Thousand Trails memberships

1) Better make absolutely certain that you understand their terms and exactly what you will be paying yearly. Divide that total sum by how many days a year you will be using it.
2) Make certain you understand what parks you can go to. And which you cannot.
3) Be very sure that you will use those parks every year enough to make this cost efficient. And will keep on doing that for years and years to come.
4) Look on the sites that sell these memberships from people who did not do 1 thru 3 and buy at a discount.

Frankly my personal view is that 1000 trails is the time sharing scheme of the RV world.

I have never been a member.
Do a Google search on Thousand Trails scam, ripoff, etc. before you sign a contract.

I avoid things with an 'automatic renewal' clause and you must contact them at least 30 days prior to expiration, in writing, to cancel.
I'm sure some have had good luck with Thousand Trails. It sounds like a Time Share to me. JMO

We had a membership not directly Thousand Trails. It did not work for us. We were still working at the time. Were were not able to get into even our home park. Then our membership campground system went public. Owners were more after money from non-members and didn't care about members. Filed complete with state attorney general to get money back.
You need to be careful of language about what parks and where they are located.

Just like a boat...the happiest days of something like "Thousand Trails" are the day you buy it and the day you dump it....if you can.

Do understand the program first and consider shopping for a "used" membership. In the past (haven't looked recently), people were giving them away or selling them simply for the transfer cost just to get out from under the contract. It is essentially a timeshare (with the exception of the annual zone passes, if they still offer those). Also be aware that TT parks are often older parks that haven't made capital improvements in a long time.

We have had our membership since it was being promoted by Roy Rogers. We have on the whole paid for it and more with the times we have been camping.
It is true you have to know what you can and can't do with it but being able to stay at a park for 14 days(or more depending on your level) at no charge(some parks do have a $3 surcharge for 50amp but most of the time they have waved it) less than 15 miles to Disney World has its advantages. There are other parks with similar close by attractions.
Our last trip to Florida was booked during Christmas less than 60 days before the trip and were able to get a spot with no problem.

From what we've read through many sources it's a total mixed bag. The only ones that seem generally positive on commentary are those that are dedicated full timers, and typically have a link in their monetised Youtube/blogs to it for a referral fee. Maybe check out commentary through RVLove (Marc & Julie), or Our Journey In Myles (like these two!), Lyf Uninterrupted, RV Odd Couple and many other Full timer blogs/channels.

As others have cited, the biggie seems to be that some of the locations are old, trashy and run down or have a lot of permanents. There does appear to be a handful that get good reviews however, and they seem to be in certain areas moreso than others, so check carefully if they are on your route otherwise you might end up due to financial commitment in going "where the 1000 parks are" instead of maybe where you'd roam freely.

For sure double triple check what you are buying into and how long you can remain in the system with your plan as well ongoing costs and commitments. As said before lots of folks been happy to offload them for just the transfer fee in the past to get rid of the fees charged during ownership.

On the other hand "if" you use it enough nights, it can be a considerable cost savings at $5-$8/night average many have reported.

Good luck, let us know what your assessment/thoughts are after your research.

Our first time at thousand trails was a weekend as a non member. We enjoyed ourself and brought a yearly pass, two years in a row. We bought the local area, for us Oregon and Washington. We used the pass often enough to offset the yearly rate. However after two years we missed the state parks and rv parks we like to use. I would say it was nice but tied us down to a few parks.

If you are full time it may, with careful choosing, work for you. I prefer to boondock when ever I can.

Do buy on the "used" market. It works on a similar model to time shares.

It was not for me.

We gave up our membership because the only ones we used were old and trashy. There are some nice ones but we never got to them. Betsy.