Thousand trails?

[JIMDUDE]

My wife is interested in joining 1000 trails or something simular. Anyone have any experience with them or something simular?
Thank you, Jim

[Trevor]

I’ve looked at the 1000 trails campgrounds and they just really don’t seem to be some place that we want to go. We are Good Sam members and also KOA members. They seem to fit “ us “ better ( and pay off too). We may do something different later on in the future, but for now that’s what we do.

[Ram Montana High Country]

Jim,

If you are new to RV, it is important to figure out what kind of camping you're going to do. I suggest going to several to see if you like them. I've heard there can be major difference between locations. Thinking their program might be more of a regional setup. What benefits does she see in them?

[Hblick48]

We've had a Thousand Trails zone pass for 6 years. Found it pays for itself. Ours is 2 weeks in the system and one week out. Reservations are 60 days out. It's around $700/year and Trails Collection is $400 additional (adds Encore Properties. We use it about 60 days a year which works out to. $18.33 a night.

There are additional plans available. There is an up front price ($2000 to over $10,000) plus you also pay a yearly fee. You can also buy used memberships at a discount. Most if the upper level plans let you go 21 days and then you can go immediately to another park. This is great for full timers since you could stay ar their parks 365 days a year. You can book 60 to 210 days out, depending on plan.

Go to Membershipoutlet.com. thet re-sell memberships and are very knowledgeable.

[twindman]

I don't recall exactly which thing it was, but I think maybe Thousand Trails. Anyway when I researched things, it seemed the campgrounds were not too frequent and they didn't seem in particularly good locations. Didn't make sense for me.

[DutchmenSport]

When we got our first camper we were "introduced" to 1000 Trails and we said.... "H*** No!" For the price of membership and the annual fees and then paying for limited campgrounds in certain areas only and going outside that geographical area would cost even more ..... for those prices we could camp every day different State Park for a year and come out cheaper.

I advise, do your research. Getting "out" of Thousand Trails memberships is extremely difficult and you are locked in to pay, if you use them or not. Their memberships have more constraints than even the sharpest time share property rentals.

I still do not understand why anyone gets hooked into 1000 trails and then are so limited and it costs so much. Think about those days you are sitting at home, or think about those times you are in a location where there are NO 1000 trails campgrounds. It will drive you batty, gnawing away at you, thinking you are loosing money because you are not using them for your current camping event or while staying at home!

Continue your research .... that money can pay for a LOT of campgrounds anywhere! and you are not locked into making payments for the rest of your life.

[rohrmann]

We've been to a number of 1000 trails over the years, many in nice locations, and found most are poorly maintained, electric pedestals barely standing, water faucets leaking and most no sewer at the site. And these parks were not cheap to stay at. The FIL had another RV membership and had a terrible time getting out of it when they couldn't travel anymore. He tried to talk us into taking it and we politely said no.

[JIMDUDE]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm not sure what my wife is thinking but we mostly dry camp in hells Canyon anyways

[TenOC]

I do not know anything about 1000 trails. I full time. I am a member of C2C, ARO and RPI. They pay for themself.



1. Purchase a used membership on eBay or Craigslist or Google campground membership resale. Years ago I purchased a C2C one for about $500.00 and only $45.00 a year maintenance fee. No long term commitment. Many/most have lifetime contracts for the maintenance fees that you CAN NOT get out of -- like the horror stories on time-shares vacations.



2. Because you can not use an other campground within 500 mile radius of you home park, purchase from a park on the other side of the country.


3. Check out Wilderness RV Park or Styx River RV Park in Robertsdale, AL. They may have a resell deal.

[TomCat]

We are happy Thousand Trails members. Some parks are very nice, and others not very well maintained. We don’t look for the park to provide our experience - we are usually using it as a base for operations in the area, so we may not be as concerned as others about how great the park is. If you are serious about it I would suggest trying before you buy and getting an annual camping pass. They offer deals on these often. Then, use it in the areas you want to travel to and see for yourself. Small investment will give you the chance to check it out for yourselves. I would also take the advice from people that don’t have a membership with a grain of salt. 😜

[jpwhite]

We bought a "used" Thousand Trail membership several years ago after purchasing our Montana. Our first winter, we stayed in the Thousand Trails Orland Park on the free season pass provided by our dealership. We thought it was very nice. We decided to purchase a membership. I did not want to commit the $6K - $7k up front membership cost, so we purchased a used membership. We paid $3k. We have fewer parks, but our membership does not have high season (warm places) restrictions. That was attractive, because we can go between parks "in the system" during the winter months. That was our plan.

The first couple of years we really enjoyed the Orlando Park. Recently they have made capital improvements. Added more 50 amp. Added an entire new section. However, you cannot reserve a site. All are first come, first serve.

The downside is TT keeps selling memberships to as many people as will buy them. It has become very popular with families that home school their children and live in their rigs. Most are nice. But it gets annoying at times dodging jr's repeated cannon ball attempt near you when you are attempting to visit in the pool. Who knows where mom or dad are.

We are not real fond of the Peace River Park. It is a campground, not an RV resort. Half the area floods. It is not well run.

Another knock against TT is the majority of sites at their parks are seasonal. There are very few transient sites to select from. And remember, you cannot reserve, all first come, first serve. You may not get one of the few full hookups or 50-amp sites. Not convenient if you want to get into a place for a few days, then move on.

The membership makes sense if you intend to spend a lot of your time staying at their facilities and you plan to stay at each for 2 to 3 weeks at a time. You need to be ok with potentially moving after a day or so to get a good spot. Do the math and figure out what the value proposition is with the current $13k memberships they are offering. For me, if we spent 9 weeks per year in their parks over the past 4 years, our $3k membership and $600 yearly dues would be financially worth it. Every year though, we actually ended up spending more to stay elsewhere.

[lj_cox]

We got a Thousand Trails membership in 2018 and "covered" (figuring an average daily campground cost of $35 that year) the cost of the membership plus annual dues in 2 years. Last year figuring the average daily cost of campgrounds at $45, we saved $4800. Or thinking of it a different way, in 2023 we stayed in TT campgrounds for $7.50/night. I think it's definitely worth doing, but we stay in TT parks roughly 2-4 months out of the year.

The thing you really have to look at is what are the TT parks like where you are. They're are numerous pretty nice TT parks on the east and west coasts, with some in the southwest that I do not like as well (though at the daily rate I'll put up with them). But the midwest has very few if any - if that's where I was doing most of my traveling, I'd skip TT.


You can buy TT memberships on the secondary market and TT supports that. There are numerous membership levels and limits, so you'll want to know exactly what your stay term limits and reservation limits are if you decide to buy. With our membership we can reserve 120 days out, go park to park, and stay for 3 weeks at a time if there are no stay limits at the park (in high season some parks limit the stay term to 2 weeks max.)

[Foldbak]

Camping timeshare. Garbage, making it impossible for non members to gain access to many campgrounds. Not a fan!

[JABURKHOLDER]

Different people, different experiences.
My membership was included with the RV purchase for 1 year free. You have to choose a zone. Additional zones cost extra. In that 1 year, we used it 3, maybe 4 times. Each campground was a dump. Like someone mentioned here, the campground wasn’t the destination, but a base camp. That said, it would have been nice to have functional amenities, especially when these campgrounds are in the boonies.