Quote:
Originally Posted by swduns
2008 Tiffin Phaeton 40’ DP
have full timed for 2 years but retired Dec 2021
So this will be first winter traveling
We have thousand trails (TT) elite with trails collection (TC) & RPI
We’ve used TT extensively thus far & are happy with it
We’d like to winter in FL in TT parks in so far as possible
We have 120 day reservations TT & 60 days for TC, TC 2 weeks in, 7 days out
I know the TT & TC rules, requirements, constraints
Can any one that has done this prove advice:
A) is this doable?
B) will all TC parks be full?
C) tips on booking FL winter in TT system
D) other things I don’t even know (unknown/unknowns)
Thanks in advance
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We have been TT members since 2003, Elite Connections. We did last October, November, and most of December in Florida last year.
A/D)
In Florida there is 3 TT parks, Three Flags, Orlando and Peace River. Peace River you will park in the field and sign up on a list to get a 50-amp site when one becomes available. It could be several days before you move to the 50-amp site. It is really tight coming into the park, they allow cars to exit the same area as you pull in and kids run and play, ride bikes in that area as well, use caution pulling in.
Orlando last year, December 15th, during high use time, they started letting people in, but making them stage at the large parking lot and then they would take you around looking for a site. Before that you checked in at 12pm and you found your own site. They said they had to wait for additional staff to arrive before they started the staging for sites.
Three Flags the 2 times we were there they assigned us a site in the back with the seasonals, instead of the pull thru sites up front.
Orlando and Three Flags are high use parks, so it is limited to 2 weeks max after December 15th.
B)
TC/ Encore parks-only has so many TT spots available. Example: Sunshine Keys, has around 20 sites until December 15th, then it drops to 10 sites. We spent last Thanksgiving there for 2 weeks. At that time the park was less then 1/2 full.
C)
tips- get on the site at the soonest possible time, we have a 180-days booking window, so even if 120-day window seems like allot of time, it adds to the stress of finding any spots.
Same for the TC booking window, the 60-day window is not allot of time, you are competing with allot of others. Plus some of the TC parks will not work for us because of our size, 45 foot tri-axle toy hauler.
Orlando enforces the 12pm check in time to the minute, if you are very early they tell you to leave and come back at noon. They will have a traffic back-up out on the main road for people waiting to check in creating a huge traffic problem on the road and getting in to the park. Two lane road coming in but at noon one lane is full or rigs trying to get in.
So, from December 15th to middle of March, be ready to move every 2 weeks.
Last December after we returned from Sunshine Keys, Orlando lost electric for 12 hours, the contractors building the new section hit a cable and knocked the whole park out for about 12 hours.
This year in April at Palms Spring electrical issues, we were out of electric for 4 days, burned 45 gallons of generator fuel. It took a week to get power back on, then it happened again and from what I heard is they closed the park earlier then planned. It usually closes May 15th, but they shut it down in mid-April for repairs. During the first week of power outage, TT cancelled incoming reservations and people were still pulling in to the park thinking they had reservations, which the reservations had been cancelled.
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