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Old 11-06-2018, 01:45 PM   #1
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Can I find a Thousand Trails campsite???

Hello all,

My wife and I are soon to be full timers and I would like to ask the group a question......

I know that a lot of people recommend Passport America and the 50% discount they offer. BUT, this discount is usually Monday through Thursday, and as full timers, we would be camping all week. And, after spending about 25 days on the road, paying the average $18 a night Passport America rate, we would have paid for a year of free TT camping. So, we will stick with TT.....

The question is: Has anyone had a problem finding a site available at a TT campground? I mean, if I call a nearby campground on Friday at 1 PM and ask for a site for my 30" class A, will I be able to find a spot? I have looked everywhere and most discussions are about the cost. I can't seem to find anyone talking about availability of sites.

I know some "zones" are busier than others and holidays and so on throw a curve into the equation, but generally speaking, is there a problem finding a site on a day to day basis with Thousand Trails?

Thanks for the help... this forum has been a godsend for those of us trying to learn the ropes of the road....

Dr. Jeff Popa
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Old 11-06-2018, 03:24 PM   #2
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Hmmmm, good question! I’d say you’d typically get a site, although your chances are likely better on Sun/Mon/Tue/Wed than on Thu/Fri/Sat. Holiday weekends, of course, might not work so well, and maybe not the “high use” preserves once their respective seasons kick in.

We’ve been TT members since 2005 and found it to be worth our time and money (we aren’t full timers).

Hope it works for you ... let us know once you’ve tested it.
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Old 11-06-2018, 03:27 PM   #3
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I've had two free memberships in TT, in the Pacific Northwest due to purchasing new rv's. I have stayed in a TT, one time, and most TT parks I see are junk. They tend to be run down, poorly managed and maintained and staff is not very good. I can think of better ways to spend my money than on a TT membership, at least in the PNW.
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Old 11-06-2018, 03:45 PM   #4
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Change your travel day to Mondays........
Better chances of getting a site for full week
Fridays.....slim due to weekend crowds and those that are already there for the week


We traveled on Mondays for that reason.


We used PassPort America when available, Private Cgs via our C2C Affiliate Membership, Public Cgs, Fairgrounds, City Parks, State/National/COE and Boondocking
Had to stay somewhere every night and CG Fees could add up quickly so one needs to 'control' those costs or have an unlimited budget.
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Old 11-06-2018, 04:37 PM   #5
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PA CG do have differing limitations. Each detailed in the PA app. I've found that often if you ask, the limits can be expanded or changed. As they would rather have some money than no money.

We are TT zone members. Southwest and Northwest zones. Usually we can get a space. Those near popular destinations need reservations well in advance. The advice given to shift travel so as to not be landing on a Friday or Saturday is a good one.
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Old 11-06-2018, 06:04 PM   #6
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Thanks!

Thanks for the comments....

Since we're going to be full timing, the suggestion to change travel days to Monday is a good one. Maybe get reservations for Thursday, Friday and Saturday and then just boondocks on Sunday. Great suggestion.

Dr. Jeff Popa
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Old 11-06-2018, 06:36 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HighDesert View Post
I've had two free memberships in TT, in the Pacific Northwest due to purchasing new rv's. I have stayed in a TT, one time, and most TT parks I see are junk. They tend to be run down, poorly managed and maintained and staff is not very good. I can think of better ways to spend my money than on a TT membership, at least in the PNW.
Wait, you said you have stayed in a TT one time, and most TT parks you see are junk? Then, they tend to be run down, poorly managed, etc.? All that based on one time??



FYI, that has not been my experience, and I've been in 11 TT locations at this point. Overall our experiences have been good. But then I'm not in the PNW.


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Old 11-06-2018, 06:52 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by apopj View Post
Hello all,

I know that a lot of people recommend Passport America and the 50% discount they offer. BUT, this discount is usually Monday through Thursday, and as full timers, we would be camping all week. And, after spending about 25 days on the road, paying the average $18 a night Passport America rate, we would have paid for a year of free TT camping. So, we will stick with TT.....

The question is: Has anyone had a problem finding a site available at a TT campground? I mean, if I call a nearby campground on Friday at 1 PM and ask for a site for my 30" class A, will I be able to find a spot? I have looked everywhere and most discussions are about the cost. I can't seem to find anyone talking about availability of sites.
We happily use PA and we have a TT camping pass with 3 zones. Very happy with both, especially TT. If you *use* it to the max, TT is an incredible value. For $550 or so per year you get 30 nights - that's less than $20/night. PLUS you have have additional nights at $3/night.



It helps to have locations reasonably near you. I mentioned in another post that we're lucky to have so many TT locations close to us: 4 less than an hour, 6 within 3 hours, and 5 more within 6 hours.



Availability? Depending on time of year, you will probably have trouble getting a site if you call on Friday to make a reservation for that night. For the most popular TT locations, in season, you'll probably need to make reservations as far out as possible. We've learned to arrive on Sunday or Monday for best site selection, too.


I have a 60-day advance reservation window with my TT membership, and I have learned that I need to make my reservations just as early as I can during the summer months, especially around holidays.


Off-season is a different story. You could probably call Friday at most TT locations and get in that night. But not around Halloween.


Good luck!


Roger
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Old 11-06-2018, 10:26 PM   #9
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Wait, you said you have stayed in a TT one time, and most TT parks you see are junk? Then, they tend to be run down, poorly managed, etc.? All that based on one time??



FYI, that has not been my experience, and I've been in 11 TT locations at this point. Overall our experiences have been good. But then I'm not in the PNW.


Roger
I have been through many of the stay cg’s to have a look at them. Yes, I have only overnighted in one as these just don’t compare to the state parks that are available here in Oregon. TT is sort of like oysters - some love them, others don’t.
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Old 11-07-2018, 06:07 AM   #10
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Like any campground it is good to make reservations as early as possible.
TT in Palm Springs for Jan/Feb, you better start 120 days out.
Many people reserve fri-sun, leave Monday, so make your for mon and try for as many days as you want.
The on line system used to show what days are available, now you put in dates and it tells you yes or no. If no you put try other dates until you get something. Very cumbersome.
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Old 11-08-2018, 08:19 AM   #11
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To compound to the difficulty of getting TT rv sites, now they allow anyone to stay in their parks, it is no longer a membership only.
So did TT reduce our annual dues because fewer sites are are now available to members, NO! When we paid to join there were X number of sites available
, now there are X minus the non member campers sites.Then you add those annual sites, usually the best, and now the number available is really diminished.
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Old 11-08-2018, 08:27 AM   #12
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To compound to the difficulty of getting TT rv sites, now they allow anyone to stay in their parks, it is no longer a membership only.
So did TT reduce our annual dues because fewer sites are are now available to members, NO! When we paid to join there were X number of sites available
, now there are X minus the non member campers sites.Then you add those annual sites, usually the best, and now the number available is really diminished.
That's been the case since I started my TT membership 4 years ago. Obviously I can't speak to what went before, but AFAIK they have always made a limited number of sites at each campground available to the public.



OTOH, my biggest issue with TT is their obvious intent to sell seasonal sites. It's obvious when you see most of their full hookup sites at a campground being upgraded to include 50-amp service *and* an electric meter. Recently visited Sea Pines in NJ. Had a nice time, but we compared their campground map with the one we got 4 years ago - a HUGE number of sites are now showing as seasonal. It's up from maybe 30% to about 75%. That concerns me.



I'm seeing that same seasonal trend at 2 other TT locations we visit regularly.


Roger
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Old 11-11-2018, 10:06 AM   #13
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In 4 years of full timing and mostly in the West, we have stayed at many TT parks. Some are better than others but overall our experience has been a positive one and we have rarely had trouble making a reservation AS LONG as we have called 90 days out. Do not expect to get a reservation at the more popular parks without advance reservations.

We did show up early once and we were able to get in. And yes TT will hold a certain number of sites available to the public. And yes there are annual sites, but still plenty of sites for members as long as one is making advanced reservations.

We pay about $55 a month for our plan and use it often. They make very little money if any off us! Simply no cheaper way to full time other than endless boon docking which we chose not to do.
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Old 11-11-2018, 12:30 PM   #14
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I think we have 3 TT sites in FL. If you're not here camping now, getting a site anywhere (outside of TT too) until next May is going to be tough. People book 11 months ahead for their sites and believe me when I say that they know all the tricks to booking ahead so they have their winter stay covered.
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