THOUSAND TRAILS - DIRTY SECRETS THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW! RV LIVING
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2024
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sorry to be so offtopic but does anybody know a method to get back into an Instagram account?
I was dumb lost the account password. I would love any assistance you can give me
@Abdullah Daniel instablaster ;)
@Jack Toby Thanks for your reply. I got to the site on google and im in the hacking process atm.
Takes quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.
@Jack Toby It did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. Im so happy:D
Thanks so much you saved my account :D
@Abdullah Daniel Glad I could help xD
Been full time for 4 years and never heard of TT. I really appreciate the video! I never did mind the sales pitches because they always offered you something just for showing up and we are able to say no without a problem.
Over Covid I took a camp host position out of desperation and fell in love with it! I would have no use for this membership but maybe one day in the future. Thank you so much for the information. I really appreciate your genuine and authentic sharing. 🙏🏻💕✨
We got a free one year zone pass when we bought our hybrid trailer in 2018 and chose the NE zone because all the Lancaster area parks are close by. Last year we re-upped for 4 years of the zone pass at $475/year and added the SE zone for $49/year. We are weekend warriors who do the occasional week long trip and it works great for us. We camped 32 nights last year which averaged out to about $13/night. Can't beat that with a stick! 👍
Kimberly is awesome!!! After a few years of chats i finally bought the Elite today!!! TY Campground outlet!!!
These parks were built some 40 years ago long before 50amp & 40 foot
mansions on wheels.
Even the access roads
are made for the big rigs
This place was a nightmare for us. We started out buying the SE and Encore membership. Then we spoke to the agent at the TT Park we were staying at. She flat out lied to us. We liked the part she said about booking six months out, as it is hard to get winter time reservations in Florida. We live in Colorado and it’s a hell of a drive to Florida. We asked if we could book our entire four months at the 180 day mark, she said yes. We figured that we would be paid back with what we would save within a couple of years. Well we started booking in July of 2019, for January of 2020. We we allowed to book only the first two weeks and had to wait two more weeks to book the next two weeks. When we did book the next two weeks, they said ,we couldn’t book anymore after this as we were at are allotted maximum time booked. They said that during the peak season you could only book two, two week time frames. Once we would use one of them we could book the next one. Well hell, we would be in Florida with no reservations past our forth week of staying with the “hopes “ we could book another TT Park, and if not what to do then, hope someone had reservations that I would have to spend big money on until we could find another TT park. That is what we had spent $9,300 on to avoid. We had all our notes and texts from the TT agent that showed we were lied to about booking. I called and complained and after sometime we were refunded most of our money. I feel very disappointed in the BS that was dished out to us. Oh, you can’t get into the web site until you become a member to see all the can do and can not do pages. It seemed to good to be true and it was for us. I know some people love TT, but they may be able to go with the flow better then we could or they were not lied to at the beginning. Well that’s my two cents.
They won't let anyone reserve for 4 months straight, your not the only one that wants to use that park and they paid their dues and membership to. If you want to stay that long pay for the extended stay or full time resident.
Nobody would ever leave the good campgrounds..they would just live there really cheap!
I think I must've I missed something....what the heck cost you $9300??
@@davervatx8814
The Silver membership for all their parks to be available to them s to use. They had three different membership steps which are more expensive as you go up
Almost $10k
For basically a networking site🤷♂️
No thanks
Your content on TT was very accurate. We have had the TT basic Nationwide plan for 12 years now, and have been FTers for 8 years. We find that the park maintenance system wide has declined and the sites available to transients has greatly diminished. If we had it all to do over again we probably would not have made the purchase. My recommendation to anyone considering getting a TT membership is to get the Zone Pass and try out as many parks as possible before making a decision to purchase a longer term contract.
We've said yes to thousand Trails, we live in Canada and their is only 1 location in Canada however this family loves it! I've been going for years, my grand parents were part of thousand trails for years, I used to stay with them growing up, it's like reliving my childhood everytime I bring the family to stay.
We started FTing 5 1/2 years ago. We said NO to TT as we usually don't like camping in RV parks, especially with all the rules. We hate making reservations in advance, preferring the spontaneity of boondocking. We like being able to come and go as we please, avoiding crowded campgrounds if possible. While it's true that most Forest Service and BLM boondocking spots have a 14-day camping limit, we're usually finished seeing the area in a week or two anyway. If not, we simply move to another boondocking spot not far away from the first. Sometimes we can simply move from BLM land to FS or State Trust land or move from one National Forest to another adjacent one to avoid traveling far, while complying with the 2-week camping limit. When we do decide to stay in a campground, typically for the convenience of being near a National Park or National Monument we want to visit, we usually choose 1/2 price Forest Service and Army COE campgrounds for only $10-$15/night with our America the Beautiful Pass.
LTVAs (long term visitor areas) are also an option if you wish to remain in an area for an extended period of time. For instance, we boondocked for 10 months last year, choosing to remain in the warm and sunny Yuma area all winter, camping with friends. An LTVA seasonal pass there is only $180 for 7 months, which breaks down to only 86 cents a day. This buys you not only a safe, warm and level place to stay the entire winter, but also entitles you to unlimited fresh water, dump station use and trash disposal. That's hard to beat! The permit allows you to stay in one spot or visit other LTVAs in the area whenever you like - which is how we like to live. We have plenty of solar and batteries allowing us to run everything in our motorhome just like were plugged into a power pole at an RV park, including both of our air conditioners - powered entirely by the sun. We started with a smaller solar system and would run our generator when we needed to run our A/C or microwave. Now we never have to run our generator anymore, avoiding the noise and expense.
Why spend the thousands of dollars up front and hundreds annually to buy an expensive TT membership when you could put all that money in a nice solar system to become electrically independent? We hate being packed tightly into an RV park, all lined up with other campers like sardines in a can and be forced to make reservations month in advance and follow their strict, complicated rules. I don't get it. If you're self-contained, why not enjoy your freedom more going where you want, when you want at a whim and save the high initial cost and yearly maintenance fees of a TT membership?
During the pandemic and the craziness, I find your vlogs refreshing. Very informative and upbeat. Stay safe
Hello from Okinawa, Japan! We are moving back to the USA next month and we already bought our TT membership through Campground Membership Outlet. Kimberly helped us so much. We are waiting to get ours so we can star booking our sites. We agree TT isn’t for everyone, but it is for us. Thanks for the information.
Totally agree with buying a resale TT membership. I originally heard of Campground Membership Outlet and Kimberly Hoel through RV Love. Like you, I purchased my TT VIP - Elite lifetime TT membership at a tremendous financial savings. Kimberly and her brother Chad are awesome. They clearly explain every option available as a resale buyer. You cannot go wrong reaching out to Campground Membership Outlet...
I have to tell you. there were times when I was frustrated with Thousand Trails and other times they were a life saver. During Covid, they allowed many of us to stay for almost five months at the Wilderness Park between Palm Springs and LA in Menifee, California. The staff was absolutely wonderful and we had a safe quiet place to stay. For that I will be ever grateful!
Very unhappy with my Thousand Trails membership. I just bought the top tier membership with all the add-ons. Come to find out after spending 16 grand on a membership that they now started reserving spots for NON members in the parks! So you can call a park as a non member and they will have a spot for you but if you are a premium member they tell you they don't have a spot! This is so shady. They are also adding more and more fees that go on top of your membership. Some sites charge you as much as 25 dollars to get an amazon package delivered. They are charging for different check in times now. The parks on the west coast ALL seem to be run down with power issues, water problems, and amenities not being open. They are all about just getting your money and not about taking care of their customers.
Bought a new Airstream a few months ago and it came with one year free membership. However, you had to accept the call from their sales reps to get in. I never called them back because of the reasons you've mentioned in this video. We stay in some really nice sites that are somewhat expensive per night. However, it would take years to pay for a Thousand Trails package. We are just part-timers though, but we do say for weeks at a time on the road.
I will never go to 1000 trails. Glad you made this video.
Heads on TT parks, Colorado River Columbus, TX charges $10 in the new section, some others are charging $3 - $5 if the site is 50amp no matter if you use the 50 or 30amp
Just a question. Thousand Trails current adverts show "over 200 parks" not the 80+ that people say you get with a camping pass/ How do they arrive at that number?
We are leaning toward a Camping Pass membership, we camp in almost any spot, Boondock, COE, Military Famcamp and Commercial. So the $50+ a month seems like a good deal. We are on the toad from sometime after the holidays until November most years.
To get the additional campgrounds/resorts, you must pay to add on the Trails Collection.
I'm a thousand Trails member, camping pass only. Little did I know, the dealership I got my trailer from, La Mesa RV, was supposed to give me a complimentary year. I found this out from the TT sales rep at the Verde Valley, Cottonwood AZ Thousand Trails.
Besides boon docking, where else can you go for $59 a month? I've been to KOA sites in Az from $75-85 a night! Some of the AZ state parks are about $35 a night. I stay 2weeks @ Verde Valley for $0!!!
They've been open during covid! For me the basic is a must! Yes, they do try to upsell everytime I'm there. I kindly say thanks for the offer, I'll get back to ya.
So if you're going to buy an RV of any kind from a dealer, ask if they do the 1yr complimentary Thousand Trails camping pass. I know La Mesa Rv in Arizona should and there's one more just cant say for sure.
Been a TT member for a yr worth every penny for the way we use it. 14 days in the site/camp ground and gotta leave for 7 days.
LeMesa failed to mention that to me , too
We've been members since 2003. We are full time and know what thousand trails is. We've never been called to upgrade. Yes some parks do need some maintenance. it is still the best value. Our membership helps our retirement budget.
We went fulltime at the end of March and bought a used membership. First of may we were finally able to use it and started at Orlando. By the end of may we were able to launch out of Florida. So, we have now stayed in TT parks in Tennesee 2 of them. Kentucky, Indianna, East Ohio, as well as 2 Encore parks.Its been good overall, but a learning experience for sure. They seem to be doing some upgrades at various parks like wifi. Covid has definitely had a negative effect on amenities. Watching TH-cam channels like yours helped us a lot in preparing for fulltime RV life. Thanks!
How much was your membership?
I said yes for the very basic. Our first trip will be in October 2022
We bought our membership used through a broker $3500 elite membership and every year we buy extra the RPI and the trails collection. Really we couldn’t be happier with Thousand trails and encore.😊 you just got to have an open mind and be flexible. Most of the parks are nice and you will feel like you’ve died and gone to heaven, but some of the parks are less inviting and not as nice and is in need of some love and new management. But all in all for the money 💰 it’s been a great membership.😎
I’m a unhappy member and will drop my membership! the parks in California are rough at best
Good Job.... good information.... you guys really put a smile on my face... You show the "Good, Bad and the ugly".... only watch you and "Changing Lanes"... I'm into "Real Stuff"...... if you know what I mean..... Keep up the GREAT WORK!
I got the elite basic membership. I don’t use it enough for 21 days in an encore park. I’ll look into adventure when I retire.
My family is grandfathered in on a very old contract. (30 plus years) They would not advice anyone to pick up a membership in the last few years due to the selling off of properties, lack of upkeep in other properties, and all the changes that have happened over the years.
We said, "Yes!". We are full time on the west coast. We got the Basic Elite with Trails Collection. With the contract and yearly dues, we pay around $200 a month "rent" which includes water, sewer, garbage, electricity, swimming pools, spas, etc. Once the contract is paid off in a couple of years, that will drop significantly, leaving us to pay just the yearly dues, which was frozen when I turned 62 (make sure they put that in your contract). I can't think where else we can live for that much "rent" with all those amenities.
I am a Thousand Trails lifetime member (I purchased my membership second hand) and I am now on a permanent seasonal site. Each location has a number of seasonal sites allowed and available if seasonal members give up their site.
We started with the Camping Pass and after a year and a half upgraded to a membership. Mostly for the park to park and the 120 day reservation window. Another ”hack” is if they are full, call the ranger station and ask about overflow sites. After all, you have water and holding tanks. And when there are cancellations, we have gotten moved to a “site” from overflow.
We love our 1000 trails package that we bought from a reseller (Kimberly). You have to be easy going though and not sweat the small stuff. If a campground isn’t the best, we don’t stay there again. It is all part of the adventure.
We plan to say YES when we become snowbirds. The Get Gone With Us TH-cam channel does a review of every TT they stay in. I've been keeping a file on them.
Find Us Camping also reviews all TT parks also. Check us out!
We were so excited to purchase a camping membership at Thousand Trails and we purchased ALL of the zones, way back when you could actually do that. We loved going to the Preserves for the most part, and even used one of them for day trips and all-day swimming when we didn't have time to take off for a whole weekend. But when they started leasing out spots for a year at a time, they took all of the best spots for the leased sites and left the plain, tight spots for regular members. Eventually they must have started allowing people to stay long term, because the last time we stayed at one, we had neighbors on both sides of us with all sorts of stuff stacked up like a homeless camp. Imagine going camping to enjoy the scenery, and all you see is boxes of disposable diapers, cases of beer and potato chips because they don't have room to store their stuff inside.
We also had purchased Coast Deluxe through the Coast to Coast program, and we had our home park moved numerous times when an individual Thousand Trails Preserve would decide not to honor it anymore. Eventually we received a letter from Coast to Coast saying that we were now "orphan members" because Thousand Trails wasn't going to accept Coast to Coast anymore. We had the choice of giving up our Coast Deluxe altogether, or paying to join another resort system. The cheapest they offered was $7000 and was back east where we would never be going.
You got what you paid for! Cheap costs, cheap lifestyle 😉
I’m getting ready to cancel my trails collection and camp pass because for 370.00 what they don’t tell you is these trails collection parks only a lot a very small percentage of rv spaces for that program. It’s really smelly because nowhere does it say this. The day I paid nearly 1000.00 I spent 4 hours trying to make reservations at the encore parks and couldn’t book not one night. The park managers know this and they shuffle you off to member services who never call back. I wonder how they get away with this. It reminds me of a pyramid scam.
I sure enjoy you're vids! Keep up the good work!!!
Since you new truck was behind you I noticed you don't have a bedliner, are you going to get a sprayed in liner?
You can also book 4 days at a time as many times as you like and never be out. If you’re on the move. I literally booked two months, four days at a time and was never out of the system. I was trying to get as much in and make it back home before I had to go back to work.
We bought the park to park option with all zones and have not had any issues so far. Thankfully!
How expensive was it? Did you buy used or from TT?. Is your annual fee worth the cost?
I'm a full-time RV'er for about 6 months now. I have only stayed at state parks and COEs and love the quality of these parks. Your insight on TT is excellent and gives a good understanding as I research more on which membership to purchase. My main concern (beyond the pricing structure) is the quality of TT campgrounds. I have been reading campground reviews online on many of the specific parks. Many share they are junky and run down. I've never stayed at a TT campground. Should I be concerned that these campgrounds are junk? Thanks for the extra guidance.
Hey Mike! Some parks are great and some are not. Because we still work a lot in the RV, even a "run down" park can be an OK place to stay and work for a couple weeks. Which might not be good for others. I would still recommend the camping pass to try them out and see for yourself. Small investment to see if you like them or not.
Yes be concerned. You will never find sites as nice as the ones in State Parks .
Hey guys, what membership package did you end up purchasing?
Thanks for the tip!! I will just keep staying at National Parks, State Parks and Military FamCamps!
About to finish paying off our Elite membership and all I can input is that, as a full timer is that this is fully worth it. The membership was about $8k new, we do have some benefits older used elite memberships do not have and you also cannot resell as an second time purchaser. We have stayed in the parks pretty much full time for the last two years across the nation.
And I can tell you right now, a single year in a decent rv park can run $10k+. So to think we can be in a system and have reservations 6months ahead all of the year and always in the parks it is well worth the money. We would have spent multiples of the cost of a membership if using regular parks. Yeah, you could “boondock” all the time but as full timers boondocking is not always appealing, actually most of the time.
All in all get an Elite membership or upper tier if you travel a lot of the coast, since they are mainly on the coast. If you are just a weekend warrior just get a normal membership. Not everyone needs top packages.
And for $599 for 14days every 7days or 4day park to park - you could easily rv every weekend and get you value back in no time.
Hi we said yes... Elite collection... Full timers so it is so cheap to stay. We enter a park with very low expectations so we are not disappointed if we choose one of the lesser kept parks. I love the coastal cities so this worked for us. And we are over 55 so Arizona is our favorite place so far.
Nice one guys... You are a groovy couple... I enjoy your authenticity and sense of fun... and big hello to your son/stepson... All qudos to you all... Godspeed and God bless your happy trails... 💚💚💚💚
Wow you could not be more wrong.
Sports metaphor is so off base.
Dirty secret? I just purchased mine and people like you made me question TT.
1) Tight rv spots - yeah - that is not a TT issue, it is many rv campgrounds.
2) Availability? Do you even know how many RV parks do not answer their phone because they are too busy? Not a TT issue, it is a resource issue across the board.
3) You should specify who TT is for - so here it is -
Thousand Trailers is ideal for someone looking to move around a region or the entire continental USA.
Here is a secret - if you stay 4 days or less, you can jump park to park indefinitely.
You can scale Florida if you wanted to for over 5 months.
BTW for those who do not know, Florida has some of the most expensive RV parks. 1 month can easily cost you $4000.
TT is great to use to scale the east coast or visit teas, to California all the way to Washington
At $1100 for all the locations per year, you only need 2 days per month to break even. 4 days per month and you have saved money.
14 days, you are ahead of the game by a lot.
I am at Encore right now. Clean, nice people, plenty of space.
RV parks around me are $60 - $120 per day.
Thanks TT for my 4 free days.
With TT I can schedule everything online and via mobile. No need to wait for phone calls.
This video is slinging mud unjustly.
We used Kimberly also for our used Elite membership. It has been a slow process during this COVID pandemic. We paid little under 6k. We are still waiting to get our member number, but way better than paying the full amount.
We purchased an Elite package resell. Currently waiting the transfer period, 2 weeks now. We were going to do the year pass but felt we need the 120 day booking window and the 81 park package. Of course one can justify buying anything so I did. Thought being to have the package pay for itself, we would need to stay 60 days for the rest of our life. We just purchased an RV and spent 2 weeks out so far which cost us over $700. From there on, the yearly maintenance which is lower than a new package, would only require 8 days a year, not a problem. We live in Florida so we will be purchasing the Trails Collection to get into a huge number of parks here as we pretty much winter in Florida but would be nice to go to different places as we both still work and can from the RV as well. Thanks for the video! I know you cant wait to leave this park, you have been much more patient than I would have been. Typical trailer park folks (I grew up in several) same Neapolian complexes still. Take care
I heard that thousand trails has an add on resort(i think it’s called encore not sure) but your trailer but be a certain age or newer. Is this true and every year does it jump to a newer year?
So if I understood correctly, you paid $4,000.00 for the membership then an additional app. $600.00 a year annual maintenance. And this entitles you to camp at the Thousand trails facilities for whatever number of consecutive weeks they allow. You have to leave for a 7 day period in between but other than that you camp at no additional costs? Is that correct?
We said yes about 20 years ago. We barely broke even for years. Now that we are full time Rv’ers it’s a deal.
We have had TT for a few years now. Have thought about selling it but I think we will keep it. I do like it when we can stay our 21 days. But during peak season you can only do the 14 at some parks. And we are noticing more of them are looking pretty rough and in need of major repairs. Sadly, not too many people want to work.
Have you ever tried to get a hold of Member Services? More than an hour wait by phone several times!! We did the annual pass and while Covid has really damaged this camping year, we decided to stay in Florida, and other than Sunshine Key, the Encore parks we tried were sad. Still fighting with one place (absentee manager leaving it all up to 1 overwhelmed staffer) to get a refund for a timely cancellation. Might try the NorthEast Zone if we ever can get up to Maine. Otherwise rather go to SunRV resorts!!
We bought the annual pass in February 2020 with plans to depart mid-April. However since COVID-19 hit our house sitters changed their minds and won't be able to go on the road until late August or September 2020. Needless to say we won't get near the benefits of TT we'd hoped we would, but staying for a couple months will still be a win, win for our purposes. It's confusing, but has some real saving benefits if used smartly.
We have had thousand trails for years and love it even though we dont use it as much as we would like. We had American Campgrounds lifetime which became Naco which was then absorbed by Thousand Trails.
With just basic membership it is still worth it ... At a medium priced resort at $50 per the night membership pays for itself in a 14 day stay ....
On a side note on your tee shirt ... Has anyone mentioned the scene of the mountains and sun can also look like a swimmer in the water....
Thanks for sharing the all your views
It seems that the issue with any kind of memberships is that they control the cap. They could oversell and then you might have a hard time finding a spot
I bought a camping pass 2 years ago, I used it few times, yes, just a few times, only because I could not find available sites... so I didn't renew. and I agree on the condition of the park, they need some work.
Hi my brother and his wife had this. his biggest trouble was not getting the camp ground when he needed it. but he worked around that. If he couldn't get into a park, then he checked up with KOA, or state and city parks. . Some times they cost a little more and some times less. But too say that one is better than the other; just depends on what your looking for and how long of stays and the time of the year.
I'm still a weekend warrior but would consider a thousand trails membership when I go full time. Thanks for the information.
We had the camping pass last year and had gotten our moneys worth. We will be buying a membership in the near future.
We said yes, and are disappointed. We are full-timers, and haven't used our membership in 6 months. While it was nice that some Thousand Trails members were able to stay longer during Covid-19, we had to pay a private RV park and were not able to get into Thousand Trails. We were not in a state that shut down campgrounds, BTW. Thousand Trails informed members they were following local ordinances, but this is not true. Another issue I have is if I need to contact customer service, they never answer emails through the member website. I am under the impression that email would leave a written record. All correspondence is over the phone. They are selling a lot more memberships, so it's much harder to get in unless you plan months in advance. We are Elite lifetime members.
Is there a “holy grail” used membership? I’m on the road 300+ days per year for work, I’m transitioning from vacation rentals and hotels to an rv.
I had TT for a year definitely worth it.
I’ve been an Elite member and FT RVer for 3 years, and so far it’s been great. Yeah, upkeep on some could be better, but they do take care of everything that’s used a lot. Pools, mini-golf, rec centers, the stores, all are well kept. Haven’t run into any where the best spots are taken, and haven’t run into people that are there FT either. Some people who are in for 7 months, and out for 5 months do need to clean their act up. But if you mention it to management, they usually do something. I’ve saved thousands over these 3 years using Thousand Trails.
NO, no, no NO to TT, we prefer State Parks, Military RV parks and Corp of Engineer parks where we get 1/2 off due to being over 65... We've stayed only 3 times in parks where we had to pay full price and frankly it is WAY cheaper to NOT do TT parks... that 'FREE' camping is NOT Free.
@iClash GET OFF MY LAWN!
We use primarily military parks but the parents used TT premium lifetime package for more than twenty five years. They were pretty happy with it. However, we live in Missouri...there are absolutely NO TT in this area.
@iClash My grand children would agree with you... if you live long enough you'll be old one day too.
I just got a yearly pass for $480. Bottom of lineups.
I'm a weekender RV, usually stay Friday Saturday between 150 and $200 depending where I'm at..
I figure I'll try it stay at 4 or 6 of their sites.. payout by itself..
No for now we have a few more years before we go full time. But we do have a permanent site in upstate NY we stay in the summer. I really do enjoy your show for all the great information you put out. So thank you and keep up the great work that you do.
Hi what was that Diesel card you mention about saving money ? I can not find the show where you talked about it thanks. Love watching and learning great tips from you.
We said "YES" to 1000 trails. We also bought "used" from Kim. We are full timers and got the Elite pkg. We paid ourselves back within a few months. Seeing how we would have paid that and more going private\boondocking alone, one just cannot not have a 1000 trails membership (be it good, bad or ugly). We also got the Encore pkg too. Same deal too. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
How much was membership? Thanks
Bought in to Thousand Trails NACO with a GOLD membership back in the late 1980's. $5000 and over $300/yr "dues" back then. Stopped paying dues a long time ago and let it go......CUT my losses.
can you use their campgrounds without camping? we live by one and would love to have a membership just go for the social stuff, swimming, etc. not sure if this is allowed, though.
We are awaiting the transfer of our TT ultimate odyssey resale and also looking at buying a momentum toy hauler but we are concerned as to whether the TT sites will be big enough especially to get the back patio down….how long is your rig and what have you found?
I got a 1 year free TT membership when i bought my RV in florida last year. I upgraded to the trails collection as it opened up a lot more campgrounds in Florida. It was only $210 for the year to add it. I used it a few times, once over in Daytona Area, Orlando, and then Sunshine Key RV resort. Sunshine Key was the main reason i got the extra add on. I stayed there for 10days and at only $20 a day it was worth it considering the normal daily price there is $150. So just the savings on that one trip would've covered the cost of the membership and add on if i paid out of pocket for all of it. Now that I moved out west to Texas there arent that many parks in their system so it wasnt worth it to renew this year. I never got a phone call trying to upsell me. I received some emails but that was it. Maybe this last year they've increased those call outs. If I stayed in florida I probably wouldve renewed and taken a few more trips to the keys. I had a decent and good experience, but it isnt worth it the farther west you go.
I’m in California and a full timer so yes. I started out with a camper pass an now have a platinum membership
Man, you're pumping new videos lately 👍
That’s what I’m saying haha I’m not complaining though!
Thanks Rejean! Trying an experiment...pushing ourselves to edit faster. This week only...haha!
Can I stay at ENCORE resort for 14 days then go DIRECTLY to a TT campground? Or do I have to wait 7 days?
It always blows my mind how people can complain about Thousand Trails. Nothing remotely compares to it. We bought a new Elite membership (they will finance it too). Very happy with it. It's so much value for so little money. We basically live in the system most of the time.
Thank you man, I learn a lot from you please keep going. Ali
I will definitely be getting a thousand trails membership😊
We tried them out back in 2007, they gave us a courtesy stay and once we found out what they were about we opted out of it.
We said Yes. Thank you for all the great info. We are just weekend warriors but we upgraded from a camping pass to a used membership. Kimberly was so awesome. We bought an old membership from a family that had it for 35 years. Hopefully we can use it for 35 more years. Because its a old membership we are able to reserve 210 days out with 2 holidays on the books which is good for us since we just camp in summer and holiday weekends. If someone is looking for used Kimberly will find best membership for your needs. We live in Washington state and our favorite TT park is Crescent Bar in eastern Washington. Great place if you can take the heat.
we got a free year of the camping pass when we bought our rv from the dealership, we use it only twice to us it wasn't worth up grading and buying in for another year but that's only due to myself still working full time. now if i was retired or a full time rv then i can see the worth in buying, the park in Kentucky was very run down and out dated, but ive seen some of the parks that you and your boss have stayed in were beautiful
ELS
They own many ,many Mobile Home Parks across the US
They are the 2and largest owned.
They also own Thousand Trails!
Maybe if you discuss with them and go into discussing with Thousand Trails directly you can help change the problems.
Oddly, Thousand Trails has all of one park outside the US, here in Cultus Lake BC Canada...looked like a nice place to stay. Not on the list anymore, considering it's rather close to me right now.
I understand it better now. Not completely, but better.
You me and the RV good choice to opt out
I would like to hear from any tt members regarding FLA in season. I have heard many say FLA is absolutely blocked/ impossible to book if you have just the $599 yearly pass plan. Even if you have more expensive plans, FLA is a forget it!
It's difficult to book for those of us who have a 120-day window. Same for AZ.
Florida only has 3 TT parks. The rest are in the Encore Trails collection. With both plans, if you are willing to work at it and move between parks throughout the state it is probably doable. We've done it by using them with state and national parks and the military parks (especially Key West Naval Air Station!).
Have a tt membership came with my RV I do renew every year but I mostly boondock been out here since January 19th of 2019
We have always preferred the more shaded, spacious sites you get in a state park, but we're moving to full time and a bigger rv and are looking at ways to save $$. Do you think we could stand it at these rv parks?
This video starts out misleading inferring Thousand Trails is sneaky and dirty. All the presentations I have been to at Thouaand Trails have been forthright and come out and tell you all the options. Nothing sneaky or dirty about it. In the later part of your video you talk about how great Thousand Trails is and give them a shout out. Thouaand Trails is not a timeshare and we never felt like we got any timeshare pressure from any of the presentations. We like to sit through a presentation each year to keep everything refreshed in our minds. We are Thousand Tails members and love it. You do need to book when your window opens up as the favorite spots get grabbed up quickly like anything else. We have continued to regularly call to see if anyone cancelled. Sometimes we get in, sometimes we don't, especially if there is a special event going on in that particular area.
It is a good idea to evaluate whether TT is a good fit for you. We rarely boondock because we like the hookups and amenities. We love going to the National Parks around the Country and stay in a TT park whenever we can, even if we have to drive a "little" longer to get there. We did get the Encore and RPI packages to give us more options.
A Thousand Trails Campground Membership pays for itself pretty quickly if you use it and will save you tons of money in the long run. A person that goes out camping only once a year, maybe it's not for you. I encourage everyone to check it out for yourself. It is your responsibility to read and understand your contract, as with any contract.
Hope this helps.
I personally looked at TT website- it says Very Little! I like to read the rules and info... but the website kept telling me to call ( a salesman)! I like the personal stories anyway- like Toms & Youme&the RV! 👍🏻👍🏻✌🏻
@@scotts595 Except everyone's story/experience is going to be different. Best to go over it with someone from sales and read the contract. We absolutely agree with Renee Kendall. We are full time on the west coast. We got the Basic Elite package. Our contract and yearly dues comes to just around $200 a month and in a couple of years that will drop once the contract is paid off. I can't think of where else a person could live for that which includes water, sewer, garbage, electricity.
@Renee Kendall We could not agree with you more!
Let me just say this. My husband and I aren’t full time RVer’s and would never in a million years, Dolly Levi, want to be. Don’t feel the need to pull my home all over the country. But I sure do love to watch your videos. I can’t imagine the absolute joy that comes from staying in campgrounds where you have to deal with so many people so close together. And inevitably there are going to be disputes. Here’s what I like. I like my little 24 footer with a single slide. I like boondocking in the mountains, where I can enjoy peace and quiet. I love the rules: Don’t touch the elk, the bears, the deer, the moose, the coyotes, and above all don’t mess with the free range cows. A place where people are friendly not entitled, courteous and not self-centered. But if the big industrial campground is what you like, I say go for it.
We have the camping pass northeast. We love it we go 4days in 3 days out week to week.
That is awesome!
Wow another video this week awesome
Thanks for the info!
Thanks! We are pushing ourselves to edit faster, but just a test for this week...haha!
Zone-wise I'd start off with the NE & later the SE Zone. I'm not really interested in rusting my RV in oceanfront lots - more of a forest/woodland gal. *EnjoyTheJourney,* do you have a set of videos that either focus on the best TT camps or point out the ones 2 avoid? I'm all for avoiding the sardine can campsites 'cuz what's the point of that? Thanks so much!
We are about to go full time, and 1000 trails is a clear No for us. We are Canadian, and we don’t spend enough time in one area, let alone the areas where 1000trails is. So, we’re putting the money into setting up for boom docking instead!
That makes sense Anne, thanks for sharing!
Do you have to pay extra fees for 50amp service?
It varies by park, but typically, yes you do.
We will probably be trying the camping pass first for our first year!
What's the WI encore park you like so much?
Tom why not tell everyone that getting into a thousand trails camp ground is very confusing most book up early and have no openings.
I have had TT for years and have always had issues getting a spot even though i use the 60 day rule
Tell the whole story not just some of it
I just joined a year subscription for $480. I'm a Friday Saturday stay. I know the parks are not the best I'm in California I figure if I stay four to six weekends with this subscriptions, it will be over $480.
Glad we like State Parks. Cant afford TT.
We are finally going to use our camping pass for the second time next week, we had to cancel a 6 week trip in April that would have used 4 weeks in TT parks. We will re-book that trip in the fall hopefully since we were going to FL & GA and it's too hot down there now, lol. Of course SC isn't much better. Safe travels to your next destination!