Anyone been a member of Good Sam RV Club chapter?

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happytobehere

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We are fairly new to RVing and were invited to join a local chapter.  I have checked them out on the www, but would like any comments, pro and con, from anyone here.  Thank you! :)
 
If you join the Good Sam club, be prepared for more junk mail than you could ever wish for. I know little about the individual chapters, but I suspect they're populated with friendly RVers.
 
happytobehere said:
We are fairly new to RVing and were invited to join a local chapter.? I have checked them out on the www, but would like any comments, pro and con, from anyone here.? Thank you! :)
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You might see if they allow a guest visit from a potential new member.  This way you can see if they are friendly and have things in common with you.  I have joined some RV Clubs only to find them very cliquish with long time members who were not able to welcome new ones so much. I have been in other clubs where they were so friendly it was really fun.  Only you can decide who you like but camping with others does add to the fun!
Betty
 
We have been Good Sam members for years but never joined a local chapter. Just not our thing. But we know some folks who are active in a chapter in North Carolina and they love it.  Like most clubs, you need to participate enough to get to know the other members to really enjoy it.  It can be a bit daunting until you get to know the others.
 
We have never joined a GS chapter.  If we were not are lifetime members of Good Sam we would be members at all.  Got the lifetime membership prior to Affinity Group taking over.  IMHO the only thing GS does well is fill your mail box with JUNK mail.  Nope we won't ever join a GS chapter. 

Now if you want to join a great organization look into the Escapees club.  Now this club is for the RVer.  You can check them out HERE .

If you own a Motorhome the Family Motor Coach Assoc. (FMCA) is also good. We belong to both.
 
We had a fantastic experience with our local chapter back on the east coast.  They are a small town chapter and some of the nicest people you would ever want to meet.

I share Ron's feelings about the national organization.  The only reason we have joined was to get the 10% discount, which pays for our GS membership within a month or so.  I hate all the spam and it almost, bit not quite, makes it worth not renewing.

Our first choice for joining a club is FMCA.  Next, but a very close second, is Escapees.  Then comes Kountry Klub (which we will join for the first time on Monday).  And then comes Good Sam.  We are also thinking about Passport America.
 
We have been G.S. members for years.  Don't get much mail from them anymore - maybe 1-2 pieces per month.  Either they have gotten over that mad "mail something every day craze" or they have given up on selling us much of anything.

Ron: do you still get a lot of junk from them?  Maybe they think you are an easy mark?  ;D
 
We had it stopped for a while when we threatened to hang a anti GS  banner on the MH.  However we have started to get the insurance and other junk mail at our MT address.  Have taken action but too soon to tell the results.
 
Ron:

I too had thought we had stopped the junk mail and have been getting their Extended Service Plan junk recently. That after many phone calls and being assured we were off ALL their mailing lists. ??? ???
 
Jeff Cousins said:
Ron:

I too had thought we had stopped the junk mail and have been getting their Extended Service Plan junk recently. That after many phone calls and being assured we were off ALL their mailing lists. ??? ???
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I think they have an extended extended service plan too.
 
This FORUM does provide some great feedback. I just got word that my offer to purchase my Winnebago ERA has been approved. I am running around now and looking for insurance etc. One of the questions the on-line application asked was whether I was a member of a particular RV Club. Sam was one of the ones mentioned.

After reading your comments here ... I too have decided NOT to join. Just what I need is more JUNK email. Like I don't have enough now!! :'(

And ... after really thinking about it ... I will not be looking to spend much time in campgrounds in any event.  As I have mentioned before I am a traveller as opposed to a destination person.

Thanks for some great input.

Karsten
 
Karsty,

This is a very old thread (five years), but I'm glad it helped you.  Many of us belong to FMCA, Good Sam, Escapees, or whatever without belonging to a specific chapter.  There's nothing that says you have to join any chapter and, even if you do, whether you participate in chapter activities is strictly optional.  Some people are "joiners" and others aren't.  There's something to be said for having a group of friends you can meet while on the road (one of the reasons many of us like the RV Forum).  Also, there are advantages to both FMCA and Good Sam because of campground discounts and Escapees (oriented toward fulltimers) has its own parks.  We're also travelers and use the campground discounts a lot while on the road.  The clubs also have other features such as insurance or fuel discounts that may or may not suit your needs.  FMCA, for example, has an excellent monthly magazine that has good technical articles.  You don't have to decide anything right away.

ArdraF
 
Thanks so much AndreaF.

Everything is a little overwhelming at the moment. I just go the approval for my offer and I am scrambling to get the van and trailer ready for trade-in. I am also checking for insurance. Looks like I may have to go with this Wayfarers Insurance since my current company doesn't cover RV's.  I also am looking for a small car as well ... the van was my only vehicle and I want to make sure that whatever i get is towable 4-wheels down.  That can wait for a month or so but it seems that choices are limited unless I go with a manual transmission ... which I can do ... but I thought I gave them up when I was out of my teens.  ;D

Everything in good time though.

Thanks again.

Karsty

 
Karsty,

Yes, do be sure your insurance is for RVs because they're both a house and a vehicle and in a whole different category.

ArdraF
 
Karsty said:
...it seems that choices are limited unless I go with a manual transmission ... which I can do ... but I thought I gave them up when I was out of my teens.  ;D 
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We're 58 and 62 and we tow a classic '73 VW beetle, stick-shift. You're never too old for a manual transmission or for a cute car.

Wendy
 
Karsty

My suggestions would be FMCA and/or Escapees for a general organization (we belong to both and our major mailing is the FMC magazine), CoachNet for road service (special pricing for FMCA members), Geico, Progressive or GMAC (also special FMCA pricing) for insurance (but get quotes from all, many variables affect pricing) and Passport America for discount camping.
 
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