Thousand Trails to Sell ONLY To American Citizens

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Mick & Pat

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Back in UK with RV
Until today we thought that it was only a rumour that Thousand Trails will NOT be selling any more of its packages to the Brits.

A week or two ago a British couple arrived at Orlando 1000 Trails on the 4 day 3 night complimentary weekend, on asking about when the 1000 Trails presentation talk was they were told, don't bother as Brits you cannot join, but you can still stay the 4 days.

Today however a Thousand Trail staff member confirmed that they will only sell to American Citizens  :eek:

What with this and the hassle at the Borders the USA is starting to look a little unfriendly. :(

If any Brit's are still wishing to travel to the USA and buy into a campground membership may I recommend Campground Membership Outlet

Mick
 
Mick,

As a US RVer I've never understood the advantage of joining one of the membership campgrounds. Could you explain what advantage there is for someone from the UK to join? Just curious.

Thanks
 
Hmmm.  So, if we sign up for the freebie we tell tem we are Canadians (A) or Brits (blimey) we can avoid the sales pitch.
 
IMHO they did you Brits a favor.  I do not recommend joing any campground membership.  Get Passport America or something like that.
 
Mick, like Ron says, it could have been worse, they could have actually sold you a membership.    Buy a copy of Trailer Life or Woodalls campground directory and go were you feel like goiing, instead of where 1000 trails has their operations.
 
If any Brit's are still wishing to travel to the USA and buy into a campground membership may I recommend Campground Membership Outlet


Mick, what's the difference between buying a TT membership direct vs buying through a site like CMO  ???

Like others, in 25 years of RVing across North America, I've not seen a need for any CG membership.
 
Alaskansnowbirds,

The  Brits on 6 month tourist visas who have been in the USA for some time have found a TT membership is quite useful.

We intend to ship back to the UK with our RV in August by which time we will have been in the US and Canada for nearly 2 years.

When we first arrived we were advised by previous visiting Brits to purchase a TT and Coast to Coast membership.

As you may or not know with TT it's  2 weeks in the CG and 1 week out.

During our 6 months in Canada we had problems in that there is only 1 TT camp ground in British Columbia and any Coast to Coast are wildly spread so we joined KOA and Good Sam's, they were cheap to join but you only get 10% discount.

As for what TT are up to its anybodies guess, here at Orlando they appear to be trying to build and sell cabins and cottage but they don't appear to have noticed the thousands of empty villas in and around Orlando ???

Tom,

I believe to buy a membership direct from TT may cost you say $6000 but we bought a 'second hand' one via CMO for $2000, you can also buy them cheaper off ebay. :eek:

Mick
 
we bought a 'second hand' one via CMO for $2000

Thanks Mick. I didn't realize they were selling second hand ones. But I suspect you could still buy them cheaper directly from one of the many owners who realized they bought a pig in a poke. I haven't yet seen a need for CG ownership, and prefer to go where I want rather than be limited in my choice.
 
Hi Mick

We never saw the need for a CG membership like TT - though we did make use of the free 6 months TT use we got with the RV.

Once you have purchased your TT membership are you contracted to pay dues every year for a set period?

If so, that would be the reason for getting rid of the non-US buyers as there is no way for them to come chasing you for your contractual obligations when you're back in the UK and as the most you're likely to stay in yhe US is 6-18 months they may consider you a poor income generator for them.

Paul
 
PancakeBill said:
Hmmm.  So, if we sign up for the freebie we tell tem we are Canadians (A) or Brits (blimey) we can avoid the sales pitch.

Bill, I think you've struck a good one there!  I must remember this.  I like your way of thinking!
 
Given that you BUY a permanent membership in TT with ongoing annual dues, I don't see why it would be an advantage for someone visiting the US for just 6 months. The upfront cost, even on a resale, plus the annual fee, makes for fairly expensive camping for just one season. Selling your membership after just one year of use seems unlikely to recover more than half your upfront cost.

We bought a resale TT membership through CMO last year for $2000, which included the hefty transfer fee and 4 months prepaid dues (our dues are $535/year). We used their campgrounds for 55 nights and also got 6 days of free storage on a powered site when we had to leave the coach  behind unexpectedly to attend a funeral.  That worked out great and we got a lot of nice camping for an average of $11/night. This year, with our travel plans limited by Nancy's health, we may have trouble getting our money's worth. That, I think, is the drawback to a membership like that. You are committed for the fee no matter what your itinerary  or personal situation may be.

With the TT membership, you can also join RPI ($39/year), the nationwide network of ownership parks. That gives you access to several hundred membership parks at $10/night. Good deal.

CMO is a broker for people wishing to sell their campground memberships. They get their fee from the seller and also act as the closing & escrow agent for the sale, holding the buyer's funds until the seller executes the title transfer paperwork, thus protecting both parties. If you buy direct on Ebay, there is always the risk you might not get the title you paid for and you have to arrange your own transfer process/protection.
 
Dues in TT are not that bad,  If you spend say a month in TT parks (And when I'm out west I spend a month in just one park) you have recovered your dues

So if you spend six months here in the US, and you spend just half that time in TT parks, you can save the cost of the dues 2-3 times over making it a good deal

Plus being a member of TT gets you into Coast to Coast and RPI which means you can save more on the other half of your visit by staying at other membership parks for up to a week at a time for less than 15/night (These parks normally rent for from 30-75 a night)    Of course you can join ANY membership campground that is RPI/C2C affilated and get that benefit, plus you can use the TT parks (For up to a week at a time) on that plan

If you want a membership Private me and come visit Michigan next month,  We can meet and I'll walk you over to sales.  (I don't sell. 'em but like any member of a membership park.. I get a token of appreciation if you buy)  This is a Michigan only chain, but it's C2C and RPI affilated
 
Mick and Pat,

Forgive me if I'm being dense, but it seems like you can buy a LOT of nightly campground stays for $6,000 and they're where you are visiting instead of having to make a point of planning your travels according to where the T.T.s are located.  As visitors to the U.S. you may have just gotten a tremendous deal - the freedom to come and go whenever and wherever you please!  If I were to go to Europe the last thing I would do is purchase a similar membership that would limit me in numerous ways.  Then, when you're ready to leave, you have to try to sell it - not always easy to do.  The RVing magazines generally have lots of Thousand Trails memberships for sale.

Like some of the others have said, I've never understood why RVers get hooked into such places.  Well, there's one reason.  If you're young with children and have limited vacations and there's a nice T.T. nearby, then you might use it a lot on summer weekends and for vacations.  But, otherwise, I prefer not to tie myself into one place.  We decided the same thing when we were considering ski condos in the the Sierra.  Didn't do that either because then we'd be stuck at one ski area instead of being able to take advantage of all of them spread far apart in different directions.  Some retirees who are fulltimers like them because they can mosey along and it's more reasonable to go from T.T. to T.T. or whatever (to each his/her own), but for people who are coming to see a huge country I can't see it.

ArdraF
 
ArdraF,

I think the best way to describe Thousand Trails is its a Time Share for campers, yes $6,000 is a lot but that is for a life time membership which no doubt could be sold on.

If you visited UK or Europe you cannot buy a similar membership as nothing similar exists. In the UK there are just two main clubs, The Caravan Club and The Camping and Caravanning Club all others are privately owned.

Now Europe is a different ball gamebut an ideal all over company is called Camping Cheques  http://www.campingcheque.co.uk/en/

You buy the cheques currently at ?11.95 each,1 Camping Cheque is valid for one night for 2 people on a standard pitch with car, caravan tent or motorhome + electric hook-up and the use of hot showers.

Extra special offers - 6 Camping Cheques = stay for 7 nights, 11 Camping Cheques = stay for 14 nights, 30 Camping Cheques = stay for 60 nights (applies when you stay at selected campsites only).

Hope this helps?

Mick
 
Mick,

Thanks for the link to Camping Cheques, interesting.
 
I'd never buy into TT at $6k, but for around $2k it seems workable (at least to us). Buying at $6k and reselling a year later for about $1.2k (your net proceeds in a $2k sale) or likely  even  less would be a major loss.
 
We used TT for 3 years when we full-timed in USA. We thought it was very good value. The campsites and facilities are very good.

In fact we need to sell now so if anyone is interested at $2000 including transfer fee then let me know. Yearly fee is due each Jan and is currently $549 (gives free camping for 2 weeks at a time with 1 week out)
 

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