Passport America and its ilk

I am and always have been a diehard capitalist and a business owner but never a rip-off artist like some who post their ways on the forums. The topic is about PPA and the good etc is does for their membership for the last 24 years and still counting. It's an outstanding winning system for both the system owner and it's member CG's and also the consumer member. Not a wallet content snitcher with the wallet contents going only one way. Keep on being smart, PPA members and users!

Nuff said and done with this thread's holier than thou make ME rich PPA basher!

Use PPA twice and it pays for self

rich85704 wrote:
I'm the guy who started this thread back a while ago. Since the mods haven't jumped in, I will: play nice, folks!

I had no idea what the issues would turn out to be, or how deep some of the emotions would run, but I've learned a lot. Thanks!

Rich

I was thinking it was running long in the tooth also. Good for you for updating.

Only reason I looked at the thread again cause I was going to say that for $44 give it a try. You will make it back I'm sure.

For us, PA doesn't pay. We're in the same camp mode as 2gypsies posted a little while ago. I can do much better then "most" of the PA member parks with the knowledge I now have from camping over the years.

I'm the guy who started this thread back a while ago. Since the mods haven't jumped in, I will: play nice, folks!

I had no idea what the issues would turn out to be, or how deep some of the emotions would run, but I've learned a lot. Thanks!

Rich

I never wanted to know anything about you nor do I really care! My reactions and words are in accordance with your years of posts giving your business and CG very narrow views of how you are bent on bucking reality. Nor do you know me or anything about me nor will you other than we are so far from cheap! Just smarter than to pay excessive $$$ for something we don't get just so the provider can say he makes a lot of money/profit. PPA and other discount programs gives the ability to thousands of people and families to enjoy RV'ing and camping without being fleeced! Carry on! RV'ers are getting smarter each year!

Ohh! BTW, have stayed in both church and school parking lots in Florida and Tennessee also and was told it's completely legal where done. Some localities do ban overnight occupied RV parking. Most of our camping/overnighting is and always has been in CG whether, private, state parks, national parks, county parks, local public parks, etc whether a PPA member or not. Just got back form a week at Burt Lake State Park in the far Northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan and guess what? Not a PPA CG and was $26/day!

One of the local CG's for instance offering the PPA discount is Conestoga Grand River Campground right on the big Grand River roughly 8 miles east of our city's downtown. Nice pool, paved boat launch, beach, docks, full hookup, free WIFI, 86 sites, 2 bath houses, lots of good fishing for walleye/bass/pike/salmon/steelhead/catfish/etc, boat/pontoon/PWC watercraft rental on site, etc, so much more and at 50% discount! The big Grand River is plenty deep enough for even a 65'+ cabin cruiser and if so desired and there's many bayous to explore or fish etc. You can go downstream into Lake Michigan and continue on to anywhere on the planet Earth's oceans with your big boat. What an adventure! Of course, you could just paddle upstream for about 260 mile of river and explore the many bayou's going that way if that floats your boat. Not even including any of the many navigable tributaries flowing into the Grand.

For the most part we're discussing this from a camper point of view. It is good to hear the input of an owner..what would be very good would be a few owners representing various viewpoints discussing it.

From a camper point of view, it is similar to other situations with an overage of supply. This is what PA is addressing. Usually discounts are involved. We're not going to complain about that, just like a campground owner wouldn't complain if he got a TV at half price due to a production overrun.

...

2gypsies,

Well said and guess who it was who was bashing PPA? CG fees are not an issue for us but we refuse to pay $30+ dollars a night just to have a place to sleep overnight. Like a 12 hour stay at about a $3.00 per hour parking lot space! Some are willing to be fleeced but we are not!

For many to most families/RV'ers, $30/day CG fees are travel killers and limit their RV'ing/camping days drastically each year. PPA and other programs are their savior. The high and mighty with mantra's of maximized personal profits and enrichment and by fleecing customers for a few months each year are starting to feel the rath of the RV'er community. The best thing that could happen is for a couple PPA member CG's to open or offer in the same local area of the high or overpriced CG's and sure will suck the majority of the camping community away from these places and it usually brings them to their knees with reality.

Most PPA CG's are not simple back roads CG's as we have been in over a hundred PPA CG's just in the last several years alone.

We have been PPA members for 13 years, had 3 Coast to Coast homepark memberships (1 in Florida and 2 in Michigan) and are life long Good Sam members and also are in our 52nd year of RV'ing. Am a longtime business owner now retired and know what ROI means and our family still owns 6 very busy CG's in the S.E USA. 5 of the 6 offer PPA also and for so many good reasons. I personally have served 9 years on the board of directors of a very large over 2000 site two unit campground corp. I do know the annual incurred operational costs are, problems and issues, what annual maintenance and employee costs and the fixed annual costs are.

This same PPA basher told me about 2-3 years ago that churches and schools/public schools cannot allow RV'ers to camp in their parking lots as it's not legal and against occupancy codes because they are not licensed CG's. So hilarious since we have stayed for days in many church parking lots and in school parking lots for years now. Only time it's not allowed is on Sundays as the full lot is needed for church services. Right here in our local very upbeat and wealthy city area having approx 70,000 residents, we yearly stay right on the waterfront several times a year and for up to 6 days at a time in a real church parking lot along with 40-60 other RV'ers for area festivals etc and have done so for 23 years so far.

Also overnight RV parking is allowed in many of the school/public school parking lots along the outer edges away from the buildings. Most times it's free but may be $10/night during special events. Most RV'ers are there for a day or 2 for sports events tailgating or other school events/carnivals/other multiday performances events. Don't have to be a local resident either to be there. Yup, roll out your awning and set up your tables and chairs and enjoy! Some have electric outlet sites but most are dry however, generators are allowed but must be quieter than the posted city decibel noise code. NO open contractor's type generators allowed or you will be warned first and the second time ticketed and evicted! All of the above mentioned are NOT CG's or have a CG license. Of course, you can't dump your holding tanks or build a fire on the lot or leave your garbage in the lot but the same goes for staying at Walmarts.

Get this! Our local big Walmart doesn't allow overnight RV parking but the churches do and so do many of the schools! Cracker barrel allows free overnighting and many other places/businesses/operations.

We have 12 CG's (some are PPA members giving a 50% discount). 3 State Parks with CG's in the local area and NONE of these operations complain about the local lots uses, because here the separation of church and state is alive and well and the local code doesn't ban overnighting on PUBLIC property if the rules are adhered to. All of the CG's are very healthy financially anyway. Even 2 church Christian conference grounds have large CG areas right on Lake Michigan shoreline.

A smart business owner nurtures and extends a helping hand to the lesser financially bestowed people and families as they will remember the gratitude and become your future regular fee customers and their word of mouth advertising is golden! Build your clientele or your future and you'll reap the long term benefits and your business portfolio. So many of the PPA basher's posted comments are and have been so self-centered and are just ME, ME, ME and make ME rich. That's not the American Way but still appears to be the main driving force for some! SHAME!

There are plenty of RVers out there that don't require the 'best' parks with amenities. To them, the park is mainly a sleeping/resting place. They do their activities outside the park.

There are also many, many RVers who don't want to pay the high fees that many parks charge just because they may be in a particular area. People want options and they can get it in many ways. This is where Passport America comes into play. It works very well for many RVers.

There are other good options, especially if you're a senior and use the national senior pass. This give you a site for 1/2 price. We could either stay at a forest campground at a minimal price a few miles from West Yellowstone or in West Yellowstone at their pricey RV parks. We'd have a private site with the Madison River running in front of us. It's a no-brainer for us. Many times we've stayed in national, national forest or Corp of Engineer parks for $6 and up. We don't care about not having hookups. RVs are self-contained for a reason. We want a nice large scenic site. There are also county and city campgrounds that are awesome.

Some folks want hookups but don't want the other frills. That's where something like Passport America comes in.

Bottom line....not everyone wants or needs an expensive park to stay and for those people, that is the market for Passport America. They've been in business 24 years so it must be working. I don't understand why folks have to cut down others because of the way they choose to RV/camp. Everyone is different. One way does not work for all.