Are you a member of an RV club, and if so are you active socially in a local or special interest chapter? The most popular groups are Good Sam Club, FMCA and the Escapees.
Do you participate in club get-togethers, meetings, rallies or perhaps a club dinner during the holidays? We mean in the real world, not online.
We’re interested in learning how many members of these clubs actually participate in activities, or simply join for discounts, a club magazine or some other benefit or reason. Answer all below that apply to you.
If you belong to a club besides those mentioned here (and there are many good ones), please leave a comment.
We belong to Good Sam and FMCA and 2 local clubs. We are out each month to locals but don’t go to national rallys…..too many people. Local clubs since 1975 and 2005 for Mfgr club. 20 members and 63 members……avg turnout 12 to 20. RV’s mixed motor and trailer. No outings in July/Aug. We are in Southern Calif.
Snow birds hog the RV parks in summer. We make reservations a year in advance, or more, from San Diego to Bakersfield.
Ages 65 to 86 (me) almost all retired.
Joel & Betty in Huntington Beach, CA.
I am a member of MN Christian Campers Club with monthly campouts May-Sept.
How do you learn of local clubs that have activities?
Most local clubs usually have a pot luck or cookout on Saturday evening. If you see a crowd when you are camping locally stop and ask about the group. I’m guessing most would like new members.
When we bought our first RV 18 month ago we joined Good Sam, Passport America, and Escapees to get discounts and information. Frankly, I get the best information from RVTravel.com. The local Escapees club meets at 1 pm when I have to be at work. We almost attended a local Good Sam rally, but then I saw the list of activities and changed my mind. There were some craft classes to make things I wouldn’t want, and some strange games with official Good Sam rules to earn points for your local chapter to win prizes. Most of the games involved sitting in a chair. I prefer more action in my activities. The local clubs seem to cater to an older crowd.
Lifetime Member of Good Sam but not a local Good Sam club. Belong to two local clubs – one since 1983 and the other since it was started about ten years ago.
How about a selection for no t a Member of any club. See how many of your readers are not club members.
Thanks
We just got started, and so far the only club we’re a member of is the retired Marine Club. It only cost me twenty years of my life to join, but I do get some pretty nice safe campgrounds for pretty cheap prices!
Howdy;
Why not have a selection for not a member ??
That way you could better ‘see’ what % choose to be and those that don’t .
I agree with Hank, how about a “not a member” selection for those of us who are independent and do not feel the need to be part of a group.
I agree with Hank and Rob
We are active in the Heartland Owners Club. It is a very active club, with local, regional and national rallies. We have met and enjoy friends across the country. They also have an excellent, active web based forum.
We are also members of the Heartland owners club. Have attended many rallies this year(9) including the National in Goshen, Indiana which was our first. Met some of the most wonderful people fromr all over the country. Always have a great time and meeting new RV’ers at local, regional, and National rallies.
When my Good Sam’s membership expires i will NOT renew. Lemonis and his wife are scumbags. Plus there isn’t anything that they now carry at their stores that I can’t get at Amazon or some other reputable RV supply store.
We became “Life Members” in Good Sam back in 1996 when it seemed like the thing to do. We never saw any benefit to it until two years ago when we attended the Good Sam/Camping World RV Rally in Phoenix. Half price for the affair. Lots of fun. Earlier this year we attended the “Good Sam Super Show”, again in Phoenix and again, a good time. That’s the ONLY benefit we’ve ever gotten from belonging to Good Sam. Well, sometimes we get a 10% discount on RV parks, but we mostly boondock out west so it doesn’t much matter. I probably would not join Good Sam now if we weren’t already Life Members.
I go back to the old “Groucho Marx’s” quote, I would never be a member of a club that would except me.
As a single person and a full timer, I am a member of LOWs (Loners on Wheels) and participate in social campouts across the country.
I am a member of Loners on Wheels and Escapees. The LoW Ranch is one of my winter stopping places where I participate in activities. Escapees offers HOPs in delightful places, e.g. Calgary Stampede, and Escapades in places enjoyable to visit.
We belong toa club that is a chapter of FCRV. We participate in local camping with the club which has enabled us to camp on holiday weekends that are hard to get sites as an individual.
It also helps to have a network of people for help and information. Everything from knowledge of RVs to campgrounds, dealers, route’s to places, places to visit (or stay away) to all things camping.
Plus we have made some good friends over the years with the club. We don’t always camp with the club but we enjoy being members for many reasons, too many to list here.
We have also seen a drop in families being interested in joining clubs today. Most of the families today want to be individuals. They are not interested in club activities.
As one fellow told us, his kids don’t need activities to keep them busy. They have their iPads to play with or TV. Camping has changed since I was a kid
We are active members of a local club but also members of FMCA & Good Sam