Thousand Trails Service Declining?

Chuck · Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 94

I came across this posting, and wonder if any Thousand Trails members here can add anything to this -- or provide information that this is not true. Here is the posting:

Many Disabled Senior Citizens spent their retirement nest eggs on private RV Park membership contracts that the company is now in serious breach of, & actively persecuting & harassing elders who are suffering from major health problems.

There is a national RV Park private membership system that has been operating for over 20 years, using the title "Thousand Trails/Naco", & selling contracts to many retired Senior Citizens, promising basic services that are not being provided in full.

In their Soledad Preserve, nestled in the high desert foothills of the Los Angeles Antelope Valley town of Acton, California, a man has been sent to cause members such great upset as to threaten their health & mental well-being.

It is a very large resort, & was one of the best in the system, but it is now in such a terrible state of disrepair that many toilets do not even flush properly.

Reports have it that most parks in other states are suffering the same fates, & very little is being done.

There was a recent takeover by a company that has long been associated with the system, & now appears to be hell-bent on driving the current members out, in order to revamp the preserves to accommodate more of a public resort agenda.

Besides the toilet problems, electric service is often shoddy, & there have been cases of small fires caused at the receptacles.

Water service is occasionally interrupted for hours to do insufficient patch-work on some problem that arises.

Large tree branches fall on some vehicles from time to time.

Gophers are allowed to destroy many lawns.

Their head of recreation is allow to play perverted music loudly at the children's pool, & spend dues money on holidays that reflect his heritage, while neglecting the important days of most other ethnic groups.

It is an absolute atrocity that needs drastic addressing immediately.
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utmtman · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 7:26 am Post subject:

It wouldn't surprise me any. I was in Oregon recently and a 1000 Trails rep wanted to offer me the program, and I showed him my travels on his map for last five years and there were no parks along that route. But had I gone to California, he told me I would have found a lot of parks. Well, who wants to only travel in California?
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jrd8751 · Joined: 20 Sep 2008 Posts: 1 Location: Pa.

We joined Thousand Trails about 3 or 4 years ago. We have become "Winter Texans" and loved going to Thousand Trails there. I have noticed the decline in the maintenance work. For example, we had a problem with the sewer backing up at our campsite as we tried to drain our tanks and it was going all over the ground. We called the Ranger on duty and they said maintenance would be there to take care of it. They came out and put a snake in it and said it was OK. Well it happened again! Again we called and nothing was done. There was sewage all over the ground. Another instance was the WiFi. We were inside the lodge where the WiFi was and we were having a big problem with the signal. Sky was clear so no problem there. We were not the only ones having problems. We contacted the Manager and he said, "You get what you pay for!" I was really upset with his attitude. I guess my dues don't mean anything. This guy is manager for several TT campgrounds in Texas. I do believe they have many problems and are definitely not what they used to be!

Travelin2 · Joined: 15 Sep 2007 Posts: 1

I don't know about harrassment, but I can personally attest to the fact that electric service at most of the Thousand Trails parks leaves a lot to be desired. We purchased an Autoformer solely because we are Thousand Trails members and low power is a serious (and largely ignored) problem at their parks.

Management also seems more interested in developing sites for long-term lease than in improving sites for members traveling by RV who were their bread and butter for many, many years. If Thousand Trails added sewer hookups to their parks, they would sell a great many more memberships, but they don't seem the least bit interested in making such improvements.

Over the years we have gotten our money's worth from our membership, and our contract allows us to cancel at any time, but I would not buy a membership today solely due to management's lack of interest in improving services for traveling members.
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rvlovers10100 · Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:59 am Post subject: Thousand Trails

I live in Colorado where Thousand Trails has been managing US Forest Service campgrounds for several years. They have jacked up the camping fees, are providing less services than the Forest Service provided and are the rudest bunch of people that I have ever met. I am guessing that the Forest Service campgrounds are the training grounds for future membership camp managers. I no longer stay in the campgrounds managed by Thousand Trails and would never buy a membership!

Gary Scott · Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Posts: 21

My only experience is with the Florida preserves and Hershey. I must say that my wife and I have no complaints whatsoever! I do hope preserves where there are maintanence problems resolve them. I realize repairs, etc., are expensive. I also like the TT concept. Hope the new owners bring facilities up to date where needed.

Navy RV Traveler · Joined: 29 Jul 2006 Posts: 3 Location: Traveling the USA

We joined Thousand Trails in 2004. We are very happy with our membership, and prefer to stay at Thousand Trails over other membership and private campgrounds.
We have seen problems with inadequate electricity at some Thousand Trails parks, but not many. We have also had similar experiences at other campgrounds. Like all RV-related businesses, Thousand Trails is probably getting less revenue in these economic times, but they are pursuing new income programs to adapt.
We have stayed at Soledad Canyon a a few times and our son stayed there recently. We did not experience any problems with the staff nor did my son and his family. Soledad also closed last year for major renovations including upgrading the electricity system.
We are retired seniors, one disabled, and Thousand Trails does a good job of accommodating our needs.
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LivingwithLexie · Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 12:40 pm Post subject:

I just had my "free" weekend at Pio Pico near San Diego. It was pretty poor standard.

Someone earlier mentioned the power problems. It was over 95 degrees when I arrived and within the first minute of plugging in, the system tripped. I called a maintenance guy who turned up quickly, was very pleasant, but said that there was nothing he could do. It was just hot and everyone had the same problem. I found only about half of us had these problems, but for days, it was miserable!
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Flying Solo · Joined: 04 Dec 2007 Posts: 2 Location: Hill Country, Texas

I have been a member of Thousand Trails for about ten years and have enjoyed my membership. Granted a lot of the infrastructure is older and needs more than minimal maintenance, but I do see things being done in the parks I go to. Most of the preserves are in beautiful settings and offer security, and this is one thing I enjoy. If you make use of your membership, it is a very good deal. I have stayed at most of the Texas TT Preserves, and in Florida and the Northwest, and have had no real complaints. My sister and husband had electrical problems at Mt. Vernon in WA several years ago, but I hear this has been corrected.

You will find good managers and ones not so good, as well as the maintenance people. I think this is true of every sector and our society in general. I, for one, am going to keep on enjoying my Thousand Trails membership, look for the good things, and try to do what I can as a member to keep a good thing going! :D

seyboldr · Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 7

As a TT member for six years, I can say that we have been to some nice parks and some not so nice parks. We have met some very good managers and some not so good managers. The TT concept is formed around parks that have NOT been developed originally by them, but purchased from third parties and added to their system. The system is three-tiered and is set up to have a luxury branch, the name of which I cannot remember because it costs a lot of money so I didn't buy it. The second and third branches are Thousand Trails and NACO. NACO is the bottom of the list and is a park system designed for those who really want to get back to nature and sleep in a tent or under the stars. NACO provides few, if any, amenities. TT parks are supposed to have good features and full hook-ups. The problem appears to be that after I purchased the TT membership, I discovered that the "system" consisted of more NACO parks than Thousand Trails parks. If they tried to sell just the TT parks, no one would buy a membership with so few parks, so they threw in the NACO parks as well. So if you don't seem to be getting the service and amenities you expected from Thousand Trails, you are probably at what was originally a NACO park.

ratcity · Joined: 27 Aug 2008 Posts: 19

I'm hoping for the best as far as Thousand Trails is concerned. My wife and I joined when it was Leisure Time back in 1992. When it was Leisure Time, we really loved it. The people who bought into Leisure Time were a very unique people. We really cared about the camp spots. And the people who ran Leisure Time really listened and love us. We all helped take care of the parks. Then someone sued Leisure Time over dues. The management of Leisure Time could not afford the lawyers so he sold out to Thousand Trails. And as soon as that happened, a lower class of people came in. There are rude, they let their dogs run free, they're a bunch of drunks; their children have destroyed property. And the parents never blame their children. They say my children would never do that. And you're right. They do not keep the sites in very good shape or the bathrooms. People bring dogs in the bathroom. They let their young children go into the adult pool. They drink alcohol around the pool. They have broken beer bottles in the pool area. Every time we go, there is trouble there. So we try and camp very far away from people. Campfire

seyboldr · Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 7

The top of the three camping groups that I couldn't remember in my post above is Leisure Time. So the order of the parks from nice to rustic is Leisure Time, Thousand Trails, and NACO. All three are now grouped together as "Thousand Trails."

concernedrver · Joined: 19 Apr 2009 Posts: 4 Location: So. Cal

I have a friend who was attacked by a dog that has attacked 5 others in the park. The management said, "So what?" and are letting them stay. The people are OK but their killer dog is another story. Seems like they want the park to close! The people in the kitchen seem to control the manager and no one cares. It would be a beautiful park but the manager doesn't care! If you go there, BE CAREFUL! Sad

Motor31 · Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 6:14 am Post subject:

The dog issue is a legal one. Call the local animal control folks and report a vicious dog. They can confiscate it. You can also make a police report regarding any domestic animal attack. Any injuries would put the owner at risk for a suit and the park as well for not having taken action regarding a dangerous situation. Document it and call a local attorney after having made the complaint to animal control.
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concernedrver · Joined: 19 Apr 2009 Posts: 4 Location: So. Cal

Thanks for the info. She contacted the animal control and she told the people. They decided to leave before animal control came out. It is a shame that us, as members, have to do things that the management WILL NOT do. It seems as though they really do not care if the park closes or not. The city council is already upset with them. We hear rumors that they want Solodad to close so they could sell the property instead of doing the repairs. A person that uses a brain knows that customer service is the only thing that could save a company in the economically bad times we are all having. Seems Thousand Trails does not care! Sad