Coast to Coast Network (Midwest Outdoors)

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MN Blue Skies

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I'm not sure where to post this.  Has anyone joined the Coast to Coast Network.  The one we are interested is offered through Midwest Outdoors.  Basically you pay an amount upfront and then you have access to mostly privately owned RV Campgrounds though out the US.  The 4 campgrounds in Minnesota are free and other campgrounds involved in the national network are $10 to $15 a night.  Our three adult children and their families also have full access to the membership.  You also have access to condos and resort owned houses at a reduced rate.  Example ... a  2 BR condo is $299 per week.  This is a very simplified explanation but if anyone is already a member they will know what I'm talking about.  Today we bought a five year membership but we have five business days to rescind.  I'm looking for input from other Coast to Coast members. 
 
My parents had one that they bought "used" for a few hundred they said it was ok the parks are usually pretty good but the savings was not all that much after you figure in the annual dues too.
 
We used a similar system called RPI for several years. It's a good deal IF you utilize the resorts often enough, but just another extra expense if you only hit them a couple nights a year.  Be confident that you will actually stay at those parks fairly often and don't get mesmerized by the attractive daily price.

Note that you are paying for two things - the membership in a Midwest Outdoor Resorts park PLUS access to Coast-to-Coast. You need to consider the overall cost, both the upfront purchase of the Midwest park membership and the annual dues thereafter for both Midwest & CTC.  However, you probably can keep the Midwest park membership without continuing the CTC if you aren't getting much value from it. Most parks bill their own dues separately from CTC dues.  Also, buying the Midwst Resorts park membership is a lifetime commitment - you own it until you sell to someone else. You can drop out of CTC at any time, but you can't just drop out of the resort ownership.

Also be aware that CTC is not unique to Midwest Resorts - you can get access by buying a site at any CTC participating resort, of which there are many. C-to-C is actually operated by the Good Sam Club.  If your primary goal is CTC access and not staying at those 4 Minnesota resorts, you can often save money by buying a site at another CTC member park that is has a lower price, either because of its location or some sort of promotional offering.
 
Gary, we are considering the 5 year plan and we are interested in both the Midwest Outdoor CCs in Minnesota as well as the Coast to Coast CCs.  This year we will probably be camping at least 3 months plus our adult children and their kids can take advantage of the membership.  Do you know where I can find information on buying a used membership?  (BTW the current 5 year plan can not be resold.)  I imagine that the contracts and membership terms have been tweaked over time so that an older membership might not be the same as a new membership.  We would have to read the contracts carefully.  The memberships are not technically time shares.
 
After researching and getting a better understanding of how the membership works we decided to cancel our agreement and keep our eyes open for a resale membership with a Minnesota "home resort."
 
You may want to consider talking to a membership broker, such as the ones below: (no affiliation)

http://www.campgroundmembershipoutlet.com/

http://www.rvproperty.com/memberships/camping-memberships-for-sale/
 
Thanks kd.  I already checked with Campground Membership Outlet and they don't have any MN "home resort" memberships listed.  I will check with RV Property.

One hurdle that we have run into is that membership owners can't resell their memberships to anyone who has attended a Coast to Coast presentation within the last FIVE years.  :eek:

I'm more than a bit disgruntled with that since the presenters gave us LOTS of misinformation during the presentation.  Not sure where to go with my complaints. 
 
MN Blue Skies said:
One hurdle that we have run into is that membership owners can't resell their memberships to anyone who has attended a Coast to Coast presentation within the last FIVE years.  :eek:
 

Kinda shows what what C2C is all about in my opinion. They appear to just want someone's money, and not really care about customer service. That fact, and the fact C2C is run by Good Sam would be enough to convince me to look for another brand of membership.

I do hope you find something that is suitable though. I've been researching a membership for the future, but one of the biggest hurdles I run into are the complaints that open sites for transients are generally far and few in between, and a lot of them are tight, reasonably unlevel, or not full hook-up. Unfortunately, it seems as if the seasonals pretty much crowd out the transients. 
 
I would not sign ANY long-term membership without staying a few times at their campgrounds.  I have met several people who paid big bucks in various membership schemes and then hated the campgrounds. 

One thing that sounds worrisome about this one is that if they allow you to share the membership with adult children, it must not be worth much, and they know you will likely not use it as much as you think you will.
 
I may be alone here but I find the idea of limiting my choices of where to go to be the complete opposite of the reasons I chose to buy a home on wheels. I could just by a time share in Hawaii or Tahiti if I wanted to vacation in the same place every time.

There are various discount clubs that give a percentage off that are less restrictive than C2C or Thousand Trails. Maybe less savings but more choices and no "maintenance" fees. I prefer Corps of Engineers parks or state and county parks by far over most private campgrounds where your neighbors are almost touching your slide or awning and other than a strip of grass it could be a Walmart parking space.
 
One hurdle that we have run into is that membership owners can't resell their memberships to anyone who has attended a Coast to Coast presentation within the last FIVE years.

This is a Midwest Outdoor Resorts limitation?  Not sure how they could even enforce that. Might it be that an owner can't resell to someone who has attended a Midwest Outdoor Resorts presentation?  C2C is a different company than Midwest.

In any case, before buying into any membership resort, whether RV park or condo, make sure you understand what rights you have to re-sell (if any). Restrictions are common. Don't accept a sales persons glib assurance that "you can re-sell at anytime". Ask for the specifics, or better yet read the pertinent contract terms yourself.
 
Before we signed we made sure that there was a right of rescission.  It appears that the terms of rescission vary from State to State. 

During the presentation I asked some very pointed questions that the presenter answered incorrectly in front of an audience. 
 
Lawyers might argue that selling your contract is different than an act of rescission, i.e. the contract is not rescinded.  Instead, the contract is transferred to another individual.  It sounds as though you have done your homework, though.  Good on ya!
 
We rescinded the contact via certified mail.  We were hoping to buy a Coast to Coast membership on resale with a Minnesota "home resort".  I doubt that will be possible since they have a clause in existing contracts that says owners can't resell to anyone who has been seen a CtoC presentation in the last five years.  I guess it doesn't matter if the presenter and sales person made "witnessed" misrepresentations during the sales presentation and sales meeting. 

The helpful information I have for those thinking about buying a Coast to Coast Membership and Midwest Outdoors Resort Membership is to check with existing owners and to research resale opportunities BEFORE you go to a presentation. If I have the time and energy I want to send complaints to the BBB, Minnesota Department of Commerce, and I'm not sure where else.  It probably won't result in any action but if we can help one RVer it will be worth the effort.

In summary, if you are thinking about buying a Campground Membership check into resale opportunities BEFORE you attend a presentation.
 
There are other C2C parks in Minnesota besides Midwest Outdoors.  They perhaps do not have the same restrictions. Most membership parks don't care whether you join C2C (or RPI) or not.

https://www.coastresorts.com/directory/_results.cfm/FType-5/zip-/city-/State-MN/Country-1/

You should also look into Minnesota camp resorts that participate in RPI (Resort Parks International), which is a network very similar to C2C.  There are 9 Minnesota parks that participate in RPI at one level or another. See the park list (scroll down to Minnesota) at http://campground-memberships.com/resorts/MR0122.htm

I'm still a bit confused with your choice of wording, but maybe I'm nitpicking.  You don't buy a C2C membership on resale. You buy into a particular membership resort, not C2C itself. If the resort is a licensed participant in the C2C network, then your resort ownership gives the ability to also purchase an annual C2C pass.  Some resorts package the C2C membership fee into the resorts own annual dues so it appears to be all one, but it really is not.
 
Gary thanks for the additional information.  We will look into C2C and other home resorts in Minnesota.  We'll get this figured out yet.    :-[  :eek:  ;)  It would be so nice to just sit down with an honest rep. and lay out all the pieces to the puzzle.  :p
 
Have you checked with a resale broker such as rvparkstore.com or http://www.campgroundmembershipoutlet.com ?  They still want to sell you something, of course, but they generally know the ins and outs of each membership and usually aren't pushing any one park chain over another.  They also act as the escrow agent for the transaction, so you can be assured the private sellers follows through.

This Google search will locate several resale brokers:
https://www.google.com/search?q=member+rv+resort++resale&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1
 

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