Membership Camping:
Why choose membership camping over just using pay-as-you-go campgrounds?
In 1996 we bought a 1976 Prowler 19ft travel trailer and set out on our first camping trip to a KOA in the USA on the BC day weekend. It cost $33 + taxes per night.
Two weeks later we went on a two-night free camping at a membership campground. We were given a spot and told that one of their sales reps would be around to see us about a tour. A couple of hours after we arrived, the rep came around and arranged to take us on a tour on the following day. We were picked up at our trailer and shown the features and the layout of the park and then had a meeting in the sales office. They explained the membership camping system and how the reciprocal systems worked. Then came the “deal” like any other time-share.
Were we going to get four weeks a year only at the times they said? They told us it didn’t work like that. You could go every weekend or you could only stay to the maximum number of days that your membership was for; but four days to max were the same and then you had to leave for so many days so other members could use the system.
Dues were $350 a year. Membership fees were in the $2,900 to $5,900 range depending on the type of membership. Well that’s a lot of money upfront (remember the $33 + taxes per night at the KOA). We were told we could think about it, and that the quoted prices were good for a month and a half.
Two weeks later, we were back to the KOA and $33 + taxes a night for the Labour Day weekend. Now we had spent approximately $200 for six nights camping. Remember, dues for the year were only $350. We figured we should think a little more about the membership program and how much we could afford to camp. There are four long weekends a year, times approximately $35 x 12 or $420 for camping. Cost of the membership camping is $350 per year dues, or ten nights! Top membership would require 169 nights of camping, approximately 34 nights each year for five years to camp it off.
The first year we camped 29 nights, second year was 39 nights, and the third year was 59 nights. After the third year, I quit counting the nights. We found we were camping enough to make it pay for itself in about five to five and a half years.
Using the reciprocals also lets us travel more because of reduced nightly fees. An eight-day trip to the Oregon Coast cost $49 US, and a seven-day trip to Mt. St. Helens cost $42 US.
We now are RVing in a 1998 Nash 25ft travel trailer, which gives us more room and an oh-so-much-better bed. We use the system winter and summer. The majority of our camping is in this system but we do camp at other places too.
There are different types of membership systems: some you pay for a predetermined number of days, some have only one campground, others are multiple campgrounds and when a new one is added you pay to add that campground. The one we joined was a multiple campground and you don’t pay for the new campgrounds, which are added.
Is the membership camping affordable? Yes. Is financing available? Yes. Is it for everyone? No.
We recommend it whole-heartedly. Please note we are not salespeople. simply advocates for membership camping.
Don and Mary Ann Ross
donaross@telus.net
This is a letter we wrote to the RV Times about how figured out whether it was worth while. RV Times is a free rv magazine in BC and Alberta. On line at
www.rvtimes.com
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