We received a certificate in the mail today telling us with compliments from the dealer we purchased our 5th wheel from (Justus Bros RV) and Camperworld, we have been awarded a Lifetime Membership to one of Camperworld's Outdoor Resorts in Utah. The membership fee of 3,995.00 has been waived due to our purchase from Justus Bros.  A nominal annual maintenance fee gives us use of our property year round, with no additional fees.

Is this some kind of 'come on' or legit?  Anyone know?  We must contact to activate and they are inviting us to a complimentary dinner for two adults to activate the membership and give us an overview of the Camperworld locations.  I went to the website:  www.camperworld.com but really don't understand it.  Can someone explain this, please?

Thanks,
Jan

Hi Jan,  Welcome to the world of Full Timing. 
It seems that Camperworld membership will also include membership in Coast to Coast.  I was a member for many years, until I had to settle down due to my husband's health.   There are C2C parks all over, and they are usually very nice places.  Very often not where were going, but we did use them.  My Home Park was in Monroe,LA, and my membership was $99 p.a. + C2C fee, which I think was $20 p.a. back then.   I think that the daily rate has gone up to $8.00 a night now, but that is still a good price for full hook-ups, this day and age.  If you get the C2C membership free, too, then this is really is a good deal.    Escapees is another great organization. Happy Trails,  Penny, TX

-- Edited by LakeConroePenny at 19:06, 2007-09-17

I am not saying that this is a bad deal. I don't know, but be careful. Some of these offers lock you into paying the annual maintenance fee for the rest of your life, and you can't get out of the deal, no matter what.

Like I said, this may not be one of those, but I would think that until you have full-timed for awhile, and you have figured out how and where you will travel, it would be best to pass on this offer.

If the deal as stated on the web site is very hard to understand, I would think that would raise another red flag.

Personally, we have not joined any campground organization, because after checking out where their member parks are located, we would have to go out of our way to get to the parks. To us, it just wasn't worth it.

Be careful, and do your homework before making any commitments.

Good luck,

Jim

Thanks Penny,  I saw those other three on their website too and that is what confused me.  Hubster is calling our dealer today to inquire about it.  I was told these are the ways fulltimers can average those $8 a night camping fees and some belong to several like Thousand Trails.  I simply don't know enough right now to make an educated decision.

Jan

Thanks Jim, I hadn't thought of being locked into it and unable to cancel.  Will be one of my questions now!  Also, not sure if that is the way we are going to want to camp and if we will utilize something like that.  They are only giving us 11 days to respond which gives me a bit of a red flag too!  

Jan

For sure you should not even consider joining a log-term membership deal until you have full-timed for a while and decided what kind of RVer you are. For example, some people like LakeConroePenny, like to stay at "natural" RV Parks. Other people, like me, want to stay on concrete slabs as close to town as possible. On the other hand, there are deals like Passport America that only commit you to one year, and they pay for themselves the first or second time you use them. No down side, lots of upside.

""On the other hand, there are deals like Passport America that only commit you to one year, and they pay for themselves the first or second time you use them. No down side, lots of upside. "" Like Willie said, start out with a $50 p.a. membership with a Passport America or Happy Camper membership, with NO other strings attached, until you get your feet wet. It will pay for itself in a very short time. Happy Trails, Penny, TX

Jan, just wanted to weigh in on this conversation. I totally agree with others here - be very careful before committing yourself to any long-term camping clubs. We do not belong to any because we haven't seen the benefit of them and have heard horror stories about getting out. Plus, you see memberships being sold all the time. I have to advocate Passport America and Escapees as the best organizations out there. They are annual commitments and do not break the bank, budget-wise. As full-timers on a fixed income, we plan our itineraries by these parks. Good luck and travel safely.

I am in agreement with the majority of comments on this issue. Having been a full timer for over 3 years now, we haven't seen any need for this type of a campground membership. Of course each person must make a decision on what type of RVing they like to do but we have never had a problem getting a camping spot. Also remember that as the baby boomers reach retirement age and the demand for RV sites goes up, more RV parks will open up because there will be money to be made. We were taken in by this type of a deal once years ago. We lost almost $5,000 as a result of the park going into receivership and then being sold on the open market. The new owner didn't honor our purchase contract since it was with a different party. I can understand that. They wanted us to continue to pay the maintenance fee even though there was no park to maintain. We had to hire a lawyer and go to court or we would still be paying the annual fee. Needless to say it was a real hassle and cost us even more money to get out of it. Since your flags are already up, why take a chance. Remember if the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Also there will be better opportunities later, and you might even decide that your preferences for RVing don't match up with the deal any way.

Thank you all for your thoughts on this membership camping. We appreciate hearing all the pros and cons. This actually took place last September and I must tell you that after weighing everything and speaking directly to a fulltimer who utilizes membership camping we did take the free membership offered and purchased one other resort. This opened up a membership to Resort Parks International for $10 night camping at nice resorts and also Enjoy America for 50% camping similar to Passport America. We also joined Escapee's and look forward to camping and meeting SKPs and taking advantage of the many benefits they have to offer. Our home resorts are on the Flaming Gorge and Lake Powell and we will be camping there for $0 along with staying at the Forest Service campgrounds discounted with GCs Golden Age Passport he will qualify for in April. We pay less than $200/year fee for our $0 camping. I believe it will pay for itself in a short time as fulltimers. I also realize this would not benefit everyone but in our particular circumstance we plan to spend summers at the Flaming Gorge where we keep our cabin cruiser. We feel we will use the RPI and Enjoy America more the first couple of years since we will be doing more traveling to visit friends and relatives. However, after that we will more than likely spend a lot more time at the Gorge. But, best laid plans and all that! LOL! We will let you all know how it works for us as we get into the fulltiming. We are excited and can't wait to begin our new lifestyle. Have to go and get ready for a showing. Sure hope we sell this soon! Our high today is expected to be 9 degrees and low -4. With the wind this morning they said it was -29 windchill. Actually I have seen the temperature lower than that as an actual high living here. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......hope it warms up down in Moab before Howard and Linda get there!

Jan and GC

Thanks for letting us know what you decided to do. Like I said in my earlier post, it just wasn't for us. Everyone RVs differently, so there is not one way to go about it.

Hope everything works out for you. Have fun!

Jim