Drop KOA Value club Membership

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, gjhunter01 said:

every time I have checked their CG prices they are always at the higher end.

[Chalkie]

11 hours ago, gjhunter01 said:

I can't remember ever staying at a KOA, every time I have checked their CG prices they are always at the higher end. 

I don't find that to be true. Must depend on where you travel. I'll give you an example. I can stay at military famcamps and do on occasion. When we travel through Abilene, TX we always stay at the KOA there even though there is a famcamp at Dyess AFB. Why? Dyess costs $35/night and then you have the hassle of getting on and off the base. The KOA is $38/night and it is easy  in and out right back on the highway. To say they are ALWAYS on the higher end is just not true in our experience. Some most definitely are but to say that they all are is like saying that all Good Sam parks are on the higher end. Some are, some are not. PA can save a ton of money when you find a park that does not place restrictions on its usage such as not on weekends or one night only, etc. 

So to the OP, if you do not find any value in it, then drop your KOA membership. We have not paid for a KOA membership since we bought our first one in 2013 as we use KOA parks just enough that they automatically extend our membership for free and we do not feel like we have ever been cheated on our stays. 

To each his own. 

[AbdRahim]

On August 21, 2017 at 8:34 AM, trailertraveler said:

This comes up on just about every discussion about KOA. Many RV Parks have sites at various prices based on various combinations of amenities/services. No hookup (tent) sites, water/electric only, full hookup, backin, pull through, etc. All at  different prices. Even many Passport America Parks charge more for a 50amp site, cable TV, Wifi, etc., if they have more than one type of site. Very few parks charge for only what you use. The price for the site is the price for the site whether you want or plan to use all of the amenities. We have stayed at about 30 different KOAs since 2004 (some more than once) and never been charged a pet fee. In over 250 different parks/campgrounds, the only place we have ever been charged a pet fee was a Virginia State Park. If you look at the KOA website, the prices for the various types of sites are clearly shown. They often do have more choices than many RV parks/campgrounds. Now if you just drive in, there is no guarantee that the cheapest type of site will be available, or that your rig will fit in it.

No membership or buyers club annual fee is worth the cost if you do not use it or value at least one or more of the services/benefits provided. KOA membership provides a discount on park rates and also a point system where like a credit card, the more you spend the larger the rebate. They also have special deals like stay 2 get one free. KOA also has agreements for special deals with various RV Service providers for things like Emergency Road Service. For years, Allstate provided a free KOA membership with their RV Help Plan. Now, there is a steep discount in the first year of the RV Help Plan and a $70 discount card good at KOA campgrounds.

Many Rvers also malign Good Sam. Again, it is only worth it if you use it. The 10% discount is not the only benefit. I have had two occasions to have the Good Sam "Action Line" help resolve warranty issues that were denied. One by an appliance manufacturer and one by the RV manufacturer. The nearly $1,000.00 they saved me will pay for a lot of years of membership.

I agree. Like everything else, there is good, bad, reasonable, expensive, etc. I have stayed at affordable KOA's which were clean and wonderful, with all of the amenities. I appreciated the discount. One I visit every year, a second has become a favorite campground, based on price cleanliness, customer service, etc. I have scheduled at another for next year. I don't stay at any expensive campground regardless of affiliation. As with everything in life, one size does not fit all. It seems that a search will reveal many KOA's that fit my budget and other criteria.

[wildmandmc]

I suppose a KOA Card is as good as a BJ's Card. you only get your money's worth if you use it often enough. 

[scouserl41]

We rarely use KOA's because in our experience they aren't good value for money. BUT sometimes there is no alternative such as when we wanted to stay near friends and relatives in Maryland and stopped at the hideously expensive Millersville "National Capital" park. We bought a 1 year membership at check in because the discount more than paid for the membership.

It was just "Location, location, location" for us as we used to live around the corner from there and still have lots of friends there. What surprised us was that after you spend so much with KOA they give you an annual membership FREE. 

That Millersville park was around $90 A NIGHT and we ended up with  2 year  membership which coincidentally we will use this weekend for a discount at a park in TX when we visit friends who live very close to that park.

So my advice is buy a membership at check in if it's going to pay for itself, but don't buy one is you aren't certain you will use it.

[jjwicklund]

The  first RV park we stayed at other than the free nights in Chanute was a KOA in Branson MO for three nights.  We stayed at another about six months later and another a year after that.  Our discount card had expired by then.  We have not renewed.  We do stop at KOA for an occasional overnight and always received friendly service but seldom used any amenities other than basic EWS.  We find that the prices vary depending on the area and the amenities provided.  

[freestoneangler]

Funny in that my wife was just asking whether we should join KOA as we stayed at two of them while in UT the last couple of weeks and a couple over this past summer. With them being in so many places around the US, and most in pretty convenient locations, it seems like a decent program.  To me they are kind of like the McDonalds of RV parks - held to a certain level of standards that you can usually count on.  Their prices were basically the same as what we paid in two other non-KOA parks and overall condition and service not much different.  With my veteran discount, joining offers no better nightly discount - only gathering reward points for later use. 

[oldcodger]

We have stopped at four KOA parks in the last five years, with two being used multiple times due to one being close to a major highway we and the other one close to our son.

The visit to the close-to-highway park will probably BE the last one as we will use a private park down the road from them. Workamper who was at the desk this day instead of the owner who we are aquainted with decided we wouldn't fit in the open pull throughs which we had stayed in many times, and determined that 1, would have to disconnect truck if we used them or 2, park on north side in the open where no one was and extremely bad wind and rain was in forcast. This was Kansas. Or 3 we could upgrade to premium site in main park and pay 20.00 more. We had res's and it was starting to storm. Not wanting to argue at the desk we took the premium but we wrote the owners are still waiting an answer. 

Will keep value card as we will use it to stay near son and nights cover the cost of card when stay at that park.

[Daveh]

Kinda surprised to see fulltimers sticking up for KOA.  I think the campgrounds are more oriented toward vacationers and those with families. I have no use for a store,  gaming room, pool, playground or screaming kids. I mostly rely on RV Park Reviews and will only go to a KOA if it is clearly the best and at a good value.  Otherwise they are just not our bag.

[Smitty77_7]

We do not go out of our way for KOA's to stay, or to avoid:)! 

We've found some of their parks to be top notch, and priced accordingly (But to be fair, everything in some area's of high demand are 'priced accordingly'.) For example, we spent two nice days at the KOA outside of West Glacier, as we were 'jockeying' for position to nab a site in Apgar. 

Anther two KOA's we've had good luck with, is the Richfield, UT location, where new owner's took over and opened many of the sites up gear specifically for ATV'er's. As well as added more cabins. And the on the I50 going thru Nevada, we found the Ely KOA to a good place to stay too. 

As with many parks, some are better then other's. And KOA's are no exception. 

We do not automatically renew our membership. We look at our planned travels for the year, and if we feel we'll stay in at least two parks that year, we'll renew as either go to the first park, or make our reservation for the first park. 

Best to all, travel safe,

Smitty

[freestoneangler]

On ‎10‎/‎31‎/‎2017 at 5:19 PM, Smitty77_7 said:

As with many parks, some are better then other's. And KOA's are no exception. 

We've found this to be spot on. 

[richfaa]

Perhaps  the term staying at a KOA is a bit misunderstood. We only stay at a KOA  overnight when on the road to a destination we find them handy to interstates and  in general we  know what to expect  .We reserve pull  through, 50 amps , full hookups and that is exactly what we get. We stay at two KOA's and one Passport America   back and forth to Florida every year. We  do not find then overly expensive . We have stayed at a KOA or two on a Rally for a few days at a special rally rate. Unless we could find nothing else we would not stay a KOA for a long period of time. We prefer  PA for that.

 

 

Edited November 4, 2017 by richfaa

[richfaa]

Perhaps  the term staying at a KOA is a bit misunderstood. We only stay at a KOA  overnight when on the road to a destination we find them handy to interstates and  in general we  know what to expect  .We reserve pull  through, 50 amps , full hookups and that is exactly what we get. We stay at two KOA's and one Passport America   back and forth to Florida every year. We do do find then overly expensive . We have stayed at a KOA or two on a Rally for a few days at a special rally rate. Unless we could find nothing else we would not stay a KOA for a long period of time. We prefer  PA for that.

 

 

[ToddF]

We needed a park in the Salem Lisbon (OH) area enrout from MN to the East Coast. It was so handy to find and make a reservation at the KOA there and the park was so fantastic...decided can’t live without KOA membership for $30 it is worth it to us. I know we could have stayed there without the membership, but we like supporting all networks in our own small way.

[MR77]

Also everyone do not forget about the state tax. In Maine we pay 9% not sure about other states.

Edited July 2, 2018 by MR77

[richfaa]

We use KOA a lot not exclusively but a lot. We checked the prices at the KOAs we have stayed at over the last two years and they average around 35 to 40 dollars with the presidents club. Pull through, full hookup, 50 amps . We think that is a reasonable price for  the services we want. We have encountered KOA's that advertise "premium" sits for 65/70 $$. We don't need a premium site.

[Kirk W]

MR77, welcome to the Escapee forums! Glad to have you here.

[docj]

1 hour ago, richfaa said:

We think that is a reasonable price for  the services we want. We have encountered KOA's that advertise "premium" sits for 65/70 $$. We don't need a premium site.

These days KOA has split itself into three subgroups of parks---Journey, Holiday and Resort.  Pricing for each tier is different as are the amenities.  Most of the KOA's we have stayed at are the Journey type and we've always felt their prices were fair, particularly when one takes into account the 10% savings for having a KOA card.  Furthermore, each year we get at least a couple of free nights by using our "reward points."

[Big5er]

On 11/4/2017 at 6:49 PM, richfaa said:

Perhaps  the term staying at a KOA is a bit misunderstood. We only stay at a KOA  overnight when on the road to a destination we find them handy to interstates and  in general we  know what to expect  .We reserve pull  through, 50 amps , full hookups and that is exactly what we get. 

 

 

I agree with Rich. I have a KOA that is NW of Dallas that I use once or twice a year and one near OK City also. The only other KOA that I have used repeatedly is the one just outside Devil's Tower, Wy. I have no complaints with any of them. They are priced accordingly and with the exception of Devils Tower are easy on/off the freeway. 

[FL-JOE]

On ‎8‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 8:55 AM, Biker56 said:

I am glad you like that kind of Full time life. But it is not for me. I don't want to sit at a Wally World parking lot for 15-17 hours a day.
That is how long I spend at overnight campgrounds and at destinations I use electric 24/7.

I don't have to carry around all the extra weight of solar panels and need to buy expensive batteries.
That by your post will last forever and never need replaced.   solar and batteries are free.
I can only get my T-105 6V batteries to last around 7 years 6 months on average and then need to replace them for $$$, not free.

I need electric to run my refrigerator, stand alone Freezer, stand alone Ice Maker, Both AC(Like to keep RV temps between 73-78º 24/7) with one being a heat pump also, 2 small space heaters,  my 55", 26", 24", 20" and 10" TV,  Genie DTV receiver, surround sound stereo system, 2 desktop & 2 laptops, charge my iPhone plus 2 iPads, keep my hotspot working, weBoost, WiFiRanger running, hair dryer, convection/microwave(use it a lot), water heater, and other items that use electric.
Yep!! I am a electric hog.

I don't think my roof it big enough to hold enough solar panels to keep enough batteries charged(which I have no place to put them) to run all my devices.

By the way I just checked my Quicken for 2016 my average per night/day for Full Time hooks ups came out to $4.48 a day for the 12 months. 2015 it was $4.15 way back in 2003 it was $5.15

My LPG bill every year has averaged $51.96 a year for the last 11 years and includes use(mostly exercising) of my LPG 6.5W generator.

You enjoy your solar & I will enjoy my electric.

 

Got a quick question for you.  Unless I am reading your post wrong, you were averaging around $140 a month in CGs getting full hookups.  Can you please share with me where that was while you were full timing.  We have found a couple places for around $300 a month but never came across anything for $140 a month.  

[LFDR3116]

We have never stayed at a KOA.  Reason - we have always found less expensive campgrounds in the area .  Being full-time, we cannot afford to pay the extra $20 or whatever just to park for the night.  We do prefer staying in a campground/rv park vs  Walmart, but we have done both.  We use PPA a lot but sometimes find non advertised mom & pop type smaller campgrounds for even less.  That suits us just fine as we aren't there on vacation, we are just stopping for the night, or a day or two to do laundry, buy supplies and relax.  

[DKRITTER]

We let our KOA deal lapse several years ago, we just felt that the value of KOA didn't add up to their pricing. We stayed in several KOA's and honestly only 2 we actually liked. One in Bastrop and the other on the east side of OKC. 

 

If we are traveling and just making an overnight pit stop we always look at Passport America first and have found some really neat places along the way. If we are staying longer and well even overnight we always look at RV Park Reviews to see what others think about a park and they usually have the most weight on our decision on whether we stay one place or another. Oh, and Google especially for mapping and satellite views of everywhere we are going to stop.

[trailertraveler]

On ‎7‎/‎7‎/‎2018 at 4:54 PM, LFDR3116 said:

We use PPA a lot but sometimes find non advertised mom & pop type smaller campgrounds for even less.

 

1 hour ago, DKRITTER said:

we always look at Passport America first

No discount membership is worth it unless you use it. We also use Passport America. It does not take many stays to break even. However, since we try to travel/stay where we find the temperatures and other weather factors (chance of tornados, hurricanes, seasonal flooding) to our liking; we find that more than 50% of the time the PPA discount does not apply. We have also found that parks seem to drop in and out of the PPA program more frequently than programs with a lesser discount. There are often additional charges for 50Amp service or more than two people (neither of which is of concern to us). There may be day of the week, length of stay, reservation, and payment restrictions. You have to read the listings in the PPA directory carefully. It is not uncommon for the regular rate at PPA parks to be what I would consider over priced for what you get. 

Edited July 11, 2018 by trailertraveler

[DKRITTER]

The first few years we RV'd we didn't an advantage to use PA so we didn't join.

However we started going to Louisiana frequently and the park we like is a PA park so the membership more than pays for itself. Also we stay in two different PA parks coming and going to Louisiana so that's a bonus. It's different for everybody. 

[sandsys]

Plus, sometimes PPA parks will take other discounts when the PPA price does not apply. One park took my AARP card for a 10% discount on the weekends when PPA was not valid while using PPA for the weekdays. I've never had a KOA honor any discount other than their own.

Linda Sand