Join Good Sam Or Not

[Adk Camper]

I was thinking of joining the Good Sam Club and was wondering if there was any real benefit to it. Also I was wondering how their campgrounds are.
We're planning on taking a vacation in Virginia and we're thinking along the lines of staying in the Shenandoah Valley.Does anyone recommend certain campground or RV park in this area?
I'd just like to hear some thoughts before setting it in stone.
Thanks

[Larry G.]

We joined Good Sam's after coming from tent camping to towables.

They have a lot to offer including discounts at campgrounds that they actually rate according to GS's standards.

Check out their website for a ton of information for all RVers.

[Wyotraveler]

You get a 10% discount at Good Sam camp grounds. If you stay at 6 or 7 nights at camp grounds a year you save the price of membership.

[norty1]

They don't have campgrounds, just agreements with private cg's that agree to give discounts.

They have just combined GS and Presidents club at Camping world, so with the one card you get the discount at CW and the other Good Sam discounts.

Most campgrounds will give you a 10% discount if you have any kind of card or even if you just ask.

I think for me, it is worth the annual fee now that they have combined the fees into one. If not for that, I was contemplating dropping it.

[Grumpy]

I don't think you can go wrong now that they have merged with Camping Word. We have a Life Membership so we made out like a bandit...

[Rob_Fla]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

I don't think you can go wrong now that they have merged with Camping Word. We have a Life Membership so we made out like a bandit...

We have the Good Sam Life Membership also, agreed with Grumpy, we made out like a bandit on the merging of Camping World and Good Sam.

Only problem is you will be a mail box full of junk mail from them.

[edatlanta]

I had a President's Club membership that I used when I bought my new sleep number bed from CW. When they combined the two I have a Good Sam membership now.

[clutch]

The value really depends on the type of camping you do. State parks and National parks don't discount. If you spend a lot of nights in private campgrounds that accept it then it is a good deal.

[kcconawa]

I also was Presidents Club Member and ponied up and became lifetime Good Sam Member. If you only do National & State Parks probably not worth the cost of membership.

For me, I also take both magazines (Highways and Trailer Life) and enjoy the tech notes knowledge etc you get from the reading. Now that we have graduated from tent to pop-up to travel trailer to 5th, a lot to learn along the way. Also you see all of the new products coming down the pike.

[Adk Camper]

Thank you for the info.

[poohbear]

My wife talked me to joining up about 2 weeks ago.We were camping at at Lake Benbrook(love that Corps of Engrs senior discount) this weekend and I went over to Camping World to get a heated hose and some light bulbs.Saved enough with some of the other stuff I bought (holding tank fluid,etc) to pay for the 5 yr we opted for.
For those that need to camp near the DFW area,City of Grand Prarie has a park that gives Good Sam discount so there are some Publically owned parks that discount.

[rsbwjohnson]

i bought a years memship at CW last week to get the discount on some stuff i was buying. The membership cost 20 bucks if you buy it yearly. Went camping this weekend and the host let my buddy also use my discount. So after being a member for one week it has saved me around 50 bucks. remeber to get the sale price at cw you must be a member. I will be a lifetimer next year and my camping buddy joined the club this weekend.

[TeamFoxy]

I have mixed feelings after several years of membership. Yes, you get discounts at Camping World, but we have found CW to be more expensive to begin with than other stores. For example we bought a Honda Generator at Northern Tool and their regular price was below the "President's Club Price". We bought a grill at Sears for $30 less than the same grill at the President's club price. On the other hand, CW does have about everything you need in one place so if you are traveling a lot it is fairly easy to find one. Our current membership runs until 2014 yet when we go into a CW, they always push us to renew with the auto-renewal feature or buy a lifetime membership. The magazine has largely been revamped into a marketing tool for CW.

The GS campgrounds we have stayed at have mostly been good with some just OK. I have not stayed at any that were poor. But when traveling we generally choose KOA's for one night stays and look at whichever are available and make a choice based on which is the best overall fit for us. Woodall's has a very good rating system and a free app for the I-phone which is very helpful.

We did get a very good rate on RV insurance through GS and that has more than paid the membership fee.

[Albertaguy]

I have the Good Sam membership where I bought the 3 year package. I tried to use it on my trip to Yuma for campgrounds to find that they will discount 10% whether you have a card or not. As far as camping world goes it is a waste of time in Canada because I don't know where or if we have any and they don't ship free to Canada. It looks like I will only use it if I have a breakdown for emergency service but once my membership is over I don't think I will renew.

[tinlizzie23]

Welcome Adk Camper to the JOF. We live in Luray,VA, in the Shenandoah Valley. There are a lot of CGs in the Valley, and we have stayed at several. The Good Sam CG right here in Luray is Country Waye, and we have visited, but not stayed there. It is very clean and well maintained, and most sites are level. Looks like a great place to stay, and is near Luray Caverns, along with a lot of Civil War sites nearby. In the northern Valley, we have stayed at Candy Hill near Winchester, and plan on returning. Very peaceful and quiet, except for the sites that are within 100 yards or so of I-81 (some traffic noise). More towards the south, we have stayed at Shenandoah Valley CG near Staunton, and will be returning there in Oct. Very nice layout, wooded, peaceful, along a river with waterfall, lots of things to do, especially for kids. Also just came back from a week at Paradise Lake near Appomattox, lot of permanent and seasonal campers, nice lake and boat dock, wooded, quiet. All of the above we would recommend. We also have stayed at Endless Caverns CG near New Market, which, although wooded and quiet, is on the side of a mountain, and very hilly. Sites are level, but roads are not. Well maintained, but roads are not marked, so we got lost trying to get out. Would not recommend this one for large units like our 33' 5th wheel.

Hope this helps you. If you have further questions, we would be glad to answer. Just shoot us a PM. We have lived here for 26 years, and love the area, so we think you will enjoy your vacation in the Valley.

[norty1]

We just signed up for Life Membership. The ad was in Highway this month. All I have to do is live 6 years to break even! LOL

[jstor1]

Just buy a different camper each year, LOL, if you are near a camping world store the discount is nice, we are upgrading from a pop up to a hybrid so we will get another year of membership!

[msturtz]

We have been Good Sam lifetime members for mor than 10 years. We usually try to pick Good Sam CGs. We were also camping world members.

[krackeer]

I joined. Not sure why, my dealer is right across the street from the cg we store/stay at. The dealer is small, and just down thee road is a cw. I go there on occasion. Last time I stopped, they offered me a renewal for only $15. Better than the usual $25 so I grabbed it. My cg only offers a good sam discount, after, and before the season. It does save me 10%, so I guess, I do recoup the cost of membership.

[Zinkow]

We're lifetime members and fulltimers. I save about $5.00 at Flying J at each fill up. Since they instituted the fuel saver program, I save .08/gal on diesel and have surely saved more than the cost of membership. Plus the savings at cgs & cw, I'm way ahead of the game.