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Hubby and I are discussing different groups to join. He saw a u tube video of someone explaining 1,000 trails and few others. The others I have seen some discussion on here but not 1,000 trails. Any comments, pluses, negatives? We have to stay in our home province for 5 months and pretty sure can't use it then as no place here uses much more thangood sam, which we beling to. But curious.

He is also looking at passport. We are open to moving once in while, or stsying put as long as we like the camp, knowing much cheaper if you don't belong to these groups to do monthly stays. And would be during winter months. Thank in advance for any opinions.

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First choose where you want to travel make sure the group you want to join has parks in that area. If you are going to stay monthly many of the groups don't apply. Weekly saving generally are; stay 6 days and the 7th day is free. If you move a lot and will be in the are of the parks there can be some bargains just be sure to read ALL the fine print. Sharpen your pencil and make columns for each group and add up the initiation fee/down payment AND the annual costs.

 

In the link*** below here are some RV site cost estimates to help you compare:

  • Primitive camping: No hookups available in the site. Park usually has central facilities such as bathrooms, showers, and an RV dump station. Typical daily rates: $3-$10
  • Water and electric: Contains city water and an electric outlet ranging from 15 to 50 amps. Typical daily rates: $10-$30
  • Full hookup: All hookups needed for an RV—water, electric, and sewage. Typical daily rates: $15-$50

 

Google the clubs you want to join ie Thousand Trails Review or Passport American Reviews etc. There will always be extreme reviews good or bad so you have to read between the lines for yourself but will be a great way to find the questions you should ask. Bottom line is what will work for you as no two people have the same travel style.

 

We have stayed at nice parks for $200 to $400 a month plus electricity. The only amenities we look for are roomy sites, pull-thrus, pool in summer, warmer weather in the winter. We have stayed in parks for 2 or 3 times the price to be close to relatives or wanting to be in a specific location. Generally the lower the price the farther you will drive for services and supplies.

 

Here are a couple links that may be of interest:

 

***http://changingears.com/tip-cat-costs.shtml

 

https://wandrlymagazine.com/cheaper-on-the-road/

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The general consensus of this group in the past has been to learn how you want to travel before you do anything except Passport America. Since you only have to use PA a couple of times to get your investment back it is a safe one for most people to do. But, Thousand Trails and other membership systems can cost a lot so it is good to discover how much you will actually use it before investing. In the meantime your Good Sam membership will get you some discounts if you stay in their parks. Many of us also join Escapees to support the organization that supports us--that will give you more discounts you can use on the road. Membership parks can be good deals for those of us who use them but it is good to find out if you will use it before you invest.

 

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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We only belong to two groups, Escapee and Passport America. We use Escapee Parks for long term stays and their discount parks and Passport when we travel.

 

We are staying in a Passport park right now for 3 days on our way to a Escapees Park for a month.

 

Denny

Denny & Jami SKP#90175
Most Timing with Mac our Scottie, RIP Jasper our Westie
2013 F350 SC DRW 6.2 V8 4.30 Gears
2003 HH Premier 35FKTG Home Base Nebraska

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Others have given good answers. We only travel 4 to 6 months a year and have Good Sam (mostly for the discounts at Camping World) and Passport America. We were given a free zone membership to Thousand Trails this year for staying 3 months at a participating cg in Tucson last year. Don't know if we will pay the $540 zone fee renewal. It doesn't make a lot of sense to purchase a membership if you don't travel a lot, there are lots of ways to save like monthly stays. When we are traveling we stay at city/county parks, casinos, Cabela's, fairgrounds, etc. We have used FreeCampgrounds.com and the Free Campgrounds books by Don Wright (Amazon).

Jan & Thomas

2012 Drv Mobile Suite 5'r

2012 Ford F350 Super Duty

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Re: Thousand Trails...

 

We retired to go fulltime three years ago. Based on our anticipated travel plans & desires, we bought a 'used' (all zones) Thousand Trails Membership at that time. The first year break-even point was about 60 nights stay at TT contract rate agreement. For the years after that, our break even is at about 20 nights annually. "Break even" is the point where continued stays save money for us. We typically stay 60+ nights a year.

 

The value we get out of Thousand Trails, are the two locations where they have parks that are important to us - East Texas (Family), and Cottonwood (Sedona), AZ. For those two reasons/locations alone, Thousand Trails is worth it for us. Without them, TT would be nice, but not as cost effective. The parks are nice, especially Cottonwood (Sedona). Currently we are at Thousand Trails - Lake Tawakoni, Tx, and we have gotten where we are quite comfortable here. The Las Vegas Thousand Trails park turned out to be a pleasant surprise... we had heard about crowding but that did not turn out to be a problem for us - I do a Computer Conference there every year, so that is another direct savings.

 

So, our advice is... if you know you will use the park locations, might be something to look at - if not, go slow.

Jim

2007 Dolphin

  • Safe-T-Plus Steering Bar

Our Blog: Click Here

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