Thousand Trails membership

[sharptalk]

Is anyone a member of this or any other "timeshare" campgrounds? Could I get feedback about this? I wasn't sure if it made sense to buy one.

[Happycampers]

Hello.... We were ONCE members of Coast to Coast and now are not. Cost us lots of bucks and lawyer's advice to get out of it... There is Golden age pass, Airstream Parks, Army corps of engineer parks... lots to pick from without needing these very expensive memberships ...

[sharptalk]

I am waiting to get my member info to join WBCCI. What type of furry babies do you have. I have a few we intend to airstream with.

Karen

[gaylejoe]

We have been members of Thousand Trails for over 7 years and are happy with it. Last year we used their locations going up the West Coast all the way to Washingston. This year we stayed at the parks in Tennessee and Ill. Although its not for everyone it works for us.

[leefields]

for us it works perfectly...we are close to orlando tt and will often go just for a weekend away from the house...

6 years members...very happy...if you go and listen to the selling points...you can usually stay for 3 nights i think....free...

we all like it...4 pomerainians...(sp?) wife and me an extra large couch dog...

[TBRich]

Membership campgrounds are usually very nice places, well maintained, have planned activities and events, etc...usually of the "resort" type...and there are usually some cross-benefits with other groups as well. Memberships can run into the thousands of dollars, but if that's how you like to travel, it's perhaps worth it... Some have limitations mostly having to do with length of stay...things like you can stay two weeks in a specific park, then you have to be out of it for two weeks before you can come back in, etc...that's so people don't just camp the rest of their lives in one place and everybody has access to the facility. If you're interested in this lifestyle most of them will give you a complimentary visit for a couple of days to experience it... If you do that, you will be required to sit through the sales pitch, etc... But you can say "no" in the end if you do not want to commit. Before buying a membership outright, you might look at the classifieds of travel/RV magazines...you can usually buy a membership from a member who wants to sell theirs and get a better deal. The whole thing is sort of like a time-share set up... We personally thought we would not use the facilities enough to make it worth our while because we much prefer national and state parks, national forest camping, etc.

[Dakota's Dad]

It makes sense if you will use it, my parents have been TT members for about as long as TT has existed, minus a day or two. They use it about 100 nights a year, well worth it to them, as a lot of the places they have resorts, the other CG fees can be very high, and they stay for free. We don't use it as much as they do, but the price is right when we do.

I agree that if interested, look in the classifieds, members getting out sometimes sell pretty cheap.

[sharptalk]

Just bought a toad, so memberships will have to wait. Good idea fro the future though.

[markdoane]

Does Thousand Trails have any membership exclusions?

[Dakota's Dad]

Originally Posted by markdoane

Does Thousand Trails have any membership exclusions?

I don't understand the question?

[azflycaster]

Originally Posted by Dakota's Dad

I don't understand the question?

I think the question is:
Do they have any restrictions such as: age of the RV, size of the RV or type of RV.

[darlingbooks]

My parents were full timers for over 18 years and had a TT membership. They figured that they needed to use it at least 6 weeks a year to break even and they usually did use it across the country for over 6 weeks every year except the last couple of years they had it. When their health started to deteriate they weren't able to use it so much. Now my sister has it and I'm not sure how much they use it. We are considering buying a membership but will do it through ebay or other medium.

Anne Marie

[Minnie's Mate]

Check with the time share brokers/resellers, they often have a membership for much less than the cost at the sales office.

We "won" a free weekend at an RV show. We requested the one in Orlando because there are very few on the East Coast and knew that was the only one we would use. We were sent a package for a stay at one in North Carolina. So we decided to just not deal with it. Then we get a call that the one in NC was full for the weekend we wanted to use it and all they could offer was the one in Orlando. We went to the one in Orlando and were not impressed. We told the sales rep up front that we weren't interested . She understood and made her spiel quick and painless. At the prices we were quoted there is no way we would have joined; we had much rather pay $100+ per night at Ft. Wilderness than to stay free at the Orlando property when we visit Disney. But then again, we are Disney fanatics and would prefer to stay on site.

Just bear in mind that there are different levels of membership and most of their resorts are in the South West and along the West Coast.

[Dakota's Dad]

Originally Posted by markdoane

Does Thousand Trails have any membership exclusions?

Originally Posted by azflycaster

I think the question is:
Do they have any restrictions such as: age of the RV, size of the RV or type of RV.

Not that I am aware of.


edit: ok, went and signed in at the website members area, read thru the entire rules and guidelines areas.. see no such rules, they do restrict how many vehicles can be at a campsite, and how many tents, that sort of thing...

[markdoane]

Originally Posted by Dakota's Dad

I don't understand the question?

I want to know if I pull in with a 50 year old trailer will I be told to move it on down the highway.

[Dakota's Dad]

Originally Posted by markdoane

I want to know if I pull in with a 50 year old trailer will I be told to move it on down the highway.

No, I don't think so. They might ask you to leave for otherwise breaking their CG rules, just as any other CG would. But like I said after reading the rule book start to finish, nothing about "equipment" rules.

Just as there as a thread about "perception of airstreamers" based on their equipment..
I guess what you are thinking is all about "perception" of other campers, based not on their equipment, but on their campground..lol

I do know they haven't said a word to my parents in a 20 year old, 140k mile class C... My middle brother rolls mom and dad's "old" camper van, I think its a '71, and looks every bit of it... and they ain't throwed him out either.

My guess is that you will get the same reception with your classic ride at a TT campground as you would recieve at a KOA or Jellystone, etc..

I see you are somewhere in Minnesota.. they don't have any parks up that way.. they are mostly along the coasts, not many in the midwest.. but of course the purpose of a travel trailer is to travel, so if you were going to be where they are.....

[Foiled Again]

I''ve lived in Virginia Beach for 37 years (Yikes how did that happen?) and drove past a gated trailer condo community for the whole time I was there. Then I got the Airstreaming bug... and knew I'd need a place to stay. So I visited Indian Cove.

I found out that the campground was emerging from a very challenging time. It had been built a few years before I moved to the area... and most of the old members had died out, aged out or moved out. Many had simply abandoned their memberships, which meant their condo deeds were forfeited or surrendered to the condo for non-payment of dues.

Suffice it to say that because the campground was run down and needed major repairs, there was NO market for the old memberships - and in fact they could be taken over simply by agreeing to take over the legal responsibility for the dues. (I do feel a bit bad that some people had paid up to $17K to join, but there were literally 50 members wanting to sign over their deeds if I'd be willing to pay the $500 per year dues - now over $600.) Under the terms of the association people with one membership can stay 14 days and then must move off for 7 days. People with 2 memberships can stay 28 days and move off for 7. The campground closes January and February.

In my case I can spend up to 250 days per year for about $1200. I usually travel enough so that I'm not there for the whole 250, but talk about a bargain! Can't beat that at any mobile home park or RV park. I can also say "I live in a gated community off of Sandbridge Road" which SOUNDS like it's one of the snootiest addresses in the county.

I concur, NEVER NEVER NEVER buy a membership from the developer. Both conventional and RV timeshares go for 1/4 to 1/3 the original price if you buy from someone who wants to unload and there are plenty of those.

BTW if you OWN a timeshare and see one of those TV commercials saying they can get you full price, it's BULL. They want a "listing fee" of about $250 to $350... and that's ALL you'll ever get is "listed".

Paula

[Kathleenh]

Thousand Trails is doing a special whereby you get a free membership if you pay the dues, which they are offering on a monthly basis. In our case, it's $37.50 per month without any membership fee at all.

[gaylejoe]

The only draw back to lowering the entry price is what it brings into the park. We have seen the difference in the people coming to our favorite membership park. Its a wilder crowd. We were held up a gun point late last year by two un-attended teenagers at this park. They were wearing ski masks, dark clothing with hoods and gloves. Luckly they were later identified and pled guilty in juvinile court a few weeks ago.

Lowering the price creates a lot of problems. Expecially for those who paid thousands of dollars to join.