Now that we're retired we dave on camping by staying longer. Sites that are near $70 a night are around $40 a night when we stay a month. And that was at a "resort" type campground. Have a Jesus filled day everyone Greg in Michigan
We had a travel trailer. We looked at Thousand Trails, as weekenders in Vancouver, WA, didn't make sense for us given the state park options. Sounds like for full timers, especially buying on the secondary market, cost/benefit analysis is a win. Take care.
We felt the same way Samuel. When we first tried TT we started with a zone pass and found it useful for a long weekend and a few weeks here and there. Once we went full time we found we could use the parks nationwide, so it was a good decision at that point for us.
I had a Thousand Trails membership but found the reservation process to be very difficult and getting reservations was almost impossible. Maybe we just didnt fully understand the process and after watching your video has made me rethink TT.
Nice video Jim. 1K Trails definitely doesn't work for everyone but it does for us. Glad it's working out for you guys. After 6 1/2 years on the road, we have definitely recouped our initial investment! Safe travels.
Nicely done! Love it when yall sit down and talk numbers. I think your purchase of a home base when you did was a great plan. I expect that if things don't change in Washington in the near future we are going to be stuck with 5.50-8.50 a gallon diesel. 5 bucks a gallon as you said Jim totally changes your travel budget and how much most people can afford to move around. This will result in congestion in the rv campgrounds as members spend more days parked vs traveling. More competition for spots means higher camp ground costs, and then packages to supplement the camp ground initial cost. want the good wifi? extra 20 bucks. Want 50 amp service? 15 more. Simple supply and demand. Your being very smart to try and lock in your costs for the immediate future.
Very good info on your analysis of TT membership, guys. I bought mine after starting to full time and it paid for itself within 8 months for me. I agree - TT is not for everyone - but it’s been a major help to my annual budget. I also now have an owned RV lot for a “base” and will continue to analyze each year if my TT membership remains a good fit. Thanks for this great content and sharing a logical, non-emotional viewpoint to making decisions like this.
I just bought a preowned TT adventure membership. I will use it heavily the first year to get my moneys worth and I plan on slow traveling so I know it’ll work well for me.
Excellent review. Facts matter. Knowing the real numbers helps make better decisions. Funny note: I was just trying to find Kimberly's information since we heard of her earlier this year, then you gave her a plug. Not sure how you did it, but it was perfect timing. We have family in San Diego and the TT is about 20 minutes from their home. This could be great for us, too. Thank you so much for this review and info. We are in Oak Harbor, WA staying mainly at Cliffside RV Park on the Naval Air Station.
All sounds ok, the key is knowing will use it. Plus need to add in the original cost of membership. Sounds like your cost is working out for you. We had a one year membership to try the parks. Found many parks run down, several that we stayed at had permanent residents. Safe travels.
The TT we stayed at on Lake Tawakoni was disappointing. Not sure how the rest in Texas are. One of the TT parks in Florida has a daily lottery to get a 50 amp site! I think it was flooded by hurricane Ian and is closed. For part time rvers it doesn’t make financial sense.
We've never stayed at Lake Tawakoni Bruce, so we can't speak about it. We agree, some of the parks are in desperate need of repair, but we've also found some wonderful parks that we really enjoy. The park we stay in north Texas meets our needs very well. We also enjoy Lake Conroe in Texas, Hershey in PA, and Orlando in Florida. It all depends on your travel style and needs.
Thanks for the info on the mattress and 1k trails ! We have a property in Port Richey Fl that is open for limited mouch docking. Its a full hook up minus cable. A couple you are friendly with and everyone loves stayed with us this Feb
What a shock are actually got this video 12 minutes from the time you put it out great video if there was a person that could educate the world and be you Jim you're remarkable in the research you do you wouldn't you and Kelly it's it's very impressive enjoy your family enjoy your time. And we'll talk to you soon looking forward to your next video safe travels God bless
Niiice comprehensive video on Thousand Trails!!! We are considering it, but this has helped us out tremendously to make a decision. Also, we are considering a RV lot as well, but in a different location. Are you able to rent your RV lot or allow good friends to utilize it while you are away. Plus, liked the Brooklyn Mattress infomercial!!! Thanx!!! 👍😂🍻
Glad it was useful Mike. As we said, TT isn't for everyone. It really depends on your travel style. Yes, we can rent our lot one time per month. The community didn't want to have "overnighters" coming and going on the property as most are setup to stay all summer long.
I’m so glad you did keep your Pre-owned Thousand Trails. It sounds like it works for you really well. Hope it can work for others as well. I know Thousand trails has been around for a long time because I knew people who had it. They loved it. But when they fold their motor home they had to sell it I believe. I would use Thousand Trails too! They sound like they are good to have. They you Jim and Kelly fir this video. Hope you have a great weekend and week. Love you guys! 🤗🥰❤️
Great question Elizabeth. We can stay up to 21 nights at one park, but then we must move to another park or somewhere else for at least 7 days, then we can go for another 21 in the original park.
Kinda timely...have been researching different travel park memberships. We will let ya know our final decision and why...just for Info sake. I will tell you the biggest factor is that we live in Canada and would only be in the US 6-7 months of the year. But we have found1 TT out in BC....if any more Canadian resorts jumped on board , it would probably be a no brainer. Thanks for sharing your story.
That would be a tough decision Rob. If you are traveling in the areas of the US that have the TT parks available it would probably work for you. Maybe you could try a zone pass for a year and determine if the cost would benefit your travel style? TT offers a buy one get one zone offer occasionally...might be worth a try.
Love your channel - have been following y'all for the last couple of years. We are looking at some potential big changes regarding whether or not we have the nerve to sell the house and go full time. It would involve us also acquiring an HDT and possible a new 5th wheel. My question for y'all is do you have issues with thousand Trails/Encore parks with the HDT? I've seen some folks struggling with big rigs using duallies let alone and HDT. We currently live in North Texas just south of Ft Worth so maybe we'll see ya at some point. Thanks in advance!! Happy Trails y'all!
Thanks for the kind words. As with any RV park, there are limitations to rig size in TT parks as well. We usually research them prior to making our reservations and if we have any further concerns we call the Ranger Station at the park. Some of the Encore parks in Arizona are tight for us and we wouldn't recommend the Las Vegas TT at all! Good luck in your endeavors!
SUITE,TRV, HELLO, although not an RVr, I can see the ideas of TT,like anything NOTHING works for everyone, , stay well enjoy your trips , God Bless you ,till next time,,🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I bought into Thousand Trails right after I retired. I thought I would save money while traveling, it made total sense until I actually stayed at a few of them. Dump stations not working, laundromat closed for months, many sites empty because the electric boxes weren’t working. They also don’t tell you that there are very few full hook up sites at each campground. It doesn’t work for me so I’m getting back in touch with Kimberly (who really is great btw!) and selling my membership. Just do your research, what doesn’t work for me may be fine with you.
We've found quite a difference between parks all across the country Dee, and you're right, some are in desperate need of repair. We do have a list that work for us and that's usually where we try and stay.
I'm curious to know if your previously visited TT/Encore parks would fit your current rig? We have the JX450, and other TT members have mentioned they didn't think we would fit in many. Thanks for the update.
It all depends on the park. Our previous rig was only 5 feet shorter than our current setup, so we haven't found much of a difference. However - there are some parks that we definitely can't get into. We usually call the ranger station after we make the reservation and get their opinion on whether or not we will have issues. TT Las Vegas is one that we definitely won't try again!
I have TT and don’t even want to stay in the Las Vegas location. I stay at the Clark county shooting range in the North West part of town. It’s FHU/50 amp, long sites for $30/night.
thanks! It's 21 consecutive nights, then you must leave that park. Once you leave, you can go to another TT park, but you must stay out of the original park for at least 7 days before you can return.
Jim, we plan on purchasing a previously owner TT, currently have Harvest Host, Boondockers and Passport America and my Senior lifetime pass. Once we retire then will step up to it. Got to save the dollars since we aren't RVing all the time. Safe travels and roads Brian and Cindy, "xtreambydesign with passion"
@@SuiteTravels Primarily will be on the west coast. Texas, Utah, Colorado and the Northwest. Might get back east. When I was driving line haul for some odd reason my truck just couldn't make it past Denver😂🤣. Will have to go to South Dakota this fall to change our domicile state. Currently in Oregon🤮. Sick of Portland.
Used ones are about $3200. Probably $6000 new. Both cost about $600 a year to maintain. You can usually get a reservation at your average thousand trails campground during a non-special time of year without a problem. However if you want a certain TT campground during high season or around a holiday you have to book in advance. Some memberships have a 60-day booking window and other memberships have a 90-day booking window.
The other comment said it pretty well Teresa. The initial cost depends on what level of membership you want. The higher the benefits, the higher the cost.
The rates we compared were the nightly costs at a weekly rate at each park Irene. We tend to get itchy feet after a couple of weeks, so we don't usually qualify for monthly rates!
No, we've never looked into C to C. Before we started to full time we tried out the TT system with one of their zone passes. We liked it so we decided to get the VIP once we transitioned to full time.
If I wanted to buy a used membership so I could travel across the states over a 2 year period then, after that time sell the membership, would that be cost effective. Also, if my travel was fairly spontaneous, booking 2 weeks out, would I be out of luck?
Sorry Victor. It's expensive to run a channel like this and we don't have any control over the ads that UA-cam puts on our videos. UA-cam also takes a huge cut from the ad revenue that they supply, so we're trying to take control of that and introduce sponsors with products that we use and and you might actually be interested in.
Not exactly sure what your asking Dennis. You really need to decide where you're going to be traveling and choose a zone that matches the area you'll be in. With our current membership we can use all the parks in any zone. If you're asking what our favorite area is we'd probably say the NW.
Thank you RV Mattress by Brooklyn Bedding for sponsoring! Visit
rvmattress.com/suitetravels to get 20% off your mattress with code suitetravels
Now that we're retired we dave on camping by staying longer. Sites that are near $70 a night are around $40 a night when we stay a month. And that was at a "resort" type campground.
Have a Jesus filled day everyone
Greg in Michigan
Agreed Greg. We seem to get itchy feet after about two weeks though....so we don't qualify for the monthly rates!
Love the thought and care you guys put into your messages. It’s shows that your community is important to you. Thanks😊
Thank you Cindy. That means a lot to us!
We had a travel trailer. We looked at Thousand Trails, as weekenders in Vancouver, WA, didn't make sense for us given the state park options. Sounds like for full timers, especially buying on the secondary market, cost/benefit analysis is a win. Take care.
We felt the same way Samuel. When we first tried TT we started with a zone pass and found it useful for a long weekend and a few weeks here and there. Once we went full time we found we could use the parks nationwide, so it was a good decision at that point for us.
We purchased our TT membership thru her too. She’s wonderful!! Actually in our 2nd park currently.
Really enjoyed hearing the overall cost and benefits of park membership..
Glad you found it useful Jeff. Thanks for checking us out.
I had a Thousand Trails membership but found the reservation process to be very difficult and getting reservations was almost impossible. Maybe we just didnt fully understand the process and after watching your video has made me rethink TT.
Nice video Jim. 1K Trails definitely doesn't work for everyone but it does for us. Glad it's working out for you guys. After 6 1/2 years on the road, we have definitely recouped our initial investment! Safe travels.
Thanks guys. We think everyone should analyze their travel budget at least annually and we were surprised at our analysis on this one!
Nicely done! Love it when yall sit down and talk numbers. I think your purchase of a home base when you did was a great plan. I expect that if things don't change in Washington in the near future we are going to be stuck with 5.50-8.50 a gallon diesel. 5 bucks a gallon as you said Jim totally changes your travel budget and how much most people can afford to move around. This will result in congestion in the rv campgrounds as members spend more days parked vs traveling. More competition for spots means higher camp ground costs, and then packages to supplement the camp ground initial cost. want the good wifi? extra 20 bucks. Want 50 amp service? 15 more. Simple supply and demand. Your being very smart to try and lock in your costs for the immediate future.
That pretty much sums up our thoughts too!
Very good info on your analysis of TT membership, guys. I bought mine after starting to full time and it paid for itself within 8 months for me. I agree - TT is not for everyone - but it’s been a major help to my annual budget. I also now have an owned RV lot for a “base” and will continue to analyze each year if my TT membership remains a good fit. Thanks for this great content and sharing a logical, non-emotional viewpoint to making decisions like this.
That's awesome Eric. It sounds like you've got it figured out! We appreciate you coming along. Have a great weekend.
I just bought a preowned TT adventure membership. I will use it heavily the first year to get my moneys worth and I plan on slow traveling so I know it’ll work well for me.
Thanks for the advice and bringing us along on your journeys!
Hopefully you found it helpful Wayne.
Excellent review. Facts matter. Knowing the real numbers helps make better decisions. Funny note: I was just trying to find Kimberly's information since we heard of her earlier this year, then you gave her a plug. Not sure how you did it, but it was perfect timing. We have family in San Diego and the TT is about 20 minutes from their home. This could be great for us, too. Thank you so much for this review and info. We are in Oak Harbor, WA staying mainly at Cliffside RV Park on the Naval Air Station.
All sounds ok, the key is knowing will use it. Plus need to add in the original cost of membership. Sounds like your cost is working out for you. We had a one year membership to try the parks. Found many parks run down, several that we stayed at had permanent residents. Safe travels.
We agree...many of the TT parks are in need of repair and upgrade, but the cost factor for us works. Hopefully they'll update their parks soon.
The TT we stayed at on Lake Tawakoni was disappointing. Not sure how the rest in Texas are. One of the TT parks in Florida has a daily lottery to get a 50 amp site! I think it was flooded by hurricane Ian and is closed. For part time rvers it doesn’t make financial sense.
We've never stayed at Lake Tawakoni Bruce, so we can't speak about it. We agree, some of the parks are in desperate need of repair, but we've also found some wonderful parks that we really enjoy. The park we stay in north Texas meets our needs very well. We also enjoy Lake Conroe in Texas, Hershey in PA, and Orlando in Florida. It all depends on your travel style and needs.
Thx so much for that useful information!🤗
You're welcome blondie! Hope you found some use from it.
Hi guys. Long time no see. I still love my thousand trails membership three years later.
Thanks for the info on the mattress and 1k trails ! We have a property in Port Richey Fl that is open for limited mouch docking. Its a full hook up minus cable. A couple you are friendly with and everyone loves stayed with us this Feb
That's awesome Rick...thanks!
Very informative video, well presented, thanks
What a shock are actually got this video 12 minutes from the time you put it out great video if there was a person that could educate the world and be you Jim you're remarkable in the research you do you wouldn't you and Kelly it's it's very impressive enjoy your family enjoy your time. And we'll talk to you soon looking forward to your next video safe travels God bless
Glad you got the notification in a timely manner this time Allan! Thanks for the kind words. Hope you're doing well.
Always useful information from you guys. Thank You.
Glad you enjoyed it Warren. Thanks for coming along.
Niiice comprehensive video on Thousand Trails!!! We are considering it, but this has helped us out tremendously to make a decision.
Also, we are considering a RV lot as well, but in a different location. Are you able to rent your RV lot or allow good friends to utilize it while you are away.
Plus, liked the Brooklyn Mattress infomercial!!!
Thanx!!!
👍😂🍻
Glad it was useful Mike. As we said, TT isn't for everyone. It really depends on your travel style. Yes, we can rent our lot one time per month. The community didn't want to have "overnighters" coming and going on the property as most are setup to stay all summer long.
Thanks for the info. 👍🏻
Thanks for hanging out with us Murph!
I’m so glad you did keep your Pre-owned Thousand Trails. It sounds like it works for you really well. Hope it can work for others as well. I know Thousand trails has been around for a long time because I knew people who had it. They loved it. But when they fold their motor home they had to sell it I believe. I would use Thousand Trails too! They sound like they are good to have. They you Jim and Kelly fir this video. Hope you have a great weekend and week. Love you guys! 🤗🥰❤️
Thank you Sherri! We love having you come along with us.
We try ti use our Thousand Trails as often as possible and it is definitely worth the costs for us.
That's what we've found too. If our travel style changes then it may not make sense. Looks like you guys are having fun!
You said you can stay 21 nights in a campground for free.
Is that 21 days at a time or is that per year per campground?
Great question Elizabeth. We can stay up to 21 nights at one park, but then we must move to another park or somewhere else for at least 7 days, then we can go for another 21 in the original park.
Kinda timely...have been researching different travel park memberships.
We will let ya know our final decision and why...just for Info sake.
I will tell you the biggest factor is that we live in Canada and would only be in the US 6-7 months of the year.
But we have found1 TT out in BC....if any more Canadian resorts jumped on board , it would probably be a no brainer.
Thanks for sharing your story.
That would be a tough decision Rob. If you are traveling in the areas of the US that have the TT parks available it would probably work for you. Maybe you could try a zone pass for a year and determine if the cost would benefit your travel style? TT offers a buy one get one zone offer occasionally...might be worth a try.
Love your channel - have been following y'all for the last couple of years. We are looking at some potential big changes regarding whether or not we have the nerve to sell the house and go full time. It would involve us also acquiring an HDT and possible a new 5th wheel. My question for y'all is do you have issues with thousand Trails/Encore parks with the HDT? I've seen some folks struggling with big rigs using duallies let alone and HDT. We currently live in North Texas just south of Ft Worth so maybe we'll see ya at some point. Thanks in advance!! Happy Trails y'all!
Thanks for the kind words. As with any RV park, there are limitations to rig size in TT parks as well. We usually research them prior to making our reservations and if we have any further concerns we call the Ranger Station at the park. Some of the Encore parks in Arizona are tight for us and we wouldn't recommend the Las Vegas TT at all! Good luck in your endeavors!
SUITE,TRV, HELLO, although not an RVr, I can see the ideas of TT,like anything NOTHING works for everyone, , stay well enjoy your trips , God Bless you ,till next time,,🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
It's just a good idea to analyze costs at least one a year....even if you're not an RVer! Have a great weekend!
I bought into Thousand Trails right after I retired. I thought I would save money while traveling, it made total sense until I actually stayed at a few of them. Dump stations not working, laundromat closed for months, many sites empty because the electric boxes weren’t working. They also don’t tell you that there are very few full hook up sites at each campground. It doesn’t work for me so I’m getting back in touch with Kimberly (who really is great btw!) and selling my membership. Just do your research, what doesn’t work for me may be fine with you.
We've found quite a difference between parks all across the country Dee, and you're right, some are in desperate need of repair. We do have a list that work for us and that's usually where we try and stay.
I'm curious to know if your previously visited TT/Encore parks would fit your current rig? We have the JX450, and other TT members have mentioned they didn't think we would fit in many. Thanks for the update.
It all depends on the park. Our previous rig was only 5 feet shorter than our current setup, so we haven't found much of a difference. However - there are some parks that we definitely can't get into. We usually call the ranger station after we make the reservation and get their opinion on whether or not we will have issues. TT Las Vegas is one that we definitely won't try again!
I have TT and don’t even want to stay in the Las Vegas location. I stay at the Clark county shooting range in the North West part of town. It’s FHU/50 amp, long sites for $30/night.
such a great video - when you say up to 21 nights is this in total for the whole year or per park thanks
thanks! It's 21 consecutive nights, then you must leave that park. Once you leave, you can go to another TT park, but you must stay out of the original park for at least 7 days before you can return.
What size Brooklyn mattress size did you choose? Also it appears you are using the Beddy’s, what size worked with the mattress? Thanks in advance.
Our bed platform measured 71" x 79", so we ordered the RV King (72x80). Our Beddy's size is the RV King and it fits great!
@@SuiteTravels thank you!
Jim, we plan on purchasing a previously owner TT, currently have Harvest Host, Boondockers and Passport America and my Senior lifetime pass.
Once we retire then will step up to it. Got to save the dollars since we aren't RVing all the time.
Safe travels and roads Brian and Cindy, "xtreambydesign with passion"
Sounds like a good plan Brian....just make sure the TT parks are where you plan to stay. if you don't use it, it doesn't make sense!
@@SuiteTravels Primarily will be on the west coast. Texas, Utah, Colorado and the Northwest. Might get back east.
When I was driving line haul for some odd reason my truck just couldn't make it past Denver😂🤣.
Will have to go to South Dakota this fall to change our domicile state. Currently in Oregon🤮. Sick of Portland.
Thank you👍..J&A
Thanks for following guys! Looks like you're having a good time.
Hi, you mentioned you have a VIP membership for $584.31 per year and 21 days staying? ,did you mean annual Camping Pass ?
I am looking to purchase an upgraded membership. I have a basic Thousand Trails Membership that I pay dues for monthly.
How much is cost for purchase of the membership? Is it hard to get a reservation T Thousand trail’s
Used ones are about $3200. Probably $6000 new. Both cost about $600 a year to maintain.
You can usually get a reservation at your average thousand trails campground during a non-special time of year without a problem. However if you want a certain TT campground during high season or around a holiday you have to book in advance. Some memberships have a 60-day booking window and other memberships have a 90-day booking window.
The other comment said it pretty well Teresa. The initial cost depends on what level of membership you want. The higher the benefits, the higher the cost.
You talk about daily rates but if you stay a week or more the rates are cheaper. Did you calculate how much based on weekly or monthly rates?
The rates we compared were the nightly costs at a weekly rate at each park Irene. We tend to get itchy feet after a couple of weeks, so we don't usually qualify for monthly rates!
Did you compare with coast to coast? We haven’t purchased one yet. We are 72 and not full timers
No, we've never looked into C to C. Before we started to full time we tried out the TT system with one of their zone passes. We liked it so we decided to get the VIP once we transitioned to full time.
Aweso,eness as always!!!
Thanks Dewey!
Love and hugs has always from Illinois
Thanks so much Brenda! Hugs back!
What route are you taking coming back to Texas I'd love to see your truck and Trailer that would be really awesome
We're usually take OK 6 to US287 and then through Jacksboro.
@@SuiteTravels 👍🏻👍🏻
I thought you were limited to how long you can stay at your property
No, we just can't stay the winter months.
@@SuiteTravels per them or too cold?
It's their restriction...but we don't do snow anymore!
If I wanted to buy a used membership so I could travel across the states over a 2 year period then, after that time sell the membership, would that be cost effective. Also, if my travel was fairly spontaneous, booking 2 weeks out, would I be out of luck?
Do they allow tenting
I pay NOT to see ads....
Sorry Victor. It's expensive to run a channel like this and we don't have any control over the ads that UA-cam puts on our videos. UA-cam also takes a huge cut from the ad revenue that they supply, so we're trying to take control of that and introduce sponsors with products that we use and and you might actually be interested in.
@@SuiteTravels Couple of things, It's not the ad Utube puts in, it's the ad you put in. Two... If the channel cost you a lot of money, why do it.
Did you have a preference on zones..?
Not exactly sure what your asking Dennis. You really need to decide where you're going to be traveling and choose a zone that matches the area you'll be in. With our current membership we can use all the parks in any zone. If you're asking what our favorite area is we'd probably say the NW.
Thanks for the advice! And thanks for bringing us on your journeys!
So glad you enjoyed it Wayne. We appreciate you!
Thank You great information 🙂
We're glad it was useful Cindy. Thanks for coming along.