Which is the best RV club to join for a newbie?

[NorthPotomac]

We pick up our first ever RV, a Pleasure-Way Ascent, in about a month, and have lots of travel planned for the rest of the year. We're looking at Good Sam Club, FMCA, Escapees, Harvest Host and other clubs, and would appreciate hearing about the benefits (or lack of same) of membership. We prefer to keep it simple (juggling many different memberships and keeping a database of their respective advantages doesn't really float our boat, though we would do it if coordination was simple).

Thanks!

[mojoman]

Those clubs basically offer small discounts or lower rates for one day during non season or off peak days. If you plan on camping allot, lets say more than 60 days a year, an $500 rv time share will allow you to join other clubs that do offer significatly lower rates but they are difficult to manage. They all are kind of like our health care system, many rules and conditions, different prices for the same space for different people. It takes allot of effort to navigate the system.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by NorthPotomac

We pick up our first ever RV, a Pleasure-Way Ascent, in about a month, and have lots of travel planned for the rest of the year. We're looking at Good Sam Club, FMCA, Escapees, Harvest Host and other clubs, and would appreciate hearing about the benefits (or lack of same) of membership. We prefer to keep it simple (juggling many different memberships and keeping a database of their respective advantages doesn't really float our boat, though we would do it if coordination was simple).

Thanks!

If you are looking primarily for roadside assistance, I would seriously consider CoachNet. They seem to be the class-act in the sector. We've tried most of them over the years, and we are happiest with them.

If you are looking for an information source, then save your money. On-line fora like this one and various Facebook groups are far superior to any of the commercial choices, IMO.

[booster]

Originally Posted by avanti

If you are looking primarily for roadside assistance, I would seriously consider CoachNet. They seem to be the class-act in the sector. We've tried most of them over the years, and we are happiest with them.

If you are looking for an information source, then save your money. On-line fora like this one and various Facebook groups are far superior to any of the commercial choices, IMO.

Coachnet or your vehicle insurance company if they have a good roadside assistance program. State Farm seems to be fine for us, but we haven't needed it for the Roadtrek, only the cars.

Sources like this forum are some of the best ways to get questioned answered and instructions. It is nice that the information is available in real time when traveling, which can be nearly vital sometimes.

Of course, the "Wandering Around the Campground BS Group" will probably turn out to be your most common and most useful day to day organization.

We tried a couple of the group, club, type memberships and quickly learned there was nothing there for us and dropped them.

Some like to join groups that have organized socials and rallies at various places, while others aren't into those types of get togethers. It all depends on your sociability quotient, I think, so that will be for you to decide.

[mumkin]

If you plan to shop a lot at Camping World, Good Sam could be useful. I joined FMCA and have had two major benefits. The first is that my 170 is my only vehicle and it is a nightmare finding insurance. After no luck, I finally called their insurance company and they found one (and only one)... National General.

Also when I had the Libero, they saved me almost $400 (more than any sale I had ever seen) in new Michelins. Worth the money when you have duallies...

If you like the whole rally thing... they have some very good rallies.

But that is about it.

[mlts22]

I would say that Good Sam is a good start. If you frequent Camping World, you get discounts, and a lot of RV parks take GS cards. Their towing service is also a good thing to have as well.

Thousand Trails is interesting, but its value is so dependent on if one of their resorts is near where you are, how long you intend to spend there, and many, many other variables. I bring this one up, because some people manage to get more than their money's worth from their TT membership, but be careful and read everything, including the max number of dates one can stay at a TT park, and so on.