Thousand Trails Membership

[doc73]

Originally Posted by gectisme

I believe Doc is wrong on this unless each TT Park has their own rules on reservations. If you "book" a site, which I am assuming means you have a reservation for that time, you are guaranteed a spot. If someone walks in, they will put them in the overflow unless someone that has a reservation cancels and then they will give them the cancellation's site. We have done that at Lake Minden TT in CA. They were completely booked so they put us in the overflow, later in the day, they had a cancellation and they gave us that spot.

I very well could be.. I have never just showed up without a reservation. But I could agree the reserve might not secure a campsite for sure.. Like I said when we were in OH they advised they had overbooked and a few people would not be getting a site.

I would hope they would send the walk ins to the overflow.

[gectisme]

Originally Posted by doc73

I very well could be.. I have never just showed up without a reservation. But I could agree the reserve might not secure a campsite for sure.. Like I said when we were in OH they advised they had overbooked and a few people would not be getting a site.

I would hope they would send the walk ins to the overflow.

Well maybe I was wrong since it happened to you. I can only go by what we have encountered which is the opposite. I am beginning to think it is dependent on the TT Resort, each one having their own way of doing things and so far we have been lucky. I guess we will need to start asking what their policy is on reservations when we book one.

[doc73]

Originally Posted by gectisme

Well maybe I was wrong since it happened to you. I can only go by what we have encountered which is the opposite. I am beginning to think it is dependent on the TT Resort, each one having their own way of doing things and so far we have been lucky. I guess we will need to start asking what their policy is on reservations when we book one.

I agree. I think you mightbe right, they do their own thing.

[ependydad]

1 - The location such as the name of the campground
2 - How long did you stay there?
3 - Would you come back again?
4 - How was the service?
5 - Are you a full-time RVer?

An overall note.... In 2011, we had a pop-up and explored the PA/NJ/VA campgrounds in it. Since 2012, we've had our fifth wheel. In 2015, we went fulltime. I rarely use or even try campground wifi, so I can't discuss if it even exists or its quality. Same with cable TV.

Like doc73 and others, I'm extremely easy to please. Give me a place to park and quality electricity and I'm a happy camper.

Since fulltiming, I have kept albums of each place we go. They're grouped by the town we stayed in in case you want to look up pictures of these that have occurred "since fulltiming":
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dougsetzer/albums


Sea Pines, Swainton, NJ

• Multiple times before and since fulltiming. Up to 2 weeks at a time. First was back in 2012, most recent was in 2016.
• Water + electric were always good. Getting a sewer spot is exceedingly difficult (they offer a free loaner sewer tote and 2 or 3 free pump-outs during the week). Cable costs extra.
• Campground is in the woods and floods during hard rains (which are often in the summer) but the ground sucks up the water quite well.
• Bathrooms are old/outdated. Showers weren't ever great.
• Laundry room is small for the size of campground and not air conditioned.

Circle M, Millersville, PA

• Multiple times before and since fulltiming. Up to 3 weeks at a time. First was back in 2012, most recent was in 2016.
• Water + electric + sewer were always good. One time I had issues that water didn't work on my site, but I ran a hose to the neighbor and we shared their spigot.
• Campground is one that is past it's heyday. It's a decent campground but not well kept and they're losing amenities that once were - I'm sad to see the inside water playground long gone. The spots aren't very level and some can be tricky getting into due to their "wagon wheel" setup. The spots down by the river do not have sewer and can often be muddy.

Gettysburg Farm, Dover, PA

• Multiple times before and since fulltiming. Up to 3 weeks at a time. First was back in 2012, most recent was in 2016.
• Water + electric + sewer were always good. 50amp sites can be limited at times. I did read that they had electric outage issues on a busy + extra hot holiday weekend. The spots down by the river do not have sewer and can often be muddy.
• It's a decent campground which is also a working farm. There are farm animals that wander around the farm - kids and adults both love. The pool clearly has issues as it needs to be regularly refilled and therefore is always fairly cold. No hot tub.

Hershey, PA

• Multiple times before fulltiming. Up to 1-2 weeks at a time. First was back in 2011, most recent was in 2014.
• Water + electric + sewer were always good. 50amp sites can be limited at times. One area of 50amp was an extra nightly fee. Overflow parking had water hookups. Back in 2011, one part of the campground doesn't have sewer and the shower in that area was a push button for water.
• It's one of the nicer Thousand Trails campgrounds. Though things like the mini-golf were in pretty rough shape. The staff is fairly strict on rules (I got yelled at for "jumping into the pool").

Harborview, Colonial Beach, VA

• Multiple times before and since fulltiming. Up to 1 week at a time. First was back in 2011, most recent was in 2016.
• Water + electric + sewer were always good. The park doesn't have a dump station which made emptying my pop-up's cassette toilet more of a challenge.
• The campground generally needs to have sticks and tree bits tidied up. One area of the campground is fairly neglected and would only fit very small rigs- even in our pop-up, we opted not to stay in that area.
• This campground is a bit of Jekyll and Hyde- some people report raging parties other people report tyranical campground management. I was there for July 4th and Labor Day in different years- each time they had a pretty good party at the pavillon but each time it wrapped up promptly at 11pm.

Williamsburg, VA

• Once for 5 nights before fulltiming. I think this was back in April 2014 for our first trip out.
• Water + electric + sewer was fine.
• Finding the office/welcome center was weird as you have to basically drive into the middle of the campground. The employee was a bit flighty but friendly. The best thing she recommended is that we park in some pull-thrus and disconnect the truck from the fifth wheel to find a spot. I'm glad she told us as there were a few turns that would have been downright painful to try and make. We ended up in another pull-thru that was decently sized and all stone. I don't recall having leveling issues (though others have claimed it's not very level-- though, I've also since heard from employees that they've worked on that somewhat last year).
• The indoor pool in April was nice for the kids.
• It's a great jumping off point for exploring that region's historical points of interest.

Oaks at Point South, Yemmessee, SC

• Once for 1 night while fulltiming in 2016.
• Water + electric were fine though I had a hard time getting the spigot to not leak. I did not hookup sewer for the 1 night.
• I had called ahead and let them know I'd be arriving late. They had a packet hanging on an info board with a site "pre-assigned". It was a very long but very narrow pull-thru. The problem was, I couldn't pull out of it due to the placement of 2 trees- one on the inside and one on the outside of the right turn to pull out; I had to back out of the pull-thru.
• Grass was super long and clearly hadn't been cut in quite a while.
• Many reports of muddy messes with people almost getting stuck but I didn't experience that.

Lake Magic, Clermont, FL

• (stayed at Encore rate, now in Trails Collection)
• Once for 1 week the *summer* of 2014 before we fulltimed. We spent 6 weeks in Orlando and this was our "out" week from TT Orlando. I think it was $199 for the week.
• Water + electric + sewer were fine though we had ant issues from them coming up our power cord.
• The campground was fairly well kept otherwise (ants are just a Florida thing and we carry ant killer spray because of that experience).
• The campground was absolutely barren in the summer. I think we saw 2 other couples while we were there. Both pools were very nice, though.

Clerbrook Golf & RV Resorts, Clermont, FL

• Once for 2 weeks in 2015 or 2016 while fulltiming.
• Water + electric + sewer were fine. The sewer placement was fully under the middle of my rig requiring a horrible commando-crawl to get to it. And then the sewer connection wasn't threaded.
• The campground is a weird hodge-podge of park model trailers and RVs. We were stuck between 2 park models with people the ages of our grandparents (if not great grandparents!). And it's huge- 3 pools, golf courses, and lots and lots of sites. There are separate RV areas but for some reason we weren't put into them (which, in hindsight- I am happy for).
• It's luck of the draw, but I worry having 2 kids and fulltiming when I'm put between older folks- sometimes you get curmudgeons but this time we got people who basically adopted us for 2 weeks. One lady gave us a couple pounds of strawberries and homemade freezer jam. They all came running out as we got parked and offered a myriad of suggestions on how to best accomplish it (fortunately, they gave their input and went away!).
• For being in Clermont and near Orlando, it's not really near anything.
• Laundry rooms were large, clean, and plentiful. They only took quarters and there wasn't an easy way to make change (I literally had to drive 4-5 miles down the road to a gas station).
• They had a beautiful woodshop that visitors can use.
• It was mostly well kept but the playground equipment wasn't great.

TT Orlando, Clermont, FL

• Multiple times before and since fulltiming for up to 3 weeks at a time.
• Water + electric + sewer were fine. 50amp spots in the busy winter months used to be hard to get but they have since performed major upgrades over the last 2 years that should alleviate that.
• The biggest issue that I hear of but haven't been part of is that the snowbird crowd can be quite curmudgeonly. I've heard of almost fights over 50amp spots and a lot of snide comments/animosity between families who fulltime (like me) and the old folks/snowbirds. As I said, I haven't experienced it but it happens enough that I try to avoid TTO in the winter.
• Staff has typically been friendly though I've caught a person or two on a bad day and they've been short/curt with me.
• Laundry rooms are well placed and generally clean. The bathrooms are mostly decent except for the "D" section where they used to be gross, outdated, and in ill-repair (back in 2012).
• Pools and grounds are well kept.

Peace River, Wauchula, FL

• Once in 2016 while fulltiming but just for 4-5 nights. Our time was short because we went to TTO to be with friends.
• Water + electric + sewer were fine. Sewer spots end up on a waitlist during the busy winter months. We got there right after that ended and fell into a huge spot that a seasonal person had recently vacated. The downside to the site is that I had to rake it and picked up a ton of garbage left over. Thousand Trails do NOT groom the sites between visitors- ever. Even at Circle M when I was the first occupant on a site, the fire ring was still full of cigarette butts from the previous swason.
• The river sites don't have sewer and are often coveted for their niceness.
• The laundry area and pool are both small but decent.
• Staff was always friendly (except for the pedofile they had "working" there for a short while- but the manager/his aunt and he both were fired and banned from the premises when it came to light).

Harbor Lakes, Port Charlotte, FL (stayed at Encore rate, now in Trails Collection)

• Month of December 2016 while fulltiming.
• Water + electric + sewer were fine. Our spot was a little snug with the neighbor and friends of ours couldn't deploy their awning due to a tree's placement.
• The staff at the campground were all pleasant. I worried about going into a snowbird community for a month when we would be one of the only families there. Most folks were friendly but confused that we weren't there visiting "grandma and grandpa". In the pool, we tried to be respectful and both us and them gave each other a wide birth- at one point, I realized my son and I had an entire 1/2 of a pretty large pool while 20-30 bobbers had the other 1/2.
• I thought it was expensive at $1,100 for the month but also don't know what Florida's going rates are.

St. Clair, MI

• 9 nights in 2015 while fulltiming.
• Water + electric + sewer were fine. We didn't like the looks of the 50amp spots- looked like they were in a grassy but muddy field. We took a 30amp spot that we shoehorned our big rig into- we got many chuckles/jeers/compliments for getting into there and an audience when it was time to pull out.
• Staff was friendly and helped get us extended when we couldn't leave as planned due to my wife's back hurting.
• The grounds are pretty dumpy. Lots of clean up need to occur. The fences around the dumpsters are 1/2 falling down and should be torn down. The bathhouse was pretty gross feeling. And the pool was ultimately closed after we left due to a variety of leaks/issues. Cell service sucked and wifi was non-existent (or in the clubhouse- unusable). The roads were pothole strewn. And it was ungated- the gate was there but it was always up 24/7 (and we had an occasion to drive back in around 2am).
• It was a decent place for exploring Detroit and Dearborn. We went to the Henry Ford, did the Rouge Factory Tour, and explored Greenfield Village. We went over to Ann Arbor for a charity motorcycle ride.
• I honestly don't know if I would go back- but mostly due to cell service issues. Otherwise, I might go back.

Kenisee Lakes, Jefferson, OH

• 4-5 nights in 2014, I think, before fulltiming.
• Water + electric + sewer were fine. There was an extra charge for 50amp spots.
• The campground was fairly well kept. The fishing ponds were fun for the kids. The pool, while tiny, was decent. No hot tub that I recall.
• The staff was pretty friendly in our interactions with them (including a 50amp refund when we accidentally ended up on a 30amp site).
• It's pretty remote to much anything in the area, but the Ashtabula County Covered Bridges Tour is pretty neat.
• I'd go back.

Twin Mills, Howe, IN

• (our TT membership allows tent camping; we got a discount for RVing)
• 4-5 nights in 2014, I think, before fulltiming.
• Water + electric + sewer were fine.
• We arrived late and they assign sites there. The site we were assigned to had been invaded by the neighbors with chairs, bikes, and maybe even a car. Instead of fighting that at 10pm, we drove to their pull-thru sites and settled in for the night. In the morning, my wife went to the office to deal with that- they apologized and offered her a golf cart to go look at sites.
• There is a road that goes down through the middle of the campground. One side has the park office + pool + whatnot; the other doesn't. It seems like the side w/o the campground stuff is quieter.
• We got a decent back-in site on the side with the park office + whatnot that was actually pretty close to where we were initially assigned. The site was quite level but a little tricky to back into due to site markers. Rightly or wrongly, I noticed they could be pulled out of the ground pretty easily and it made backing in quick and easy; I replaced it when I was done.
• I'd likely go back here.

Diamond Caverns Campground, Park City, KY

• Twice now- before and since fulltiming in 2014 and 2017. I think my stays were around a week each.
• Water + electric + sewer were fine.
• The staff has always been very nice. They let our group of families use one of the buildings for a big breakfast.
• They're cleaning up the park a little at a time and really mean well.
• There were activities when we were there during the summer of 2014. In 2017, we were there in March and not much was going on but we were there with 4 or 5 families and had our own fun!
• Verizon service is decent but AT&T is non-existent. I remember wifi not working when I was there in 2014. I didn't try it in 2017.

Bend-Sunriver, Bend, OR

• Once for 2 weeks in 2017.
• Water + electric were fine. Sewer isn't offered at many/any of the sites. It has 2 dumpstations but one has issues if you let the stuff fly too quickly.
• The staff was nice and did spot checks on campfires (during a fireban) to make sure you were using a propane pit.
• We didn't use the pool or anything as we bought floats and floated down the river right at the campground.
• Everything was VERY dusty.
• Verizon and AT&T were both decent.
• I'd go back here.

Chehalis, WA

• Once for 2 nights in 2017.
• Water was fine but I had low voltage issues with electric. Sewer isn't offered at many/any of the sites. My Autoformer took care of the low voltage issues.
• The campground didn't seem well kept. The sites felt unkept and read below about the pool. The bathhouses were decent. We didn't check the laundry facilities.
• They have an adult lounge + pool separate from the family lounge + pool. The adult pool looked nice. The family pool was a gross green that you could barely see the bottom.
• Verizon and AT&T were both decent.
• I'd go back here.

Tall Chief, Fall City, WA (stayed using RPI for 1 week, at Encore rate for the other week, now in Trails Collection)

• Once for 2 weeks in 2017.
• Water was fine but I had seriously low voltage issues with electric. Sewer isn't offered at many/any of the sites. The electric was so bad that my EMS would kick it off with a single air conditioner running (even my 13.5k bedroom A/C). We could run the Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker) but that was it. I bought the Autoformer while staying here.
• Friends who stay there regularly knew about the low voltage issues and say that it's like that from spring to fall.
• I complained to Encore + TT and got a visit from the campground manager. She was friendly and actually thanked me for complaining as it came as Encore/TT was deciding on capital improvement budgets. She didn't understand what low voltage was until we described it and the impacts that it has (and then her eyes got wide as she lives there and regularly runs her A/C).
• I'd likely not go back due to the low voltage issues, but it's one of the nicer campgrounds in the area.

San Francisco, CA (stayed using Trails Collection)

• Once for 6 nights in 2017.
• Water + electric + sewer were fine.
• The campground is OK- part of it is falling into the bay (literally, they have an entire camp row fenced off).
• The campground is a parking lot- literal white paint lines between the spots and that's it. You're in a space that is about 60' long x 16' wide. With my dual slides in the bunkhouse, that room is 14' wide. There are a few coveted grass medians that you might get lucky to be parked beside. If we hadn't parked next to a grass space, we possibly couldn't have opened our outdoor kitchen door (it's on a bunkhouse slide) depending on where the neighbor's rig was.
• Staff is super friendly. We had camper issues getting there and they kept a huge stack of packages for us (generator, 4 lithium batteries, and way more). Never gave us an iota of grief and welcomed us warmly when we got there.
• It's a fantastic location for exploring San Francisco and I'd go back in a heartbeat.
• If you go, buy into the Trails Collection - it went from $100/night to $20/night.

Pio Pico, Jamul, CA

• Once for 2 weeks in 2015 for our first fulltiming Christmas.
• Water + electric were fine. The sewer connector was a funky size and I could never get it attached without leaks- at times, significant. I tried getting the campground maintenance folks to help me figure out wtf to do, but they said it was good like it was (it wasn't).
• It wasn't the greatest kept of campgrounds and had a lot of annual/seasonal folks with varying amounts of stuff in their sites (some decent in appearance and others looking like trash)
• In the busy winter months, they go to a waitlist for sewer sites. You first get put into a non-sewer site and then when a sewer site opens, you get the option to move. The non-sewer sites are across the street from the campground.
• If I recall correctly, the non-sewer sites have better cell service.
• Cell service was barely there for AT&T (even with a booster) and wifi was crappy. I even paid $50 for the 2 weeks and it was terrible - slow and dropped signal often.
• It was pretty far out in the country for exploring San Diego.
• I would likely not go back due to cell service + lack of wifi.

Russian River, Cloverdale, CA

• Once for 1 night in 2017 while fulltiming.
• Water + electric were fine. Sewer sites seemed to be hard to come by.
• On a busy holiday weekend, they helped hold sites for big rigs.
• Either AT&T or Verizon were decent, but I don't recall which.
• I'd go back.

Soledad Canyon, Acton, CA

• Once for 2 weeks in 2015 while fulltiming.
• Water + electric + sewer were fine.
• We had a decent site but the door side was pretty low requiring extra blocking. On my old set of 3-steps for my fifth wheel, this meant a knee high first step. It was uncomfortable even with a stool at the bottom.
• Staff was friendly in our interactions- even when a package got there after we left.
• Laundry facilities were decent.
• Cell service was spotty depending on where you were. The "N" section "up on the hill" was best and I could actually work up there. Down by the laundry, there was none and no wifi.
• The campground is hard to describe- it was fair but felt rough around the edges. I understand that the managers were new and were working to cleanup it's riff-raff customer base. I had no complaints while I was there.
• It was a little far for exploring Los Angeles and Hollywood.

Las Vegas, NV

• Once for 2 weeks in 2015 while fulltiming.
• Water + electric + sewer were fine.
• The campground itself is actually fairly well kept. The landscaping is tidy and the sites are decently maintained. BUT- it's very snug. The spots are wider than my description of San Francisco, but being in a big rig w/ a dually- I had nowhere to park my truck at times. I had to be careful when my neighbors parked to make sure their slides were positioned such that I could open my outdoor kitchen on the bunkhouse slideout. My awning would have touched the neighbor before fully extending. There was an extra charge for 50amp service.
• The location was good for exploring Las Vegas and the surrounding areas.
• Yes, there are hookers that solicit business outside the campground, a homeless camp next door in a vacant lot, and down the street, I sat in the pharmacy parking lot (CVS/Walgreens/whatever) watching drug deals occur while waiting for my wife to get a couple of things. But, once inside of the campground, you're pretty insulated from all of that.
• I'd go back here because of the price and location. If I wanted to pay for camping, there are better places (Oasis or something is supposedly nice that I've had friends stay at).

Lake Conroe, Willis, TX

• Once for 2 nights in 2017 while fulltiming (actually, just left there yesterday).
• Water + electric + sewer were fine. There was an extra charge for 50amp service.
• The sites need some serious leveling. We were in just upgraded sites and were still 3-4" off-level side to side (fortunately it was on the non-door side, so it doesn't mess with our steps). We had friends in back-in sites near us that were terrible for 40' rigs. Each required a tremendous amount of blocking under the front landing gear and one needed a pair of bottle jacks to get the rig high enough to unhitch from the truck. Our friends were there through the upgrades and said that the construction started promptly at 7am each day and the guy sure liked to drive backwards!
• Otherwise, the grounds seemed decent.
• The staff was friendly in our interactions.
• I'd go back here.

-- Have driven through:

Lake and Shore, Ocean View, NJ

• We haven't actually stayed here but have used the water park and driven through a couple of times. The sites are all electric + water + sewer, but there are only something like 25 transient sites. The rest are seasonal folks.
• My step-brother has stayed at the cabin a few times, but in more recent years had coolers get stolen off of the porches.

Three Flags, Wildwood, FL

• We drove through here one day. Overall, we weren't overly impressed and felt it was fairly cramped. The staff was friendly for picking a package (had package shipped but then changed plans). BUT, we have multiple friends who absolutely love it there- so we clearly missed whatever it is that they like. I'd try staying there due to their recommendations.

[tamdle]

Originally Posted by cgotto1204

When you make a reservation, you are guatenteed a site, it may be in overflow. My first year (2007) with Thousand Trails, I had a reservation at Sturbridge enroute to Bar Harbor, Me. Upon arrival, all sites were booked and I was placed in overflow. Good thing I was only scheduled to stay for 2 nights. Now from experience, I plan on arriving at campgrounds during the week (Tuesday - Thursday) as most other campers are week-enders.

That is good to know. It makes sense that most campers are weekenders. Arriving during weekday could solve the problem most of the time.

[tamdle]

Originally Posted by ependydad

An overall note.... In 2011, we had a pop-up and explored the PA/NJ/VA campgrounds in it. Since 2012, we've had our fifth wheel. In 2015, we went fulltime. I rarely use or even try campground wifi, so I can't discuss if it even exists or its quality. Same with cable TV.

Many thanks to Ependydad for spending your valuable time to list many TT locations and detail information.

The information is very valuable to me and hope that for many of the RVers here too!

Have a wonderful Holiday Season.

Tam Le

[tamdle]

Originally Posted by gectisme

Well maybe I was wrong since it happened to you. I can only go by what we have encountered which is the opposite. I am beginning to think it is dependent on the TT Resort, each one having their own way of doing things and so far we have been lucky. I guess we will need to start asking what their policy is on reservations when we book one.

I think that you may be right as well!

[gectisme]

Originally Posted by ependydad

An overall note.... In 2011, we had a pop-up and explored the PA/NJ/VA campgrounds in it. Since 2012, we've had our fifth wheel. In 2015, we went fulltime. I rarely use or even try campground wifi, so I can't discuss if it even exists or its quality. Same with cable TV.

Like doc73 and others, I'm extremely easy to please. Give me a place to park and quality electricity and I'm a happy camper.

Since fulltiming, I have kept albums of each place we go. They're grouped by the town we stayed in in case you want to look up pictures of these that have occurred "since fulltiming":
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dougsetzer/albums


Russian River, Cloverdale, CA

• Once for 1 night in 2017 while fulltiming.
• Water + electric were fine. Sewer sites seemed to be hard to come by.
• On a busy holiday weekend, they helped hold sites for big rigs.
• Either AT&T or Verizon were decent, but I don't recall which.
• I'd go back.

[/list]

Wow, nice list! The Russian River TT Park has good verizon.

[gectisme]

Just stayed at the Voyager TT Park in Tucson, AZ. Very nice park but found out it is dropping off our free parks list next year and will be part of the Trails Collection. Not too happy about that. More in the fact that they can drop parks like that, didn't know they could... So, there is the 1st con to TT Memberships that I have encountered.

1 - Voyager RV Resort & Hotel, Tucson, AZ
2 - 5 days
3 - Yes, would definitely come back.
4 - Service was excellent, employees are very nice, very clean park with many amenities.
5 - Yes, right now a full-time RVer.

[Velosprout]

I live near the Horseshoe Lakes Thousand Trails campground in St. Berniece, IN. It is so close as to not be a “getaway”, so I have not camped there. I have twice toured the property. It is very rural, with strip-mine ponds/lakes typical of East Central Illinois/West Central Indiana. Staff was very friendly and informative, facilities clean and well maintained. There seemed to be many seasonal campers. With an explanation of the pricing it didn’t seem worthwhile until retirement, and even then I wouldn’t want to plan trips just based upon where Thousand Trails facilities were.

[EdJunior]

Wow...been a while since this thread has been active. But very good input Velosprout. Your post is very much why we didn't go with it also. We almost fell to the pressure of the sales pitch, but one reason I think I'll keep my wife...she knows how to say NO. At the right times. This was one of those times.