coast to coast?????

[ninos]

what do you guys know about coast to coast? Today I got sucked in into driving three hours each way and take a tour of a not all that campground (gettysburg battlefield), I went there not knowing what I was going in for but they promise us 30 days of free camping and a (nice big fat lunch) thats how they put it, have to say the campground was not that nice and the price was $9,995.00 and $495.00 for anually fee. Does anyone here have or heard of coast to coast? Is it worth the money? It seems to expensive for me. what's everyones thoughts on this? Joe

[historyljc]

Joe, there's always someone wanting to sell their campground membership that can be picked up a lot cheaper than that. Check the ads in some of the RVing magazines. At that price I would suggest that you do like the title of the old LeRoy Van Dyke song: "Just Walk on By".

[powerboatr]

we went to a "we want you to know" meeting on friday for thousand trails
they are owned by ELS properties and seem to be have been on a buying spreee.

anywho, els has over the last few years added condos (US and abroad), cruises and just about any vacation type you could want to their membership, in addition to the campgrounds


HOWEVER the presenter, told us the c/g's are now at the bottom of their list for funding and repairs...this i beleive as the place we like to go, is really having some upkeep issues with the site (unlevel, gravel washed out, power fluctuations, etc)
but they have started a LONG term ( buy a site for a year) program so all the good sites are now long term and they are leveled, new power boxes, shade, etc

long story is the said the market research shows only 7% of baby boomers want to RV or camp....so they have moved their business model to aim at the 93% that dont camp or rv.....but like cruises, condos or hotels.

we got our plan at a fire sale price...but latley i am miffed at eh cg conditions and LACK of properties, even though they now own 280 plus cg/resort/preserves nationwide and in canada

i think that coast to coast was bought by ocean canyon properties or vice versa and them and ELS are dinosaurs as far as camping goes
and both will honor current contracts....but when they expire expect to have em make major changes....

ELS is a real estate investment trust, and all the preserves or cg's are owned debt free, so i see them moving out casual rvs or us travelers and making sites only for long term rentals

ELS ( thousand trails) does now a 10 year program, unlimited nights, and a HUGE fee for the 10 year 14995, plus 790 yearly fees/dues

mine is waaaayyyyy less and they loose money on my program like the others that have frozen dues and can pass them down to the family for free...
i will say the tt parks we have stayed at regularly imo are CRAP compared to three years ago
sites are run down, club house is in need of sprucing up
streets are worn out, etc

oh yes
TT/ELS is now on new contracts PROHIBITING the sale of memberships by members on places like ebay etc.
if you want to sell your new membership, you have to let them do it at a 25% commission...


so if you can find one on ebay for cheap....go for it

[Arch Hoagland]

Most of these places make you pay forever. That's why you see people trying to sell their memberships.

So find out what the particulars are and go from there.

[dons2346]

We belong to C2C and make use of it on a regular basis. We got the membership for free and only pay 250 bux annual "dues". If you are on the road a lot, then it makes sense to belong but if you are a weekender, then no way.

We figure that we save about 1,000 bux a year by belonging..

No way is it worth what they quoted. Look on eBay or some of the other rv related boards.

[Gary RVRoamer]

C2C itself is fine, but the campground membership you need as a prerequisite can be very expensive, as the one you were shown clearly is. You can find a lot less expensive private camping memberships and still get the benefits of Coast to Coast (access to numerous private campgrounds across the country). And don't buy a new membership unless it is a fire sale - pick up a resale instead and save many thousands of $.

As an alternative to Coast to Coast (C2C), consider RPI
Resort Parks International

I mostly agree with powerboatr's comments about ELS and Thousand Trails (we are members).

[Cat320]

Be very cautious re those memberships. We got one, waste of money, because we don't use it enough to justify the cost.

[wa8yxm]

I have belonged to Coast 2 Coast and may do so again some day.. Basically it works like this.. you buy a membership in an affiliated campground.. Generally that campground you can camp free for 2 or 3 weeks at a time (Depending on the membership level) and then you have to go out for a week and park elsewhere, then ou can come back, so in theory you could spend 8 months a year in that campground or if it's a chain other CG's in the chain.

You can also use other affiliated CG's for a highly discounted rate, usually as I recall 13/night (But my info is dated) (Was 8 when I last used it) And what is more this week in the "Affiliated" counts as you "Week out"

All in all, if you spend a lot of time.. Depending on the "Home" campground, it might just be a good deal.. My Home CG is only in Michigan, but I have a 2nd membership in an non _C2C campground.. And with that one I can spend 2/3 of my winter where the snow don't blow for .. Dues of around 40/month.

That works out to camping for 50 cents a night.

[Gary RVRoamer]

The most common complaint heard is "we didn't use it enough to justify the onging expense". Please be sure you really will use it before buying into something like this, because the annual dues will be an albatross around your neck if you do not. It's not something to try out on a whim. The other thing to consider is the possibility of future changes to your lifestyle. We were traveling with a crowd that were 1000 Trails members and we decided to join too. Then my wife got cancer and we couldn't travel at all for a year and somewhat limited travel is subsequent years. Not something that can be planned for, but please recognize that you are making a long term commitment if you buy into one of these membership systems. It's more like taking out a 30 year mortgage than making plans for summer vacation.

[w6pea]

Originally Posted by Arch Hoagland

Most of these places make you pay forever. That's why you see people trying to sell their memberships.

So find out what the particulars are and go from there.

Originally Posted by Cat320

Be very cautious re those memberships. We got one, waste of money, because we don't use it enough to justify the cost.

Colorado River Adventures is just as bad if not worse.

A couple of years ago we went to a Thousand Trails free camping week end. We sat there and listened, to a salesman trying to pressure a young Navy family......they tried to convince them that it was the best $9000.00 dollars they could spend.

We told them we weren't interested even after because we already had a membership RPI....they knew we had a membership in another membership campground.....any way the sales manager (or some one who claimed to be) said he would give us a special price of a little more than $2500.00 bucks.

I told the young couple what they offered us. They seemed a little upset and said they were going to tell them they were not interested also.

Boy did they get upset when we walked out. We had two more days we could stay but we packed up and left the next morning.


All I really can advise you to do is run and run fast.



If We Can't Haul It....You Don't Need It! Motor-T

[ninos]

so today I got a call from an affiliated company of coast to coast and this guy is selling a membership for an older couple thats retireing from the rv world and its the same except the condos and the price is $1,295.00 with a $260.00 anually fee, big difference in price.

[wa8yxm]

In re-reading this thread I see reference to ELS And Thousand Trails.

TT is now offering a "Zone Pass" deal.. Basically you pay one time for the zone pass, it's good at about 1/4 of the parks (The nation is divided into four zones) for one year from date of purchase.. What you pay is about what I pay in Dues.. There is no additional cost unless you want 50 amp hook up or want to wash your rig or rent "Stuff" at the campground. AND THERE IS NO AUTOMATIC RENEWAL so if you find you don't like membership camping.. Just walk away after the year (or earlier, no refunds though) I call this the "Try before you buy" plan.. If you are interested, PM me for my membership number so I get referral credit please.

But truthfully. This is about the most exciting concept in Membership camping I've seen to date.

Also, for an even smaller fee you can add a 2nd or 3rd zone as I recall.

[slickest1]

I have seen private sites for sale on Craigslist under vacation properties. Just punch in what city/area you want. That said you still have to be cautious when dealing with people on CL.

[kben39]

We have belonged to a membrship resort and C2C since 1991, we have stayed in member resort/parks all over the area east of Texas to the east coast and north to Ct. it has been well worth the money. Our home park is super.