Passport America

We stay 5 to 15 nights per year in PA parks. Almost always just 1 or 2 nights.

When I plan a route, I'll check the PA book/ on-line map and see if they have something near where I'm going to be stopping for the night.

I've never been disappointed at the facilities for half price.

We took a 7 week trip in March-April.
Our PA membership paid for itself after 3 nights. We were able to use it for a third of our trip, so it paid for itself many times.

We definitely thought the low price of membership was worth it. We don't need amenities - just a clean place to park.

You said "from previous experience the CGs were marginal". It sounds like you've tried it already so for you, I wouldn't bother.

It's less than 50 bucks! Why wouldn't you want it? You can save enough to pay for it with two nights useage...

B.O.

For crying out loud! You are only staying at a CG for a day or two, not buying the place! We have had Passport America for way over 10 years now and use the heck out of it and have never yet found one of their listed CG's we've stayed in objectionable. Most were very good, clean, clean bathrooms, and decent people staying there. No stuffed shirt people who seem to think their rectal secretions don't stink.

Met lots of very nice fellow RV'ers at PPA parks using their PPA discounts and so many of them were fulltimers going from one area to another who do not have kids as they are retired and sure don't want a CG catering to or full of screaming kids who are on a weeks vacation.

PPA isn't for people who stay a week or weeks at a time in one CG but rather an RV'er/camper who move around from one area to another staying 1 or 2 nights and doesn't want to pay lots for amenities they do not want and/or will never use.

No different than paying for something at a grocery store or restaurant but not getting it! Great for the CG owner also as now the PPA RV'er knows your CG and will likely return again when in the area if they enjoyed their stay. Think about it. A CG site generates zero income if you didn't stay at the reduced price and you would never know what the CG was like nor could you tell others. Word of mouth is so powerful! Likely wouldn't put it on their list of good CG's for a night or 2 stay if you hadn't talked positive about the CG and with a big discount speaks very loudly!

It can be worth it, but you're generally not staying at top tier campgrounds. And if you're traveling during the high season you're more likely to discover all the PPA sites are "taken". Going during the off season you're more likely to be able to take advantage of the PPA pricing.

We found it of value while travelling as places to stop for a night as with the exception of one or two, they typically were not destination campgrounds in our opinion. We found most to be decent, for a night or two.

I think its worth it. Still, it all depends on your style of camping. We all have different expectations of what we want out of a CG but for a quick overnight and using PA for a 1/2 price site I will take that deal any time.

We also use PA and are full-time rvers. Check out what's available on their website and then reviews at rvparkreviews.com before you go. Go to the PA website and you can see a list of the campgrounds even if you are not a member.

I've had PPA for about 4 years now and save more then the cost of the membership every year. In fact I am in a nice PPA park right now (Amana Colonies RV Park, Iowa).

If you only go on one long vacation every year and then camp close to home, it may not be worth it but if you camp(RV) spring, summer, fall, then it will. I full time and travel all over.

You can visit their website and check out some of the parks in their program. I usually look in their book to see what's in the general area I will be stopping, then look in rvparkreviews.com to see if it gets good reviews.

You should also understand that some places will not honor PPA for more then 1 or 2 nights, and maybe not on weekends.

One of the nicest RV parks I've stayed in is a PPA park - Cochise Terrace RV Resort, in Benson, Arizona. Rated 9.1 on rvparkreviews.com