Harvest Hosts Questions

[RomanOaks]

I recently joined HH and used it twice an one had 30 amp but I understand that’s not the norm. I probably wouldn’t stay at a HH if it was very hot weather unless you could use a generator.

[Tilted Kilt]

Originally Posted by bigb56

Any HH members? Their FAQ says hookups are the exception rather than the rule, I was wondering if it's even worth joining as we mostly travel in the Southwest right now where AC is necessary much of the time. Just wondering if HH locations in hotter climates tend to have hookups, or almost never. Also in addition to the $99/year do you pay a fee at each HH? What are your experiences?

I quit HH for these reasons, most locations don't allow generator use, there are no hook-ups, (as a rule), and you are expected to pay/purchase goods when you stay. Truck stops, rest areas, and other free locations are a far better choice for an overnight stay.

IMO, HH has way too many rules and cater to the host and not the guest. I felt like I was paying for aggravation and disappointment, however there are lots of people who love it, so their stories are worth reading, I just don't like restrictions when I have so many options.

[dmanpearl]

Hook ups are the exception and they usually charge $10 per night if they have electricity. Sewer is even more rare. If you are not comfortable with boondocking and generator usage, then Harvest Hosts may not be for you.

You will usually want to check in by three or 4 PM, so they are not always great for overnight stays on a long journey if you are in a hurry.

There are some amazing experiences to have at these unique locations.

[Old Dinghy]

After our first three stays at HH host locations we are very pleased with what we received overall. We did run our generator at one during a hot evening, but there was only one other guest, and they were running theirs as well. The Hosts have been great and the peaceful settings were appreciated. The fact that we received something of value when we purchased at the Host’s store and that the actual campsite was free seems like an excellent bargain. We expect to use at least three more locations in our current travels over the next three months. Safe travels everyone.

[letsride4]

I joined both Harvest Host and Boondockers Welcome last year no too long before they merged. We took a 5 week trip in the fall to the New States to look at the trees changing colors. In 5 weeks we stayed in a campground 3 nights; a couple nights in Walmart and the rest in either Harvest Host or Boondockers Welcome. I very much prefer Boondockers Welcome over Harvest Host, but since they merged, I believe you have to belong to BW before you can join HH. The reasons for preferring BW, you are not limited to 1 night, and there is no pressure to purchase items you may not need. We don't drink wine, so staying a a winery is pretty much a waste. With BW, you are generally staying in an individual driveway or yard and often with people who have similar interests. I would say over 50% of the BW hosts has some electrical power you could plug into and most will allow you to fill your water tank. Every time we plugged in we attempted to pay something for power and not one host would take the money. Most BW host are just helping people with like interests, looking to meet new people. Most HH hosts are trying to increase their business by letting people park. About 30 night parking for 1 year membership was a real bargain in my opinion.

[KRose]

We were Harvest Host for 2 years when it was relatively new. It paid for itself but at the beginning it only cost 39.a year. We just recently joined Boondockers welcome instead. There seems to be more locations in route and many offer electric, which you should offer to pay for. Either group has a 15%discount if you find the current code. Happy camping.

[Mr. Banker]

Originally Posted by bigb56

Any HH members? Their FAQ says hookups are the exception rather than the rule, I was wondering if it's even worth joining as we mostly travel in the Southwest right now where AC is necessary much of the time. Just wondering if HH locations in hotter climates tend to have hookups, or almost never. Also in addition to the $99/year do you pay a fee at each HH? What are your experiences?

We have joined both Harvest Hosts and BoonDockers Welcome. Our experience has been with HH it is generally 1 night only and dry camping. With the BW we have found many hosts that have 30 amp hookups and water. You can also set up a search criteria for rig length, slide outs, connections and many more. We use this as a tool and also setup filters that allow online booking and same day requests. We have found it to be well worth the fee to join both.

The recommended fee for both is a $20 payment to purchase goods or service from your host. PM me with any other questions you might have.

[Psneeld]

Originally Posted by Tilted Kilt

I quit HH for these reasons, most locations don't allow generator use, there are no hook-ups, (as a rule), and you are expected to pay/purchase goods when you stay. Truck stops, rest areas, and other free locations are a far better choice for an overnight stay.

IMO, HH has way too many rules and cater to the host and not the guest. I felt like I was paying for aggravation and disappointment, however there are lots of people who love it, so their stories are worth reading, I just don't like restrictions when I have so many options.

Interesting because all of the HHs we have stayed at allow generator use.

Being wineries, farms and ranches, they could have cared less (obviously unless you were unreasonable or had a construction set running real early or late....and a few might have been more upset during business hours).

As far as rules...I love'em. Most are very reasonable and add to the experience and the ability to keep and add more hosts. They tend to keep people out who seem to forget others exist with different ideas than them.

As far as buying stuff...most times I walk away with a good meal and some good wine or farm goods. I don't need sewer, electric, water every night. So $35 to $50 is gone with nothing to show for at what amounted to a parking space with a LOT of other RVs versus nicer scenery and only a few RVs if any. Plus often some form of free entertainment from the owner or singers or animals, etc.....

Every stay we have had was either very interesting, relaxing for the solitude or entertaining because the hosts were a blast.

I can see they are not for everyone, but I would like to offer that a lot of opinions are true all the time.... or from a different point of view.

[2cyber71]

I joined Harvest Host at $75 and added Boondockers for$50.
I used it once since December.
I don’t think I’m joining again.
Few and far too many I don’t fit or no power.
Then they want you to spend money there.
I think a Army Corp is better at $11 a night on the road.
At least you get 50 amps at the ones I stay.
I just wish there were more

[Charming]

Interesting how two people can read the same post and walk away with a different take.

Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome is not for everyone. Large commercial campgrounds with many amenities or boondocking with no amenities in the middle of no where is not for everyone. Isn't that what is great about travel? What sounds like a week in hell to me is paradise to someone else.

We do not sneer at people who have a different RV experience from us. We use Cracker Barrels, Walmarts, and rest areas when it suits our needs. A safe place to sleep before moving on. When planning our trips I look at everything along the way. We are destination travelers. It takes us a day just to get going in the right direction on the interstate so our first night is usually a Cracker Barrel near Augusta, GA when we head west. Anything else is pretty far off the interstate or kind of pricey. In the initial plans I will usually have some longer stops built into the trip to our destination, thank goodness because on our last trip we had several emergencies and all the fat was trimmed.

On our recent 3 month trip we estimated we spent over $11,000 between gas, campgrounds, food (dining out and cooking), and tickets to see things. This did not include the various memberships we have to get discounts or free stays.

I have not used BW yet, but HH has provided several nice stops for us. I am happy to sip some wine and chat with the hosts and other rv'ers at wineries. So far we've stayed at smaller wineries and the host is a family member, they are very happy to talk about how they got into the business and their history. We are equally happy to tour a museum or other location to learn about the history of an area.

But that is how we travel. We go to see the rest of the country. If I wanted to cocoon myself away from the world we would stay home and watch the birds and critters in the marsh behind our house. Would have saved us a ton of money this year. However, if we had stayed home we would have missed the most incredible sunrises and sunsets from a very expensive campground in Malibu.

[Tech Writer]

For those people who do not like Harvest Hosts, I understand. It is not for everyone. Although we are members, we don't stay at one often. It could be a matter of location, time commitment or even something else. But when we do get to use HH, we enjoy it and try to make sure our host enjoys us. It is not there for a quick overnight stay. Bear in mind that none of these places are campgrounds. They are businesses and have to make a profit in order to be there. If a Harvest Host finds that "guests" cost them too much in time or aggravation in respect to how much product or service they sell, than they drop out of the program.

[KenZ71]

Obviously many opinions

Personally I prefer Harvest Hosts over campgrounds as I've had much more space. Sure no hookups but this beast is meant to be self sufficient for a few days!

Spent the night at a brew pub with a huge overflow lot they have for large events and / or RVs. Mostly flat gravel - can't beat that and all it cost me was a darn good Pizza - best I've had so far in NC.

Where:
Cavendish Brewery
Gastonia NC

On the way back to the sticks & bricks I'll fill up with TSD card for cheap diesel - double bonus!

[Sullivanclan]

We too have had good luck with HH. Maybe a quarter of the them have offered us water and electricity, which typically we don't need.

[Ronzo67]

Originally Posted by bigb56

Any HH members? Their FAQ says hookups are the exception rather than the rule, I was wondering if it's even worth joining as we mostly travel in the Southwest right now where AC is necessary much of the time. Just wondering if HH locations in hotter climates tend to have hookups, or almost never. Also in addition to the $99/year do you pay a fee at each HH? What are your experiences?

We have been HH members for 3 yrs. We have crossed the country 3 times during the summer months. Twice in a travel trailer and once in a Class A. We have been to HH that have hookups (electric/water) and yes there is usually a fee. We've paid $10-15 for the night but when it was 105 degrees in Nevada I didn't mind paying $15. because I don't think our A/C ever turned off and that location also had a dump station for our tanks. Just recently we returned from KY and staying at Steepleview Farms. It was us and another couple. There were no hook ups and the host said it was completely up to us it generators didn't bother either of us he was fine with them running. It was 97 degrees and we both agreed we wanted to run our generators so, we did. We have stayed in over 52 different HH locations over the past 3 years and have never run into an issue if we want to use our generator. We have gone to some beautiful farms, wineries, breweries and museums that we would have otherwise missed. Hope that answers your question

Veronica Yourell HH member