the very big trailer life directory

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stef1435

Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2006
Posts
21
Location
bronx new york city
How many have the very big trailer life directory with them or do you use the very compact CD?I was thinking of buying the 2007, but I'd rather have the cd. just drop it in the laptop.
 
We carry a paper copy of both the Trailer Life Directory and Woodalls Campground Directory. Sometimes one will have listings the other doesn't and vice versa. Overall, we find that Woodalls meets almost all our needs.
 
We have both versions of the TL directory. The CD version is convenient when we're in motion and I want to locate a campground in an area quickly.  The CD version has the same data as the book.
 
We carry both TL versions and Woodalls as well. I don't like the TL CD software very much, but it is handy at times to look up on the computer. We have Woodlass and TL because neither has all the local parks - need both to cover [almost] everybody in all areas.
 
We carry only Woodalls, but in the 2 volume mode. Marlene doesn't like struggling with the phone book sized national edition.
 
We carry the paper TL version and wouldn't be without it.  Years ago we tried Woodalls and didn't find its coverage very useful, although that was a LOOONG time ago and it may be better now.  The difference with the paper and CD is that with paper you can put clips on the pages and go back and forth easily, which is particularly useful when you're checking entries near state lines and have to check several states.  A good example of that is near Washington DC where you need to check both Maryland and Virginia.  Also, we put clips on pages of campgrounds for which we have reservations far in the future, for example when we plan for reunions months ahead of time.  That way we not only don't forget where we're going to stay ;D but we can go straight to the directions instead of looking it up again months later.  We use the computer when doing long term planning but prefer paper for deciding where we're going to stay in an hour or so ahead.  We also supplement with paper maps that have campground symbols.  As we've learned, there are a lot of campgrounds that don't advertise in either TL or Woodalls.  Many are perfectly acceptable for an overnight stop and some are in beautiful locales.  When we enter a new state we stop at the state (or province) visitor center and ask for their latest list of campgrounds.  These brochures often aren't all that useful for site and hookup info, but they do tell you about the presence of campgrounds that don't advertise in the big directories and you can call if they look like a good prospect.

As a side note, this summer we spoke with several campground owners about TL vs. Woodalls.  They were concerned about the cost of advertising.  Both are expensive for ads, but a couple of these owners said they either had already not renewed Woodalls or were planning on dropping it the next time because their ads were too costly for the number of campers they got.  They felt they got better response from TL directory users.

ArdraF
 
We have tried the Woodall's and the Wheelers but neither are quite as good as the one from TL. It has the best directions of any of them and if you are Good Sam they are the only one to tell you if a park gives the discount. We don't use the CD as the one that we checked out a couple of years ago was very poor. It might be better now?
 
The CD has improved over the past several years.  It's actually quite usable now for locating campgrounds and I use it while en route rather than wrestle with the book on my lap.  I can find the destination area and leave the program running so when we get close, I can bring it to the foreground for directions.

I haven't used it for GPS navigation so can't say how good it is at that.
 
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