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Old 03-07-2018, 07:06 PM   #1
PNW Fireguy
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Thousand Trails Elite or VIP

Looking for feedback from any TT elite or vip membership owners. we are looking into possibly making a purchase on the resale market.
 
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Old 03-07-2018, 07:34 PM   #2
TLightning
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Read ALL the fine print before you get tangled up with Thousand Trails. We had a membership but it seemed everytime we got to a TT park, all the good spaces were full of empty RVs from the local area. We did not renew.
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Old 03-07-2018, 08:10 PM   #3
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Best to do careful research. Thumbs down for us.
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Old 03-07-2018, 10:17 PM   #4
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Thanks for the responses. How long ago or recent were your experiences?
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Old 03-08-2018, 07:57 AM   #5
richfaa
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I want to go were we want to go not thousand trails to thousand trails.It works for some but not for us.
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Old 03-08-2018, 12:29 PM   #6
baybum10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TLightning View Post
Read ALL the fine print before you get tangled up with Thousand Trails. We had a membership but it seemed everytime we got to a TT park, all the good spaces were full of empty RVs from the local area. We did not renew.
We had the same type of experiences and had difficulty getting reservations. Some of the campgrounds were nice, most were old and not updated. We did not renew after the 2016 season.
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Old 03-08-2018, 03:05 PM   #7
sapest
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We are current members.
Yes, many parks are showing their age. That doesnt make them unpleasant. Some have facilities and activities that are worthwhile, like Palm Springs, and some are just a parking lot, like Las Vegas.
Read the contract carefully. There are 100's of variations.
Look for features like 3 weeks in a park and no out time, ie ability to travel from one park to another with no gap.
TT Labels some parks 'high use', like Vegas and Palm Springs. Try to find a contract that eliminates or reduces the number of high use parks that you have to deal with. The most common high use restriction is one visit per season, and/or only 2 weeks in.
How far in advance you can make reservations is also something to look at. 90 days is very useful, 120 even better.

For us TT has worked, fair value for the cost per yr.
Just know what you are buying. Look carefully at the descriptions of the parks that interest you. How many sites are fully serviced? How many are without sewer or 30 amp only?

Good luck in your search.

-Steve
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Old 03-08-2018, 04:20 PM   #8
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Thanks all for the feedback. Steve can I assume that you are not experiencing the scheduling difficulties that were noted previously by others? We are doing a great deal of research and are becoming familiar with the multitude of variations regarding these types of membership from TT. We know they differ widely and that there are multiple resale markets available from which to obtain them. We are finding them available for sale within multiple forums sales boards and yes the details can differ widely. We are limiting our search to reduced high volume site restrictions, 21 stay with park to park privileges and 120 day advance booking and with options for access to Encore and/or RPI. I believe both are financial add-ons. I think this will put us in the higher priced options available on the resale market. Steve your comments in general corroborate what I am finding in regards to the status of the parks upkeep. I am leaning toward just making a minimal investment with a zone pass timed to take advantage of historical perks or marketing specials and make a decision from there. Even with the membership we have no intention on limiting our use of CG to TT exclusively. However if one is FT it appears to be a significant savings if the CG's fits your needs.


The 30 amp service shouldn't be an issue for us as we are working on a large solar install. I would imagine that we will avoid CG's that dont have sewer hookups as if that is the case I would prefer to boondock on a nice piece of BLM land.
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Old 03-08-2018, 04:45 PM   #9
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We were never impressed with RPI. YMMV
AFAIK TT has a 'no turn away' policy everywhere except Vegas. If you show up (with membership) at a TT park without reservation, they will find you a spot. It may be without service, but you'll have somewhere to sleep.
We always try to make use of the reservation system. Understand that with TT you reserve space, but when you get to the park, its on you to find a site that fits your rig, has the services you want/need, has sat reception, etc.
To make this work in your favour, you learn to arrive around 'checkout time', usually 11 am or noon, and start your search for site as others leave.
If you do end up in a site you dont really like, take a walk around the park and look for rigs that are leaving in the next day or so (out dates are printed on the paper you display on your rig while in the park) in a site you want and knock on the door. Some cookies go a long way in getting a 'we are leaving in the next half hour' phone call the next day. Always move first and tell mgmt after! (Except for Pio Pico, (San Diego) which has special rules, thats another story)
You learn to work the system, rather than having the system work you.
Its all part of the adventure.

-Steve
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Old 03-12-2018, 07:42 PM   #10
Captain 'Murica
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I agree with the assessments of the parks being old. I also agree that being old doesn't necessarily make them bad. However, I do not like the fact that I cannot reserve a specific spot. Just because I have a reservation does not mean that there will be a spot that fits my 40+ ft 5th wheel. Everytime I have gone to a TT park (I was a member for two years) I find a 25 ft travel trailer in the big spot and I end up having tot try to back into a tiny spot with barely any room. For this reason I did not renew and they were terrible about continuing to contact me after I told them I was not interested.
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