Thousand Trails

Sorry - it is Mid-Atlantic Resorts - not Mid-America

TT history goes back to building their first park, still in use, at Chehalis, WA in 1969. However, much of their growth over the years has been from purchasing other multi-park companies.

In 1991 they merged with NACO - a group of west coast campgrounds - we were at Yosemite Lakes last week - originally a NACO campground. In 1999 they purchased the Leisure Time Resorts group of 10 campgrounds.

Their purchase of Outdoor World and Mid-America campgrounds occured after that.

Access to all the campgrounds works the same, if the membership was purchased at the time those campgrounds were part of the TT system.

The count is

TT: 32
NACO: 21
Leisure Time: 7

Those 60 resorts are in most resale memberships available

In the mid-late 2000's they purchased Outdoor World and Mid-Atlantic camping resorts

OW: 15
MA: 7

That 82 resorts is included in most newer memberships for resale. There is usually a 500-700 dollar price difference between the 60 cg and 81/82 cg resale membership contracts.

If you look at the Zone Pass program - you see 86 campgrounds promoted. That is because they are having trouble with the Midwest Zone - and have to include some Encore resorts to have enough campgrounds to give value to the Zone Pass. The four resorts in Wisconsin and Twin Mills in Indiana included in the Zone Pass - but are not included in many/most resale contracts currently available.

Back in 2013 I talked to a TT salesman, and that was the first time I've heard of Encore Resorts being included in a member contract.

The contract we purchased includes four Encore resorts in Florida - three in the Daytona area and one on the east coast - which we can use under the same rules/ costs as a TT resort. I would have preferred one in the RGV of Texas, one in Arizona, one in Florida and one in Wisconsin, but a person buying a resale membership contract doesn't get to make any modifications.

New contracts can choose their Encore resorts from a list of approx. 21 which participate in the program, or if upgrading to Odyssey, all 21 are included.

Now here is the critical thing to remember.

Since almost the beginning - Thousand Trails, NACO, Leisure Time, Outdoor World, Mid-Atlantic - have all been selling similar 'lifetime' memberships. Over the years those contracts have evolved, and everyone of those contracts is still valid if the dues are current.

General rule - a Thousand Trails Alliance Membership is not worth the paper it is written upon. Do not buy one. Often there are several thousand dollars of back yearly due which have to be paid before it can be used.

Certain memberships (Outdoor World I think) - have a one year reservation window, but for only two reservations at a time.

The Thousand Trails company is currently owned by Equity Lifestyle - the third holding company to own TT since 2000. Equity's main business is their mobile/ manufactured home communities across the country. They also own Encore Resorts and Thousand Trails. So TT is part of a big company, and not everything send down to be done really makes a lot of sense for a campground.

Now a couple other things - some people have mentioned upgrading their resale purchased contract to a more current contract. TT is promoting this. It can be a cheaper way than a new purchase for a person to get the latest/ greatest options available to in the TT system. But it takes some work to compare and understand the differences. You should purchase the best resale contract you can afford, use it for a while, and then consider if your usage merits an upgrade. You will be contacted by the salesman at almost every TT you visit, suggesting that you need to upgrade NOW before the new benefits go away. BS - TT is ALWAYS offering new incentives for new contracts and upgrades.

Personally, I recommend a Zone Pass for a while, realizing that if you like TT campgrounds - you will quickly decide to purchase a membership. The $425 or so for a Zone Pass is just an entry fee for your first 30 nights of so of camping to see if you like the program.

TT campgrounds are NOT pristine high end resorts. They are family campgrounds. Many times large, older campgrounds, which can show signs of inadequate maintenance over the years - though I must say in the past couple years, I've seen an effort to fix things at many campgrounds, and improve appearance. Some issues such as the activity center and pool at Las Vegas being closed for several months were due to arguments with the insurance company about storm damage repairs. Others such as Verde Valley in Arizona are due to a major power upgrade, same with part of Soledad Canyon in California.

We have only been unable to get into a desired TT resort when we wanted a few times. Once was due to flooding putting 1/2 of the camping spots at Colorado River CG in Texas under water, the other two times were weekends at resorts near large cities.

There are three or four parks currently closed in California - due to damage from spring flooding. They hope to have all the parks open by mid summer.

Another note - operation of TT campgrounds: When you make a reservation you do not get a site assigned. When you arrive at a campground (with one or two exceptions) - you get told - drive around and choose your site. If a CG has limited 50 amp sites, or sewer sites, you might not get one. Some CGs it can be difficult to find a spot that can hold my 36 ft long TT.

Seasonal/Annual/Personal Sites: Several TT campgrounds, especially in the warmer winter areas - can sell sites for a 'season'. Lake Conroe has almost 1/2 of their sites in the Oct-Apr time frame occupied by people down for the winter.

Almost all TT campgrounds can sell Annual/Personal Sites. These programs give a site to a member for an entire year. They can only stay 210 nights per year in their camper on those sites - but I wonder how closely the rule is enforce. Some people leave their camper on the site all year, some leave it there some months, and leave the site empty other times. Still - no one can camp on that site.

These programs require that the site be 'purchased' by a person with a valid, paid up membership (either ZP or regular membership) and an additional fee for the term of the site paid upfront. And that electricity be metered and paid monthly. It is a great program for a working person who wants to come out on the weekend and doesn't want to have to hook-up and pull the trailer after work on Friday, and take it back home and store it on Sunday evening.

But they take prime sites away from the traveling TT members possible usage.

TT is a good value for us as full-timers who travel from coast to coast. It is a good value for my son in Texas, who can't travel much - but goes to a nearby TT campground many times a year.

TT is not a good value for a person who wants full resort amenities, who demands 50 amp power and sewer connections all the time.

I know this is a long post. TT is a complicated subject. It is the only somewhat nationwide membership camping program available. There are other regional campground companies which work great for folks who spend their time in those regions.