I don't get why anyone would feel "compelled" to go to parks just because they have a membership there I'd think that you'd simply use the member parks whenever they were in an area you wanted to go to and use others when you wanted to be in other areas.
As to ratings, we've found them to be meaninless. Some of the nicest spots we've stayed at have been rated low and some of the worst high. Ratings are subjective, based on the prejudices of the rater, so we prefer to stay wherever is convienent and if we don't like the park we just raise the jacks and move on the next morning.
John Ewing
2007 Allegro Bus 42QRP ("TisIt")
2005 Sportster/HydraLift ("Dinky")
2002 Miata toad ("Mellow Yellow") www.jandse.com
FMCA 104106
What goes around comes around - always treat others the way you'd like them to treat you.
Lynn Rupper wrote: The problem with membership parks is that you feel compelled to go to the member parks, whether they are actually where you want to go. We personally like to go in any direction and to any place we feel like without worrying if there is a membership park within a hundred miles.
Passport America is as close to a membership park that we use. If there is a PA park where we want to stop and it's rated a 7 or better in www.RVparkreviews.com then we will stop.
If there isn't a membership park where we want to go then we don't use a membership park. If one is reasonably close, then we use it. "Feel compelled" - I don't think so!
And notice that I said we use them about 180 nights a year. Which means that there are lots and lots of parks throughout the country to choose from. We even stayed in one in Nova Scotia - - located right in the heart of Cape Braeton so we had a great anchor point for the week.
It is just another tool that some of us have found to help reduce our costs while we get to see great places throughout the country. We also use PPA parks, though in the northern areas we find that the restrictions (Sun-Thurs or 2 nights only, etc.) limit how much we can use them.
Barb
Barb & Dave - full-timing Traveling catpanions Kit (age 18) and Shadow (age 11) Figment II (2002 Alpine 36 MDDS) Mischief (2004 Subaru Forester Toad) FMCA - F337834, SKP #90761 http://homepage.mac.com/barbaraok/ Our blog
Maybe I'm just cheap, but if I spend the money for a membership then that's where I would feel compelled to go. You know it's just my opinion. Y'all don't need to get huffy just because I don't feel like wasting my money on a membership. To each his own. I thought this forum was for ALL opinions.
As far as www.RVparkreviews.com goes the reviews sure beat TrailerLife ratings, but then again, it's just my humble opinion.
Bottom Line: You sure got defensive about your memberships. Perhaps you protest too much.LOL
Lynn Rupper wrote: Maybe I'm just cheap, but if I spend the money for a membership then that's where I would feel compelled to go. You know it's just my opinion. Y'all don't need to get huffy just because I don't feel like wasting my money on a membership. To each his own. I thought this forum was for ALL opinions.
As far as www.RVparkreviews.com goes the reviews sure beat TrailerLife ratings, but then again, it's just my humble opinion.
Bottom Line: You sure got defensive about your memberships. Perhaps you protest too much.LOL
But we don't think it is a waste of money. We SAVE money because we were able to recoup the purchase price very quickly and when you can spend 7 days for $0/night (like we did this past week near Lake George) and see everything in an area you want to see, why wouldn't you? I'm not defensive, I'm trying to correct misinformation that seems to abound on the different forums about membership parks. They are not for everyone, but for a fulltimer who likes to move every week or two, they can be extremely valuable. And since we have hundreds of parks to choose from, we almost always find one near one of our targeted stopping points in each state.
Lynn Rupper wrote: Maybe I'm just cheap, but if I spend the money for a membership then that's where I would feel compelled to go. You know it's just my opinion. Y'all don't need to get huffy just because I don't feel like wasting my money on a membership. To each his own. I thought this forum was for ALL opinions.
Bottom Line: You sure got defensive about your memberships. Perhaps you protest too much.LOL
I would NOT say that you are cheap, when I read an earlier post by you, saying that you spent $32/night to cross the country... Too me, that would be wasting my money if I were to spend that much staying at other RV parks... Our nightly average is far less than that and includes all of my annual dues..
I don't think I'm being huffy,, just mentioned the fact the we like/prefer going to our member parks but I personally don't feel compelled to go to them...
Most of the member parks that I have visited usually has more to offer than other parks in the area and cost me far less to use them...
I have also mentioned many times that I don't think Campground Memberships are for everyone..
We've been fulltiming for 3 1/2 years. When we are traveling we spend about $4000 a month. We do great on $1800 a month when we sit still. When we travel our campground fees run about $32-$45 a night. The traveling gas expense is way up there, & we spend more on tourist attractions & eating out. Monthly fees run around $500-$650, but we've seen many places up to $850 a month. We have GMC fulltimers insurance which costs us about $2,000 a year. We were told regular insurance wouldn't cover us if we are living & traveling in an rv. We have satellite t.v., cell phones, & an air card for internet. We love doing things & going out to eat just like we always did. This isn't the cheapest way to live, but I sure think it is a wonderful way to live. I sure wouldn't want to spend my golden years sitting in one spot. Worrying about spending all our money. We love living this way.
Rich_in_Florida wrote: My wife and I were trying to get a handle on expenses if we choose to full-time one day. Without figuring the initial cost of the RV, here is what we have:
Expenses that decrease:
Homeowners' Insurance
Property taxes
Utilities
Car insurance (2 down to 1)
Home maintenance
Expenses that Increase:
Service and maintenance on RV
Gas or diesel
Apartment rental- modest 1 bedroom (this is unique to us - we want to maintain a small stick home for a number of reasons - at least it's offset by not having to rent a self-storage place).
Campsites: 365 x $25
This is just a start for us. What are we missing so far?
Hi Rich,
first off, do check some of the websites out that have expenses, you can check out ours at August Expenses, I just posted it. Even though we are full timers, we do so in a Truck Camper, which is much smaller than most. We have a car and a truck, plus a motorcycle, so the vehicle insurance is the same as it was before full-timing.
The biggest change in expenses has been the "decorating" one. You have furniture in the MH, you have carpet and tile already, don't need more.
You probably will not need fancy clothes, neckties, or panty hose, so decreases in clothing will go down.
You might spend more on food, both in the grocery stores and out to eat as you check out an area.
Athough you are not doing "Home" maintenance on a stick and brick, you are doing maintenance on a RV. So lawn service and maid service would be down, but roof service, maintenance on the vehicles, making sure pipes don't freeze or burst, buying water filters, chemicals for the black tank, cleaning the rig inside and out are just a few of the things you will need to do. Plus, if you have an apartment, you will probably have to do some maintenance there.
Utilities will be a wash because you have an apartment.
Of course, if you don't have the apartment, you can sell the things that you were planning to keep in a self storage area. Or you can get a bigger rig and take them with you.
Campgrounds- looks like that has been discussed to death. The only thing I would mention is that staying longer, to really get an understanding of the area, is always a good way to go, and getting a monthly site is much cheaper than a daily one.
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I'd think that you'd simply use the member parks whenever they were in an area you wanted to go to and use others when you wanted to be in other areas. 
