There are so many cost-saving RV clubs available to RVers nowadays! This great news because it means you’re bound to find something that fits your travel style perfectly and saves you money on the road.
On the other hand, it can make researching the different memberships extremely time-consuming.
We were overwhelmed when we first went down this road. It was important for us to save money on campground memberships, so we spent hours going from website to website trying to figure out which RV clubs were right for us.
Before you can decide which RV clubs to add to your arsenal, you need to learn the differences between them, how much do they cost, which ones will fit your travel style, and what additional benefits do they offer.
Well, we’ve got you covered. Read on for all that information and more.
Boondockers Welcome
| Average Camping Discount | 100% |
| Average Annual Cost | $50 |
Summary
Boondockers Welcome pairs RV owners up with locals who have enough room to fit an RV on their land. Some hosts even offer additional amenities which include water, electric, WiFi, firepit, pull-through parking, and even a dump station!
They welcome all types of RV travelers and the only rig restrictions they have is that your RV must be self-contained. Meaning sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation are to be handled completely inside your RV.
A one-year subscription is only $50 and you get to camp on hundreds of hosts’ property for free. If you sign up to be a host too, this cost goes down to $25.
Is It Right For You?
If your rig is self-contained, you love meeting new people on the road, and you love staying in unique locations for free, we’d say this one is for you! Even though this membership supposed to be for boondocking only, the fact that hosts offer additional amenities is a huge perk.
Escapees & Xscapers RV Club
| Average Camping Discount | 15% to 20% |
| Average Annual Cost | $39.95 |
Summary
The Escapees RV Club welcomes all types of RVers. While most of their members are full-time RVers they also have plenty of part-timers, weekenders, and seasonal RVers as well. The other difference between the two is that Xscapers is geared more towards working-age RVers.
They have members ranging from Millenials all the way to the Greatest Generation. Because of this wide range of age and the club currently having over 60,000 members, you’re bound to find people you click with.
When you join the Escapees RV Club, you get instant access to a large selection of discounts. Some of the discounts included cover tires, pet insurance, Fulltime Families membership, Costco memberships, and more.
Is It Right For You?
In our opinion, this is the best RV club if you are looking for a sense of community while on the road. The Escapees and Xscapers communities are some of the tightest and welcoming people we’ve met. They host events, rallies, convergence, and small meetups all the time, all over the United States. If you’re a Millenial or Generation X (or like to party at any age), we’d highly recommend checking out Xscapers specifically.
Additionally, you can easily cover the cost of the memberships by taking advantage of the savings offered. If you like the idea of meeting people on the road and can see yourself taking advantage of the savings, then yes, this membership is right for you.
FMCA RV Club
| Average Camping Discount | 10% |
| Average Annual Cost | $85* |
Summary
Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) was started in 1963 by a group of 26 families. Since then, FMCA has issued over 500,000 memberships and is the world’s largest non-profit RV group. FMCA is based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the governance of the organization is overseen by volunteers that are elected from within the association.
Similar to Escapees, FMCA is very focused on its community. FMCA has nearly 400 chapters all across the United States and Canada. Some chapters are based on specific regions, topics, or RV types.
When you join a chapter you can meet up with other individuals that have similar interests as you at chapter rallies, area rallies, and conventions. You don’t have to be a chapter member to participate in FMCA rallies though, those are open to all members.
In addition to access to their large community, FMCA offers their members access to tons of discounts and benefits. Some of those include a subscription to the Family RVing Magazine, access to the FMCA Tire Program, Roadside Assistance Program, internet and WiFi discounts through Sprint and Verizon, and more!
Is It Right For You?
If you’re looking for a discount heavy RV club, you’ve found it with FMCA. They offer some of the best discounts in the RV industry on tires. We personally know RVers who have joined just to take advantage of that program alone. This group mostly consists of retired motorhome owners, however, as of July 2017, they now welcome towables (fifth wheels, travel trailers, etc.) and other types of self-contained RVs. This should play a factor if you’re looking for community-based specifically around your rig or lifestyle.
*FMCA has given us a special discount code so you can save $10 off your membership. To take advantage of this discount, you may either use this link to purchase your membership or use the promotion code “GYCLA7” when signing up!
Good Sam Club
| Average Camping Discount | 10% |
| Average Annual Cost | $29 |
Summary
We like to think of the Good Sam Club as the AAA discount of campground memberships. While it might not save you as much as other memberships on nightly stays, it is widely available at campgrounds across the United States and Canada. There are a whopping 2,400+ Good Sam RV Parks & Campgrounds that accept the Good Sam Club discount!
Additionally, with this membership you get five cents off every gallon of gas and eight cents off every gallon of diesel at Pilot or Flying J. There is also a discount of 15% off of propane purchased from Camping World along with free dump station use. When you make any purchase at Camping World or Gander Outdoor retail locations, you will receive 10% off your order.
Like a few of the memberships already mentioned, Good Sam also offers roadside assistance at an additional cost. They also have other programs like wheel protection, emergency services, and extended warranties for your RV.
Is It Right For You?
This membership is absolutely worth it. The low cost of $29 per year mixed with the abundant discounts allow you to easily save more each year than the membership annual fee. We look at the Good Sam membership as a great addition to any of the other memberships here.
Harvest Hosts Membership
| Average Camping Discount | 100% |
| Average Annual Cost | $79 to $114 |
Summary
A Harvest Host membership allows you to stay at 880+ unique wineries, breweries, museums, and golf courses around the United States, Canada, and Mexico for free. You’re typically only supposed to stay a night or two, but staying in a quiet winery is way better than a busy rest stop or Walmart parking lot.
With an online directory of hosts, you can quickly find a location that will allow you to park for free overnight. A Harvest Hosts membership is more than just a directory though, it’s also fellow members posting photos, videos, and comments from some of their more memorable adventures.
Just like Boondockers Welcome, Harvest Hosts only requirement is that you are in a self-contained RV. Meaning sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation are to be handled completely inside your RV.
Is It Right For You?
If you will need a place to stay on or two nights on the road and do not like Walmarts or other types of parking lots, this is definitely for you. We’ve used this membership to stay at extremely unique locations all planned last minute. We look at it this way, if you are able to use this membership three times a year, it pays for itself.
The classic membership is $79 per year and an additional $40 if you want to add on their +Golf package. The golf package offers access to 357 golf courses and country clubs.
Our readers can save 15% off their membership by XXX.
KOA Membership
| Average Camping Discount | 10% |
| Average Annual Cost | $33 |
Summary
For $33 per year, you can take advantage of the perks offered with KOA’s Value Kard. This discount card gets you 10% off every stay at KOA campgrounds and you accumulate points that you can redeem for cash off future stays. Every 25,000 points you get equals $50 off your stay. They even grant you a free night during KOA customer appreciation weekend.
KOA Campgrounds are widely available across the US, especially in popular cities and close to tourist destinations (like National Parks, downtowns, and more). They are extremely family-friendly and most parks offer activities tailored to children. Because of the prime locations and activities offered, we’ve found KOA parks to be on the more expensive end. Additionally, from our experience, KOA parks are really hit or miss. Some of our favorite and least favorite parks have both been KOA.
Is It Right For You?
Surprisingly, this was the first membership we ever purchased. We didn’t realize how little we would be spending in KOA parks but we’re still glad we got this card, and continue to renew it. If you’re going to be spending more than $300 at a KOA campground in a year then you might as well get the card. Also, if you are camping with your children and want to keep them entertained, we recommend this RV membership. If you don’t see yourself in a family focus resort, then skip this one.
Passport America RV Club
| Average Camping Discount | 50% |
| Average Annual Cost | $44 |
Summary
Passport America is one of the top-rated discount camping clubs by offering a 50% discount at almost 1,800 campgrounds in the US, Canada, and Mexico. This makes it easy to make back the membership fee in two nights.
It’s important to note that campgrounds get to choose their own rules so there are not consistent discounts or usage rules. Some participating campgrounds provide 50% off a single night only. Some campgrounds will only offer discounts on weeknights while others will provide it for your whole stay. Lastly, some campgrounds will only offer a lessor discount, like 15%. A Passport America membership requires you to read the details of each campground before you book to ensure you know what discount you’re receiving.
Is It Right For You?
The great thing about this membership is that no matter the savings, you will pay it off in a night or two then continue to save money going forward. We love to use our Passport America discount when we’re only staying a night or two on long travel days. While you can use Boondockers Welcome or Harvest Host for the same purposes, it’s nice to have the option of campgrounds with full hookups too.
Thousand Trails Membership
| Average Camping Discount | 100% |
| Average Annual Cost | $575 |
Summary
Thousand Trails is a collection of campgrounds that are all owned by the same company, Equity Lifestyle Properties Inc. They also own a set of RV parks run under the brand Encore which tend to be resort-style and have more amenities.
This is less of an RV club and more of an RV campground membership. If you are full-time RVer, this membership club can save you more money than all the other memberships combined. This membership grants you access to all Thousand Trails campgrounds for a $0 nightly fee.
Thousand Trails was the second membership program we purchased and it has saved us thousands of dollars. There are different membership levels and granted, they can get a little confusing so check out our guide on the different Thousand Trails membership options to learn more.
Is It Right For You?
We recommend Thousand Trails to everyone we know but it is especially useful for full-time RVers. We also highly recommend buying your membership used, as you can save thousands of dollars compared to a new one. We’re pretty passionate about this program and have plenty of other articles based on it. There’s simply too much information to discuss to determine if this membership is right for you in one article.
If you want to know more check out our other articles below for more information about the types of Thousand Trails memberships and the different costs of entry including how to get $100 off a zone pass.
Bonus: Trip Planning with Multiple Memberships
Hopefully, you now have some clarity regarding the different RV clubs offered. By mixing and matching a few of these RV memberships you can create the perfect compilation of programs to maximize your savings on the road.
One issue we do find ourselves struggling with is keeping these programs organized and knowing which ones offer what. It’s the worst feeling to not take full advantage a discount program! Thankfully, we discovered RV Trip Wizard and wanted to let you know about it as well.
RV Trip Wizard will save you time and money while planning your perfect RV trip. From maximizing RV club discounts to planning your fuel stops before you hit the road, RV Trip Wizard does it all. RV Trip Wizard has over 20,000 campgrounds available to choose from, which includes campgrounds that accept the membership programs listed above. You can filter out all the campgrounds that don’t meet your specific travel criteria, or use the filters to only see the discount programs you have!
Stop Wasting Money on Unnecessary Memberships!
While every RV club offers something great, it’s not always applicable to every RVer. Find out which clubs and memberships will save you money and which ones will be useless for your travel style.
Sign up for our completely FREE RV club e-mail course today!
Thanks so much. We are in the early stages of buying our first RV. This article was so helpful.
Thanks for all the good ideas and tips😄
We are new at RVing and I see this statement on a few of these “only requirement is that you are in a self-contained RV. Meaning sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation are to be handled completely inside your RV.” Do this mean it must be a Motor-Coach are can you have a Travel Trailer??
Also Id love to hear opinions on Motor-Coach vs Travel Trailer as we have yet to decide what we want and what makes the most sense for us.
Thank you
Trailers are welcome too. Basically tent camping or living out of a car are excluded…you need to be “self contained”. I am a Boondockers Host myself and highly recommend this organization due to its low cost and great savings. I belong to Harvest Host and have had some great stays at there locations. I also belong to Passport America. I saved my member ship cost in one stay at a great park in Florida. Discount, and terms do very between parks so be sure to read each parks PA terms as well as google each parks reviews before you stay. BTW, be sure to subscribe to Getaway Couple on YouTube and follow their web site. They are an Great couple and share a lot of good information. I have been RV for 40 years and they have taught me things!