Are there anymemberships worth the fee? Any better than others?

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We are in Passport America and FMCA. I saved over $700 with FMCA Insurance over my current insurance and have the unlimited Verizon internet through Verizon for $50.00 a month.
 
There are several and depending on how often you will use them will determine how useful they will be for you.

We use Good Sam and it has saved us a lot. 

Passport America is one we are considering for this year.

Harvest Hosts depending where you are camping I suggest checking their map before signing up.

Escapees I believe have discounts.

Thousand Trails - not used this and seen varying reports here on forum

Suggest you do some research and choose from the multiple suggestions you will receive based on your travel profile.

Let us know what you decide and how it works for you.
 
There are many clubs and memberships.

Escapees and FMCA are "Clubs" for RVers, they offer assorted "Services" FMCA for example has the Mitchlin tire discount which is going to save me quite a bit hopefully this summer.  They publish newsletters and/or magazines.. Some offer discounts (Good Sam's gets' you a percentage off at many campgrounds (usually 10%) and at Campign world)

Some memberships get you "Free" camping.. For example about 600 dollars to Thosuand Trails (if inmterested please PM me) gets you 2 weeks at a time of free parking at TT parks  about 1/5th of them (There are 5 "Zones") 2 weeks in one week out for a year.

Some memberships the "up front" money is thousands of dollars (I think my OTHER membership is going for about 6 grand just now) plus monthly dues (usually under 50 bucks) again I get two weeks in and one out.  but I also get discounted camping at hundreds of other parks.

Since I full time.. Those save me thousands of dollars a year.

But. if you don't use 'em. waste of money.
 
"Memberships" covers a lot of territory. Some of what others have suggested as "memberships" are in fact just insurance policies under a brand name, e.g. Coach Net Roadside Assist. Others are discount programs (Passport America) or camping social clubs (FMCA, Escapees) that may have fringe benefits that include services or discounts.
 
John From Detroit said:
There are many clubs and memberships.
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But. if you don't use 'em. waste of money.
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We are just starting out, only have 3 separate weeks planned for this year.  Hope to retire next year and get "serious" about this... just trying to get my feet wet and ducks in a row before I quit my job for good.

Thanks for all your input folks!!
 
Another benefit of Good Sam Club is the fuel discount.  This alone pays for my membership every year and the camping discounts are just a bonus  ;D

https://forums.goodsamclub.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27850998.cfm

Edit: assuming you have a Flying J or Pilot nearby.

 
_Rusty_ said:
We are just starting out, only have 3 separate weeks planned for this year.  Hope to retire next year and get "serious" about this... just trying to get my feet wet and ducks in a row before I quit my job for good.

Thanks for all your input folks!!
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Look at area you are planning on visiting and parks you fancy.  See if they offer discounts for any of those mentioned and figure out costs with and without. Note that some may not give discounts continuously.  ?

Or find a state park, it will probably be much cheaper....
 
To try to define terms,

CLUBS like FMCA and Escapees are social clubs with some other benefits and discounts.  There is an annual fee.

FORUMS like this one and several others (google RV Forums) are free.  They offer free advice and occasional discounts from sponsors.

There are membership camping programs like Good Sam, KOA, and Passport America.  There is an annual fee, typically under $50 / year  and they offer discounts on camping fees from member campgrounds as their primary benefit.

Some campground memberships are much more expensive and more closely resemble a timeshare, IMHO.

Other programs, like CoachNet are actually towing insurance, similar to AAA.  Other groups listed above offer similar programs.

Do research on each one of interest on line.  Verify you will REALLY use their services.  If you love KOA campgrounds, then you definitely want to join their club.  If there are no campgrounds that accept a given program in the areas you plan to travel, it will probably not be worthwhile.

About the only universal answer is  Great RV Escapes appears to be a total scam.  Past that, it is personal needs, styles and preferences.
 
If you are going to travel much Passport America can pay for its self very quickly.  I joined FMCA, but so far I have not seen any benefit except for increasing the Spam I get in my inbox. We have had AAA for a lot of years and the tow service has come through when we need it.  One limit of AAA is they will not go more than 30' off a paved road,  Good Sam can also pay for its self in discounts, depending what other memberships you have. I also have a KOA membership.  With the amount of traveling we do it is about break even.  If I had to pick only one, I would probably go with Passport America unless I was not doing a lot of traveling. In that case I would have AAA as the tow bills can be expensive.
 
I joined FMCA, but so far I have not seen any benefit except for increasing the Spam I get in my inbox.
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I've not noticed spam (unless you mean the occasional mailing FMCA does for certain "clients"), but the main benefit I joined for is their "FMCA Assist" insurance that would help my wife and my rig get home if something happened to me. That alone is worth the membership, to me.
 
I see a lot of FMCA, Coach-Net, and Passport America, but not much on Escapees. I figured with all the full timers here, they would be mentioned a good bit.
If one is over 62, and goes to National Parks, a yearly pass is $20, and a lifetime pass is $80. Lifetime pass used to be either free or next to nothing, but $80 is still a deal if one uses it.
 
If you qualify for a free disabled Access Pass or are old enough for the Golden Age pass you not only get free access to National Parks and other Federal Fee areas, you also get 50% off the basic camping fees in National Parks and most other Federal campgrounds, but not concessionare run campgrounds or the LTVA winter snowbird areas.  While the Golden Age pass is no longer $10 for life, it can still quickly pay for itself if you're eligible and plan to visit several National Parks or other Federal fee areas.

Escapees has a string of 18 RV parks with reasonably priced short and long term options across the Southern and Western coastal states.  They also have a directory of 800 parks country wide that offer 15% or better discounts, versus Good Sam's 10% off.

Then there are other services like their mail system, road service, bi-monthly magazine, annual Escapade rallies, RV Boot Camp,  etc.  Escapees publishes a continually updated listing of free and low cost overnight camping spots called Days End and Escapees members can also get membership discounts with Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome.

Their younger gateway Xscapers.com is aimed at working age RVers and besides all of the above, puts on several Convergence get-togethers each year and maintains an RV Job Exchange for people looking to make a living on the road.

Passport America can be a good buy, but be aware that their 50% discount is meant to help parks fill spaces that would otherwise go empty.  As such, many participating parks only allow discounts during the week, on the off seasons, etc.

PA lists all of their parks on their website, and each one plainly lists when the PA discount is or isn't available.  You can browse through them without being a PA member, so look at the areas and times you're going to be traveling and see if it will work for you.

For example, if you're a vacationer who likes to visit popular areas during peak season, you may find slim pickings.
 
_Rusty_ said:
Is there a club or membership that would benefit a newbie? Besides this one of course  :D
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It depends on your budget. I was a frugal traveler for 8 years and I just never found a membership worth the cost.

I mostly stayed in municipal parks which already had great rates and no membership needed though if you are disabled or senior you can get a Federal card for discounts.

If you like to meet up with groups then some of those might suit you. Most of the groups I checked into joining were sightseeing all day and that wasn't for me as I was into the freebies such as nature, hiking, and biking.
 
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