Thousand trail membership

[DaveMatthewsBand]

Keep in mind that the cheap pass (camping pass) only allows you to camp 2 weeks maximum then ya have to be out of the system for a week.
Or, if you want to hit a bunch of TT parks within a short time frame, you can stay a max of 4 days, but go from one park to another, over and over.
This is still a killer deal for full timers like us!

If however you only visit RV parks less than a dozen times a year, it doesn’t really make sense to have a pass.

We bought The camping pass last year and used it to stay at a bunch of Thousand Trails parks along the Oregon and Washington coast. We moved about every four days which was fine for us because we were trying to see everything under the sun last Summer. I think we paid about $500 for pretty much the entire West coast, which literally saved us thousands of dollars.

We recently upgraded to one of the more expensive memberships which allows us to spend up to three weeks at each park and go from one park to another indefinitely, along with other benefits.
We basically use the TT membership during the Summer only since there’s very few “nice” dry camping spots on the West coast, then we boondock all Winter down South.


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[Ed5901]

TT and Encore are now owned by the same company but keep separate membership. With additional cost you can gain admission to the other.

Ed

[D2Reid]

I think we have owned Thousand Trails 3 out of 7 years. We bought it specifically for being around our son for extended periods. There rules of stay, go, stay again etc are whacky, but if you take the time read all the rules and think about how to make the system work it does pay for itself.

The downside we saw the last time we purchased TT is the parks on the system were getting run down. Full hookup occupied by monthly folks, 30 amp, no sewer, too short, no availability, etc. While it is a great deal if you have a couple of specific parks in mind and are willing to stay there. Just getting it for the promise of cheap rent doesn't work as well. Yes you can work the system and stay really cheap, but you loose your freedom of choice, not acceptable to us.

They will also dicker with you a bit. They offer specials from time to time, if you can quote a particular special that you saw they will generally honor it well after the end date. Plus, you can generally get a second zone added for $49. Like any other sales/purchase endeavor, the more you are will to walk away the more they are will to bargain.

I would buy into the program again. It isn't a terrible deal.

P.S. almost forgot, there is a "home base" or home location, I forget the exact term, but when you are purchased the program be sure to ask them to make a reservation at that time, tell them if you are unable to get a reservation then you don't want the package.

[slauretani]

TT Orlando is our home park. It is a large park with over 800 sites. Most are open and ok sized. They have a good recreation area, pool and outdoor games. The park is busy from Jan till April with all the snow birds, the rest of the year is not a problem for reservations. The park is located good for Disney and also for the rest of the Orlando area attractions. The encore parks are ok but the sites seem to be packed together, we have driven through but have not stay. There is an encore park in Clermont FL that many tts use for their time out of park that gets good reviews. TT membership is good as long as you plan on using the parks a few time each year

Ed

Thanks Ed for the information. Just wondering if you know the name of the encore park in Clermont. I’ve looked at tropical palms and Sherwood Forest. But we have never stayed at them or seen them other than on line. Just trying to check out all our options in the area before we make a purchase of the TT membership. Thanks

[CWSWine]

I would spend some time on Youtube with searches like "Thousand Trails in Flordia" and Reviews of Thousand trails". There lot info there on how to stay in thousand for two weeks then move directly to Encore and then back to Thousand Trails. There also a lot good and not so good reviews. We are still on the fence if we use it enough to make it worth the money.

[slauretani]

I would spend some time on Youtube with searches like "Thousand Trails in Flordia" and Reviews of Thousand trails". There lot info there on how to stay in thousand for two weeks then move directly to Encore and then back to Thousand Trails. There also a lot good and not so good reviews. We are still on the fence if we use it enough to make it worth the money.

We have watched quite a few conversations about thousand trails on YouTube and yes, they are very informative. We follow several full time RVers on YouTube. They give a lot of good info.

[Ed5901]

Thanks Ed for the information. Just wondering if you know the name of the encore park in Clermont. I’ve looked at tropical palms and Sherwood Forest. But we have never stayed at them or seen them other than on line. Just trying to check out all our options in the area before we make a purchase of the TT membership. Thanks

Looking up the Encore locations in Central Florida the one that seems most likely is Southern Palms Rv in Eustis FL which is just north of Clermont.

[CWSWine]

Since there is a big void in the middle of the USA for Thousand Trails and Encore parks we are going to visit some during our stay in San Antonio TX next week and make our decision. We are looking at a plan that would cost us about 700 dollars per year and if you use the average of 35.00 per might you would need to stay 20 nights to break even. My decision will be based on are they someplace I want to stay. I would love to stay in Resorts but when the average cost I'm seeing is closer to 75 dollars per night the 150 days a year I spend could cost as much as 11,500 dollars and even at 35 dollars it would be 5250 dollars.

[howson]

Fran and I got one of the free Thousand Trails memberships when we purchased from Campers Inn. We had the opportunity to use if for the first time on this trip in Gloucester, Va.

First surprise was when we pulled up and was told, "pick your spot". We were new to the park so around and around we went with the trailer in tow trying to figure out where we wanted to park. Many of the spots had decks and plastic storage cabinets on them, even though the spot was "empty". Many more had plastic taped over the electrical boxes. This was apparently the way to reserve a specific spot.

Once we figured out where we were going to park, we learned the free camping was only in 30A spots. 50A spots cost another $3/night. (!)

The pick-your-spot wasn't too big of a deal for us as we arrived at the park early in the day. The rest of the afternoon, though, the campground turned into a racetrack as campers streamed in and raced around looking for the best spot. Crazy. To top it off, the spot next to us was empty because it was a very short. At 10pm a huge Venom triple-axle toy hauler decided he was going to park there. (This was his first time out with the unit.) I stood on my steps watching as neighbors yelled "STOP!" or "TURN, TURN, TURN!!!". More than once the newbie came close to taking out the corner of his rig on a tree or smashing the utility pole. After 20 minutes of this (going back and forth, back and forth trying to get his rig lined up) he *finally* got it right. One of the spotters yelled, "Hey, do you want to drop the ramp and get your toys out first?" The driver jumped out of his truck to discover there was no way he was going to park and be able to drop his ramp. With many forum-unapproved words spewing from his mouth he got back in his truck and drove away to find another spot.

The point, obviously, is that newbie should never have been in that situation to start with if the campground had assigned a spot based on the size of his rig. The free-for-all is so bad an individual with a small pop-up can claim one of the few long 50A spots and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Absolutely ridiculous.

There's also apparently several layers of "membership". There were many, many trailers that were obviously never moved from their spot.

The location was very nice and fellow campers very friendly. The staff...not so much...but that is apparently a campground-specific management issue.

All in all not a good first impression of Thousand Trails.

[LV Naturist]

Fran and I got one of the free Thousand Trails memberships when we purchased from Campers Inn. We had the opportunity to use if for the first time on this trip in Gloucester, Va.

First surprise was when we pulled up and was told, "pick your spot". We were new to the park so around and around we went with the trailer in tow trying to figure out where we wanted to park. Many of the spots had decks and plastic storage cabinets on them, even though the spot was "empty". Many more had plastic taped over the electrical boxes. This was apparently the way to reserve a specific spot.

Once we figured out where we were going to park, we learned the free camping was only in 30A spots. 50A spots cost another $3/night. (!)

The pick-your-spot wasn't too big of a deal for us as we arrived at the park early in the day. The rest of the afternoon, though, the campground turned into a racetrack as campers streamed in and raced around looking for the best spot. Crazy. To top it off, the spot next to us was empty because it was a very short. At 10pm a huge Venom triple-axle toy hauler decided he was going to park there. (This was his first time out with the unit.) I stood on my steps watching as neighbors yelled "STOP!" or "TURN, TURN, TURN!!!". More than once the newbie came close to taking out the corner of his rig on a tree or smashing the utility pole. After 20 minutes of this (going back and forth, back and forth trying to get his rig lined up) he *finally* got it right. One of the spotters yelled, "Hey, do you want to drop the ramp and get your toys out first?" The driver jumped out of his truck to discover there was no way he was going to park and be able to drop his ramp. With many forum-unapproved words spewing from his mouth he got back in his truck and drove away to find another spot.

The point, obviously, is that newbie should never have been in that situation to start with if the campground had assigned a spot based on the size of his rig. The free-for-all is so bad an individual with a small pop-up can claim one of the few long 50A spots and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Absolutely ridiculous.

There's also apparently several layers of "membership". There were many, many trailers that were obviously never moved from their spot.

The location was very nice and fellow campers very friendly. The staff...not so much...but that is apparently a campground-specific management issue.

All in all not a good first impression of Thousand Trails.

We had the exact same experience when we camped at the TT campground in Palm Desert. The results were posted in my thread under "It Happened To Me!!!". We may (or may not) take advantage of our remaining "free" membership. I WILL do more research on the campground in question before I commit.

John