Newbies to this site and towing a trailer

Grandm2015 · 10-31-2016, 07:58 PM

We have a 25ft TT coming in soon and were wondering if it's worth joining any of the RV groups, such as Passport America. We live in Manitoba Canada, and will be travelling in the US and Canada..thx...

SeaDog · 10-31-2016, 08:38 PM

If you are the joining kind there are many groups, my thoughts are there are way too many good camping sits that are free or inexpensive to be tied to a group plan with group sites. With that said if you camp to have all the amenities then the groups are something to consider.

youroo · 10-31-2016, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grandm2015

We have a 25ft TT coming in soon and were wondering if it's worth joining any of the RV groups, such as Passport America. We live in Manitoba Canada, and will be travelling in the US and Canada..thx...

Depends where you go and how much you go! PPA can save you 50% off a night,this saving pays for your Membership Real Quick! Same applies for Escapees RV club 15-50% off! Good Sam is 10% off pays the Tax? If you Travel it is a Good Saving,if you just stay close and use State Parks not your cup of tea! We travel,we use all the above! Youroo!!

FRRVR · 10-31-2016, 09:16 PM

Be sure to read the fine print and understand what you get. We did Thousand Trails for a year and had to work hard to find vacancies just to break even. We did find an awesome campground through them.

**Terier** · 10-31-2016, 09:57 PM

For some it's a good deal but not for many of us. My cousin found it was worth her while while I would had a hard breaking even due to where I would camp. X2 on reading the fine print.

buffalohunter · 11-01-2016, 01:12 PM

I have had several and the only one I have now is the Golden Age Pass. You have to be 62yrs or older to get one. It allows half off at National Parks and free access to the Grand Canyon. I will send you a PM about a few of the others.

mtnlvr · 11-01-2016, 01:15 PM

I tried it for one year and didn't renew. There are plenty of other apps and Good Sam discounts available.
I found out that Passport America had alot of limitations at many parks; mid- week only, no holidays, limited to small number of days qualifying, no summer months and no locations available where I was traveling. Some places I called for reservations that were listed in their book told me that they no longer were affiliated with them.

JPSPete20 · 11-01-2016, 01:20 PM

We have towed our trailer over 40,000 miles in five years. There is a difference between "just passing through nights" and "staying for a few days nights". When just traveling through, we look first for free spots (no hookups) and then for PPA or GS. We are "Life Members" of both.

When staying for a few days, we look for State Parks, Corps of Engineer Campgrounds then PPA and Good Sam parks. The State Parks and Corps of Engineer campgrounds are frequently water and electric only, but have sanitary dumps that may be used on the way in and out. For us, five days is about the limit without dumping, but except for some National Parks, we have never stayed more than five days in one place.

There are multiple websites that offer information on free over night camping locations. One of our favorite places are the Cracker Barrels. Have a good dinner and spend the night for free in a pretty safe environment.

Larry Cole · 11-01-2016, 02:43 PM

Welcome to the world of RVing. Best job in the world!
I live in BC and joined Good Sam some years ago with absolutely no regrets. Ran into trouble a year ago in Eugene OR and Good Sam had me back on the road again in less than 3 hours. I also find the GS Trip Planner useful. We travel in Canada and the US as well and highly recommend GS.
Have fun rv'ing.

Grandm2015 · 11-01-2016, 04:44 PM

Great info. Thanks to all that replied..I LOVE this sight..

tahoe1840 · 11-01-2016, 09:18 PM

We can't speak for east of Colorado but in our travels here in he west we found the Pass Port America campgrounds are not so hot, we have driven pass several since they look like junk yards and we fear for our safety. We're not renewing. On the other hand we have benefited from Good Sam greatly and the cost of membership has always been paid for through the discounts offered on camping and fuel at Pilot and Flying J stations. We can't justify Thousand Trails type group memberships since we don't necessarily full time it and the maintenance cost can be high.

D-Man · 11-02-2016, 01:50 AM

Happy Camper also gives you %50 off camping. I saved the price of membership just using it 3 times last summer.

timfromma · 11-02-2016, 04:15 AM

I joined Good Sam mostly for the roadside assistance. AAA doesn't offer RV coverage up here in New England.

Ian Walker · 11-02-2016, 08:22 AM

Welcome to camping! Greatest way to see the country and there is
plenty to see in both the US and Canada. As fellow Canadians we have
put over 30,000 miles on our 2012 MiniLite 2304. When you start out
you have no idea what you want or even what there is to see.
Start out slow. We find the big guys like Good Sam too expensive
as we don't use their listed campgrounds. Why pay upwards of $40 to $50 a night
and you're gone the next day? They give a 10% discount which barely pays the taxes. Having said that we are members of
Good Sam (but not their towing package) because they are now merged with Camping World &
like most campers we visit ALOT of Camping World stores. Also checkout
the RV section of Walmart stores. Best prices on things like RV toilet
paper and water filters.
Now as to buying memberships in RV Groups, we use Passport America a lot. However there are downsides as
mentioned above. There are black out periods and very few near
large cities. But if you're just leading the nomadic life they're perfect
for overnights. We definitely get our moneys worth out of them. Always
call ahead because as someone else said some parks are advertised but
are no longer affiliated with PA. You can sign up online or at an RV
Store such as Camping World. Comes with a 81/2X11 paperback book
of all 50 States and 10 Provinces. I must admit that the Canadian entries are rather sparse. Another good choice again as mentioned
above are the Crackerbarrel stores. Good meal, a store to browse in &
parking overnight for free out back. Always ask the manager for permission
before staying there. Ask at the front desk for a free map of all their locations.

**ependydad** · 11-02-2016, 08:49 AM

As mentioned by the others- these memberships are only good if you use them. For me- I used Thousand Trails over 100 nights last year; it was well worth it. I used KOAs for only 2 or 3 and ended up not getting my money back on my "KOA Value Kard".

Harvest Hosts was an interesting one- not so much for the savings but for some great stays.

Escapees was only good for me to get individual wheel weights and a small park in Texas for a night (though, Passport America would have helped).

I have never bought Passport America as we often stay 1-3 weeks at places, but if you're doing regular overnight stops at a campground, it can easily pay for itself.

I talk through a bunch of options here:
Various Memberships for the Weekender and Fulltimer | Learn To RV

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