I will admit up front that I know very little about RV clubs, just as I know very little about RV living. But I intend to get much more familiar with both. I see RV clubs as having a lot to offer wannabees, like me. They can tell me a lot about the lifestyle, about discounts available at campgrounds and attractions when traveling, alert me to RV recalls and maintenance issues and provide valuable resources (e.g., campground search tools) that will be useful in planning for the time when I graduate from wannabee to rookie.
In researching RV clubs, one name is prominently mentioned: Good Sam Club. It was recommended by the Steeles, too. So I took a look at their web site (www.goodsamclub.com) and decided that for $20 for a year I could not go wrong. That was a special price – normal price is $30 per year – but I kind of suspect that this “special” may be semi-permanent.
Anyway, I took the plunge. I haven’t done much yet except browse the site, look at the photos from some recent “Samborees” – RV conventions for Good Sam members – and buy a couple of RV maintenance books from their bookstore. When the time comes, I am sure that I will take advantage of their campground discounts and trip planning tools.
Speaking of discounts, there are many RV clubs out there than offer some kind of discounted rate at RV parks. Most, however, come with a lot of strings attached. Only on rainy Mondays in months without an ‘R’ kind of thing. Reminds me of the restrictions on those frequent flier miles that pile up and can’t be used. But the Good Sam discounts seem to be relatively string-free, which in my view makes them more valuable.
The Samborees kind of intrigue me, too. When Jett and I first started thinking about going on the road in an RV our focus was primarily on how our life as a couple would be different: Would we find not working tolerable (hard to imagine that not working could be a problem, but it is for some)? Would we be able to tolerate living in small quarters 24/7? Would we enjoy being nomads and being away from friends and family for extended periods? But one aspect of the lifestyle which I didn’t think about initially was how many new friends and acquaintances we would be making. At every new campsite I expect we will find people that we will enjoy. There will be social interaction at a scale we have not seen since the days of PTA. I think we will enjoy it, but time will tell.
We actually thought about attending the Samboree that was held in Vermont in September, but other commitments and a general fear of being “odd man out” – going to a Samboree without an RV? How weird is THAT? – kept us away. We probably would have been welcomed with open arms. The photos from the event showed a lot of happy, well-fed, friendly-looking people sharing pot luck.
Which reminds me: put “find pot luck recipes” on the ToDo list.