7 Essential RV Clubs

Here are 7 Essential RV Clubs that will enhance your RVing.

RV living consists of adventures and mishaps regardless of your experience, so why not build a  community and save some money along the way.

We spoke with RV veterans who deem these clubs “must-haves” on the road. 

Towards the end of the post, we pick our favorite club and 3 of the best RV Clubs you should join as a starter pack! 

Here those RV Clubs:

1. Passport America

2. Good Sam Club

3. Escapees

4. Harvest Hosts

5. Boondockers Welcome

6. Thousand Trails

7. FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association)

Specific RV Clubs

Special Interest RV Clubs

RV Membership Clubs By State

Lets Hit The Road

1. Passport America 

Membership Price: $44 per year 

Once you join you get 50% off 1,800 eligible campgrounds and RV parks. 

Full-time travelers, Bookdockers and weekend warriors can reap the benefits of the Passport America membership.

In addition to saving money, they serve as great emergency stops when you need a place to stop, charge up, clean tanks, etc.

Pros

  • Trip Routing App (You can download the app ahead of time.)
  • The price is nice and low for someone who occasionally visits RV parks.
  • Great for Boondorkers, Weekend Warriors, Fulltimers, Families, etc.
  • Discounts in the US, Canada & Mexico

Cons

  • Some parks only honor the membership discount for the first few days, then you have to pay full price. Some are unlimited.
  • Some parks aren’t the most desirable

Tip: The Trip Routing feature displays every park in your route. Each campground has notes and rules (reservation criteria, peak season or not.) 

2. Good Sam Club

Membership Price: $29 per year ($0.08 per day)

An oldie but goody! 

Good Sams Club is championed by RVers because it provides discounts for two major items on your budget:  2,400+ Campsites and Fuel.

Camping World, a partner, gives 10% off their products and free shipping. Still, newer campers have expressed they’d rather shop elsewhere.

Luckily Good Sam offers coupons for a bunch of other shopping, dining and entertainment outlets.

You can also take advantage of their different plans and packages: Roadside Assistance, Extended Service Plan, RV Insurance, and Travel Assist.

Pros

  • Fuel for your rig ($0.05 a gallon off in gas, and $0.08 on diesel)
  • 10 % Campground Discount
  • Virtual Mail Service
  • 10% Off Camping World products
  • 15% Propane Discount

Cons

  • Mail too much. It becomes costly when you are paying for mail forwarding
  • Customer service needs improvement
  • You may not use it enough to reap the benefits.

Tip: They have a free dump station service but you may be able to dump there without a Good Sam’s Club Membership.

3. Escapees

Membership Price: $40 per year

Wanders join Escapees to connect at events and campgrounds all over the US. The primary focus is to build community

You can join a local chapter on their “Birds of a feather” page which has loads of different interest inspired gatherings.

You’ll find Christain groups, AA groups, family gatherings, events for seniors, and events for singles who are traveling solo. 

Escapees get 15-50% camping discounts at over 800 RV Parks. They have 18 Escapees owned parks, top tier mailing service, and RV training programs

Pros

  • Mail Forwarding Service/ Domicile
  • 20% Off Harvest Host
  • Co-op Parks
  • Xscapers
  • They have something for everybody

Cons

  • Not the club for sharp discounts on the most campgrounds

Tip: They also have Xscapers for 9-5ers, where they have events during nights and weekends. 

4. Harvest Hosts

Membership Price: $79 per year

Great for travelers to spice it up, especially Boondockers! 

Picture waking up at a museum and rolling out of bed just 5 minutes before your tour begins. That’s the type of experience Harvest Host can provide.

At no additional cost you can drive off the beaten path and explore over 900 Wineries, Breweries, Museums, Golf Courses and other unique spots. 

Each location will provide you with max rv length, pet policies, number of spaces, reservation requirements, etc.

Pros

  • Access to 300+ Golf Courses (Add-on) 
  • Sleep at 900+ Wineries, breweries, museums, etc.

Cons

  • No plugins. Have a self contained vehicle.
  • May have restrictions on type of rig you can participate with

Tip: Check the Harvest Host maps by searching your state or province to find locations. Each location will state their RV size accommodations, schedules, etc. 

5. Boondockers Welcome

Membership Price: $50 per year

Boondockers Welcome is made up of people who are like you and me. 

Hosts provide a bare-bones parking spot for your rig on their land. You get to make real connections with like-minded people on this app.

As a courtesy, Boondockers Welcome, asks us to keep our stay to 1- 3 days. Similar to Airbnb, some hosts have extra accommodations which will all be listed on their profile. 

This is the best RV Club for Boondockers or anyone who might find themselves off their route. 

Pros

  • Offers community/ build community
  • Affordable
  • Awesome way to connect

Cons

  • Have a self contained vehicle
  • Limited days you can stay

Tip: Get to your location fueled up with all you need. 

6. Thousand Trails

Membership Price: $575 per year

Thousand Trails is a behemoth of a RV Club. TT is worth it if you spend fulltime in your rig or a few months.

You get Camping Zone passes which allows you to pick one zone out of the US for a specific amount of time. Your park time varies based on the campgrounds. 

They have beautiful resorts all over the country, gated parks and much more. It’s sort of like prepaid camping.

Pros

  • Trails collections add-on
  • Beautiful resorts

Cons

  • Expensive: resale and market prices, legacy plans, getting out of memberships, etc.
  • Makes you jump around too much. 14 day stay then you have to leave for 3 days and come back.
  • Restrictive
  • Complicated

Tip: You can use “Campground Membership Outlet ” to save on buying a Thousand Trails membership.

7. FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association)

Membership Price: $75 per year

Founded in 1968, FMCA gives club members limited free campground stays, Wi-Fi plan discounts, access to educational materials, and community.

Contrary to its name, FMCA is not only for families. 

They’ve opened their doors to towable RV owners, as opposed to people with motorhomes.

Other discounts include roadside assistance, mail forwarding, temperature measuring device for pets and a bunch more.

Pros

  • Tire discounts
  • Unlimited Hotspot with Sprint
  • Windshield Replacement
  • Emergency evacuation program. Most clubs will help you within 100 miles but FMCA will get you from anywhere.

Cons

  • Not the best discounts
  • Limited

Tip: You can also check Campendium for reviews on RV parks with more pictured and personal experiences. 

Sidenote: If you have other memberships cross reference the parks to see if the overlap is overwhelming. Sometimes these parks have deals with multiple clubs so if may or may not be worth the add-on.

Specific RV Clubs

Special Interest RV Clubs

RV Membership Clubs By State

There are too many to list. Our best advice is to google “RV Clubs near me” and use Facebook search to find groups in your state/county. 

For example, if you live in New Hampshire, search “New Hampshire RV” and a bunch of groups will populate.

Let’s Hit The Road

RV Memberships help you extend your time out there so you can enjoy all the different ways you can use your RV. 

The RV Clubs listed above are great for people who love finding boondocking locations and those who love $100 a night RV resorts. 

The Best RV Clubs Starter Pack

3 of the best RV Clubs that all wanders should have, especially if you’re a newbie to RVing.

  • Escapees (RVcampr Favorite)
  • Good Sam
  • Passport America

Final Words Of Advice

Don’t buy a bunch of RV Club memberships before you hit the road. Get one to three that’ll make sense for your trip. You can join others as you go – the need will come. 

Oh, and make sure you take advantage of all the free campsite apps available too!

Be safe out there.