Thousand Trails-Vacancy Question

[RomanyLife]

Hi all. I searched but didn't find too much on this. We are purchasing a TT membership, and I have gotten all of my ?s answered except this one: HOW DIFFICULT is it (generally) to find vacancy at a TT resort? This is for those of you who use them frequently, hopefully in various zones. I know they take reservations, but not for a specific site. I have also heard people say they usually find a site if they roll in on Sunday-Wednesday. Would you agree with this generally? Thanks so much!

[RomanyLife]

Thanks SO much Gil & Deb! SUPER good info. We purchased a VIP used and got only 3 of the "exempted" parks from the high season waiver instead of 5 so we are happy about that. We are very happy to have this fall-back insurance on places to stay as we travel. Getting into RV parks at any cost is getting very difficult in various parts of the country, and we are hoping this will add a little relief here and there when we just want to put the jacks down for a bit. Thank you so much again! Theresa

[myredracer]

We've been T/T members for a few years and love it. Very low cost way to RV and get around. First thing I would suggest is looking for a pre-owned membership. You can buy one from anyone in the US or Canada. We got ours off CL from a seller in AZ for $800. Need to get a seller's memb. no. and phone head office and confirm the specific contract details. There are many different features and benefits and variations of membership contracts - there are no standard plans. Older memberships can have desirable features that are no longer available. Some even have frozen dues for life. We have an older platinum membership and can stay at any T/T CG across the US and can stay "in the system" continuously and move from park to park. We never pay extra per night. The only time we've paid extra is for cable TV on the OR coast.

This blog has some great info. on buying a pre-owned memberships and highly recommend you read through it.

I don't know about T/Ts in the eastern US, but in WA, OR & CA, getting into some of them in the high season can be difficult in our experience. Seaside in OR is one like that. Some holidays, esp. July 4th can be very hard to book if you leave it too late. The best strategy is to routinely book as far in advance as you can unless you're on a long road trip with no fixed plans. T/T CGs are popular with kids and once school's back in session you'll have no problems booking a site on short notice. We do however often book a site a day or two ahead of going to our home park in Birch Bay WA without a problem, and I typically go down early on a Friday to snag a decent site, otherwise you can find yourself having to use one of the least desirable sites in the CG. Have heard that one or two T/Ts just east of Seattle are almost impossible to get into because of high housing costs in/near Seattle area and they let workers stay long-term.

Encore parks are part of the T/T network but you normally have to pay additional - full retail I think. There is an upgrade option available now that gets you a discount into them. Don't know much about it tho.

Note that many T/T CGs have outdated electrical, water and sewer services. You will run into occasional low voltage and having an autoformer is recommended. Sewer hookups can be sparse and some have none so a tote tank is a good idea. Have had a couple of instances of low water pressure. Piping can be old and I would suggest using a water filter and definitely a regulator. Have yet to stay at a T/T CG that we would not go back to or recommend. Our T/T home park is the most well kept and best managed CG we've ever been to anywhere along with super-friendly staff.

[ThomBoles]

We tried "winging it" when we first went on the road but have since made reservations for when we will be in an area. If the online system doesn't work we call in to the customer service line and can usually get a site. Only issues we have had were in Florida this past winter and the issues were that our first choice park was booked the week we wanted to go so we just picked a different park (this was through the Trails Collection @ Encore parks) so I'm not sure "issue" is the correct word. We have learned that you just have to go with the flow.

As stated above there are nice "resort" parks and there are some not so nice "trailer parks" that you can use but if you go in thinking that this is a campground you will not find a better deal. We have never at any of the sites we visited paid additional $ to get a 50amp site nor paid any additional $ for upgraded sites, or anything like that.

We are finishing up Oct 17-Feb 18 in Florida with TT and TC parks and only by choice paying for a week's stay in a park. Otherwise we would have been able to make the entire winter in Florida with no fees over the yearly dues. We consider that a WIN.

[Acampingwewillg]

It all depends on your type of membership and your reservation window. We've been members for about 10 year's now and in a word we Love it. We have a 180 day window, 3 weeks in and park to park. Living in So Calif, we have plenty of Parks to chose from and I have never had an issue with getting a reservation. Remember a Reservation does not guarantee you a specific site so you may have to do some driving around a bit to find a site.

Going in, you must also realize that TT likes to call their campgrounds Resort's/Preserves....get the notion of Resort out of your mind immediately, they are simply campgrounds.

We have used out membership in Arizona, Texas, Nevada, Calif and Washington and use it anywhere from 3-6 months annually. Never an issue at any even at peak season.

Finally, there is a Member generated Facebook page that might interest you..."Thousand Trail's-The good and the bad". Have Fun...

[Lwiddis]

“And getting into any RV parks is getting more and more difficult due to..”

You appear to be in a panic. So as a full timer, how many times have you been unable to find a site? Always need a full hookup? Why? Way too much stress in your post.

[stripit]

I was a TT member for about 9 years, finally gave away the membership. I was allowed two weeks in and one out, we never had any real issues making reservations. We found many of the parks were less than stellar and showing signs of hard use and lack of maintenance. Some were out miles from where anything we wanted to see or do was, but we made it work. Your thoughts of $5.00 per night is very misleading on your part. The cost of buying in plus the yearly fee plus the added fee of 50amp if needed is way more than $5.00. I kept good track of our nightly costs and it was in the $9.90 per night for the yearly rate as time went on. We used the TT system for approx 100 nights a year and that helped keep the yearly nightly costs lower. Figure it out yourself. If you pay only 3 grand to buy in and have a 500 per yeat maintainence fee your first night in any TT park will be $3500. The second night becomes $1,750, the third night $1166.66, 4th $875 so you must use the park at every possible chance to get the per night figure down.

[md_procouple]

We have been T/T members for over 10 years, and never had a problem getting a site, last year went to Fla. and only made reservations about 3 weeks prior. Dear wife did Travel Nursing 6 years ago and we stayed in Az. Nm. and on our way back in Nc. Had no problems in any place. Good Luck and Happy Camping !!

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

You are asking two very different questions.

The first question is the ease of getting a reservation. TT campgrounds are like any other campground group. Certain times of year, certain campgrounds are very busy. If you want me to go to Orlando during Christmas or spring break - book your reservation at the earliest possible date. Coastal locations like Seaside in Oregon book quickly for Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day.

Another tip. It is much easier to get a two week stay for the 4th of July if you book Jun 21-July 5 rather than July 3 - 17.

Finding a quality site. This can be harder in popular locations at the busy time of year. I am not a fan of TT campgrounds selling Personal/Annual sites. It seems the very best sites at every campground we visit are Annual sites.

OneCG we visit often has 24 sewer sites, out of 400 sites. 12 of those are Annual sites. On the day someone is scheduled to depart a sewer site, I’ve seen two or three rigs lined up at 6 am waiting to get into that site.

Some campgrounds have a rotation/ turnover process. Some do not.

Like many TTers, the first time I visit a CG, I will walk the property with the map. Marking out Annual sites, and marking sites I would like. Also if I’m in a less than ideal site, I will note the checkout dates on sites I might want to move to. Moving to a better site can be an option at most CG, just check with the management before you move.

My TT ‘year’ is Oct 1 - Sep 30. Last year we stayed 200 nights atTT campgrounds - 4 inTexas, 1 in AZ, 5 in CA, 3 in OR, and 7 in WA. We had a great year and our costs were very reasonable even after buying a used membership and the yearly fee. We are over 90 days at Roy’s CG in Texas so far this year.

[bdpreece]

Making a reservation is not all that bad. I just use their web site on the internet. Of course the level of membership you have makes a difference as to how far ahead you can make reservations.

My biggest gripe is that since you can't reserve a particular site the site you get may not be the best. Since ELS purchased TT they have turned many of the parks into what for a better words might be called homeless camps. They lease sites out long term and even if empty are not available.

Last park I went to even had no trespassing signs posted on some of the sites. Naturally these are the best sites and you get the leftovers.

Our last trip we stayed at TT Soledad Canyon and it took me three tries to find a site with even a working 30 amp service.

[RomanyLife]

Thanks again everyone for the replies! I hope to get more. While we know that TT parks generally aren't "Great resorts" that is not why we are getting a membership. Being able to have access to some sort of safe stopping place in unfamiliar regions is worth a lot, especially with a large rig. Thanks again, very grateful.

[Calicajun]

We never had a problem getting a site at TT. Though some parks are going to be more popular than other sites and that may cause a problem.

[gafidler]

getting a site on Sunday afternoon or Mon-thu Thursday has never been a problem for us in the last 3 years,

[RomanyLife]

Thanks for the reply!! Well, not sure if you are a full time RVer or not, but if you USE the TT membership all around the country, it has two stand-out benefits: if you stay in RV parks often your nightly fees average out to less than $5/night over the year. And getting into any RV parks is getting more and more difficult due to the number of us going full time, but TT parks generally have availability, or so I am hoping, thus my question. I agree that if you only used it locally for occasional RVing, it would be eye-popping expensive, for sure.

[DutchmenSport]

Welcome to the forums.

No answer on your TT question.

Personally, I just about had a heart attack and stroked out MANY years ago when I found out how much TT memberships were, and then ongoing annual fees, and then the price of an actual campsite. For that kind of money (the first year only), I don't think we've spent that in 20 years of camping going willy-nilly, private and state parks. But, to each his own.

Just remember, in order to make TT financially beneficial, you have to use it. Every day you are not sitting in one of their campgrounds is money lost.

Where I live, there just isn't any TT campgrounds conveniently located. It would never work for me.

Good luck!