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You’ve asked for it, and here it is: our review of the Boondockers Welcome membership. Spoiler alert – we love it! Boondockers Welcome is a fantastic RV membership service for those who enjoy boondocking (camping without hookups) and want to meet other RVers in the process. We became members in April 2016 and met some really cool RVers as a result.
Boondockers Welcome offers two types of memberships.
Guest membership is for RVers looking to stay 1-5 nights on private property. This is similar to Harvest Hosts in that you pay an annual fee (outlined below) to subscribe to the service, and then each overnight stay is free. You can repay your hosts with small gifts, or by leaving positive reviews to confirm you had a good experience.
“Our hosts are not permitted to charge for parking. Free overnight RV parking (boondocking) is the whole idea of this platform. It’s not intended to be an income source for hosts. They may, however, ask to be compensated for costs if a guest chooses to use any provided hookups, as long as free parking without hookups is always an option.”
FAQ section of Boondockers Welcome website
Host membership is free and is available for RVers who have property where they can host overnight guests. There are lots of perks to being a host, and you don’t need to have acres of property or be available year-round. Even if you can only host a Class B van in your driveway every now and then.
Note: we paused our guest membership after we downsized from a 30′ Class A motorhome to a smaller camper.
Boondockers Welcome Review
Table of Contents
Boondockers Welcome Memberships:
Guest membership costs $79 per year. The price increased on May 16, 2022 by $29 from $50. With a Boondockers Welcome guest membership you have access to stay for free with over 3,000 hosts throughout the duration of your membership. One of the things we love about Boondockers Welcome is that they offer a 3 month 100% money back guarantee. This provides enough time to try out the membership to see if it’s a good fit for your RV travel style.
Host membership is free. Hosts used to pay $25 for a membership, but now hosts can join Boondockers Welcome for free. With the recent membership updates, hosts also receive benefits and rewards including free guest privileges within the Boondockers Welcome network.
If you’re already member of Harvest Hosts, there’s another way to get a discounted membership. Under the “Member Discount” section in Harvest Hosts, you’ll find a discount code you can use to save on a Boondockers Welcome membership.
Host Locations:
There are over 3,000 Boondockers Welcome hosts in the network. Most of the hosts are located in the U.S. and Canada, but there are select hosts in Mexico, too.
When searching for hosts, you can filter results by RV size and amenities. Some of the filters include water hookup, electric hookup, whether pets, outdoor cooking, slideouts or generators are allowed.
Member Profiles:
Host profiles include a general location, amenities, and additional information about their property that guests might want to know. Their physical address and email are not made available in the profile. Once the host confirms availability of their property, they will share their address with you.
Guest profiles include information about the member, details about their rig, and any additional information the member has shared. When we were RVing with dogs, we always made sure to let our hosts know. You can see what our current Boondockers Welcome member profile looks like below.
Booking an Overnight Stay:
As Guest members, once we’ve found a host to stay with, we send them a message through the Members’ Portal. We’ll get an e-mail notification when the host responds. All communication occurs within the Boondockers Welcome messaging service, unless the host chooses to provide their contact information. If you’re curious, the average response time from hosts we’ve reached out to has been about 24 hours.
Here’s an example of a message we might send to a host, back when we traveled with a dog:
Subject Line – Can we stay with you 8/15?
Message – Good morning! We are Joe and Kait and we travel in a Class A Motorhome with our rescue pup Leo. Want to find out if you have availability for us to spend a night or two. Depending on the weather, we may need to trouble you for the electric hookup so we can run the AC for our Husky. We look forward to hearing from you!
Boondockers Welcome Protection Program
Liability is a popular topic when it comes to RV membership programs such as Boondockers Welcome. Hosts often wonder what happens if a guest gets injured on their property? Boondockers Welcome recently announced their protection program which according to their website
provides liability coverage for up to US$1,000,000 per occurrence in the event of a third party claim for bodily injury or property damage related to a Boondockers Welcome stay that is not covered by your Home Insurance Policy that you, as a Boondockers Welcome Host, must hold.
This program has also changed the limit of guest stays to a maximum of 5 nights in a 90-day window.
Tips for Boondockers Welcome Guest Members:
- Double-check directions and road conditions with the host. For example, some hosts cannot accommodate RVers after heavy rainfall due to flooding or soft ground.
- If electric is provided, check to see if it’s 20, 30 or 50 amp. You want to be careful not to trip a breaker!
- Read Boondockers Welcome reviews left by other guests for additional information.
- Message the host as far in advance as you can, and then again the day prior to arrival to confirm availability and to provide a reminder. If you won’t make it for any reason, be sure to let the host know.
- Download the Boondockers Welcome App for your iOS or Android device to easily access features such as search, requests to stay, messages and more.
All in all, using RV membership services like Boondockers Welcome can be a great way to keep your RVing costs low. It is especially handy if you have a long drive that you want to break up into two travel days with an overnight in between. For additional ideas on where to park your RV, see our overnight resource roundup.
If you enjoyed this Boondockers Welcome review and decide to sign up for a membership, please consider using our Boondockers Welcome affiliate link. There is no additional fee and in return we receive a small percentage of the sale. Thanks for your support! We really appreciate it.
Boondockers Welcome Video Review
We filmed a video about our Boondockers Welcome experience when we were traveling in our Class A motorhome.
Boondockers sounds awesome. My wife & I are just getting to the “season” of life we’ve long anticipated, so looking at RV’s and researching everything. One notable thing every RV dealer mentions that I’ve yet to see at this or other sites (Elks, etc) is what, if any, restrictions are there on the age of the RV to be able to use an RV park?
I’m an old car guy, do all my maintenance and repairs on the cars & house myself, so we’re looking at older upper end diesel pusher RV’s since we want to haul our 69 GTO behind us in an enclosed trailer and plan to spend half the year living in the RV. All the dealers we talk to say that nothing beyond 10 years old is ever allowed in an RV park. So what about Boondockers, or Harvest Hots, or the Elks? I looked at your article re: new v used, didn’t see this mentioned there either. Thank you!
Hi Eric – I believe in our 8 years on the road, we’ve only ever seen one, maybe two RV parks with the 10 year age restriction. From what we’ve heard, this tends to be at more of the “high end” RV resorts that have people to park your RV for you and dump the tanks…that type of place. The only restrictions with Harvest Hosts, boondockers and Elks is going to be size, which for you will be difficult with a larger DP and a car trailer (My guess is that you’ll be pushing 60 feet if not more). Every place is different so you’d have to call ahead or check the websites to see what their limits are. You’ll also be restricted to the RV parks with having to find full size pull through sites and many National / State park campgrounds won’t have the space to accommodate such a large set up. Just remember, the larger you go, the more restrictions you’ll have. So in short, I wouldn’t worry about the age of the RV but the total length.
Are there any private isolate camping sites that offer, say couples with privacy? Looking for one for our future engagement plans. We need something isolated in the heart of nature. Nothing “illegal” happening, just a whole lot of love making.
Ken
Why did you pause your boondockers welcome membership?
When we had our Class A motorhome, we needed more places we could camp for the night that weren’t campgrounds. Boondockers Welcome was a great way to do that. We paused when we got our Class B because we were spending much more time boondocking on public land and didn’t need Boondockers Welcome.
We are having a hard time registering as a guest member – keeps saying that we are showing as a spammer… have contacted both on his account and mine … have not heard back yet … any suggestions?
Did you fill out the contact form on the website? That’s the main way to get in touch with their support team.
Hello Kait
I have come across both Boondockers and Harvest Host just now and very interested in both.
I am a senior gal with a 2018 , 17 foot Kodiak Cub and one mini Schnauzer. We traveled in 2019 Southeast to visit family various states Anxiously planning again for this June. I have my route planned some what different than 2019 Then I paid and stayed at KOA’s My concern is I know cities I want to stop for overnight this trip , but not sure either Boondockers or Harvest Host are located on my route
I’m located in Nor Cal, will be traveling south on hwy 99 to hwy 58 destination is Phnx AZ. Then onto Albuquerque NM Any chance you could let me know before I pay if there would be overnight stays in those two city areas? Final destination is Rockwall Tx. Any chance there are stays in those two cities ? I’m happy to sign up but an realize suppose to sign first, but I have a specific route when I first start out and knowing if these two plans would work would eliminate my concern of cost I am a retired senior and of course cost for everyone is always a concern Considering I have already done this trip, visited and stayed in 10 states, i’m positive joining these two would be a great savings for me
I have had a concern this time about cost an feel like this info appeared out of know-where on my cell
Excited to hear from you Thank you
Mary
Hey Mary, my suggestion is to sign up for one or both and look through their hosts locations to see what options you have. Boondockers Welcome has a “90 day money-back guarantee, no questions asked” policy and Harvest Hosts has a “3-month 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, no questions asked” policy. This will also give you a chance to use the RV memberships to see what you think. Have fun on your RV road trip!
Hi Folks -Just came across one of your videos and remembered your visit to my farm in Winnebago IL, thru Boondockers Welcome, early in your journey. I am living full time in a 37 ft Beaver Patriot – for me I was more interested in comfort and space rather than adventure and travel. Best to you, and buy some thermals😉.
Good to hear from you Jill. Happy trails and enjoy all that room to spread out 🙂
Interesting responses. Looking forward to joining Boondockers.
I camp in a converted minivan. May I join?
Hey Karen, on their become a guest page they do require members to have a self-contained RV.
Good day, we also are new to the camping world and boondocking. I needed to read more information (other than the website) about boondockers welcome. It sounds like a great club, are there any negatives we should be aware of, and I noticed you wrote about leaving a gratuity for the host as well.
We have been host members at BDW since 2012. All of our hosting experiences have been great.
We have had full-timers, vacationers, and business-trippers stay with us.
They have ranged in age from their 20’s to their 60’s and traveled in “Casita”s to Class A’s.
If you find yourself in the Dallas area, we would love to have you stay with us.
Our handle on BDW is NorthTexsippians.
Thank you Frank! We’ll bookmark you on BDW and get in touch the next time we are in Dallas. And thank you for making your place available to all of us!
We are new to the RV world (so new that we have not been out yet). Our brand new fifth-wheel is parked in our driveway, ready to go. We would love to win a membership to Boondockers Welcome. Sounds like it would be a great way to find a place to stay as you travel from place to place.
Hi Gladys! Thank you for the comments and we’ll look into that pop-up. Do you have any trips planned with your fifth wheel yet?
Going to start with a few local campgrounds (coastal NC) right now because it looks like I am going to have to have a knee replacement before we start to travel much. We hope to spend a month or two in Florida this winter and then ultimately, we want to go west. Neither of us has ever traveled west and there is SO MUCH to see. ?