Thousand Trails memberships

[HighwayJunky]

Appreciate your opinions and experiences with Thousand Trails. I am considering a membership and seek experiences with the same.

[rollexx]

We bought a one year zone pass a few years ago for I think $350. It covered Washington, Oregon, and I think a few parks in northern Ca. We certainly got our money’s worth. Several parks alone the Oregon coast . Certainly not as nice as KOA parks but for the price we were happy. We only gave it up because we only used about five parks over and over and wanted to try different parks not covered.

[mittshel]

We had a membership and the only three CG's we used were all messy. Weeds, etc. Not our kind of place. Betsy.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

For us, a Thousand Trails Premium Elite membership, purchased used through a broker, works very well. We got a zone pass to try Texas parks. Within four months we were searching for a higher level membership which would include the entire system.

But understand:

(1) These are not premium level parks. Many are 40 or more years old. The various sales of the company have impacted support for maintenance, amenity upgrades, etc. Most I would put right in the middle range of commercial parks. Frankly, most parks need about a million dollars worth of maintenance and upgrade, and that ain't going to happen quickly.

Many parks have only 30 amp service, or very few 50 amp sites. Some parks do not have sewer at all, and many have sections with no sewer. Park wifi is spotty and inconsistent. Many parks have gone to commercial vendors for wifi, which is a pay system. At times I hear complaints.

(2) For decades, park mangers have had a great deal of freedom in interpreting and enforcing, or not enforcing, system wide rules. The current owner, Equity Lifestyle, is trying to bring the system into alignment. Some success, some stumbles.

(3) Almost every park has 'annuals'. These are sites rented for an extra fee on top of the membership cost which are used for the entire year. The current contract only allows the site to be occupied for 210 days per year of the contract, though the rig may stay on the site all 365/366 days of the year. Of course if someone local is going to rent a site for a few thousand dollars extra per year, they are going to choose a prime site.

Traveling members like us, most often had to take second level sites. Also, you do NOT reserve a specific site. From the start, TT has been check-in and go look at open sites to find one you like.

As mentioned in the second post, look at how much you will use the parks. Our per night costs are down to $10-11 per night after paying our yearly fees and utility upgrades for 50 amp costs at some parks. But we are full-timers.

Go into the system with a Zone Pass and your eyes open. And understand that every park has its little quirks.

[tjfogelberg]

The best way to try out Thousand Trails is to buy a zone pass for a year. It's a very small investment and they run sales frequently. Don't buy a lifetime membership until you have done this and camped in the parks for a year. This is what we did and we like Thousand Trails so upgraded via the purchase of a membership from a private party last year...very happy. rvlove does a good job blogging on Thousand Trails. You don't have to be a fulltimer to get your value out of the membership.

[bobsallyh]

I just saw this the other day. Not a TT member but this deal looks like it could cut down on site availability for TT members.
https://rv-pro.com/news/outdoorsy-partners-with-encore-rv-resorts-and-thousand-trails-campgrounds/

[crawford]

Watch out many reported with virus many parks are closed and you can't use them. While they still take your money every month even if you can't use it. So beware once your in you are stuck and can't get of of it they still getting you money for a useless thing.

[trailertraveler]

HighwayJunky wrote:
Appreciate your opinions and experiences with Thousand Trails. I am considering a membership and seek experiences with the same.

As has been said, you need to understand the rules for you particular membership (length of stay, days out, reservation window, included parks, etc.) We got a free Zone Pass for one zone of our choice (Southeast) with our last trailer. We added a second zone for $54 to cover a fall trip to Sedona, AZ where there is what we consider a very nice park. We then used it at TT parks in Florida. We used the membership for 68 nights so we obviously got our $54 worth. Despite the pandemic, we renewed for 2 zones for $449. We have 16 nights scheduled for late September early October and plan on heading South to Florida again after the New Year when we will try to stay 28-42 nights split between 3 parks. Depending on how things work out, we will decide whether to renew.

[mittshel]

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.

[pianotuna]

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.

[Steve1950]

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.

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

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.

[delwhjr]

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.

[mkc]

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.

[jdc1]

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.