RV Clubs (e.g. Good Sam Club) - Worth it?

[Phil57]

We have GS and FMCA. Also passport and KOA. I saved a Tom in insurance with GS on the MH and car. We use Camping World and never found them pushy or rude. Always friendly and helpful. They contributed to a fund raiser we had for Wounded Warrior and just find them to be a first class company. FMCA is also a great place for info if you but a MH.

[Red Wolf]

If you plan on staying at your state's parks, see if they have a state park pass. I always carry the Texas State Parks card, saves us the daily usage fees.

[Night Stone]

Originally Posted by sinksbsu

We will be picking up our new (and first) RV soon and are wondering about the value of clubs like the Goo Sam Club. We're interested in hearing feedback from other RV owners' experience/insight about these clubs. Thanks in advance for your help.

The Good Sam's club membership is worth it, I use it every time when I am at a Camping World and they will match their own internet sales prices too. You'll also get discounts when using campgrounds.

Since you are getting a new RV and your first, the discount on items you will be needing for the RV will have already pay itself off when you shop at CW.

[SKnight]

Happy GS Lifetime member here, it's paid for itself in campground discounts and is nice to have with CW and other discounts.

I also have a yearly state park pass, in Ga that not only covers the daily fee but it also gives you a 10% discount on camping.

[dcheatwood]

Also, they have a volunteer program called Standby Sam's, which are listed online and in a booklet. You can contact these folks for questions about service in their areas. I've been contacted 3 times over the past 8 years. Once for location of transmission shops near me. Once for best route thru my town an campground info. And once for potable water for a couple stranded nearby.

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[Kaadk]

Originally Posted by Night Stone

The Good Sam's club membership is worth it, I use it every time when I am at a Camping World and they will match their own internet sales prices too. You'll also get discounts when using campgrounds.

Since you are getting a new RV and your first, the discount on items you will be needing for the RV will have already pay itself off when you shop at CW.

x2 on this. I bought a 3 year GS for $72, then I got $147 off CW's retail prices when doing my initial "stock the trailer with everything FRF told me to buy" shopping spree. So from this point on for the next few years the discounts I save at GS related campgrounds is just free money.

(Note: Yes, I acknowledge that you Amazon prime members can get stuff cheaper than CW. But as a Canadian, I can't take advantage of that and CW with the GS discount is a much better deal than other brick and mortar stores.)

Having young kids, I also do a lot of KOAs so I picked up their discount. I now find myself actively looking for the KOA options in places we camp vs other places like Jellystones in order to leverage the most out of that membership.

[BlakeB]

I was at CW buying a few things about a month back and they talked me into it. It was a tough sell considering the she was willing to take off $50 off my bill for having it. It already paid for itself.

It's all about how the sales person approaches it. She asked first and I said "no thanks". She rung all my stuff up and says.."It will be $250 unless you want the $50 membership that will save you $55 today. (using ballpark prices) Uhhhh....ok! Who is going to say NO to that?

[steepgrade]

Yes, we have the GS club membership - we use it at the Camping World stores. The staff has always been great there!

[DaveSchwartz]

I second the GS recommendation by kaadk just for the CW discounts. I'm also in Canada and the local RV accessory purchasing options are few and outrageously priced.

I've been making the Hamburg NY CW a stop along the way on a twice-yearly trip I make to Cherry Springs Stage Park in PA for quite a few years now.

The membership has paid for itself many times over just in discounts... your GS card always gets you the internet price plus Canadians can print out an additional 10%-off coupon good at many border stores.

We traded-up to a 5er and on my last trip with the old TT I had a whole bunch of stuff to (re)purchase. Spent about $750 on stuff that would have easily been over $2000 locally. The 5er just came in yesterday and our shakedown trip is in early July and we're already planning a trip to the Hamburg CW for round two of shopping.

We also have a big Florida vacation next winter and have used our GS membership for discounts on the reservations for that. We used to have a KOA membership and let it lapse but will probably be rejoining for wider discount options.

Another few kudos to Camping World and the Hamburg store in particular. 1) one of the items I bought last trip was on a great sale (about $300 less than the same item in Canada) but when I called before the trip they said they had sold their last one and probably wouldn't get another soon enough from the warehouse. They searched, found one in Syracuse and FedEx'd it to Hamburg to hold (and I wasn't even asked to pay for it on the phone). 2) On my return leg from PA, I hit a deer on the highway (in the middle of the day). One missed the truck but the other demolished the cargo door on the trailer. I was very close to CW and so went there. It was a Friday afternoon but they took me in within an hour, cut a piece of plywood to screw over the frame to keep stuff from falling out and even washed the huge amount of blood, gore and poop off the side. Now I call that service!

[Terier]

I have Good Sams discount and got my money worth out of it at CW until recently due to a change in buying habits. Not sure if I'm going to renew when it expires this time but will do the math before deciding.

[Cornelius]

According to an employee at a Camping World store, the reason for all the hard sell sales pitches for Good Sam membership signups is because they are under pressure to meet a monthly quota.

Because of this, they try to sell you the $50 2 year membership first, then will scale back to a 1 year at $25, and finally the price will become discounted if they really need to make their number and you ask for a deal.

[dcheatwood]

Got my new trailer life yesterday with the Highways insert. For those that don't know, Good Sams membership used to include a subscription to Highways magazine, a neat little mag that many of us looked forward to. It was discontinued in the past year and they are now putting a little extra in the Trailer Life mag each quarter if you subscribe to it.
As a LIFE member of Good Sam, I feel a little ripped off at losing the Highways mag. 10-12 extra pages in Trailer Life each quarter don't make up for 10 missed issues. I sent them a suggestion that, for us Life members, who can't cancel now, should get a reduced renewal rate on Emergency Roadside Assistance. Haven't heard back but maybe if enough of us request it, they'll consider it.
Not trying to steal the thread, but it is about Good Sam membership. I enjoy having it. The Android App makes it convenient to search for campgrounds and such.

[chrisbailey13]

I have Good Sam. The discounts at parks, CW, and Flying J/Pilot gas stations has more than paid for the membership fee.

[John4th]

95% of our camping is at state parks. Between that and my strong dislike of CW, GS just isn't worth it.

[sinksbsu]

We went ahead and bought the 2 year membership. We had already started getting the 10% discount at a couple of campgrounds based on our promise to buy the membership. And, we received a $25 gift certificate to camping world, and a free copy of the campgrounds directory.

In addition to the financial benefits, we do like using the website (eg trip planner) and app from time to time.

After 1 month, we've already saved enough money to pay for the 2-year membership. For us, it's a great deal.



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[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by Cornelius

According to an employee at a Camping World store, the reason for all the hard sell sales pitches for Good Sam membership signups is because they are under pressure to meet a monthly quota.

Because of this, they try to sell you the $50 2 year membership first, then will scale back to a 1 year at $25, and finally the price will become discounted if they really need to make their number and you ask for a deal.

Isn't CW owned by GS? I know they have the same CEO..

[RickV]

We have the GS membership and the PA one. Use the GS for cheaper propane and while we tend to go to State Parks more often then not we do use the PA enough that it more than pays for itself. As for CW I get sale emails constantly from them (at least one a day) I have found that 95% of the time I can find their "Sale" items a lot cheaper on Amazon.

[sinksbsu]

I agree with the comments about Amazon . . . 90% of the time. I use Camping World to "Window Shop" and, for anything we like, we check the price on Amazon. To my surprise, we found a portable table we liked and it was $12 cheaper (same brand and model #) at Camping World.

Finally, you can't buy propane through Amazon (yet). And the GS discount at CW is pretty good.




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[Stg1]

I've been a GS member sine I started rving in 2004. I even formed a new GS chapter. We basically camp in State and Corp parks, so we don't use the 10% discount and we don't shop at CW that much. GS has many many benefits. The Roadside Assistance and the Extended Warranty are great. I've used the Roadside Assistance many times. We've had those sine "04. but the best benefit is to belong to a chapter and camp with friends that are like family. GS has State and National rallies as well as Area rallies. Again, these are times to visit with old friends and make new ones. Although I'm not a Life Member (too old to take advantage of the $$ discount) I would recommend it for others. I would never give up my GS membership.

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by chrisbailey13

I have Good Sam. The discounts at parks, CW, and Flying J/Pilot gas stations has more than paid for the membership fee.

X2 We are GS Life Members (hey back in 1998 is was $150 I think? No Brainer )

We are also PA members and after a year with them, we will renew as Life Members (AND get the 15% GS discount on membership when we do )

Another tip: we decided to try out the Pilot/Flying J Gas Credit card this year. LOVE IT! There is a iPhone App that shows us where all the Flying Js are and we can plan refueling accordingly...paying 6 cents a gallon less than the local prices makes the Fuel card a no brainer as well!