memberships and magazines

[drumtwister]

I just bought a new 5th wheel and new to the camping world. I was wondering what memberships and any publications that people would recommend for us on our downtime. Thank you

[Jorme]

I love Trailer Life.....Been reading it for years and one of the only magazines that I read from cover to cover. I do have to say though in the last 5 years I feel its gone down. Still wouldn't give it up though. Also, been a member of Good Sam for years. Im only 36 but our family has been members back to the 80's when my grandparents joined.

[CampDestinations.com]

Good Sam Club - includes a magazine, trip route planner on their website and discounts at many campgrounds and Camping World.

[jbutcher3]

Trailer Life magazine is very good, Good Sam has a lot of features that come in handy as well as smart phone apps. one of my best books is Exit Now Interstate exit directory, been using a 2009 edition and have ordered 2012 waiting for delivery, very helpful.

Enjoy your new toy.

[Jim W]

Some other useful sites that are free and I use all of the time are: http://www.rvparkreviews.com/
Use to find out information on campgrounds.

http://www.uscampgrounds.info/
Another site for campground information.

http://www.recreation.gov/welcome.do?topTabIndex=-1
For finding Government camp sites and Reservation site COE parks are great and inexpensive to use.
Jim W.

[mapleman3]

I subscribed to trailer life over a month ago and still waiting for first issue.....

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[JRTJH]

I first subscribed to TL in 1971 when Art Rouse was pioneering the publication and was best friends with Wally Byam (of Airstream fame) Was an excellent magazine back then with lots of articles about most anything under the sun concerning travel trailers. Seems it started getting profitable and "new managment" saw fit to branch out to "motorhome life", "camper life" etc... Now it's just another magazine with some articles about RV'ing and lots of advertisements.

[Jorme]

I first subscribed to TL in 1971 when Art Rouse was pioneering the publication and was best friends with Wally Byam (of Airstream fame) Was an excellent magazine back then with lots of articles about most anything under the sun concerning travel trailers. Seems it started getting profitable and "new managment" saw fit to branch out to "motorhome life", "camper life" etc... Now it's just another magazine with some articles about RV'ing and lots of advertisements.

Like I said.....I have been reading trailer life for 20+ years and it seems like the last 5 have really gone downhill!

What I would really like to see is them get in conjunction with Apple and if you already have a subscription, be able to get the digital copy (ipads, iphones). Unfortunately its a completely separate subscription.

[drumtwister]

Thank you for all the replies. What about memberships any good ones besides good sam

[JRTJH]

For me, the answer would be, "There aren't really any good membership organizations" But that's just my take on things. Some people like to be a part of a bigger organization, for me, I've had my "turn in the barrel" during my military career and following that, my medical career. Membership not only was "expected" For the most part it was required.

Now that I'm retired, I find that most "organizations" look out for the leadership much more than the membership, so as long as you send them their $35 a year, they'll send you a plastic membership card and more junk mail than Camping World...

[mapleman3]

My Trailer Life magazine came in yesterday finally...yep lots and lot of commercial ads. A few good articles

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[webslave]

You don't really give us a lot to go on...age? children? retired? travel weekends or travel for months or even snowbird? But...here's my take in a general way...:)

There are many, many "clubs" out there. Some provide 50% off camping (Passport America, et al), but, are limited by black out dates, certain days of the week, off season only, etc. There are more exclusive type clubs (Thousand Trails, et al) that cater to more upscale RV resort type areas and have limited application (fewer campgrounds) and limited stay durations, etc. and a higher "membership" fee.

I've tried many of them over the years and found that most of the "deep discount" clubs, those that offer 50% off never fit my travel plans. Either there weren't any campgrounds that participated where I was going, or one of the "black out" periods was in effect, i.e., I could get 50% off for Tuesday and Wednesday, but, I was going to be there Thursday through Saturday...or it wasn't applicable on the 3rd weeks of months that end in "Y"...some of the black out reasons get to be a little esoteric :confused:

The two that I always come back to are Good Sam, I'm a Life Member, and KOA, been a member since 1978. Both are only a 10% discount, but, if you stay at 8-10 of them per year they pay for themselves, and since I'm a Good Sam Lifer, I actually save money every time I stay at one. Actually, for the last several years, they are the only two that I'm affiliated with and will continue to be, for as long as I can keep RVing. Being a member of Good Sam, KOA or any other "group" doesn't infer or obligate you to anything "clubbish". I'm a Life Member of Good Sam and can't honestly remember for how long (it doesn't say on my card like KOA does), but, I've yet to go to a "Samboree" or join the local clubs. We don't have that kind of interest; we do use their campgrounds, we do use their emergency roadside assistance plan, but, we aren't "club" types. We live way out in the boonies and I guess we tend to be "hermits". We're very "comfortable in our own skins", been married over 42 years and we just aren't into "groups", but, Good Sam membership still works for us. If you are into "groups", then opportunities abound with Good Sam; Samborees, group Caravan trips, local chapters with local events, etc.

You'll find many that berate KOA as being "over charge headquarters" ("Keep On Adding" is a popular harangue), but, I've never had an issue with them. They do tend to be a little more, but, not that much more, than GS campgrounds I've stayed at and at least the KOAs that I've stayed at have always "fit the picture" as far as what I can expect in cleanliness and amenities and features. They've been around forever, so most of their campgrounds tend to be older, but, I've always found them to be hospitable, secure and comfortable. The age also, at times, works to their benefit. A lot of the older KOAs were setup in a time where campsites were more spacious and landscaping between sites was a given as opposed to today's sardine can style commercial campgrounds. I don't camp to be cheap; I'd rather go to a campground that I have a reasonable expectation of what I'm getting in to and Good Sam and KOA campgrounds are usually quite acceptable to us. We've never pulled into one and taken a look around and left because the campsites were deplorable.

You also have to consider what style of "RVing" you plan to do... None of the "clubs" will help you much if you intend to utilize mostly state and federal forest lands for a more "rugged" experience. We've been there, done that, and have the T-shirts to prove it :rofl: We started out as backpackers (campers, not RVers) and over the years have morphed into sightseeing RVers. We tend to meander all over the country and use our campsite as a spot for our "home on wheels" to park at while we see what the area has to offer. Our RVing style likes full hook ups, easy in, easy out and peace and quiet in the evenings. If you like the more "rugged" forest setting or boondocking, then you will probably be just as well of sans "memberships" in any type of discount club. If you are more into "resort" type RVing, golf courses, tennis courses, etc, then one of the more upscale clubs (Thousand Trails, RPI, etc) may be more to your liking.

As for magazines...none of them are what they used to be. With electronic versions stealing away the "printed word", most have resorted to 75% ads and 25% content to make ends meet, but, I still like them and I get Highways (GS magazine), Trailer Life and Camping Life. Been at this "camping" thing for a while now; not a lot of new information, but, even the ads help keep me abreast of new innovations and some of the articles are quite good enough to keep me reading...

[dspriggs]

As was well discussed by the previous posting; it all depends on what you need to get out of a membership. We are members of Thousand Trails and of Good Sams.

I find that Good Sams website has a lot of useful information on it and the 10% camping discounts don't hurt either. A some parks have given us the Good Sam's discount when we asked even if they weren't officially a Good Sam's park.

The Thousand Trails membership gives us some resort type parks to camp in that fit our style very well, especially when camping with the grandkids. The parks tend to be very spacious and don't crowd you. You have to camp in an area where the TT parks are located to utilize them however. There are a lot of different TT memberships. Some offer affililations with other memberships such as RPI as a part of the TT membership.

Both Good Sam's and Thousand Trails have their own magazines which are probably a good as any of the others. These work for us, but they may not work for you. You could join Good Sam's for a year and pick up a Zone Pass at Thousand Trails for a year and give them a try. Nothing says you have to renew after that.

[johnnyrose]

The DW and I are brand new to trailer camping. That being said the dealer set us up with a compnay here in NC that owns six campgrounds that are all private. We were given an "opportunity" to buy into these camprounds for life x3 (our kids and their kids also get to use them until death). We chose to do it even though I was apprehensive about the whole thing, as anyone would be. They also threw in a coast to coast membership with it. You get discounts on camping across the country on a ton a sites and most are private campgrounds. You cannot beat paying $10 a night at a private campground that would normally cost you $70-100 without the membership. The cost is 140 or so a year but heck that is only 3-4 nights of camping at most places! I think it is a good deal that I am usually on the other side on these things as well. Look into it if you want, Here is the site: www.coastresorts.com.

[CincyGus]

I'm a fan of Passport America and their 50% discount. Most campgrounds limit you on how much you can use it and it's not available on holiday weekends most places.

It really depends on where you go camping and if the places you would use it, it pays for itself rather quickly. I do quite a bit of my camping at State parks in Ohio and many of them allow the 50% discount Sunday-Wednesday.

At $44 a year and Ohio State parks in the $20+ range, 1 trip that includes a Sun-Wed gives me my money back. I usually take at least two 5-7 day trips in Ohio State Parks so I come out ahead around $40-$50 a year minimum and sometimes more.

They have a campground search on their website and you have to do your research and see if the parks you frequent (or ones you could) honor PA discounts. If so, it's a money saver.

Good Sam is good also and while the 10% is less of a discount, it's usually applicable to all days except holidays. When I book online, I book the Sun-Wed using the Passport America as one trip for 50% off and then sign back in and use the Good Sams to get the 10% for the rest of the stay. Campsite fees saved = more brown pop or activity money :thumbsup:

[BillnDeb]

This thread is a few years old, but hope we can freshen it up! We're wondering about the benefits of Coast to Coast, TT, RPI, etc. They seem so expensive for what?
We bought our SOB 5th wheel on Sept 4 and have traveled 140 nights by the end of May at 22 locations. We will go FT as soon as our house sells. We're ready! So far, we've used Passport, Good Sam and KOA. But where we visit the longest is near our daughter and our only grandson (now 9 mo old) in Fredericksburg, VA. There are only 3 places to stay and for us, the KOA is closest and the best. But there is a Coast to Coast (Presidential Wilderness-and has a sketchy reputation). Twice, We stayed one month at the KOA for $1000-this is the only location we'd stay longer than a few days and up to a month to help them out. Otherwise, we've been staying 3-6 days.
I just checked my KOA points and had like 40,000. So far, camped once for free on an over night stay. No one told me how many points a night costs. But I haven't really tried to find out.
So as we go full time, the $10/night looks so attractive! And we plan to visit our grandson at least every 6 weeks-so need to determine cheapest way in the long run.
We are like Webslave-just need FHU parking for our house on wheels.
If anyone wants to see our travel list, let me know. I have it typed up on here as well as have a travel blog!

[BillnDeb]

Sorry, I thought I was in FR forum! We love our Cougar XLite 28 SGS 5th wheel, towed by F150 Ecoboost truck. It did great on Skyline Drive and some Ga mountains! We are living the simplified life!

[Festus2]

If you are considering a membership in any one of the "clubs" that you mentioned above, I'd do some research before signing up. They do offer some advantages providing you use them on a regular basis. Find out what the limitations and restrictions are - they all have them. In other words, read the fine print.
If you are serious about buying, you might check online for campground memberships for sale rather than buying them from a resort or dealership. There are 1000's of people who, for a variety of reasons, no longer want them and offer them up for a pretty good discount over what you would pay at a resort or from a salesman.

They're not everyone's cup of tea but work for some people.

[PARAPTOR]

If you are considering a membership in any one of the "clubs" that you mentioned above, I'd do some research before signing up. They do offer some advantages providing you use them on a regular basis. Find out what the limitations and restrictions are - they all have them. In other words, read the fine print.
If you are serious about buying, you might check online for campground memberships for sale rather than buying them from a resort or dealership. There are 1000's of people who, for a variety of reasons, no longer want them and offer them up for a pretty good discount over what you would pay at a resort or from a salesman.

They're not everyone's cup of tea but work for some people.

X2 Very good information as a guide line. Beware of older memberships sold on line, read carefully rules and limitations as compared to current contract offering to avoid upgrade costs when you realize initial savings were not worth it. There is generally a cost of several hundred dollars to transfer a membership. I think it comes down to you have to like the locations offered in these memberships and they have to be used on a fairly regular basis to get your monies worth. With the initial cost of these memberships occasional use in my eyes is not worth it, can do a lot of random camping for that money. If used regularly I would say you should expect a two to three year payback on your initial investment. After that based on yearly dues you will break even if you go camping say two weeks a year and any thing more is money in your pocket. Thirty Five dollars a night for full hookup is a good average cost to use for comparison.

My $.02

[Ken / Claudia]

We paid 10,000 for a vacation condo membership, plus 120 4 times a year. Tried to sell after the second year, after the 3 year found a buyer, sold it for 3500. We did not have the time to use it to make it worth while. Being in Oregon we have 100s of Fed, state, county owned parks and we do not travel for more than 2-3 days a trip. We stay in parks for 20-28 per night. We where going to use the KAO at Astoria and found it was about 50 per night. We had a free night but, did not use it. I feel that if you are really wanting to just go to the places the memberships have and use them as much as possible it might save some money. Nothing wrong with the KOAs, the parks are nice just to pricey for me.