In this chapter we list some places to go for more
information about RV clubs, Membership parks, Magazines, and government
resources. More resources are
available on the On-line Page
CHAPTER TEN
Information Resources
To be able to access these links you must be actively connected to the Internet.
In this chapter we list some places to go for more
information about RV clubs, Membership parks, Magazines, and government
resources. More resources are
available on the On-line Page
There are many different types of campgrounds available at all kinds of prices. The best Campground Guidebooks are The Trailer Life Campground/RV Park and Services Directory and Woodall’s Campground Directory. Some types of campgrounds are:
State, local, and National parks (government owned, sources for low cost or free camping)
US Army Corps of
Engineers
Regional brochures, CEWES-IM-MV-M,
3909 Halls Ferry Road,
Vicksburg, MS 39180-6199
BLM holdings (Bureau of Land
Management)
See section on free camp sites BLM write for:
Recreation Guide to Public Lands, BLM public affairs,
1849 C Street NW, Room 5600,
Washington DC, 20240
USDA Forrest Service,
Office of Information,
P.O.. Box 96090,
Washington DC, 20090.
Ask for Brochure FS-418
National Park Service.
Office of Public Inquiries,
P.O. Box 37127,
Washington DC, 20013-7127
202-208-4747
National Park Camping
guide:
US Government printing office,
Superintendent of documents,
Washington DC 20402-3925
stock number 024-005-01080-7 $4.00
US Fish and Wildlife Service,
Office of public affairs,
1849 C St., NW, Room 3447,
Washington DC, 20240.
202-208-5634.
Camping on public lands info.
Lesser known Areas of the National Park System (send $)
Superintendent of Documents
Consumer Information Center
Department134B
Pueblo, CO 81009
National Parks
Visitor Facilities & Services
The National Park Hospitality Association
1331 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Suite 724
Washington DC 20004-1703
202-682-9507
The
Complete Guide to America’s National Parks
National Park Foundation
1101 17th St. NW, Suite 1102
Washington DC 20036
202-785-4500
National Park
Passports
Golden Eagle, Golden Age, Golden Access Passports
See www.nps.com
DESTINET provides information and reservations for a huge selection on campgrounds in the United States. 800-365-2267
Sources for low cost or free camping:
U.S Army Corps of
Engineers Projects,
20 Massachusetts Ave,
Washington DC 20314
National
Forest Service, U.S Department of Agriculture
201 14th St. SW
Washington DC 20013
202-205-1523
National
Wildlife Refuges, A Visitor’s Guide
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Publications Department
4401 N. Fairfax Dr. Room 130 WEBB
Arlington VA 22203
Visitor’s
Guide and Campground List.
Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation Department
P.O.
Box 308
Window Rock AZ 86515
Don Wright’s Guide to Free Campgrounds from Cottage Publications 800-272-5518
Farm
& City Insurance Services
P.O..
Box 248
Forest City, IA 50436
Phone: 1-641-585-2925
Fax: 1-641-585-5166
Toll Free: 1-800-331-1520
Explorer
RV
P.O.. Box 568
Richfield, OH 44286-0568
e-mail: Explorer@ExplorerRV.com
1-888-774-6778
330-659-6687
RV
Alliance America
1100 NE Eighth Street, Suite 900
Bellevue, WA 98004
1-800-521-2942
Miller
Insurance Agency
RVIP RV Insurance
5805 SW Willow Lane
Lake Oswego, OR 97033
1-800-556-4776
National
General Insurance Co
Good Sam Vehicle Insurance Plan
P.O. Box 66937
St Louis, MO 63166-9908
1-800-847-2886 ext 5741
Foremost
Insurance Co
Dept 214, PO Box 3357
Grand Rapids, MI 49501
1-800-237-2060
About Insurance:
First thing to know is RV insurance is not the same as automobile insurance.
RV policies can include: total replacement coverage, roadside assistance,
personal-belongings coverage, emergency-expense coverage, campsite liability
coverage, medical benefits coverage
Emergency road service is a must. It’s cheap insurance and when you have a breakdown you will be glad to have it, especially when you are in a strange place. Besides your insurance provider, here are some vendors that can provide emergency services:
Good
Sam
Emergency Road Service
P.O. Box 10205
Des Moines, IA 50380-0205
1-800-234-3450
Coast to
Coast
Emergency Road Service
64 Inverness Drive, E.
Englewood, CO 80112
1-800-368-5721
Road
America RV Assist
3081 Salzedo Street
Coral Gables, FL 33134
1-800-443-4187
RRR RV
Emergency Road Service
275 E Hillcrest Drive, Suite204
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
1-800-999-7505
Trailer
Life Directory
PO Box 10241
Des Moines, IA 50381-0241
1-800-765-4167, ext 109
Guide to
Free Campgrounds
Cottage Publications
24396 Pleasant View Drive
Elkhart, IN 46517
Woodall’s
Campground Directories
1379 W Polo Trail Drive
Lake Forest, IL 60045
1-800-323-9076
Workamper
News
201 Hiram Road
Heber Springs, AR 72543
1-800-446-5627
Workers
on Wheels
3213 West Main 306
Rapid City, SD 57709-6300
1-800-371-1440
Travelers
Guide to the Gun Laws of the 50 States
by Alan Korwin
Bloomfield Press
12629 N Tatum Blvd #440
Phoenix, AZ 85032
$9.95 plus $3 shipping
1-800-707-4020
Books by
Bill Farlow
Professor Farlow’s Guide to RVing
Snowbird & Winter Texas Guide
Freedom Unlimited, facts of Fulltiming
Bill Farlow
101 Rainbow Drive #1238
Livingston, TX 77351
Camping
with the Corps
S. L. Hinkle
Route 2, Box 2460
Murchison, TX 75778
903-469-4204
Full-time
RVing
by Bill & Jan Moelle
Trailer Life Publications
1-800-234-3450
Joe &
Kay Peterson’s Books
Home is Where you Park It
Survival of the Snow Birds
Travel While you Work
Encyclopedia for RVers
RoVers Publications
Escapees RV Club
1-888-757-2582
Books by
Don Wright
How to buy an RV
Guide to Free Camping
Cottage Publications
420 South Fourth St
Elkhart, IN 46516
1-800-272-5518
Books by
Janet Groene
Living abroad your RV 2nd ed
Cooking aboard your RV
RV Books
Box 248
DeLeon Springs, FL 32103
SkyMed
International Inc.
4435 North Saddlebag Trail
Scottsdale, AZ 85251-3418
1-800-475-9633
Escapees
Mail and
Message Service
100 Rainbow Drive
Livingston, TX 77351
1-800-231-9896
Voice Tel
of Colorado
1660 S. Allison St., Suite 606
Denver, CO 80222
1-303-757-1400
Family Motor Coach Association
8291 Clough Pike
Cincinnati, OH 45244-9976
1-800-543-3622
JFax
1888-get-jfax
FAX+1 310-966-1801
Manual Mail forwarding. Address your mail to “Your Name”, C/O (care of) General Delivery, A Main P.O. in the US. (check with them first)
American
Travel Network
1-800-477-9692
Alabama 800-252-2262
Alaska 907-465-2010
Arizona 800-842-8257
Arkansas 800-628-8725
California 800-862-2543
Colorado 800-255-5550
Connecticut 800-282-6863
Delaware 800-441-8846
Florida 904-487-1462
Georgia 800-847-4842
Hawaii 808-923-1811
Idaho 800-635-7820
Illinois 800-223-0121
Indiana 800-289-6646
Iowa 800-345-4692
Kansas 800-252-6727
Kentucky 800-225-8747
Louisiana 800-334-8626
Maine 800-533-9595
Maryland 800-543-1036
Massachusetts 800-447-6277
Michigan 800-543-2937
Minnesota 800-657-3700
Mississippi 800-647-2290
Missouri 800-877-1234
Montana 800-541-1447
Nebraska 800-228-4307
Nevada 800-638-2328
New Hampshire 603-271-2666
New Jersey 800-537-7397
New Mexico 800-545-2040
New York 800-225-5697
North Carolina 800-847-4862
North Dakota 800-435-5663
Ohio 800-282-5393
Oklahoma 800-652-6552
Oregon 800-547-7842
Pennsylvania 800-847-4872
Rhode Island 800-556-2484
South Carolina 800-346-3634
South Dakota 800-843-1930
Tennessee 615-741-2158
Texas 800-888-8839
Utah 801-538-1030
Vermont 802-828-3236
Virginia 800-847-4882
Washington 800-544-1800
Washington, DC 202-789-7000
West Virginia 800-225-5982
Wisconsin 800-432-8747
Wyoming 800-225-5996
Alberta 800-661-8888
British Colombia 800-663-6000
Manitoba 800-665-0040
New Brunswick 800-561-0123
Newfoundland & Labrador 800-563-6353
Northwest Territories 800-661-0788
Nova Scotia (US) 800-341-6096
Nova Scotia (Canada) 800-565-0000
Ontario 00-668-2746
Prince Edward Island 800-565-0267
Quebec 800-363-7777
Saskatchewan 800-667-7191
Yukon (US) 403-667-3053
Yukon (Canada) 800-661-0494
Mexican Government Tourism Offices:
Chicago 312-565-2786
Houston 713-880-5153
Los Angeles 310-203-8151
Montreal 514-871-1052
New York 800-44-Mexico (639426)
Toronto 416-925-0704
Washington, DC 202-728-1792
If you travel a lot and camp more than 50 nights per year, a membership package may be something that would save you money over time. We attended a free weekend in one of the membership clubs. These visits require that you spend time with a sales person, but the rest of the time is yours to explore and relax. We want to share the following information collected during the sales pitch.
There are various membership types, each with its own territory, available perks and prices.
Zones cover areas as small as the Southwest or the state of Texas, this membership started at $4995.00.
Regions cover multiple states, this membership started at $5995.00.
National covers the 48 continental states, this membership started at $6995.00
I say started, because the price across the board dropped by $1500.00 about halfway through the presentation. The annual dues remained the same regardless of the type of membership chosen, but that, too, dropped by $100 per year for the duration of the membership. The “closer” later offered an additional $500.00 discount for paying cash.
Other club memberships were available as a package as affiliates for about $99.00 dues per year, which, for the first year, may be picked up by the membership club being considered.
There are lots of “rules” to go by when participating in some of these membership resorts, something that some full timers might find annoying. Here are the ones we can share with you from our experience.
You can stay in the park for 14 nights straight, then you have to leave and stay elsewhere for 7 nights. After the 7 nights, you can return. If you stay only 4 nights, you can go to another membership park the next night and stay for 4 more nights, then move on to another park, and so on. That’s assuming their parks or affiliates are close enough for that.
You can stay for additional time for $20.00 per night, up to a maximum of 4 additional weeks for a price of $280.00. This will give you a total stay of 6 weeks.
Some parks have spaces you can lease by the year. You may park your RV on the space and leave it there full time, landscaping and decorating as you will, but you may only stay there a maximum of 180 days per year.
Memberships are advertised as sellable, willable and transferable. The “transferable” only pertains to immediate family members. Willable and transferable comes with a $250.00 transfer fee. Sellable comes with a $1000.00 transfer fee. These transfer costs are expected to be paid by the buyer and makes the resale value weaker.
A guest with their own RV may accompany you free only once per year. They may stay with you for a limited number of additional visits for a per night fee.
A guest may stay in one of the rental units for $39.00 per night. Members can rent the same park units for $29.00 per night.
The following are links to websites for membership parks. At the end of this list are five website links for membership resellers. Research all avenues well before investing.
A Kiss Camping and Campground Memberships - low prices for just about any camping membership in the RV industry
American Campground Memberships Sales - private RV parks nationwide for $5.00 per night
Camp Resorts - membership campgrounds at $5.00 per night
Camperworld - camping resorts in Utah & approximately 600 throughout the US
Campground Membership Outlet - campground membership resales for 500+ resorts/affiliations nationwide & Canada
Choice Terms - camping memberships
Coast to Coast Resorts - discounts at their private member campgrounds
Enjoy America! - save 50% off at hundreds of quality RV parks nationwide
Happy Camper Club - 50% discount at over 600 campgrounds nationwide
North America Camping Club (NACC) - camp for $10.00 per night in RV parks across the US and Canada
Passport America.com - 50% discount camping club with nearly 900 campgrounds
Passport America.net - discount camping across the USA, Canada and Mexico
Recreation USA - camp for $10.00 per day in their nationwide system
Recreational World Marketing - campground membership re-sale broker
Resort MLS - MLS listings of RV campground memberships
Resort Parks International - for members of RPI affiliated resorts
Resort Resale Services - info on private campground / RV resort memberships
Resorts Marketing & Management - help purchasing a campground/resort membership
RV Overnighters Association - $5.00 nightly to park at secured parking lots throughout the US & Canada
Smith River Valley - Conestoga Campground - Coast-to-Coast, RPI and AOR campground membership resales
Southwestern Camper Ranches - camping membership with locations in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas
Thousand Trails - membership-based campgrounds located across North America
timesharelink.com - reseller of timeshare & resort properties
Travel Resorts of America - nationwide membership camping
United RV Campers Club - discount RV travel club
Western
Horizon Resorts - private RV membership camping system located in ten states
American Campground Membership Sales
Campground Membership Warehouse eBay Store
RV Campground Membership Resales
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Chapter Nine |
Chapter Eleven |
