New & looking for the best clubs/memberships. TY

[Dan 3856CS]

Im sure this question is as old as time, i did search but didnt see anything. We are newbies & trying to do it right. When buying our coach we recieved a 1yr free membership to 1000 Trails. Ok that club i did know about & it sounds good if u include i think is the travel pass. That said, ill use it becuz they gave it to us. We are not full time for about 10 more months but will take many weeks traveling now. Dollar for dollar what seems to be the best memberships. I dont mind having 2 or 3 as long as they pay off. So many sound good but nothing like hearing it from the pros. Thank u all in advance.

[wingnuts]

For reference here is a thread on the subject that might help....Passport America seems like a must have for full timers

http://www.irv2.com/forums/showthread.php?t=386190

[Dan 3856CS]

Awesome, TY

[Gary RVRoamer]

"Best" will depend on what you are expecting to get from it. 1000 Trails, for example, is membership camping, where you buy some number of nights of camping at a package price. A good deal, IF the parks are in areas you want to visit and you use ALL the nights.

Other clubs may offer discounts at many more parks but less savings per night, or maybe deep discounts but mostly at off-peak times.

You need to think carefully about where you want to travel, how many nights/year, and whether it is mostly weekends and peak season vacations as opposed to weekdays and off-prime times. It makes a huge difference in your choices.

I suggest that you do NOT buy into any club right away, or at least not any that require much money upfront or a long-term commitment. Something like Passport is cheap enough that the risk is minimal, but others clubs may not be.

[Hgrace56]

We almost bought 1000 trails but on our last visit to our former favorite in the San Jacinto mountains found they were selling Anual Sites to individuals.
The kicker is the Annual sites were spread throughout the park and occupied the best spots.
Many had furniture and other unsightly items stored under tarps on their sites.
Be careful

[wingnuts]

Originally Posted by Hgrace56

We almost bought 1000 trails but on our last visit to our former favorite in the San Jacinto mountains found they were selling Anual Sites to individuals.
The kicker is the Annual sites were spread throughout the park and occupied the best spots.
Many had furniture and other unsightly items stored under tarps on their sites.
Be careful

Is that Idyllwild. .? Just camped there this weekend, and I can see why the annual sites.to have someone there.. Ranger told me it's never real busy let alone full. ...I found plenty of great sites unoccupied

[MisterT]

why do you think you need a membership? the majority of rv parks and campgrounds and regional and city parks don't require anything but your cash, and ONLY when you actually stay there : )

[TXTiger]

Good Sam is very inexpensive and will give you a 10% discount at many RV Parks as well as a discount at Camping World. They also have at an extra cost RV Insurance, and Roadside Assistance as well as many Camp Outs

FMCA is a good club and will also give you a 10% discount at some RV Parks but not as many as GS. FMCA also has discounts on tires and windows as well as many other benefits, including at an extra cost Roadside Assistance and Mail Forwarding and Camp Outs

Escapees RV Club has their own system of RV Parks and Co-Op owned Parks at very reasonable prices (about $20 a night at most locations. They also have at an extra cost Roadside Assistance and Mail Forwarding and Camp Outs

Passport America will give you discounts at RV Parks but the discount and terms vary from park to park.

Thousand Trails is a membership like a time share.

[MSHappyCampers]

Dan, We use Passport America, Escapees, FMCA, and Good Sam!

[Wbonsell]

We have been FT now for going on 4 years. We have a TT membership with their Trails Collection (annualized cost for both is about $70 per month) and it definitely is worth it FOR US. We also have Passport America and RPI (which we may drop).

If you mostly desire full hookup destinations, without memberships of some sort, it can become very expensive if averaging $25 - $40 per night. We also do a bit of dry camping...desert as well as coastal destinations. We also have just purchased a membership at a RV Membership only park on the Ca coast.

Fuel, food and lodging biggest expenses for us. Anyway we can manage those better is a positive.

[Dan 3856CS]

Thank u & yes that seems the way to go. We joined PA & we have the TT that was given to us by the dealer. We will FT in 10-12 months & our plan skunds much like what u do. We will need full hookups at parks & boondock in between. I figure that TT coupled with 50% off with PA should cover a good amount of our out of pocket expenses. Next year when my free TT is over I will then see if the zone pass, VIP etc makes sense. It seems like for the extra money u get so many more options & less restrictions. Thank you for all your help, glad we found this site. Safe travels.

[Hgrace56]

Originally Posted by wingnuts

Is that Idyllwild. .? Just camped there this weekend, and I can see why the annual sites.to have someone there.. Ranger told me it's never real busy let alone full. ...I found plenty of great sites unoccupied

Yes it was. Most of the park was off limits last time we were there. Only sites near 200s we re available.
Had to squeeze my 33 footer in.
3 out 5 of our favorite sites were Anual.
We mostly midweek visit and after meeting with the Ranger at the county park near town decided that will be our next destination. Sites are level. Only a few with FHU but will easily fit my rig even though 24' max is listed.
This is why I visited with the Ranger.
She showed me where we'd fit and said as long as we didn't encroach on the road we'd be fine.
TT just doesn't seem to make sense in Southern California.
The lack of specific site registration at TT Idylwild makes it a poor 'Club' option as well.

[wingnuts]

Originally Posted by Hgrace56

Yes it was. Most of the park was off limits last time we were there. Only sites near 200s we re available.
Had to squeeze my 33 footer in.
3 out 5 of our favorite sites were Anual.
We mostly midweek visit and after meeting with the Ranger at the county park near town decided that will be our next destination. Sites are level. Only a few with FHU but will easily fit my rig even though 24' max is listed.
This is why I visited with the Ranger.
She showed me where we'd fit and said as long as we didn't encroach on the road we'd be fine.
TT just doesn't seem to make sense in Southern California.
The lack of specific site registration at TT Idylwild makes it a poor 'Club' option as well.

We stayed in the 600's, there were a lot of open spots up there out back ..

Honestly this was our first TT experience and enjoyed it so far, spot was level, big, nice shade and tucked away from neighbors...

we have a few weekends in Wilderness park coming up, but not sure what to expect as we live in the same town, should be good for just quick getaways

Yea so cal area are slim pickens compared to up north or other areas

[kerryvan]

Originally Posted by Dan 3856CS

Next year when my free TT is over I will then see if the zone pass, VIP etc makes sense.

We were able to get a platinum plus membership on the resale market. Very worth getting for us. We added the trails collection allowing access to all the encore parks Like previous mentioned, about 60 / month for a yr membership. Full hookup for free

We’ve used 222 nights since last July with no charges. Not bad for free electric.

Your base appears to be fla that has many TT and Encore parks. We spent the last 6 months in Tx.

The only issue with TT is there are few parks in middle USA.

Some parks are like state or national park settings. A few are run down but many are getting major improvements. More full hookup sites and pull thru sites.

I would never get a membership from a rep for their inflated price or upgrade. The resale has membership for 580 transfer fee.

When we are not in a TT park we feel lucky if we are less than 20 dollars a night for full hookup