Assessments of campground memberships

[cmhansontx]

As we do our research to purchase a trailmanor we are also looking into the various camping membership companies. I would appreciate assessments of the major camping groups - Thousand Trails, Coast to Coast, Other.
;)

[Windbreaker]

First off let me say these are costly compaired to just camping. Also they are limited in location. Their selling points are that they are selective in membership (read if you have the fee money you are good enough). Most offer two weeks free for your money at your home resort. Then for $5 or $10 per night you can stay at other member resorts as long as you have the tickets, each year you pay your dues you get a few tickets to spend, you may also pass these to friends so that they can camp with with you, even at your home resort.

Having painted the black picture lets add a little light. If you find a home resort you really like, not too far from your real home, and you really get on well with the other folks who use it a lot and they offer weekend entertainment and have lots of things to do, swim, horse riding, etc. maybe you have found a home resort.

Another good point is that most (by far not all) are a little better kept that your run of the mill public camps and some private camps. A few have primo locations but those cost a lot to buy into and must be booked well in advance. Rarely you can find a great place out in the middle of no where with everything your looking for.

Having said all of that, I would suggest you buy into one only if you find one that 1) is close to where you travel often, 2) offers things you enjoy a great deal, 3) has lots of folks you really enjoy being around 4) is not too far from home. I would not consider their other member camps, if you count on them you will be disappointed.

Coast to Coast/RPI member for five years. Not now a member but thnking of joining one of the discount clubs like escapees.

[hal]

We looked into special campgrounds that require your being a member. Our first objection was that they were NEVER at a place we were going to visit, expecially at the end of a day's drive. Those we looked at were very expensive. True you may camp for only a few dollars, especially inexpensive when compared to other camprounds. One we looked at, in addition to annual maintence fees that totaled more than we would have spent all season on a campground. Another had a required subcription fee of jjust $100.00 for a magazine that was to be sent to each member. Also, you should look at ownership resonsibilty. It was the case and maybe still is that even tho you could legally sell your membership rights, if any of the next owners default on their payments, guess who's door they knocked on to pay late charges plus continuation of membership fees.

Why not look for membership that someone is selling. Often these memberships are difficult to resell and the price may be better. There are plenty of people wishing to sell theirs. Also, investigate whether your membership can be left to your kids in your will.

I know of two people who were satisfied with their membership. One lived in California and bought a second hand membership in Las Vegas. They were making so many trips to Las Vegas that many hotels would provide rooms for free. But with this membership, they could take their RV and stay in it.

The second owner, were at the time very enthused about their membership. But they are running crazy trying to get the benefit of membership while staying in related campgrounds. Their goal is to make this system pay. So they go to places they wouldn't have visited otherwise.

It is my feeling that this camping system is good for some people, especially fully retired people who wish to stay in one place for a couple weeks. Then they are off to another facility for a couple weeks. Also, it is for people who have extra money and can create another life style with this money.

Hal

[Freedom]

We are members of Thousand Trails, NACO, and Leisure Time Resorts. We've been members in this outfit since 1978 when we joined NACO which was then ACI. We have enjoyed camping at many campgrounds in the west, but there are also many in the east - Florida, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, etc. Now that we're retired we hope to go places back there. Our home campground is Little Diamond Lake, WA which is beautiful and not too remote, but still off the beaten track. (30 miles from Spokane, WA.) We've thoroughly enjoyed all the campgrounds we've visited from California to Canada. The Platinum membership which we have, is useable by our kids (as associate members, they get cards) and they can will it to their kids, so it's not limited to just us. We do not have to pay any extra for using the campgrounds as that is covered in dues and maintenance. I have no idea what the membership costs now, or what the dues are since ours are frozen. Our kids' dues are also frozen but their kids' will have to pay dues if they want to keep the membership. The thing we particularly like about this membership is that there are rules on the campground and they are enforced - no big biker parties as in one KOA we stayed at. There's always a nice lodge, swimming pool, and other activities. Membership also makes you eligible for other memberships such as RPI and Preferred Access. There are dues for these, but not much. I think we pay $100 a year for three other memberships ($100 for all, not each). Preferred Access is nice, because you can rent condos (read Time Shares) for $199 - $299 a week all over the world if you can go on short notice! If you have to plan ahead, you can get two bedrooms for $599 - we have one scheduled in October in Maui - it would have cost us $1200 without the membership. We bought a time-share, and would like to sell it since Preferred Access is a lot more versatile and costs less than the dues on the time-share. It all boils down to whatever floats your boat - we like TT-NACO-LTR, you may not. I’m not trying to sell you on this – You can go and camp for a couple of days for free and check it out yourself. Get on the http://www.thousandtrails.com website and then go to “Select a Getaway” and pick “3 day 2 night offer”. Hope this helps.