RV on the Go Membership Questions - not much info on the net

[CaLBaR]

When I called for a price to camp at Lake Conroe RV & Camping Resort the lady at the other end offer me a 1 year free camping membership for about $130 less than what I would pay for the 2 weeks of camping there. Seems to good to be true.

Who else has tried this? What are the catches? $465 for 1 year of free camping has to have some rules or catches but I am struggling on line to find any info on this.

If I bought it just before I leave in April, DW and I could have some inexpensive fall or winter camping in Florida if this actually doesn't have a whole bunch of conditions for use. Florida is same zone as Texas. Hope someone here can help with information.

[CaLBaR]

TenOC wrote:
Are you locked into a contract with high annual maintenance fee you can not get out of?

No I was just looking to get an annual membership as I am expecting to go to Lake Conroe at the beginning of May. As there was not much info on the web I came here to see what info the group had. So far more info than on the web and still thinking about it.

[wa8yxm]

I am not aware of that promotion, Perhaps I should ask my next site neighbor (I may return to this thread later if I do laundry today)

The Zone Pass program is 2 weeks in and one out, same as I do now, for a fixed annual fee. so you can only stay in Encore parks for 8 months (2 weeks at a time) I spend my week out in the winter at either a county park 1-5 a week) or a COE (i think 77 but I need to do that... TODAY) the

When I'm in Michigan in the summer I have two memberships so I do 2 weeks in TT and 2 weeks in the other, spend less than 100/month for parking total (about 90 plus gas to shuttle)

A zone path costs less, for the year, than a week for this triple slide, dual A/C 50 amp 38 foot Class A..

Finally a word on TT parks in general.. Many are older parks, Small sites, 30 amp for the most part,, Not all sites are full hook up (Mine is) and the parks all need a bit of TLC (Repair work) for example this park has a new swimming poo and the Summer TT park should have one when I get back there as well. the old ones were no longer serviceable. Electrical issues are common on the 30 amp sites as many have aluminum feeders they are that old. (50 amps sites are generally good. This park has a few sites that I'd rate as GREAT. but there is a story behind that. Oversize COPPER feeders).

But though the parks are a tad decayed, and the staff is often "Skeleton" level. Of all the parks I have stayed at... The staff at TT parks ... The Greatest!!!!

[TenOC]

Are you locked into a contract with high annual maintenance fee you can not get out of?

[garyemunson]

As you have noticed by now, opinions on RV camping 'clubs' vary widely. Some love them, some hate them. I fall in the 2nd category. We just have Good Sam and PA membership. Thousand Trails has irritated me every time we've stayed at one. They tend to be very large campgrounds and send you on your way to find your own spot in an unfamiliar campground. If you are not a member, you generally have to survive with minimal hookups. Usually just water and power. I'm also irked by a place that calls itself a "resort" that does not have WiFi and cable TV. The locations are generally very wooded negating the possibility of satellite reception. I do not go camping to watch TV but I do like to see the news in the morning. If I wanted to "return to nature" I'd be staying in a BLM camp area with a tent instead of spending what I did on a motorhome.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

Weather in area north of Houston - late April - early May

That time of year is prime thunderstorm season in Texas. The last cool fronts of the year can collide with strong warm moist fronts head north from the Gulf of Mexico.

Very, very unlikely to have days long rainy periods.

Very likely to have some strong thunderstorms that can drop an inch or more of rain in an hour.

Most definitely do not leave your awning out if you leave the campground.

It can go from calm and sunny to drenching downpour with strong gusty winds and heavy lightening to calm and sunny in less than an hour.

Waht will the weather be this year? - You are going to have to go to the chapel to find that answer.

That time of year, I expect some rain, but less than a month earlier.

The area for such weather stretches north to Kansas, east and west from the center of Texas to Georgia.

It is just the climate.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

RV on the Go is Encore and Thousand Trails.

You have to know which “resorts” the one you are planning to book belong to.

The biggest difference/ complaint is that you will NOT have an assigned site at a Thousand Trails campground like Lake Conroe. You might have booked with the assurance of a 50amp/W/S site and find upon arrival that only 30amp sites without sewer connections are available.

Personally I think Lake Conroe is one of the worst TT campgrounds in the system, for short term/ traveling RVers. They have a lot of wonderful sites, but those are almost all filled by ‘annual’ sites and folks on monthly site contracts.

The sites available for the traveling TT members and public are back to back pull thru sites with about 40 ft between pedestals. That means about 20 feet width for your rig, awnings, slide outs, outdoor living. The sites are very unlevel. As much as 10 inches variation side to side and more than a foot front to back.

Now, I’m a TT member very happy with my membership, but in that area I’ll stay at the USFS Cagle camp a few miles north of TT Lake Conroe. Full hookups at a better price and a firm specific site booking.

TT memberships can work very well for some people, and be horrible for others.

If you want details on their membership programs, that is a different discussion, but search on the web for Thousand Trails memberships. Also, check with sites like Campground Membership Outlet for good FAQs.

Lastly, we bought an entry level ‘zone pass’ at Lake Conroe. Found we did like TT camping, but when we decided to upgrade to a full membership, we bought a used membership through Campground Membership Outlet and are very happy. And we paid $2,300 for what TT will sell you for $7,500.

Edit - did some more checking.

The one year 'free membership' is called a Zone Pass with Thousand Trails - current on the web price is $565. You buy the pass for a year, and you can camp 30 nights for free, then $3 per night for any other nights per year.

You will still have to pay an extra $3 per night at some TT resorts. You would not have to pay a $4 per day resort fee that you would have to pay if you book through RVontheGo.

With the 'Zone Pass' you can stay up to 14 days at a TT campground in your Zone There are five zones across the country with approx 85 total campgrounds in those different zones - Texas is in the Southeast zone which includes 23 campgrounds in Alabama (1), Florida (3), North Carolina (3), South Carolina (2), Tennessee (2), Texas (7) and Virginia (5).

After 14 days at a TT campground, you have to be 'out of the system' for seven days before going to another TT campground. You could stay 4 nights or less and move straight to another campground. Just when you stay a fifth night at one campground, the 7 day rule kicks in.

There are some other restrictions. And there is an addon program for $199 that would open up some Encore resorts across the country for a zone pass holder.

Mose full TT memberships include 21 day stays, park to park travel and no $3 per night after 30 nights per year.

[CaLBaR]

kerrlakeRoo wrote:
Just read through the site. The "about us" button makes it appear that thousand trails and encore are setting a small number of sites aside for this membership promotion. There didnt seem to be anything guaranteeing any site at any location, and they didnt say that if the set aside sites were in use you would be able to get a different site.

As you said, they didn't seem to want to tell you much about the promotion. If you talk on the phone or visit a site, you will no doubt be given a long list of possible visits and stays, but they seem to be avoiding putting much in writing.

Yes this is exactly my concern. Not much info. Usually when there is not much info they are hiding something. My main concern is that I may buy this membership and it has so many restrictions or limited availability that I can't get in where I want.

[CaLBaR]

Executive wrote:
Read the small print VERY CAREFULLY. Yes, there are many catches but it's worth the cost if you're going to save some money. Lake Conroe is a great park if it doesn't rain. That said, guaranteed spots are not common....Dennis

Does it rain there a lot? We are thinking of going there April 29 to May 9th. I really don't want to go somewhere that I am going to get rain 3 or 4 or more days of our stay.

[Executive45]

Read the small print VERY CAREFULLY. Yes, there are many catches but it's worth the cost if you're going to save some money. Lake Conroe is a great park if it doesn't rain. That said, guaranteed spots are not common....Dennis

[kerrlakeRoo]

Just read through the site. The "about us" button makes it appear that thousand trails and encore are setting a small number of sites aside for this membership promotion. There didnt seem to be anything guaranteeing any site at any location, and they didnt say that if the set aside sites were in use you would be able to get a different site.

As you said, they didn't seem to want to tell you much about the promotion. If you talk on the phone or visit a site, you will no doubt be given a long list of possible visits and stays, but they seem to be avoiding putting much in writing.