorts of free camping. Trouble was that their campsites were rarely where we wanted to go. We did a 9 week trip from Nevada to Florida and back. Only used 1 or 2 campsites in our expensive membership plan. Canceled that.
We tried Harvest Host as well. Sounds great. I like to plan ahead. Harvest host makes you reserve within 2 weeks. Not helpful for planning ahead. And also not always where we were traveling.
In both cases, if the member is traveling specifically to use their campgrounds, that would work. I tend to plan the trip from point A to point B, then look to see what is on the way.
So, now I have Good Sam and KOA. I use them as needed and appreciate the discount. We also will use recreation.gov to find forest service, BLM and other campgrounds on public land.
We all camp differently. This works for me.
Cheers,

[Floridastorm]

Originally Posted by 2cyber71

I don’t know why people bad mouth KOA?
Yes, KOA campgrounds near National Parks and Resort areas are high, so is all the other campgrounds.
Also, I frequent KOAs on the road, they almost always have a big pullthru so I don’t need to unhook. I will pay extra just for that. How many did go to this year on the road overnight, oh about 30 or so. They only bad one was Rapid City KOA. But that’s ok.
I say it all depends on where you go and when.

Just one example, looky!!!
Example. The West Glacier KOA was high, but so was al the other 10 crummy CGs near it.
I’ll take West Glacier KOA any over those other ones any day, any trip.
Here watch
https://youtu.be/Ba67KQ8FaZE

Driving thru overnight heading west and east, the KOAs were about the same price and at times even less than other CGS.
When I travel I need the correct site, I don’t unhook, KOA a has never let me down, except Rapid City KOA. ( Even called them 3 times to check the site I was getting, they just didn’t care ) weird I never call 3 times, but just talking to the nut at the desk I got the feeling they were not on the correct page, I was right)

If that West Glacier KOA is any indication of what most of them are like then they are the type I would like to stop at. I like RV Parks that are consistently good quality and higher standards. You pay more at KOA but I pay more at Hampton Inns in lieu of a lower rate at Super 8 for that reason. To each his own I guess.

[Theturboman]

I have Good Sam, AAA and Harvest host so I throw them all out and see what I get