High usage of a campground/resort is usually when the weekenders and vacationers come out in high numbers. For full timers this becomes a challenge especially when it comes to membership parks. We will be traveling up north in the busy season this summer. Today I spent time trying to make a schedule for June through August. I love Microsoft Streets & Trips for planning purposes. We belong to a lot of membership parks because of owning the RV Driving School in previous years. In time some will not get renewed but for now we will do our best to use them when ever possible. We have Thousand Trails (TTN), Coast To Coast (C2C), Resort Parks International(RPI), Adventure Outdoor Resorts(AOR), and Resorts Of Distinction(ROD) We also use Passport America(PA), Escapees and Elks. This is a lot and most full timers do not have this many. TTN & ROD camping is free. The others are $8-10 a night. When I say free camping that is for camping only and does not include the yearly dues which vary.
We use TTN and C2C the most. We like using ROD because it’s free camping and we always get our money worth (dues) and then some. We use ROD 14+ nights a year and that makes the camping less than $10 a night when you consider the dues. A lot of the campgrounds overlap with other memberships. Each membership haven different stay length possibilities. I would have to write a book to get into all the details for each one. The basic ones (C2C, RPI, ROD) are 7 days in then move out of the park. TTN & AOR basic memberships are 14 days in and then move out.
Anyhow, during the busy season it can be very crowded and not have any sites available especially on short notice. That’s why I’m making plans now so we will get the exact dates we want. Also, we can always change or even cancel if need be. There is usually not a charge except with RPI.
We will be South Dakota, Colorado, and California and in the busy areas during June – August. Why not use the membership parks that are cheap or free? If we don’t reserve, then we would be charged between $35-50 a night at a regular campground and that gives me a lot of heart burn.
Today is the planning stage. I plan the routes and then look up the campgrounds along the way. Tomorrow I will be making the reservations both on line and via the phone. It’s raining today and is suppose to continue for the next three days. This is a good time to do that kind of stuff.
See ya………………
