Thousand trails

[STORM6523]

Has anyone use or has used thousands trail campground membership, is it worth it or a scam…?

 

[Grandma and pappy]

I don't think that it's a scam or not. I've checked into it somewhat and it just didn't seem to work for us.

 

[STORM6523]

Thank you, I would love to hear from someone who has used Thousand trails membership, we are considering it for our travels but are reluctant to do so. The reviews we have found on line are mixed and that worries us ,

 

[Gunslinger40]

We started as Outdoor World members until bought out by Thousand Trails. Our biggest problem in the North East area is getting a FHU site that you could get into. Most of the 'good' sites had been turned into seasonals.

 

[raygreg]

It depends on what you are looking for. Thousand Trails parks are not right off the freeway.
They are not convenient for a quick overnight stop while traveling.
Sometimes they are not near anyplace that you would want to visit.
They are good for parking in for a couple of weeks.
I'm not too sure of the value as they have many different priced plans.
I have been a member since about 1986. I have seen many changes and different owners take place. Most of the changes have not been for the benefit of the members.
I use mine enough almost every year to justify the dues that I pay.

 

[LeftOverParts]

We’ve had a limited, western region plan going on 5 years.

The membership level is the one where you can go to their parks or affiliated parks for 2 weeks and then have to exit (edit: the network) for 1 week. Reservations can be made 60 days in advance.

It works for us for as we continually go to certain campgrounds off high season and stay for free or get a reduced fee for $20/night. The savings pay for the membership and then some.

However, during high season or for super popular campgrounds, it may not possible to book a 2 week slot or even a shorter period in those same campgrounds with a 60 day advance booking. The members with a higher level can book earlier and stay up to 3 weeks and they can go park-to-park. Affiliated parks cater to the public so you compete with them.

The other drawback is that a few parks we tried were not maintained well or less desirable so we choose to not return. (It’s possible that they were upgraded since but we are not aware).

As a side note, there was and may still be an online market for elite level, transferable plans where members have decided to stop RVing. These are sold by individuals or a 3rd party. We’ve heard good stories from folks we’ve met but buyer beware.

We have also met higher level, part and full timers who are quite happy to stay for 2-3 weeks, move to the next park, and keep moving through the system following the seasons.

We went with a trial mentality for the first year and decide annually if we want to continue. We keep it regional so we have funds for other options.

 

[STORM6523]

We’ve had a limited, western region plan going on 5 years.

The membership level is the one where you can go to their parks or affiliated parks for 2 weeks and then have to exit for 1 week. Reservations can be made 60 days in advance.

It works for us for as we continually go to certain campgrounds off high season and stay for free or get a reduced fee for $20/night. The savings pay for the membership and then some.

However, during high season or for super popular campgrounds, it may not possible to book a 2 week slot or even a shorter period in those same campgrounds with a 60 day advance booking. The members with a higher level can book earlier and stay up to 3 weeks and they can go park-to-park. Affiliated parks cater to the public so you compete with them.

The other drawback is that a few parks we tried were not maintained well or less desirable so we choose to not return. (It’s possible that they were upgraded since but we are not aware).

As a side note, there was and may still be an online market for elite level, transferable plans where members have decided to stop RVing. These are sold by individuals or a 3rd party. We’ve heard good stories from folks we’ve met but buyer beware.

We have also met higher level, part and full timers who are quite happy to stay for 2-3 weeks, move to the next park, and keep moving through the system following the seasons.

We went with a trial mentality for the first year and decide annually if we want to continue. We keep it regional so we have funds for other options.

 

[STORM6523]

Thank you, we are planning on a 2 year trip so Thousand Trails might work well for us, we like to stay a couple weeks at each stop to explore the towns and near by areas.

 

[twindman]

But as mentioned before, good luck finding a site anywhere close to where you want to stay. I looked into it a few years back and I live in AZ. I travel to the midwest often and along I-10 or I40 there just were not many sites close to the highway.

 

[Cat320]

We started as Outdoor World members until bought out by Thousand Trails. Our biggest problem in the North East area is getting a FHU site that you could get into. Most of the 'good' sites had been turned into seasonals.

That's the trouble we had. All the good spaces were occupied by the locals. They would park their RVs in the good spots starting Thursday, blocking them for the week end. We did not renew our membership.

 

[DutchmenSport]

Follow your instincts on this one. If you have doubt or concerns, then don't do it. For the price of that membership, the limited locations of their campgrounds, and the lack of availibility of campsites when you really need a site, you can easily and comfortably go to a state, county, federal, or a private campground elsewhere (that ARE located everywhere!)

 

[jpwhite]

I purchased a used membership in 2019. My membership allowed me to stay in 59 of the parks offered. We liked the membership because it was grandfathered in, allowing a stay for 3 weeks, park to park, and no High season restrictions. We bought it primarily to use at the Orlando park.

We have used the Orlando Park about 4 or 5 times. It's a nice park, large, and well run and better maintained than most of the Thousand Trails "Preserves" we've visited.

As others have pointed out, most of the sites in other TT parks we visited are full time seasonal. There are few sites left for transients, one or two or three weeks. You cannot pick a site. You don't know if you're going to get a full hookup, 50 amp 30 amp or whatever.

Several of the parks that we have stayed in or driven through, are run down. It's hit or miss, and there's no way to really know as far as I can tell. They all sound great from the description on the TT site. Google tells a different story. Many TT parks are rated around 3 out of 5.

I paid $3,500 for my used membership, a $750 transfer fee, and $600 a year in dues. If I had a park nearby that was nice and I can stay at frequently, it might be worth it. But I don't, and quite honestly, I would not do it again.

 

[JABURKHOLDER]

I keep a list of every rv park I’ve stayed in. I have taken 190 rv trips and stayed in 156 different parks. 21 of those I will never return to. Of those 21, seven are Thousand Trails.
Twin Mills, IN
Moody Beach, ME
Chestnut Lake, NJ
Timothy Lakes-South, PA
Lake Towakani, TX
Outdoor World Williamsburg, VA
Yukon Trails, WI
To be blunt, they were all crap rv parks.
Don’t walk, run from Thousand Trails.

Obviously, other opinions will vary.

 

[bigred715]

In order to stop using Thousand Trails do you have to sell to not be charged the yearly fee even if you no longer travel?

 

[DutchmenSport]

I purchased a used membership in 2019. ...

I paid $3,500 for my used membership, a $750 transfer fee, and $600 a year in dues. ...

Wow! prices sure have increased and yours was 6 years ago.

Adding all that up, do you realize if you wanted to "get ahead", it would take 139 nights of camping at some other campground at the cost of $35 a night to break even?

And I understand, that in addition to theses fees, you still pay an additional campground fee for your reservation. You do not pay the fees above and then get to camp with no additional charges. You still have additional charges for each night you stay.

If you do "break even" at the and camp $4850 worth of camping the first year, that $600 every year after (at) $35 a night elsewhere will give you 17 nights of camping .

Right there is your answer. Will you spend at least 17 nights a year in a TT campground?

Do the math. It may surprise you.

 

[LeftOverParts]

Ours is renewable annually. No obligation to continue.

Re parks, we primarily go to Pismo Beach, Yosemite, and Tucson TT or affiliated parks. Current (Oct) camping fees for the Yosemite and Tucson sites run $76/night and $56/night, respectively. We get those for free. (Yosemite during May before Memorial Day is great. Lots of water falls and less visitors). Pismo is usually $60/night and we get it for $20/night. However, late June through August is near impossible for more than a couple days. (Great for taking the grand kids right after school ends for summer.)

As mentioned we stay enough to more than break even. We’ll easily clock 40 nights just in Tucson this year during the shoulder and low seasons.

Since we know we can’t go park-to-park, we book a stay in the above mentioned parks at various times of year as we go through those regions together with non TT parks.

 

[Amy Jones]

Thank you, I would love to hear from someone who has used Thousand trails membership, we are considering it for our travels but are reluctant to do so. The reviews we have found on line are mixed and that worries us ,

Hi , we have been full time for 5 years and have had our Thousand Trails membership the entire time . We a have the Adventure Package and it has been well worth every penny we spent on it . It paid for itself in the first 2 years we had it . We stayed exclusively in TT parks and Encore parks . I love the extended Reservation dates . 180 days out for TT parks and 90 for the Encore parks . We stay 3 weeks and go park to park and don't have to be out of the system at all . We have no high use restrictions at any park except 1 and that is Three Flags in Florida and that is only because it is up to the park manager . We have saved so much money with this and honestly we would not have be able to this retirement life style without it . I do feel this is something for people who are full or most timers .

 

[STORM6523]

Thank you for your response, The more I have researched TT it looks like we are going to give them a try…..