I thought I would update our Thousand Trails Zone Pass Membership experience over the past year a half since some of the benefits and “zones” have changed a bit. We still love the membership and still think it’s the best value in RV parks for fulltimers and perhaps part-timers…as long as you use it of course!
First, the zones have split from just East and West, to four zones - SE, NE, SW, NW. Yes, seems they made the deal too sweet in the beginning. However, it’s still an excellent value none the less. To Thousand Trails credit (so far anyways), they have continued to honor our East Zone Pass renewals. Our membership dues went up from $450 to $475 and they are currently selling a single zone for $499. Not too bad considering that costs in general have gone up around the Country.
If you haven’t already, you should visit my previous evaluation of our East Zone Pass here. I hope to better evaluate the costs based on today’s zone pass rates below.
So, let’s break it down. We bought our East Zone Pass on April 1, 2010 and by April 1, 2011 we used our membership a total of 114 nights. To get our nightly rate we just divide 114 into $450 for a grand total of $3.95 per night! Not bad at all! Some might say, “Well, you have both zones so you are getting more value than I could.” Ok, then let’s look at 2011. Although we still have the same East Zone Pass, we actually will only utilize the South East Zone this year. ($4k+ in car and RV repairs have limited the mileage this season!). Since April 1, 2011, we have stayed 90 nights in the system as of Oct. 4, 2011. Considering our new $475 in dues, divided by 90, our grand total per night..$5.28! (based on current dues of $499— $5.55 per night.) And there is still six months to go! Really, where can you get full hook-ups, pools, lounges, activities, recreation for less than $10 per night for a family of five? Nowhere else!
;)
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April 1, 2010 - April 1, 2011 |
April 1, 2011 - Oct. 4, 2011 |
Now, let’s consider how many nights you would need to use in order to break even on a $499, one zone pass. As in my previous blog post, we’ll stick with the (low) average of $20 and $30 per night at a standard campground. If you normally camp where rates are $20 per night, it will take 25 nights to break even on the pass (for the math folks..yes, there’s the “cost of money” factor, but at today’s rates this is negligable) and at $30/nt, 17 nights. For all the amenities that Thousand Trails provides, I think you will be hard pressed to find something similar for less than $30 a night.
$499 One Zone Pass Break Even Point
| $20 - 25 nights | $30 - 17 nights |
$40 - 13 nights |
To offer even more flexibility, you are now able to pay for your pass in monthly or quarterly installments. Monthly costs start at $41.56 for a one zone pass. Of course, the main point to consider even more than cost is whether you will USE the pass. Some parks are close to everything (Orlando), where as many are in the middle or close to nowhere (Cherokee Landiing).
To sweeten the deal, Families on the Road has recently negotiated a promo/discount code that will give you an instant $50 rebate! PLUS a $25 visa card! So you’re getting the BEST DEAL ON THE PLANET for a Thousand Trails Zone Pass for essentially $424! As soon as I get the code, I’ll update this post but until then you can still get the deal by emailing the FOTR webmasters, Rita and Pete at americasguest101 at yahoo dot com.
REFERENCES:
How we stay in RV parks for $2 to $5 per night… and not the crappy ones!
Thousand Trails East Zone Pass Google Map
Official Thousand Trails Zone Camping Website
;)
Thousand Trails Orlando
Holly
Reader Comments (7)
Hi there! We are leaving next week for a year or ? and I'm searching online for TT reviews. There are so many negative reviews but your review makes it seems worth it the price. I'm having a little difficulty understanding but does TT make you sign a contract like a time share? Or can you just buy a 1 year membership? I've seen used ones online but they are SOOOO confusing.
Thanks!!! :-)
Hello Jenn!
Just to start off, Time shares are not my thing at all! I have never been able to make the accounting work! Ha!
However, you DO have to sign a contract for the one year membership, basically to confirm your identity (probably so they can try to sell you a "real" membership eventually), but also the deal is not valid in about three states so they have to make sure you don't live in one of those states. There's also a monthly payment plan and so they would need a contract signed so they can prove you agreed to pay the monthly fee. ALSO, and this is important, the contract also says that you will renew each year unless you cancel within 30 or 60 days (not sure which it is but you will be able to see in the contract). It's pretty much like the TOS that you have to sign for just about anything of value these days. But you should definately read it!
Now, as to the bad reviews. It's sooo subjective. Most people won't write a review if everything went well, but if they had an awful experience you can sure bet, the internet is the first place they might go! That's not to say they may have legitamite points. I think the main problem is that it use to be more exclusive and the properties aren't as "new" anymore.
It depends on what's important to you. Because we have a truck plus a 40' 5th wheel, we need a big site. I like full hookups, but more importantly, I want it to be close to "stuff to see and do." Some of the TT are definately not so close to anything! If I were you, the questions to ask would be-
1. If you are looking at a year or so (?), where do you hope to go within that time? the entire US?
2. How many days do you plan to stay in each place?
3. Are any of the TT near those places? (Really look at the map and zoom in..things are further than they appear!)
4. How big (or little) of an issue is money? Is it more about doing and seeing as much as you can on a year long journey hitting as many cities as you can?
If you plan on the entire US, you will really have to analyze the options because the basic pass only covers one zone. For all the US, you might need to choose a 2-3-4 zone pass. If money is not an issue and you 'only' have 1 year, I might skip on buying a pass. You will spend too much energy on planning around where the TT parks are instead of focusing on the reasons you decided to take the journey in the first place. You could always buy a one zone pass and then upgrade to a 2,3, or 4 zone pass if it looks like something that will work for you.
The "real" memberships are a whole other ball of wax. More like a timeshare and as I said in the beginning, I've never been able to make those numbers work..even with the ones people are giving away for a $100 + a usual $750 transfer fee + yearly maintenance +++! Good luck on your trip and let me know if you have any other questions about TT or anything else for that matter? I'll try not to ramble as much!
Thank you so much for you thoughtful response to my questions. I think we have decided to get a pass for all for zones. We are actually going to Rancho Oso in Santa Barbara tomorrow to see more than likely purchase it. If you get this in time would you email me (or email me to let me know you replied on here as I didn't get an email for your follow up comment before) and let me know if it is difficult to get a spot in most of the TT? That is my last concern and I would love to hear from you since you are using the zone I imagine us using the most! I hope that's not too much trouble! Thanks tons!!
Hello Jenn!
I have NEVER had a problem. However, my experience is primarily in the SE zone. Even when parks show as "full", there are still empty places so I think they must hold back a few for "emergency" situations or the occasional reservation mix-up. Also, people are continually cancelling their reservations.. especially as the dates get closer so it's easy to snatch one up last minute. Most places really don't have this issue though.
Orlando is probably the hardest to get reservations, but they now let you stay at Magic Lakes Encore Resort down the road. (will have to check and see if they allow res. here again this winter) so it has alleviated the chances of not getting in.
Major Holidays might be a problem in high traffic locations so just try to make those reservations first. We never know too far in advance where we'll be so we just wing it!
I hear the West Coast locations are the nicest so they might be the hardest to book, but honestly I think the majority of the time you shouldn't have a problem.
You might consider joining the Thousand Trails Facebook group and just ask which places are hardest to get reservations. You will probably get all sorts of info..good and bad!
The Thousand Trails Yahoo Groups are also a wealth of info.
I hope you got this in time. Good Luck on your purchase!
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Holly Ezell
http://www.foggyphils.com
We are currently at TTN Lake Texhoma. This is the 6th TTN park we have stayed in this summer. Where do I begin, Lake Towakani, pool was closed for 4 days because it was green. Three Flags Fl. Pool closed entire 6 days. Reason, thunderstorms???? 5 of the 6 days. Yes, it's Florida there are going to be thunderstorms somewhere! Closed 6th day because there was a water line break out on the highway?? They obviously don't realize a pool don't care if there is a water leak somewhere else. The pumps circulate the water that is in the pool! TTN Fort Meyers, Hooray! The pool was open but RV sites are VERY small and difficult to maneuver. Management was friendly. Big Pine Key (key west), might as well throw away the rules there. Dogs running loose, loud music into the wee hours of the morning, fish being cleaned at the very cramped campsites, multiple vehicles at sites making it impossible to park an RV, kids flying by on golf carts, beer bottles in the pool, electrical karaoke machine plugged in and next to pool, I could go on but basically, throw the rules away. Fort Meyers again. TTN Colorado River. Great mgmt and staff but they can't do much without funding. Pool was closed because it is old and in dis-repair. Many site not useable due to power issues. As previously stated, Currently at Texhoma. Pool was closed because there was a thunderstorm about 25 miles away. Im told they are open now so I'll cut them some slack. Bottom line, TTN no longer gives a hoot about RVers. All their parks cater to snowbirds and annual leases. All the parks I've seen have most of the 50 amp sites occupied by leasors as well as the shaded sites. If you are RVing don't expect to go to your TTN park and find decent sites or accommodations. Oh, did I mention Conroe? All pull thru sites are almost unusable due to sloping and ruts. Was there last January and hot tub was unusable due to fire and finding a decent site was impossible due to annual leasing. TTN is no longer a decent deal for RVers in my opinion.
So sorry to hear all this Chris. My understanding is the parks out West are much nicer than the ones in the East so perhaps you might have a better experience there. Unfortunately, it's one of the few reasonably priced options for those that travel fulltime on a budget. At only ~$500 per year for ~200 nights, I think we've got more than what we paid for, but if you don't use the pass or membership often, it can definitely be frustrating. Especially if you have been around a while to know the difference in service and conditions over the years. We actually haven't stayed at TT since March. We are down the road from a TT in an Elite Resort park. It proved MUCH nicer than TT and I think it might even be less expensive (at least in summer). Brick pavers on each site, St. Augustine grass (that is mowed and fertilized!), free cable and internet, nice pool, gated with code entry. We are really loving it here. I can definitely recommend Elite Resorts as an alternative if you are looking for something better.
thinking about joining TT, southeast zone. while checking out campgrounds I found that the rate is 299.00 a week with TT membership, I thought the membership took care of nightly fees??? Fist 30 days were supposed to be free and after that 3.00 per night. Could you explain how the membership really works
Thanks