How Thousand Trails works

[jeremywatco]

Hi All,

Planning a quick trip to the thousand trails idyllwild, which is near where we live.

Never been to a thousand trails and after making the reservation I was a little bit confused.

Generally I've booked at campground that allow me to pick the spot. When I book online, it asked me what type of vehicle I was in, If I had slides and the length. Then just one option popped up and that was a "Retail" spot. I booked it but I have no idea what I am getting.

Do they just assign you the spot upon arrival? Some spots are only partial hookups and some a full hookups.

I guess I could easily just call them and figure it out as well, I just like the opinions on here.

Is it worth it to be a member? I know some of the other thousand trails around here have gotten horrible reviews.

Thanks.

[samsontdog]

rvgrammady wrote:
I think the Parent Lifestyles Equity? owns Encore, TT, Good Sam and Camping World.
So they are related in a round-about way. I have a 2 zone pass for price of one zone .. Southwest and Northwest. just went on 6 wk oregon coast trip in july... can make res 60 days out. If you stay more than 4 nites you have to be out of the TT system for 7 days, but if you stay 4 nites or less.. can go park to park. Had a wonderful time 4 nites each of the 4 oregon coast parks, nice parks friendly & helpful staff. Am going to renew at $545 year. get 30 nites then $3/nite thereafter. Easy reservation system helpful cust service.

I have no affiliation w/TT etc. just tried it for a year and it works for me. not to say everyone will fit..

Just my 2.5 cents.

The above is good info

[rvgrammady]

I think the Parent Lifestyles Equity? owns Encore, TT, Good Sam and Camping World.
So they are related in a round-about way. I have a 2 zone pass for price of one zone .. Southwest and Northwest. just went on 6 wk oregon coast trip in july... can make res 60 days out. If you stay more than 4 nites you have to be out of the TT system for 7 days, but if you stay 4 nites or less.. can go park to park. Had a wonderful time 4 nites each of the 4 oregon coast parks, nice parks friendly & helpful staff. Am going to renew at $545 year. get 30 nites then $3/nite thereafter. Easy reservation system helpful cust service.

I have no affiliation w/TT etc. just tried it for a year and it works for me. not to say everyone will fit..

Just my 2.5 cents.

[Rollnhome]

I know that some TT and Encore parks that are open to the public honor GS discount and Passport Amercia plus other discounts.

[LetsRV]

Calling and/or talking with them directly is your best bet.

TT has been around a long time and have numerous contracts within their system. Because of this information here is often correct but only partially as it only applies to certain contracts and not others.

For example: they started out selling the entire system, then at some point they went to selling regions of the county and lately they have gone to selling zones (smaller than regions). All have different rules.

AS if that wasn't bad enough they also have different levels of membership. I have never heard of one that limited where you could stay within a park. Usually it is what parks you can go to, how long you can stay, how long you might have to be out of the system between visits....

Also don't confuse Encore with TT. While both are owned by the same company they are not the same thing. If a TT member stays at an Encore park they can do so at a discount. The Encore park can determine where in the park they stay. It's not a TT rule but an Encore one (two entirely different systems).

BTW, I am not affiliated with TT in any way other than as a 10 year member. We use the parks in the Northwest about 7 - 8 months of the year. We are happy with our membership, cost, and the parks that we use. I know this can't be said for all members and that's why you need to make sure the info you get is correct. Like most things it all depends on what you want out of it and how you use it. Just because someone doesn't like the membership they have doesn't necessarily mean the entire system is bad.

[beemerphile1]

amandasgramma wrote:

...They were allowing in the Good Sam Club people in a caravan thing. This was BEFORE GS became part of TT....

If I'm reading correctly, you seem to indicate that Good Sam and Thousand Trails are connected in some way.

I am unaware of any connection between Good Sam and Thousand Trails. Could you explain?

[myredracer]

Unless you are a full member, you have to use their "encore" area. Full members have access to the best sites in the better sections of the CG which have better views, are quieter, etc. We just stayed at a TT and we have associate membership only (we have full membership in another RV resort network). We had to stay in the encore area which was next to the main road but fortunately wasn't too bad. It only had full hookups at a few of the sites and some of them were shut down for maintenance on the electrical system.

You will get the pick of any available site in an encore area only, however, if a TT CG is not that busy they may give you the option of any site, but it's entirely up to the particular CG. We've had a couple of them like that.

Some TT campgrounds are outstanding like the one at Pacific City in Or. Others look tired and show their age and are in need of repairs and upgrades. But then, there's lots of others out there that are the same or worse. I like the rustic flavor they all seem to have, at least the ones we've seen.

I realy don't think we'd be members. I would recommend something like Coast to Coast or RPI. TT membership is broken down into zones so you have to pay more if you want to travel farther away plus their CG coverage in some parts of the country is poor or non-existent. Thousand Trails zones & campgrounds

There are many other RV campground networks around. I would do your research and see how their locations and features, rules, benefits and costs compare before buying in. Sometimes you can buy a pre-owned membership for a lot less too but watch the restrictions and fine print.

[LetsRV]

Just a note about the public using the parks. TT used to set aside approx. 10% of sites for the marketing group. They would get people to come in free with the catch being they had to sit through a 90 minute sales presentation.

Somewhere along the line TT decided to stop this practice and let the general public use these sites but pay for them. They hope that when people stay at the parks they will talk with members and develop an interest in joining. The idea was to bring in extra revenue and still get new members.

No idea how this is working as far as membership goes but thought others would like to know the marketing behind letting the public use a limited number of sites.

[rv2go]

I drove thru the TT Idyllwild Park once just checking it out for a possible stay. The Park did not appeal to us at all. I only found a few sites that would suit a large RV. Other than being at a high elevation and maybe cooler in the summer, I could see no reason to stay there.
We like the TT Wilderness Lake Park in Menifee, CA a lot better.

Thousand Trails/Encore rents some spaces to non members. rvonthego.com

[jeremywatco]

That may explain why I've heard some of the parks in our area were nice but are now run down.

I am not a member and was just looking for a place to stay.

I'd be angry as well if a members only benefit was granted to the general public.

[amandasgramma]

Lucky you samsontdog.......happened to us about 5 times over the years at the Bend and the Pacific City parks 😞 😞

[samsontdog]

We have been members for 34 years and most of the time you pick your own site. South Jetty in Oregon used to assign you a site but not any more. Full hookup sites are hard to come by. Usually you have to get on a list then check in each morning to see if there is a full hookup site for you. I have never been turned away because I could not find a site big enough for my 40 ft 5th w. I have downsized now. TT is not nearly as good as it used to be but still better than most. IMHO the parks in Oregon and Wash are the best in the system { that is where we spend our summers}
Sometime TT lets Caravans use the park, usually a small section only. I have never been told that we could not use a TT Park in our 34 years as members and we spend about 150 days/nights in the TT Parks

[amandasgramma]

In my experience, from many years ago, you aren't assigned spaces, you go in and find what you want (after showing your credentials at the gate). After not being able to get into ANY sites that would work with our rig one year at one particular TT CG, I sold my membership. They were allowing in the Good Sam Club people in a caravan thing. This was BEFORE GS became part of TT. Very irritating because the original contract state they would NOT let anyone that was not a member into the CG. Yet, here we were, 3 hours from home, on a short weekend, and couldn't camp because NON-members were using the CG. Now I see they are letting people pay to come in.....that are not members.