Thousand Trails Membership - Montana Owners Club

CasaDelSol · 11-19-2010, 06:04 AM

DH and I are considering upgrading our membership to a national package that allows us to stay 3 weeks and we can go from campground to campground with no time out. It includes ROD (Resorts of Distinction), Outdoor World, Mid-Atlantic and RPI. If anyone has this type of package would you let me know if you use it most of the time and are you happy with it? So far we have stayed east of the Mississippi but want to go out west in tne next couple of years and this seems ideal. TT and NACO aren't always the best, but one yearly payment appeals to us. Thanks

Art-n-Marge · 11-19-2010, 07:27 AM

We have it. We like it. We wish we could use it a lot more! Unfortunately there aren't many TTs in the Central states unless you go by way of Texas. We are also some-timers. We average taking the rig out about a total of 30 days a year within TT, and a few days outside of TT, but that's about it. A few days here, a few days there, and maybe one or two occasions of 5-7 days at a time. We originally had plans for more time RVing, but DW likes to stay close to the kids and the grandson. I get my extra camping fix by backpacking and since I'm not using the Monty, the DW doesn't mind.

One benefit we are getting a lot of use for is the extra month earlier we can make reservations, this means we get a reservation sooner than most especially if a Holiday is encapsulated within our reservation. We have other family members with TT and the earlier timeframe allowance gets us a spot when we do gatherings.

They just raised the annual fee for us this coming year and we are NOT happy with that because we are not full-timers and this means we almost break even since we have cut back on going out. If you Full-Time or use your rig a lot, then it's great and that cost gets amortized with frequent use. I haven't used ROD, OW, or Mid-Atlantic and used RPI once. If we were full-timers it might be different but I'm trying to be thorough describing our usage and why.

Locations in the West (California, Oregon & Washington) are more prevalent than other states, and I've learned to like where they are. If you are happy with the East Coast locations, figure the ones in the West are about the same, but as I mentioned before there's not much in between, except there's a bunch in Texas. I like the one in Cottonwood, AZ, and the one in Las Vegas is VERY cramped.

I am not sure what you mean by one yearly payment unless you mean the annual fee I was referring to earlier. For us there was a significant one-time charge for the "Platinum" plan, then the annual fee I was bellyaching about.

CasaDelSol · 11-19-2010, 09:39 AM

Thanks Art & Marge for the reply. Yes, I was speaking of the annual fee. Because we are 62 the annual fee will be frozen at what we are paying now. That appeals to me a lot !! We just retired and had our first long time trip out ( 5 months) and are planning as long or longer next year. Would love to full time, but that is an if not a when right now. I am hoping to get other opinions on the other parks, etc and the value.

CamillaMichael · 11-19-2010, 12:20 PM

Travel Trails memberships have been "part of the deal" on the last two RVs we have purchased. As I have stated in previous threads, every time we tried to use the membership, there was some reason the days we requested could not be honored. Just bad luck or a broken system???? I have heard from others they have the membership and have had very good luck with it and are happy with it...I hope you are among those people. Happy camping!

CasaDelSol · 11-19-2010, 12:57 PM

We have had the 1000 trails for 5 years but couldn't use it much because we were still working. Orlando is our home park and good luck getting in while the snow birds are here!! However, it has been great this summer thru, Orlando, South and North Carolina, Virginia, PA, Ohio, Indiana, Mich and Tenn. No problems whatsoever. We are really happy with the TT/NACO parks we stayed at. I am wondering about the others like Mid-Atlantic, Outdoor World, RPI and Resorts of Distinction. Are they as good or better? Thanks for your input.

exav8tr · 11-19-2010, 03:33 PM

Joanie and Dave, We have that plan and love it. We spent 210 days in TT this year. Many parks out west, no "10's" in the system but enjoyable. No time out means alot. We did do a few "Extended Stays" for a few weeks at $140 a week. 210 days cost us $463. You do the math, not bad. Be prepared that not all TT parks offer FHU's nor 50 amp power. Many shady spots (re: under the trees so no roof top sat tv). we carry a portable dish for these stays. 30 amp cord is necessary. The parks that don't have sewer usually offer "honey wagon" service for about $15.00. You must determine how much time you will spend in the system before upgrading. Many of the parks out west are far from anywhere.

Art-n-Marge · 11-19-2010, 03:45 PM

Camilla and Michael,

The TT plans I know of are lifetime membership. Once you purchase you should only have to worry about an annual fee (maintenance and crap like that). You should not have to repurchase or renew every time you get a new rig unless you have some other arrangement I am not familiar with. I am learning there are all kinds of ways to be TT members, some probably worse than others. The fact you are having difficulty with TT reservations and you have received this membership twice, then I would certainly wonder what plan you ended up with because it doesn't sound like it's very good.

PM or email me, maybe we can figure it out. I have only been in Florida twice in the Orlando and Peace River facilities but I had reserved in advance, and used the Cabins. I have also used TT facilities in California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. We will probably do this again next March during another driving vacation (sans Monty) and I am not expecting any problems as Platinum members. This is why I think the membership level might be the difference. There seems to be differing types and I'm only familiar with a couple in detail but others in hearsay like being able to stay at one place for months or even years.

I have heard there are some plans or conditions that don't allow Holiday usage because the plan is not full cost and they are looking to fill their parks during low use times and don't want these members in the RV parks during high use times - how ironic.

CamillaMichael · 11-20-2010, 02:57 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Art-n-Marge

Camilla and Michael,

The TT plans I know of are lifetime membership. Once you purchase you should only have to worry about an annual fee (maintenance and crap like that). You should not have to repurchase or renew every time you get a new rig unless you have some other arrangement I am not familiar with. I am learning there are all kinds of ways to be TT members, some probably worse than others. The fact you are having difficulty with TT reservations and you have received this membership twice, then I would certainly wonder what plan you ended up with because it doesn't sound like it's very good.

PM or email me, maybe we can figure it out. I have only been in Florida twice in the Orlando and Peace River facilities but I had reserved in advance, and used the Cabins. I have also used TT facilities in California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. We will probably do this again next March during another driving vacation (sans Monty) and I am not expecting any problems as Platinum members. This is why I think the membership level might be the difference. There seems to be differing types and I'm only familiar with a couple in detail but others in hearsay like being able to stay at one place for months or even years.

I have heard there are some plans or conditions that don't allow Holiday usage because the plan is not full cost and they are looking to fill their parks during low use times and don't want these members in the RV parks during high use times - how ironic.

Morning Art, as I recall, both membership plans were provided to us "free" when we purchased our travel trailer and then the fifth wheel. There was a requirement to pay some additional fee at some time in the future...since we were never successful in getting any reservations, we obviously did not opt to pay to extend our membership. When we travel, we are almost always on a tight schedule to get from one place to another, so getting reservations when we "need" them, not when they are "available," is the key issue for us. As I have said, the plan looks great for folks who have more flexible schedules...maybe they are the people the plan was developed for???? And there you have it...our relationship with TT. Happy trails, Michael

CasaDelSol · 11-20-2010, 06:38 AM

Michael and Camilla...you must have gotten your membership like we did at LazyDays..right? If you tried to get into the TT at Clermont (Orlando) in the winter months, then good luck. We, like you, had an unflexible schedule. We worked full time until this year and when we wanted to get away to Clermont we would try a week or so in advance and if it was Dec thru April...forget it!! The snowbirds took up everything. But, the rest of the year is great. We are there right now for the weekend and while there are a lot of people here, it is far from full. We left Tampa area in Mid-May and had reservations in both Carolinas and Virginia lined up. We spent June, July and part of August in Mass. and Connecticut. We lined up TT in PA, OH, Indiana and Mich before we left CT with no problems. Late in Sept we made reservations in OH and Tenn, and again with no problems. The annual fee is anywhere between $450 and $550 depending on when you purchased. It is well worth it for us because we are now using it long term. We will have used it for about 60 days this year. Next year, we will use it much more. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience, but it was probably due to the time of year. When you are working it is not easy to plan on the quick get aways.

CamillaMichael · 11-20-2010, 08:14 AM

Joanie and Dave, yes, we got our last TT membership from Lazy Days when we purchased our Montana. Our travel pattern puts us out of Florida during the late spring through summer to mid-fall timeframe when the TT facilities here might be available. We did, however, do some experimenting with reservations at all of the TT locations we might pass throughout the year in different locations...the idea of setting up for a day/night then having to move and find some other place to stay and then returning to the TT location for another day, two, or more...was the norm. Not the way we want to schedule our time. But, as I have said on a number of occasions, while TT might not work for us, it does work for others and for those folks, good for you! Michael

CasaDelSol · 11-20-2010, 02:28 PM

Thanks for the input Michael. This was our first year retired and TT was the cheapest way for us. We got ours at LazyDays also and kept up the membership even though we didn't use it much the first few years. We knew we would later on. Our plan has us in for 2 weeks and out of the system for 1 week. Unless, we stay only 4 nights and then we can go campground to campground. That is what we did this year. If we stayed the 5th night then we would have had to stay out for the full 7 days. Once we upgrade we can stay for 3 weeks and go campground to campground. With some planning we should be doing OK next year. The upgraded membership will give us other campground systems to use also. It sounds like your system is working for you. TT is not for everyone, but I am glad that we kept it even though I got frustrated like you when we tried to book Clermont in the winter months. Hope to meet up with you some time....Joanie

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