Club Memberships

[GraySwain]

The wife and I are just beginning our journey of full timing it. I was curious if anyone had any thoughts/experiences with RV clubs. We will be mostly staying at places on a weekly or monthly basis as well as some boondocking. I am especially curious about harvest hosts and escapees. Any thoughts are appreciated.

[Optimistic_Para]

Technomadia did a pretty good YouTube video on this subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UUL2D5vcS4&t=2821s

[ependydad]

Here's an article for Various Memberships for Weekenders and Fulltimers:
https://learntorv.com/various-memberships-for-the-weekender-and-fulltimer/

[valhalla360]

Make sure with any of the time share plans that you can escape...don't believe them if they tell you it's easy to sell. Otherwise, you are on the hook for annual fees...forever and they will go after your credit if you don't pay.

Others like Passport America, Escapees, Good Sams are discount programs, with no issue dropping them if you don't use them (plus they are pretty cheap to try out).

[allen8106]

GraySwain wrote:
The wife and I are just beginning our journey of full timing it. I was curious if anyone had any thoughts/experiences with RV clubs. We will be mostly staying at places on a weekly or monthly basis as well as some boondocking. I am especially curious about harvest hosts and escapees. Any thoughts are appreciated.

From what I have seen on multiple YouTube channels and based on what I have read Thousand Trails is a pretty good deal for full timers. The cost per night over the lifetime of the membership is pretty low. The program can be sold and can be willed to your heirs.

[Matt_Colie]

You already have some good information, but nobody answered you about Harvest Hosts. They, like some others, promise only a flat place. It may be a vineyard, a farm, a museum (and now golf courses not with my membership). I still think it is worth the price. You may feel like you need to buy something from the host (at a vineyard?) but that is not in the contract.

Are you sure you want to go real boondocking? That means that the only thing available is a sort of flat place and fresh air.

There are lots of resources, take your time to find them and talk to others.

Matt

[nazpaz]

Most everyone agrees that Passport America is a good deal. You only need to use the membership a couple of times for it to pay for itself. There are many restrictions, though, on specific campgrounds so you need to do a bit of research on the PPA website. http://www.passportamerica.com/

Some of our favorite campgrounds are the Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds and they are generally priced right. Of course, National Parks are great destinations for RVers. Many of them only provide dry camping, but they put you right where you want to be. If you are over 62, but sure to get an America the Beautiful pass to use for both Admission and discount camping at these parks. https://store.usgs.gov/pass/senior.html

Some campgrounds offer good discounts to Escapees members but you don't really join Escapees for the discounts. This organization is the go-to place for information on fulltiming. They offer a great mailing service and are always on the front lines when it comes to RV advocacy. https://www.escapees.com/

Then, there's Thousand Trails. If the "preserves" work for you and if you use them, say 50 nights or more a year, TT is a really good deal. If you don't like them or don't use them, well, of course they're a poor investment. Still, many fulltimers say that they couldn't afford to be out there if it wasn't for TT. https://www.thousandtrails.com/

Beyond all that, many people love workcamping and volunteering for a campsite. You can get "free parking" and even make a modest salary if you are willing to trade hours worked for the savings/income.

[Bumpyroad]

If you do buy a membership, make it a resale as it will cost much less. and read the fine print. you may be stuck for life.
bumpy