Lets talk about Thousand Trails

[Just Whipperwhirl 24]

Does anyone here belong to this timeshare of sorts? What are your feelings about it? Worth the money?

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

We don't belong to Thousand Trails but do have a a membership with Outdoor Adventures. We just bought it at the end of last summer and only used it once. With our membership we camp free (I know nothing is free but it will be in 6 mos when the membership is paid off) at 5 camping resorts in Michigan. We also get to camp at any of the Outdoor resorts and their affiliates across the U.S. for $10 a night.

Plus deep discounts on Condo's around the world.

We will be using it more this summer so I'll let you know how we like it.

Mike just informed that Thousand Trails is one of Outdoor Adventures affiliates,

Edited December 13, 2011 by doodlebug....Cherie

[dblr....Rennie 224]

We belong to Thousand Trails and it is worth it if you know how to use it,1st off to buy a membership now I wouldn't buy a brand new one look for a used one. The new ones are limited and very expensive plus the yearly dues are very high. thousand Trails is associated with Outdoor World not Outdoor Adventures I think they are 2 different companys.

We got our membership from my inlaws so we really lucked out and we can camp 21 days in 1 resort then move to another one and keep going like that but they do not always have campgrounds where you might want to be, it can be a useful membership to have but as with everything you have to learn the tricks to make it work the best for you. PM me if you have anymore questions I will try to help you the best I can.

[TnBob 311]

I will tell you that the Thousand Trails in Clermont, Fl is a real crappy campground, not the worse I ever been in bit pretty bad. If that is any indication of there other places I would steer away from it. I also get a call from Thousand trails wanting me to join their program, during the sales speech it comes out that you can only stay for so long in a TT campground then you have to leave and you can't go to another one for a period of times. I forget the exact details but from what I remember you could only use their CG's 3 weeks a month and only 2 weeks continually. Bottom line is make sure you read the fine print.

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

We belong to Thousand Trails and it is worth it if you know how to use it,1st off to buy a membership now I wouldn't buy a brand new one look for a used one. The new ones are limited and very expensive plus the yearly dues are very high. thousand Trails is associated with Outdoor World not Outdoor Adventures I think they are 2 different companys.

We got our membership from my inlaws so we really lucked out and we can camp 21 days in 1 resort then move to another one and keep going like that but they do not always have campgrounds where you might want to be, it can be a useful membership to have but as with everything you have to learn the tricks to make it work the best for you. PM me if you have anymore questions I will try to help you the best I can.

Sorry, dblr but we do belong to Outdoor Adventures, it may be called something else where you live. We bought in brand new but we got it at a great price with our dues locked in at age 65.

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Here is the link for Thousand Trails web page you can check per state where their campgrounds are, some members still have to pay to use but at a reduced rate. The parent company is Encore Resorts or Equity Life Properties, they are the ones that own Tropical Palms near Disney. I hope the link works http://www.thousandtrails.com/

[4mickey2 41]

if this is where bob stayed a year ago and we stopped by--it isn't dog friendly. poor things had stupid sand spurs in their paws constantly. dis-like from us! it was pretty sad for a campground, too....

[AuburnJen 777]

I stayed with Lorna at Thousand Trails and was not impressed. We are not members, but stayed for a weekend. I would rather stay at the state park down the street. They had really nice comfort stations and it was beautiful, unlike the concrete jungle we stayed at in the Thousand Trails facility.

[ftwildernessguy 778]

I'm not a fan of timeshares of any kind. I just have been unable to justify the initial cost, maintenance fees, etc. And I just can't figure out how anybody considers what they get out of it as being "free". Not to mention the poor investment of it. Resale is horrible. There are plenty of really nice campgrounds to stay at without getting involved in one of these deals.

[Duane 152]

We used to belong to Coast to Coast. Used it a couple of times, then figured out it wasn't for us. It seemed that all of the campgrounds in the system were located a long ways out from where we wanted to be.

Not sure how 1000 Trails works, but C2C was a reciprocall thing As long as you stayed at your "home" park, you were treated well and got the "good" sites. When we visited the other parks in the system other than our home park, we were placed out in the "not so nice" sites.

The biggest thing that I would look at if I were you is how do you get out of it if things don't work out, or you just plain don't like it. Some of these things go on forever and the only way that you can get out of it is to sell it or "will" it to someone.

Yearly dues is something else to look at. Make sure if you can to get the dues capped at some amount and not something that can go up and up and up.

And like some of the others have said, don't buy new... look around and buy from someone who wants out. Sometimes you can find deals where folks will give you the membership, they just want you to take over paying the dues. There will be most likely some sort of transfer fee associated with it, but that is better than paying thousands of dollars for something you can get for pennies.

[Abagpiper5 8]

The 3 Thousand trail parks we stayed at were in need of a lot of repair. (Circle M and Timothy Lake North, both in PA, and Lake and Shore in NJ)

You can tell that they may have been a nice place at one time, but we found them to be very run down and in dier need of a face lift and a coat of paint.

We used this program ( http://www.readycampgo.com/ ) to check them out, and for the money it was worth checking them out, but I do not think we will stay at them again unless they fix them up.

I hope the ones where you live are nicer.

[dblr....Rennie 224]

One way to try this system and not get locked into it would be to buy their zone pass, you would need to check which zone fits your needs the most,alot of folks are going this way. Yes the parks are in need of fixing up they have had a couple of owner changes and you know how that is it's all about making the buck, they forget they need to put back to help improve their investment.

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

My parents belong to Resorts of Distinction (ROD), Coast to Coast (C2C), and Adventure Outdoor Resorts (AOR). My parents looked at the cost and locations to figure out if it was worth the cost. The key is how much does it cost, are the locations where you want to travel, and how much do you have to use it to break even. For my parents they figured to break even they needed to stay like 50 nights based on camping costing $30 or $40 a night (don't remember the exact numbers). Look at the rules and restrictions (very important). And most importantly talk to people (which is what you are doing now). If you want send me a PM and I can get you in contact with my parents and they can let you know the good and bad of the ones they joined. All of them have trade offs. Outdoor Adventures has their premium location not far from me in Davison, MI but their other locations while nice are not as fancy as this location. My parents love staying in Davison but with the membership they have they can not stay over the holidays. If used properly the memberships can save you money (my parents can explain it better than me) but if you don't use them it will be an extra expense (like paying for park hoppers and not using them).

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

I'm not a fan of timeshares of any kind. I just have been unable to justify the initial cost, maintenance fees, etc. And I just can't figure out how anybody considers what they get out of it as being "free". Not to mention the poor investment of it. Resale is horrible. There are plenty of really nice campgrounds to stay at without getting involved in one of these deals.

It is definitely not free. More like discounted. It depends where and how much you use them. If you are not on the road full time or atleast half the year you probably won't seen enough advantage to some of the memberships (aka cost savings).

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

Here's one on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/COAST-COAST-RPI-Thousand-Trails-CAMPING-MEMBERSHIP-/120826278434?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c21ceb222#ht_1550wt_1088

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Here's one on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/COAST-COAST-RPI-Thousand-Trails-CAMPING-MEMBERSHIP-/120826278434?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c21ceb222#ht_1550wt_1088it's

This membership will let you use the Thousand Trails parks it is not a Thousand Trails membership, but at $10 a night it's a good deal to use their parks, I think the nightly rate for non members is around $45-50 a night.

You might also want to check out Passpoart America they offer a low yearly cost then 1/2 off the nightly rate at particapating campgrounds, but they have a lot of restrictions you have to look at also,good luck on your choice.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

I have found in my limited experience that cards like Good Sam, KOA, and AAA work better for my needs than a membership would.

[rdancemom... Pam 113]

Here's one on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/COAST-COAST-RPI-Thousand-Trails-CAMPING-MEMBERSHIP-/120826278434?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c21ceb222#ht_1550wt_1088

This membership will let you use the Thousand Trails parks it is not a Thousand Trails membership, but at $10 a night it's a good deal to use their parks, I think the nightly rate for non members is around $45-50 a night.

You might also want to check out Passpoart America they offer a low yearly cost then 1/2 off the nightly rate at particapating campgrounds, but they have a lot of restrictions you have to look at also,good luck on your choice.

I'm confused... it's listed as a "home park membership" but there's no home park? Plus his annual fees are drastically lower than any we've been qouted recently.

I didn't think that $10/night was possible except thru the TT zone program or a TT membership with a real home park. What'd I miss?

DH and I have been considering GBR, not b/c it's especially nice, but b/c it's nearby and we have a lot of time on our hands lately. Also, Campingpixi is one of the best fiends I know to camp next to and that's her home CG. The real $$ value of the deal for us though would likely be in using the C2C...

[dblr....Rennie 224]

I'm confused... it's listed as a "home park membership" but there's no home park? Plus his annual fees are drastically lower than any we've been qouted recently.

I didn't think that $10/night was possible except thru the TT zone program or a TT membership with a real home park. What'd I miss?

DH and I have been considering GBR, not b/c it's especially nice, but b/c it's nearby and we have a lot of time on our hands lately. Also, Campingpixi is one of the best fiends I know to camp next to and that's her home CG. The real $$ value of the deal for us though would likely be in using the C2C...

Pam I'm not sure what the home park would be if it's coast to coast I do not know much about their system, we are strictly Thousand Trails and I know to buy a brand new membership it's like $17,000.00 plus $750 a year dues not at all worth it plus it expires. What we have is a lifetime membership handed down to us from Beth's mom and our dues are froze at $359 a year, we just got lucky.

Good luck on your quest for Coast to Coast and by the way I have not seen Camping Pixie here in a while will she make the Gettysburg GG?

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Wow! Now I feel like I really got a great deal! Our membership to Outdoor Adventures was $5,000 and our dues are under $300 and will be capped when Mike turns 65 next year. Ours is a lifetime membership and all 5 our kids have owner benefits, and we have put them on our deed so they will inherit the membership. We also have 5 home resorts in Michigan.

[rdancemom... Pam 113]

I might be wrong about this but IIRC, when we did the GBR presentation last summer they started the pricing at $10,000, then if you took off the ability to rent cabins for yourself or family in addition to using campsites, they dropped it down a little lower.

It's a Travel Resorts of America & there are only GBR and Sycamore Lodge (below Raleigh) which I hear is beautiful. In the initial pitch they also included priveleges at one "sister" resort in OH which I've heard is supposed to be better than either of the other two but that name escapes me right now.

If we deleted the OH CG & the cabin options plus didn't opt for a membership eligible for the $500 annual C2C affliation, the bottom line lowest "one day today only" price was $7000 for GBR and SL only and it was the newer more-limited membership, not the more generous older membership like the pixis enjoy.

dblr - I miss the pixis too, hoping she'll pop back into ff when the weather warms up and they're camping again. I'll send her a FB message about Easter weekend, maybe she'll be in the area...

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

Remember all things are negotiable. My parents got part of their price reduced by reducing the amount they could be in their "home" park. There are a lot of tricks to get the best value and they got a decent one the first time around but better their second.

[Duane 152]

Travel Resorts of America was the one we used to belong to.... The park in NC is between Sanford and Pinehurst and about an hour or so south of Raleigh. Its a nice park, but basically out in the middle of no where. They do a lot to keep the park up and most of the members that go there seem to really enjoy it. Their sister park (at least when we were members) was up in Gettysburg PA. It was also a somewhat nice park (at least in our opinion). But the neither park was fully full hook-up (meaning they had water and electric). All sites did not have a sewer hook-up, which was not a good thing for us.

Again, whichever membership deal you choose, if you decide to move forward, make sure you know what is involved to get out if you end up not liking it, or if other circumstances pop up. When we tried to sell our membership, we go absolutely no bites. I listed it with one of those timeshare resellers, again absolutely no bites. Even tried to give it away but again, nothing. But all along had to pay the dues each year. The way we finally got out from under it was to call the TRA and tell them that we had not darked their door for about 3 to 4 years and that we wanted out. They basically told us that if we sent them one year's dues in full, they would cancel our membership.

For any membership that you decide on, check to see actually where the parks are located that are in their system. Once you get the names, go over to RV.net, or [email protected] and ask for people that have ever been there, or are members there. Ask them that if they were "outsiders" how were they treated at the park they were visiting. This was another thing that turned us off from C2C. Whenever we visitied parks other than our home park, we were placed out in the back of the park, in some of the most undesirable sites. We ran into things like exsessive slope, poor drainage, and high grass. I thought I would turn over our trailer at a park at Kerr Lake in NC while trying to back in.

Now on the other hand, we visited the campground that Camping Pixi has mentioned on here just outside of Charlottesville VA, it was a beautiful park.

I guess what I keep harping on, is to do your research! They want a lot of money for these memberships if you buy directly from them. The dues are what keeps up the parks and them in business. The parks insist on you paying the dues, therefore they make it hard for you to get out if you don't like it anymore. If you buy in and like it and more importantly USE it, then its a win win for all. But after you sign that contract, pay your upfront money, and later on you decide that you are not satisfied, those dues invoices are gonna keep coming in regardless...

I will shut up now, and go back to my corner.

[rdancemom... Pam 113]

The full hookup thing is a biggie IMO. The majority of the GBR sites don't have sewer - even the new ones they started putting in last year. Why any CG that already has issues with members complaining over not being able to book sewer sites easily would build more without sewer is a mystery to me. Well, maybe not... it's about $$ of course.

GBR is 30-45 mins for us so we'd use it if we had it. We wouldn't pay big bucks for it though even if we could. We're looking for somebody looking to get out and we're not in a hurry. Sure wish we'd known you back then Duane...

[Duane 152]

Pam,

I hope you don't think that I'm rude or pushy on this subject.... If you are interested in TRA or GBR, keep looking. You have the right attitude that you are not in a hurry.. because if you go and sit down with any of these folks, they make you feel, that if you don't sign at that particular moment you will lose the deal of a lifetime...

Anyway with that being said, if you are still interested in TRA, check the Raleigh Craigslist. I see ads for TRA all the time. In fact, for grins, I just put Travel Resorts in the search field in the Raleigh Craigslist and came back with this..... http://raleigh.craig...2719063507.html