[DutchmenSport]

When we purchased (2004) our first hard-sided camper from Tom Raper RV in Richmond, Indiana (Which is NOW a Camping World).... upon leaving the office where we signed all the dotted lines, we were ushered to another area where we were confronted with a salesman offering a free week-end of camping. We took the information, made a booking, and a couple weeks later, we went.

We knew it was 1000 Trails, but had no idea what we were about to experience!

When we arrived at the campground (Batesville, Indiana) we were directed to an isolated part of the campground. We were the only ones in that entire section. No problem, we like the privacy anyway.

We started walking the campground and found there were other sections where campers (all new trailers) were staggered apart from each other. We also noticed the sections where everyone was crammed in. We were also given an appointment for the "presentation" on Sunday morning ... like 11:00 pm.

So, as we walked the campground, we bumped into some of those other "stragglers" out there and started talking. We found out they also were there to listen to the presentation. And when we stumbled into a couple of them that had already been through the presentation, we were shocked!

Back then, the initial membership was over $2000, plus the annual fees, and then limited to geographical areas, and then you still had to pay for campsites, but at a reduced cost. The same message was confirmed by 3 other couples who had been through the presentation.

It started making sense. They separated all the "visitors" from each other, as an attempt to keep us from talking and sharing about the presentations before "they" could high pressure us. And according to them all... it was VERY high pressure.

Well, .... for $2000 an initial fee, plus nearly a thousand dollars for annual fees, plus additonal fees for actually camping ... my wife and I said, "hell no!" We can do a LOT of camping at State Parks, Private Parks, National Forests, and Core of Engineer campsites, every day of the year and pay less.

So, on Sunday morning, by 10 AM, we were hitched, and pulled out. We never turned back.

Further research on 1000 Trails, there is only about 2 or 3 campgrounds in all of Indiana. We are not season campers. We like to travel. Being locked into a very, very limited number of campgrounds is just not our style of camping.

And yes ... it's a racket! But, some folks think 1000 Trails is the greatest thing since Apple pie was discovered!