RV Memberships

Big Willy · 09-07-2018, 01:58 AM

With all the different memberships and Associations eg: Thousand Trails, WIT Club and FMCA as examples. What the best membership(s) and why..

SarahW · 09-07-2018, 03:41 PM

We belong to FMCA but none of the others. I like their forum, the services they offer at reduced rates (roadside assistance, tires, etc.), the annual tow vehicle info and the magazine.

I suppose the "best" is subjective, depending on what you plan to use the membership for. We aren't big on rallies and that kind of stuff.

**ThomB** · 09-07-2018, 03:51 PM

We are Thousand Trails members. Also have KOA, Passport America and Escapees. It really depends on how you will use the membership and the cost. We bought our TT membership second hand and it's paid for itself at least 2x over in the past 18 months (we've been full-timing). As said above it really depends on how often you will be using the parks.

Big Willy · 09-07-2018, 03:55 PM

Appreciate the input...

Big Willy · 09-07-2018, 03:55 PM

Thanks for the input...

**creativepart** · 09-08-2018, 07:39 AM

I joined WIT, I won’t renew. It seems to be of no value to me. And because of the huge sales of WBGO Class B vans really seems to focus on B topics.

FMCA is pretty good, so I keep that. Good Sams for the discounts only. And I just renewed Harvest Hosts. We only used them once last year, but keep thinking we’d like to use them more.

Cooperhawk · 09-08-2018, 03:34 PM

We belong to WIT because we have been attending the Grand National Rallys for several years now. Well worth it BTW.
Good Sam for the discounts.
FMCA has a good magazine and we have attended two of their rallys. They were good.

I am also on IRV2.com and rvforums.com.

jerrybb · 09-08-2018, 05:30 PM

I'm also a WIT member but I agree, there are only a few benefits:
If you want to go to the Grand National in Iowa annually

If you want to join one of their caravans (really well run from what I hear)

If you join a local chapter in your area (if there is one) and like to get together with other Winnie members. I'm a past president of our local chapter and really enjoy it. We have an outing on average every 2 months and get together with 30 or so really nice folks, mostly retired.

I'm also a Thousand Trails member and enjoy the facilities in our area. You don't mention where you are, the parks are pretty much on the coasts and several in TX. You can try a 1 yr membership with no obligation to see if you like it. It's only good if you use it.

Meridian42e · 09-09-2018, 08:00 AM

WIT: I'm a member and went to the Grand National Rally last year. It was fun and there were a lot of vendors there that inspected and tweaked your coach for free. WIT has the usual discount programs, Michelin, SkyMed, insurance, etc. and 10% parts discount. WIT is exclusive to Winnebago products, but all types.

FMCA: I'm a member, but a little disappointing they sold their soul to travel trailers and 5th wheels last year after they used to be exclusively motor coach, which was the original reason I joined. They also have discount programs for Michelin, insurance, etc. I most likely won't participate in any rally's with them, but the membership includes a medical assist program for no additional cost. If that changes, I might not renew.

Good Sam: It's cheap enough, and I think we have a 5 year exclusive membership because we (unfortunately) bought from them. Camping discounts is the main thing, and access to other programs like towing assistance, insurance, and warranty agreements.

TJFogelberg · 09-09-2018, 10:34 AM

The Zone Pass is a good way to get your feet wet with Thousand Trails. Rvlove blog covers TT in detail. Sometimes you can get special deals during shows etc, like at the Hershey RV show starting this week. Don't bite on the permanent contract until you gain some experience with TT.

GaHoosier · 09-09-2018, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Willy

With all the different memberships and Associations eg: Thousand Trails, WIT Club and FMCA as examples. What the best membership(s) and why..

It really depends on how you intend to travel. We bought the TT Elite membership second hand to travel cross country east to west. TT has campgrounds on a southern route and many on the west coast. We only travel a couple hundred miles a day so we needed a membership in between TT campgrounds. For that we predominantly use Passport America, and Coast to Coast. Works reasonably well for us.

luvlabs · 09-09-2018, 04:26 PM

Passport America - yes, but you need to really look at whether or not the campground is one that you would stay at. However, discounts can be really good.

Thousand Trails (and other membership campgrounds) - no. Many are very substandard and getting worse with time.

FMCA - strong yes. You get many added benefits and great discounts on tires, road service, phone data plans, insurance and so on. You can also join local chapters if you want to. No big deal now that they allow towables. They have to be completely self contained (just like your motorhome).

Good Sam - maybe. Too much marketing junk from them. You do get discounts at a lot of campgrounds. Other stuff, meh.

Escapees - yes if you are fulltime.

Rossi6998 · 12-22-2018, 12:30 AM

Looking at the above responses, I'm surprised no one mentioned "Harvest Hosts". This is a fairly new membership group where certain wineries, farms, golf courses, etc., allow you to spend the night dry camping on their property. In return, they ask you purchase something as a way of showing your thanks to those businesses that participate. Most of the participants (businesses) do not offer any amenities, just a spot to park your RV. I guess it would be similar to staying in a Walmart parking lot, but safer IMHO... https://harvesthosts.com

SummitPond · 03-31-2020, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvlabs

Passport America - yes, but you need to really look at whether or not the campground is one that you would stay at. However, discounts can be really good.

Thousand Trails (and other membership campgrounds) - no. Many are very substandard and getting worse with time.

FMCA - strong yes. You get many added benefits and great discounts on tires, road service, phone data plans, insurance and so on. You can also join local chapters if you want to. No big deal now that they allow towables. They have to be completely self contained (just like your motorhome).

Good Sam - maybe. Too much marketing junk from them. You do get discounts at a lot of campgrounds. Other stuff, meh.

Escapees - yes if you are fulltime.

I know this is an old thread, but it seemed to be a reasonable place to put this notice. Not that it presently matters as large group gatherings are verboten, but I spotted a notice on "RV Travel" about the demise of the GS rallies. See this link for more details.