Campground Resorts

[MONTIE]

Can someone give me some information concerning the campground memberships? I was looking for a campground and read a review where someone stayed at a particular campground throiugh a membership.

[Guest Wayne77590]

Wow! That could be quite a list. You can do a Google search on "Campground Membership" without the quotes and get a lot of results.

Some of the more expensive ones require a heavy $$ buy in and then require a yearly "maintenance fee." I just saw a "Thousand Trails TT/NACO" for sale. The price was $1000 and the yearly maintenance at this time is $467 a year. You get to stay at Thousand Trails RV Parks for 14 days, then you have to be out for 7 days, then you can go back in. I'm just not that dedicated to staying in one spot that long. RPI, Coast-to-Coast (C2C) are a couple more that have higher membership costs than I care to pay.

Then there are the 10% discount clubs, like Good Sam, KOA, etc. When you stay at one of the campgrounds that participate in their program you save 10% on camping fees.

The one that I use the most is Passport America. It will save you 50% at participating campgrounds. The annual dues are $44 a year. Four nights in a PA park will give you a 100% return on your investment. If you recruit other members you get a $10 discount on your next year's dues. Recruiting 5 members would really save you some money. If you do register for PA, let me know and I'll give you my PA number for my discount.

Others will be along with more information on membership parks.

Happy trails.

[MONTIE]

Thanks Wayne, I am in Good Sam and Passport, thought the ones you buy into might be better that these. I use Pasport everytime I can, the days are hard to make work especially in the summer.

[NWJeeper]

You need to really look at where the campgrounds are located and how you use your rig to determine if it is cost effective or not. For us, we camp in locations closest to our favorite Jeepn' areas or alongside our favorite bass lake and there usually is never one of these types of campgrounds nearby. The other issue is that if you pay $500/yr to belong to one of these things then you end up feeling that you're not getting your money's worth if you don't stay at one, even if it's not where you want to be or your friends are all gathering at a place that doesn't have one, etc. We are life members of Goodsam and that is about all we want to spend on those types of memberships. For some they are great for others not so great, up to you if you see value in it or not.

[garykd]

Hi MONTIE,

The membership resorts are nice, but I have never been able to get the business case to work for me. Over the years, I made the right decision, for me. The initial cost and yearly dues deteriorated the value, to me. I've attended the presentations so many times (for the free gift) they don't bother sending me invitations any more!

[MONTIE]

Thanks Gary that's what I was thinking, I use Passport America and Good Sam's, I guess that as good as oit gets

[MONTIE]

You need to really look at where the campgrounds are located and how you use your rig to determine if it is cost effective or not. For us, we camp in locations closest to our favorite Jeepn' areas or alongside our favorite bass lake and there usually is never one of these types of campgrounds nearby. The other issue is that if you pay $500/yr to belong to one of these things then you end up feeling that you're not getting your money's worth if you don't stay at one, even if it's not where you want to be or your friends are all gathering at a place that doesn't have one, etc. We are life members of Goodsam and that is about all we want to spend on those types of memberships. For some they are great for others not so great, up to you if you see value in it or not.

I see you are from Washington, can you give me a good place to stay about a week around Mt. Ranier, St Helens, we will be there last of May first of June.

Montie

[NWJeeper]

I see you are from Washington, can you give me a good place to stay about a week around Mt. Ranier, St Helens, we will be there last of May first of June.

Montie

Montie, Well I don't do a whole lot of camping down in that area. I know of some other really nice places around WA to stay though. I highly recommend you try RV Park Reviews and check for campgrounds around that area like Chehalis, Toledo, Longview, Vancouver, etc. for campgrounds. There was one in Longview that was just on the Goodsam's top 100 list, right on the Columbia river that looked really nice but can't remember the name. It's on the RV Park Reviews site though. If you head any further north I also very highly recommend going to Port Townsend. Make reservations for Ft. Worden state park as it is always a busy park. This is where they filmed the movie "An Officer And A Gentleman" years ago with Richard Gere. Lots of old gun emplacements to explore and great hiking. This one of our favorite places and we try to get up there at least once a year. If you have a "toad" then it's only about 5 minutes into Pt. Townsend for some great food (Nifty 50's diner, or the Belmont hotel for a nice dinner) and antique stores, etc. I also know of some nice places on the Oregon coast and generally around the northwest (ID, OR, WA) if you want some other ideas. Just drop me a note and I would be glad to help.

[MONTIE]

Thanks Jeep, I will contnact when I know more about time in Washington. Thanks for the information

[buffnbear@me.com]

Here is the thing, does anyone know someone who can guide through the lingo and seemingly thousands of membership options of Thousand Trails and their ilk. Aftermarket prices look good, but it is hard to tell which is what I want or need based on the description. Thanks