Advice on Clubs

[1st John]

Hello to our Airstream Community:
What are the available Airstream, or other camping clubs, and the benefits of each? My wife and I just purchased a used 2023 Flying Cloud trailer. Our trips are usually long distance to visit family, requiring the need for one or more overnight stops enroute. As retired military, we need to keep our overnight stays low-cost. I am a disabled veteran.
John and Sami

[JBamadon]

Thank you for your service. Welcome to Airstreaming.
If you are set up to boondock, "Harvest Hosts" are business's/farms that let you park free overnight in exchange for a nominal purchase. Some have electric for a small fee. A registration fee is required to join.
"Boondockers" is a similar web based group that lets you stay for free, usually with less facilities.
We use "RV Trip Wizard" to plan trips and find; US rec.gov, state, county or smaller commercial RV sites that tend to be budget minded. It has a registration fee also.
If you eligible to buy a US parks Senior Passport, you get 1/2 off on parks thru rec.gov website. We like US Corp of Engineers parks as they are a great value

[Hans627]

I would suggest you join Airstreamclub.org. In addition to meeting other AS owners who share your interests you can benefit from the many discounts available to club members.

Also many members of the club allow other members to stay at their homes for no cost. It is called Courtesy Parking.

Plus there are many low cost, or no cost, rallies held throughout the country.

All the best!

[kb0zke]

In addition to those mentioned above, check out Passport America (passportamerica.com). We joined years ago, first as an annual membership, then a couple of years at a time, then five years, and finally lifetime. PA has a 50% discount, but each campground sets their own limits on when they will honor it. Some are only one night, some for two or three nights, some don't honor it on weekends or holidays, some do other things. Whatever it is, you get 50% off for at least one night. If you are only staying one night, it really helps IF that is a night that you can get the discount. Also, when you make the reservation, ask if they are still in PA. Parks add and drop all the time.


As was mentioned above, COE parks are great, and no membership. If you have the "geezer pass" also known as the Senior Pass, you get 50% off (usually) for your entire stay. You also get free admission to various Federal parks (think Yellowstone, Carlsbad Cavern, etc).


Another group that some like is Thousand Trails. That can get a bit complicated, and we don't have a TT membership, so I'm not going to say any more.


Finally, consider Escapees (escapees.com) even if you aren't full-timers. They have been purchased by Harvest Host within the past year, so some things are still in flux. The Club-owned parks are all for sale except for Rainbow's End at Livingston, TX. They offer a mail service and Escapees members may stay at the various co-ops. Should you so desire, you can get a lifetime lease at one of them. Details vary from one to the other, but most, if not all, require an in-person visit before getting on the waiting list.

[Sparr]

The Airstream Club is an excellent club to join and includes access to there Courtesy Parking.

https://airstreamclub.org/members/co...king-directory

In addition since your retired Military here is another website to checkout:

https://www.militarycampgrounds.us

[azflycaster]

There is a military version of the senior card that is available to active duty and veterans at no cost.
https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/ve...ree-access.htm

COE parks areour favorite and with 50% off they average less than $15 per night foe water and electric sites...

[richard5933]

It all depends on your style of camping & traveling.

If you enjoy campgrounds, then join a club which gives discounts in the campgrounds you will visit most frequently. For us that means joining KOA to take advantage of the discount on camping.

We also like to stay at museums and such so joining Harvest Host was a natural fit for us. This gives us some great one-night stops on the way to campgrounds. HH recently merged with Boondocks.

The Airstream Club also has courtesy parking for members - participating members open their property for other members to stay the night when traveling. This is now coordinated through Harvest Hosts.

[Airtandem]

I think Escapees was just purchased by Harvest Host

[gypsydad]

Welcome! All good suggestions above. Don't forget that many military basses also have RV sites on base, and Disabled Vets can access with ID card. We have used this a few times. Harvest Hosts as mentioned, is another good one for short stays. As for clubs, you likely have a club in your area you can contact and get updates on their local rally's as well as Airstream International, as mentioned above. We belong to local Texas Hill Country Unit, and although we have only been to a few rally's, we stay in contact and aware of their outings, which are a lot of fun to meet and learn from other members!

State Parks and National Parks, can sometimes be frustrating trying to get a reservation these days, but there are lots of alternatives, some even free if you spend some time checking out the available material on this stuff. One we use to use a lot was Wright Guide to Free and Low Cost Campgrounds...includes info on Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds, free camping in many states, and of course, low cost camping with information on the areas. Good luck!

Of course, you also can get great advise here on the Forum!

[Cyclist]

Here is another vote for Passport America which works very well if you are traveling during the off or shoulder seasons but not so much in peak times.

[Bill M.]

when we were more active traveling we were members of Good Sam and Passport America and used those campgrounds at least enough to pay for the membership. We did Forest Service campgrounds a good bit too. Now not so much. There is a hidden cost to going too far off the route for a cheap camground unless the side trip is an worthy experience too. But if I were you I would look at those two at least. I was pretty frustrated with the Passport America some times because the discounts were not on days I wanted them.

I now tend toi stay in a lot of more expensive KOA's because with the good reservation system I can push the driving days longer and can be in and out in a shorter time with less fuel use. But KOA has seemingly greatly increased in price and now I am not sure what we will do this summer if we travel.

The real secret seems to be good trip planning but that is something that I am not really capable of.