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Travel Clubs?

We are just getting into  RVing and I am trying to figure out what are the best travel clubs to join?
Which ones are the best to use; SAM's (man they advertise a lot), etc. Which one offer's the best discounts, are accepted universally, cost the least,  etc. I would like to have just one (maybe 2).
I know I got a free FT owners group membership for one year when I bought the coach and there is a FMCA placard on the coach which I assume does not transfer to me. Should I take it off?
Mine does not have any numbers on the front cap like some I have seen.
thanks,
OH



Rick & Deborah Webster
2002 3610 U320 #5964
2014 Jeep Wrangler Sahara JKU- 'Copperhead'
Richland Chambers Lake, East Texas

Re: Travel Clubs?

Reply #1 –
If you call FT, they will sign you up for your first year.  They will send you your assigned numbers, and if you are in NAC they will install the numbers as well.

The FMCA placard is "their property" and is not yours, and you would be assigned your own number as well.
Dave Cobb
Buckhorn Lake Resort The Club, #6202, Kerrville TX
check the map.  I do rent it out when I am traveling!
2001, U320, 36' #5887, in Kerrville, FT Club #17006, (7/23 to present)
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Summit, white
EX: 98 U295, 36' #5219, (mid door), (4/13-10/23)
EX: 93 U225, 36' (4/11 to 4/13)

Re: Travel Clubs?

Reply #2 –
Travel Clubs - none are universally accepted.  I get the same discount at most campgrounds using my AARP card as Good Sam members get using their card.  The best bang for the buck is the Passport America The original 50% Discount Camping Club - Passport America card.  It gives you 50% off the going rate at its member campgrounds.  But there are limits and they vary greatly between campgrounds.  It is often not good during weekends, and is good for limited days in a row.  Some will only let you use it one day, while others will let you use it for a whole week.  And the campgrounds are not always the best of the bunch.  But there are also some "resorts" that are Passport America members.  This is probably the best card if your are going to do long traveling trips.  it gets you into a campground with a hook up every night, but you will pay full price on weekends and holidays.  But you can usually still get a 5 or 10% senior citizen or AAA discount during those times.  Passport America cards are even accepted at some state parks.

There are other Camp Clubs out there that are quite expensive.  You have to buy in, and pay yearly "dues", and it you want out, you have to sell your membership.  I view this as a scam deal.  Then there is KOA which is a franchise outfit.  Usually campers with kids like KOAs.  They charge extra for everything, and are not cheap.

Then we have FMCA and Good Sam.  FMCA is a actual membership organization while Good Sam is a business enterprise with a membership club.  FMCA provides a very nice monthly magazine as part of it membership package.  Good Sam provides a combination monthly magazine/Camping Word catalog as part of it membership package.  They also provide discounts to their members at Camping World, but I usually can beat their discount prices buy shopping on line or  at local RV stores.  FMCA membership gets you membership discounts at various RV service providers such as Coach-Net emergency roadside service, the premier ers provider, while Good Sam will sell their members a comparable Good Sam package through who ever they can contract with.  Basically, Good Sam will sell you what ever they think you will buy.  Guess  you could call it a shopping club like Sams Club, BJs, or Costco, but you will not find any super deals there.  But if you need a big ticket item like a air conditioner, and it is on sale at Camping World, it might be worth the cost of the membership.  I much prefer FMCA as they are a actual membership oriented association and not a business looking to separate you  from your money!

As to the emergency roadside service, I much prefer Coach-Net.  They have gone out of their way for me, and I have heard others say the same thing.  I started with Camping World's Road Care ers, which is the sister outfit of Good Sam.  They sent me a, just released, Alabama state prison convict, the first time I used them.  Well, "they" didn't, but their contractor did!  The second time I called, they stranded me in Columbus, Oh for a whole weekend, because they could not find a mechanic to put on a fan belt.  You don't forget inept service like that!!!  I found a better service provider - Coach-Net!!!
1994 U225
build #4514

Re: Travel Clubs?

Reply #3 –
The DW's parents (who have just sold their last RV and, for the first time in 50 years, have no motor home) were inveterate club joiners who, over the years, must have been involved in every camping scheme known to mankind. They went through several "lifetime" membership deals where the club went bankrupt and the "new owners" offered to maintain those "lifetime" subscriptions for an additional (large) payment. They also watched parks that they enjoyed using defect from the "club".

We are not big joiners and so far only FMCA has stuck. We did, however, recently (last month) join Escapees which seems to fit our personalities pretty well. We discovered that all the rallies the local FT group had were held when the DW (who is a school bus driver and TA) had to be at work.

FMCA will give you your first year but I think it's a calendar year so if you join now you will have to renew in January.  Their magazine is one of the best, in my opinion, for technical articles and their classifieds cover everything from various motor homes of all vintages and makes (no trailers or campers) to RV park spots for lease or sale, to permanent homes with RV parking. FMCA has, as far as I know, no parks to camp in but many parks offer discounts to FMCA members. FMCA membership is also restricted to motor home owners (Family Motor Coach Association) although there seems to be some confusion about that detail.

Escapees is a more eclectic group (and their membership right now is half-price so we bought a 2-year membership) open to any RVer with an assortment of parks that they actually own. Some spots can be leased on a semi-long-term basis and others, apparently, just on a "show up" basis. Camping in their parks is not free but seems reasonable. Others here can give you (and me) a much better idea of how this works as we are brand new to this scheme.

Thousand Trails, which has been around for many years, now has a new program that we are looking at. For about $500 a year (up front!) you get access to every RV park in an area which you select when you pay up. If you want access to parks in another area you must ante up another $500 (approx). I think access to all areas would come to about $2,000 a year; at which time it might be better to buy someone's original membership and pay the transfer fee. This is a better deal if you live in a state with lots of their parks (WA and OR in one area, for instance) but not so much if you live in states with none (MT and ID in the same area, for instance). We live in WA and there are quite a few parks within a 4 hour driving distance so we think it might be worth it for us. Check their web site. The parks I've seen are quite nice but maintenance can vary according to the number of new members they attract (see below on bankruptcy of RV clubs). One close to us stays open in the winter for winter sports and offers a few cabins to members.

To me the biggest risk to a camping club membership is that they can - and do -  go bankrupt. The reason for this is simple: Once a camping club has attracted a large enough membership to keep their campsites full of people who no longer have to pay money to camp the cash flow slows down. As word gets out to prospective members who don't want to pay a lot of money up front only to discover that they have no place to camp new memberships - and the money to keep the club going - starts to dry up. When cash flow stops the management simply declares bankruptcy and a new corporation - often made up of the very same owners of the old now-bankrupt "club" - buys the "assets" at pennies on the dollar. Sometimes the only actual "assets" the club owns is the membership list and one or two parks. The first thing the new owners do is cancel all the "memberships" but offer the holders of these memberships the chance to join the new club at a "discounted" rate. Some of the clubs started in the 1960s and 1970s have gone through this process several times. So you need to be cautious; if you get in at the end you might not get much for your money.

The "yearly subscription fee" clubs (like Sam's, FMCA, Escapees, etc.) are less of a risk in that you have not invested a large sum of money. The only question is what you get for that investment. The economic downturn has resulted in some of the clubs having to reduce or eliminate some of the benefits. FMCA has come under fire for this over the past few months. Since the membership benefits are all that these clubs have to offer, the usefulness of them can be overstated in order to attract new members. In particular the number of associated parks offering discounts and the type and amount of those discounts. Some discounts can be quite large but offered only on certain days or for certain park sites so that ads can say "up to". The big forum, rv.net, can offer some insight to these memberships; but it is owned by Sam's Club so one might suspect criticism of that club could be censored.

Ok... that's all I've got. :P

Craig
1993 U225 36' Unihome GV with PACBRAKE exhaust retarder, Banks Stinger and Solar Panels.
Toad: 1999 Jeep Wrangler 2-door soft-top.

"No one has ever had to evacuate a city because the solar panels broke."

Re: Travel Clubs?

Reply #4 –
Quote from: wa_desert_rat –
The big forum, rv.net, can offer some insight to these memberships; but it is owned by Sam's Club

Make that "Good Sam Club", aka Affinity Group.  Most folks mean the big membership warehouse club owned by Walmart when they say "Sam's Club" ;)

We have all the usual suspects.  Many of the parks we have stayed at offer the same discount 10% to FMCA members as to Good Sam, as well as to AAA patrons.  A small subset of those have also offered the same or greater discount to Escapees (often 15%).  Passport America can really save on nightly rates, but as PatC mentioned a lot of the campgrounds that honor it exclude weekends, will only discount a couple of days, and we have found some won't take credit cards (cash only) for Passport America stays.

Something to consider - these discounts are great if you're staying in a place for just a couple of days, but the majority of parks we have stayed at do not extend club discounts for weekly or monthly stays unless you pay the daily rate.  However, if you ask for a weekly rate, you'll find it's most typically a "buy 6 nights, get the 7th free".  Monthly rates tend to be the equivalent of around 19-21 times the nightly rate (but many do charge electric extra on monthlies.  So if your style is to stay in an area in weekly or monthly increments, you'll often get a better discount (but you'll usually have to ask) and won't need to belong to a club to get it.  The campground we're at now is around $35/night, $200/week, and $565/month, for a FHU 50A site, electric included.
Learn every day, but especially from the experiences of others. It's cheaper!  - John C. Bogle

2000 U320 36' non-slide / WildEBeest Rescue
2003 U320
 

Re: Travel Clubs?

Reply #5 –
This is a good discussion of the different clubs (and the discounts offered).  Since each RV owner uses their units in different ways, no one club or organization is the right fit for all.  The Escapees club has a lot to offer, mostly in the west.  The Elks Lodges have overnight and short term stays available at many locations.  I understand that the Moose Lodges do also.  Good Hunting.

Al
Leisure Travel
Unity (MB)
2009 Smart Car