Thousand Trails???

[cookiebrito]

Has anyone of the fellow campers stayed at Thousand Trails? We were invited for a 3 night stay filled with the promise of time share of time share membership . Please post your experiences. I want to know if it's worth the 3 hour drive & $$$$$ in gas.
Thanks

 

[cryssi]

sorry, I got all excited when I saw "thousand trails"...it really is a blast from the past. When I was little, I went to several TT with my grandparents in their motorhome. I don't know about timeshare. In fact, I shouldn't even be posting in your thread...lol

Anyway, it was a ton of fun as a kid, because we would swim all day, barbecue hot dogs, etc, go miniature golfing, and if we got tired of all that, we did stuff in the lodge...they have a lot of activities for kids like crafts and stuff. Mind you, it's been years...like over 15...but I have very fond memories of thousand trails...

 

[Lunchlady]

I can tell you about the TT in NC. I have always heard how nice it was so we received a card in the mail to come for a preview weekend. Well I was so disappointed! The site we were given wasn't wide enough. The grass wasn't mowed. They DID NOT have cable. They advertised a boat launch and sure there was one. Just make you way through this big field and you will be there. No road. Just a field. The memberships started at 5000.00. For what?? I can go to any campground around me for a LOT less and have a much nicer place to stay. They could not pay me to take a membership.I think if you spend that kind of money you should a deluxe campground. Maybe like FW or Ocean Lakes. TT is a big joke.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I looked into it a couple of years ago. RUN LIKE THE WIND!

 

[tungpo1]

I'm part of the RV trade association and they are at every RV trade show I do giving out free trips, but I've never been!!!!!

 

[ftwildernessguy]

From what I saw, it is the opportunity to buy a membership which allows you to stay at, in some cases, some pretty poor campgrounds for a reduced fee. The membership has virtually zero resale value. If you are really interested in a Thousand Trails membership, I would check with the many time share resale businesses where you can probably pick up a membership at a significant discount.

 

[big kahuna1]

You wil be subject to a very, very high pressure and unpleasant sales pitch...and an expensive buy if you fall for it. These memberships/time shares are great for some who full time but not worth it for most.

 

[cookiebrito]

Thanks for your input. Our time and gas is so precious that I do not want to waste on a crappy campground. I guess we will check to see if there is availability at the fort.

 

[lawnspecialties]

Plus whenever they get your contact info., they will bug the snot out of you. If they're so wonderful, why aren't people calling them?

To me (and this is just MY opinion), why would you want to camp in only a select few campgrounds? It's almost as bad as those who buy a camper and then find a campground to leave it at all year. Having a camper is so cool because you basically get to take your "home" to all sorts of destinations. You get to sleep in your own bed, watch your own TV, cook in your own kitchen, etc.. And you do this at places like FW, Myrtle Beach, Grandfather Mountain, Busch Gardens, etc.. Not just somebody's field with hook-ups.

 

[daddyscooltv]

When we bought our RV we were given the same 3 night free and one year membership free. We drove over to the one off of US 27 in Clearmont to look at it before we went and was very disappointed and never went. To us it was very boring I guess you would say with nothing to do. Hope this helps.

 

[cookiebrito]

If I buy any timeshare membership it has to be Disney.... I just wanted a free mini vacation to test out our new rv.

Thanks again for all the info.

 

[surferrat]

Don't do it! Not even for the free stay.

The camp site is terrible and they are very forceful in trying to get you to sign up.

 

[John VN]

Very interesting replies.

When we bought our MH we DID go to the TT off US 27 and did sit through the sales pitch and did have a nice spot and did like the place and did tell them thank you but not right now.

Maybe because we like to relax and don't need cable and just enjoy the fact that we are not working and were prepared for the presentation is why we found the stay enjoyable. Maybe because we are old fuddy duddies and just don't know any better.

We had no problem and would take another free stay.

p.s. That was a few years ago so maybe things have changed for the worse.

 

[disney6family]

We owned TT membership when we lived in CA. We had three campgrounds within an hour and a half and one very convenient to six flagss. So we definitely got the money's worth of our membership. It was very convenient for quick weekend stays and usually near what we would be doing throughout CA, so we used ours at least once a month if not more and year round.
Having said that, I don't think it would have been a good deal had we had to drive 3 hours to get to the closest one. You could spend years camping for what you'd pay for membership and you could go wherever you wanted. We do much better on the east coast with KOA's, good sams and recommendations from AAA