# 1000 Trails RV Preserve



## mswalt

Hey, Outback Family,

I've just been notified that I've "won" a free stay at a 1000 Trails Preserve when I registered at Camping World a couple of months ago. Seems like all I have to do is call them to reserve my stay.

I did. Of course, anyone can "win" this stay by filling out the form on their website, but hey, what the heck.

The deal is this.....you call them to get a reservation (first come-first serve) at one of their preserves and you get to stay free! All you have to do is sit in on one of their 90-minute sales presentations.

What I want to know is this: Has anyone ever taken them up on this deal? And is it worth the time?

I talked with them on the phone today and they said I could pick the dates I want to come (thinking of sometime next Summer to take advantage of the San Antonio summer attractions); just had to let them know ahead of time.

What do you think?

Thanks in advance.

Mark


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## mjs518

Mark, When we bought our Outback this past summer the dealer gave us a coupon for 21 free stays at a group of parks called Outdoor Adventures. They are a group of 5 campgrounds and a group of affiliated parks throughout the US. 
It was also contingent upon fulfilling the 90 min presentation deal. Now I should have known better but the BW talked me into it. It was about an hour of info on this campground "Club" and about 30 minutes of HIGH pressure sales pitch.








It was shear torture!!! Not worth the lost time for sure. 
They start with the $10,000 lifetime membership and by the end of the torture they get down to three years of $20 a month payments. NO WAY, The grounds were ugly, and dirty with a puny man made lake and campsites like a parking lot. If you go to your deal be ready for the "pitch"


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## GlenninTexas

I personally don't see where the value would be. There are simply too many other options available to you to get tied into using the club facilities. I did stay in one several years ago on one of these free offers. If I remember correctly, I was not at all impressed by the facilities.

I'm sure there are some nice ones out there however those will be booked eatrly and unless yuor a "gold" member or whatever their jargon is, your not likely to be able to book into them unless you do so well in advance. This afterall is simply a timeshare plan just like those done for condos.

Of course I'm sure there are folks that do get value from them, so I guess its up to the individual and what your looking for. As long as your prepared to withstand the hard sell for 90 minutes, it won't hurt to try it.

Good luck and give us a report. Regards, Glenn


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## Y-Guy

Don't take your wallet or any other form of payment with you if you go and if possible don't take your spouse (that's usually a requirement). 10,000 trails for some is great, it all depends on your camping style. They just sold out to another firm and are leasing back their lands, but they lost the many other acres they owned to this firm, so you probably won't see any new preserves if you join. If you decide to join you can usually find memberships available for cents on the dollar in newspapers or resale companies.


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## mswalt

I wasn't planning on joining at all, and would not do so. I just wanted to know if y'all thought the 90 minute sales pitch would detract from a free stay for 2 nights.

I wouldn't join one of those clubs anyway..there's too many other places to go that are much cheaper!

I think I'll just probably bypass the whole mess and go somewhere else. Oh, well, I've got plenty of time to decide.

Thanks.

Mark


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## vdub

I got the freebie offer as well, but didn't have time to take advantage of it. At that point they started calling me to give a little encouragement to take them up on this phenomenal opportunity. They called every couple weeks or so for about 5 months and I haven't had a call now for almost 2 months.

I don't think I would have any problems keeping my wallet in my pocket and I know without question that the wife wouldn't have a problem!







So it might be a "fun", "free" experience for us.

That having been said, I have seen articles in a couple rv mags talking about these things and they have not been particularly positive. In one instance (and I hope I get this right) the small print on the contract that the couple signed said something to the effect that the permit/contract could not be resold except to another family member and then a full price. Believe that was the deal, but can't quite recall. I do remember that the small print was quite henious in it's scope and really locked you into the deal.


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## BigBadBrain

We did exactly what you have been offered and although I've seen nicer campgrounds, I've also seen some real dumps compared to the one we went to. We had no trouble with the sales pitch - before we went, we talked to the kids and (being teens) thay had no problem finding something to do.

At first we were not going to get a chance to pick the campground but I insisted and they relented (what else could they do?) and sw we got a great Ocean stay weekend for the 90 minutes of 'pain'. We may have lucked out becuase the guy believed us when we met him and introduced ourselves and said "Thanks for the free stay and there isn't a snowball's chance that we will sign up - we are here for the free stay." And we sat down with smiles and confirmed his worst fears by smiling ans saying "Give it your best shot!"

Started at $10 K and before we left it was down to $1500 and before a week had gone by he called and said he had found one of the other members that was selling his membership for $500. Never heard from him again.

Great camping trip though!


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## Grandeken

We stayed in South Dakoda for a week not far from custer state park had a great week went to the meeting told them we where not going to buy. Watched the movie still said no way never heard from them the whole week Nice place nice stay. no real hard sell.







if that helps.


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## bassplunker

They called us a few years ago unsolicited when I still had my motorhome (I guess they have access to the DMV). Anyways, we went to the one at Idywild, in California because they promised a $50. Outback Steakhouse gift certificate, a 4 day Caribbean Cruise, and 3 nights at any 1000 Trails. When we got there they gave us a few hot dogs and then proceeded to steer us into the office without even taking us on a tour of the resort. In addition to the 1000 Trails membership they tried to push a Colorado River Resort Package when they found out we had a boat too. We knew we were in trouble when half way through their presentation the lady proclaimed, "Anyone who doesn't jump on this has got to be crazy." Well we didn't 'Jump on it', and they became very unfriendly. They did give us the $50. gift certificate and the Cruise coupon but said the 3 night stay had to be used starting the day we were there and wondered why we didn't bring our RV. When we got to the car we looked at the cruise certificate and found out it was only a 3 day cruise. We went back in and they said, 'Oops, we must've reached in the wrong drawer." Yeah right. When we opened that envelope it wasn't a Caribbean Cruise, it was a Baja Mexico Cruise. We thought oh well, at least we don't have to pay air fare. When we looked at the fine print on the cruise cert. we discovered there was no way we could actually use it because of all the restrictions. You had to pick three dates and send it in with a certified check for all the port taxes and then in a month or so you would find out if those dates were valid. We did, and they weren't so my wife called the Better Business Bureau and the Cruise Certificate company sent us another certificate with a lot fewer restrictions and we used it and had a great time.


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## Splash Mountainers

We went with my sisters family to a 1000 trails campground for the "free weekend" and a 90 minute sales pitch. The campground was in Morgan Hill, Ca, and it wasn't exactly as the pictures on the website showed. BUT, we had a great time there. Huge swimming pool, lots for the kids to do, big parties run by the campground at night around the fire pits and stages...we had a very nice weekend.

The sales pitch lasted almost 2 hours (







) but the staff was friendly and feed us ice cold fruit and drinks during the presentation (it was 90+ outside).

Overall, the whole membership stuff was not for us for sure. But, the free camping weekend and being treated well was great.

We say, if you can tolerate a sales pitch then do it....its not that bad.


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## CWOBOATS

Mark,

We "Won" one of those 1000 Trails trips.

We went to the Lake Whitney "Resort", it was O/K.

We enjoyed the site, the sales pitch was as expected and we did not buy a membership.

We would go back for another visit, but I'm just not letting go of that much money. It was not for us.


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## California Jim

1000 trails is a nice place with many clean and well run campgrounds. I think it is best suited to retired folks or families who do ALOT of camping. To make the investment make any kind of sense you need to use their facilities at least 20 nights per year. And that is only considering the $500 per year dues and not the purchase price. If you figure in the purchase price too then getting even is a lofty goal.

We live in the west and have a great many camgrounds that are do-able so our membership goes to good use. If you are at all interested in joining, your best bet is to buy a used membership from a private party. However, be advised that if you attend a presentation they wont let you make an aftermarket purchase for at least 1 year. And they do keep track of your attendance.

Bottom line, we are pleased with 1000 trails but are only members because we could get in with family courtesy cards associated with my parents primary membership. Otherwise I would not pay the money.


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## KellerJames

We did a complimentary weekend at the 1000 Trails reserve at Lake Tawakany in east Texas one time. We weren't too crazy about the facility or the environment (fellow campers). I'll spare you the long story on that end of it. My daughter got a high fever on Saturday night. We were schedueled to do the sells pitch Sunday morning, but told them of my daughter's illness and that we had to head home. They understood and even gave us a certificate for another free weekend. We have NO intention of going to any of their resorts again.


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## msmhk

The dealership we purchased our tt from provided a free lifetime membership to one of Thousand Trails resorts. We have drove through the Conroe, Tx resort, which was nice but it was not the type of resort we were interested in. We have friends that have a membership and really enjoy it. They live close enough that even when not camping they can go use the swimming pools. They recommend the resort on the Colorado River in Columbus,Tx. We are undecided if we will activate our resort membership because of the price of dues compared to the amount of times we would actually visit the resort.


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## luv2rv

I have always made it my practice to avoid any of the "you may already have won" deals.

Be it resorts or camping .. There are just too many other things I would rather be doing than to spend 90 minutes in that situation. (JMO)

Enjoy your camping!


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## Subldo

mswalt said:


> Hey, Outback Family,
> 
> I've just been notified that I've "won" a free stay at a 1000 Trails Preserve when I registered at Camping World a couple of months ago. Seems like all I have to do is call them to reserve my stay.
> 
> I did. Of course, anyone can "win" this stay by filling out the form on their website, but hey, what the heck.
> 
> The deal is this.....you call them to get a reservation (first come-first serve) at one of their preserves and you get to stay free! All you have to do is sit in on one of their 90-minute sales presentations.
> 
> What I want to know is this: Has anyone ever taken them up on this deal? And is it worth the time?
> 
> I talked with them on the phone today and they said I could pick the dates I want to come (thinking of sometime next Summer to take advantage of the San Antonio summer attractions); just had to let them know ahead of time.
> 
> What do you think?
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Mark


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## Subldo

While investigating the 1000 trails sales pitch I ran across a similar concept but is seems not as pricy. Its calle Ready Camp Go and its run by an outfit called Equity LifeStyle Properties. They have several plans, the basic one is $49 a year for the service and you get to camp for 14 nights at one of their resorts for $25 a night plus a $3 per night resort fee. works out to about $30 or so a night which is not bad for a full hookup.

Has anyone heard of this service and tried it?


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## battalionchief3

OK now that everybody is done BASHING my wonderful membership campground ( OK, thats a joke )
But as California Jim said, its not for ever body. We joined but had the same fears as most and did not plan on joining, give me my weekend and I'm outta here.

Now for the reasons we joined. We spent 3500$ in our first summer camping, yeah it adds up quick. We figured with our work schedule ( 8 days a month) , parks where we want to go we would benefit from them and we have. We still occasionally camp at public campgrounds but not often, we figure if we had to drive an hour to see an attraction and not pay to camp it would be worth it and it has. We camp an average of 45 to 60 days a year and around here its average 50 dollars a night so thats 2250 for 45 days. Most campgrounds are more like 60 around here. We just got back from 11 days of camping, still went to work 1 day each ( my wife and I ) and took 1 day of leave each. Its a 2hr drive home. We love the pool, the secured gated facility and the fact everyone camping has a vested financial interest in keeping the place nice. We all have serious cash invested in the parks. We have never had any shady people at the preserves. The sites are WIDE. We have the outdoor world in our package and they are nice too, not as wide for the sites but still nice. We have been to 5 preserves so far and liked them all. Honestly though we figure it will take us about 7-10 years to break even but at our age we got the time and when we retire we want to travel and since we can stay up to 21 days in a park before we have to move on it will fit our long term plans too. But really, its not for many people due to the price and the amount of camping you need to do to "break even".....


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## amyk

SUBLDO said:


> While investigating the 1000 trails sales pitch I ran across a similar concept but is seems not as pricy. Its calle Ready Camp Go and its run by an outfit called Equity LifeStyle Properties. They have several plans, the basic one is $49 a year for the service and you get to camp for 14 nights at one of their resorts for $25 a night plus a $3 per night resort fee. works out to about $30 or so a night which is not bad for a full hookup.
> 
> Has anyone heard of this service and tried it?


Equity Lifestyles just bought 1000 trails, and yes, it's a pretty good deal for someone who doesn't want the long term investment. I also became an owner after one of those 'free weekends' and have pretty much loved it ever since. I even upgraded while on my cross country trip so that I could go park to park and not worry about any time 'out' and can stay for 3 weeks before moving to another park. While it is not for everybody---ie those who only camp occasionally or do not plan on camping for the rest of their lives.....

we camp alot! (at least 60 nights---at 50 a night--that's almost 3000 a year---so do the math, and we figured we will have reached out 'break-even' point in under 4 yrs. Being that I'm under 40, figured I'd get the best of that deal, as I can see myself camping, God willing, for the better part of at least the next 30 years---basically for free....

the preserves are NOT RESORTS---they are what they say they are---nature preserves---so kinda rustic, but still with a good amount of amenities (some even have waterparks on site!) like adult lounge, active community centers, pools, hot tubs, wifi, and their hookups are usually only W E S, no cable (although some do have cable) and typically full of friendly people.

One of the things that I love is the security--kind of like staying in a condo, instead of a hotel, where everyone knows that we all have a lot of money invested and belong to something that we all find worthwhile. You generally don't find vagabonds, or tent transients that only put out 20 bucks for the night. Don't get me wrong, there is bad everywhere, but as a single mom, I definitely felt safer.

People are all 'owners', so when you drive around, or even take a walk, most everybody waves and smiles--didn't find that at many of the public campgrounds we went to previously--was kinda hit or miss on the friendliness level lol (although waaaay better than a hotel that's for sure!)

Either way, take your free weekend, check it out, listen and then make a decision---remember, once you walk out that door, that salesperson probably won't ever see you again, so if they're mad or happy, who cares!!! they don't make your payment! But, I ended up grilling and chilling with my saleslady---and camped with her since lol!

It is what you put into it---just like anything else in life....


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## puffer

mjs518 said:


> Mark, When we bought our Outback this past summer the dealer gave us a coupon for 21 free stays at a group of parks called Outdoor Adventures. They are a group of 5 campgrounds and a group of affiliated parks throughout the US.
> It was also contingent upon fulfilling the 90 min presentation deal. Now I should have known better but the BW talked me into it. It was about an hour of info on this campground "Club" and about 30 minutes of HIGH pressure sales pitch.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It was shear torture!!! Not worth the lost time for sure.
> They start with the $10,000 lifetime membership and by the end of the torture they get down to three years of $20 a month payments. NO WAY, The grounds were ugly, and dirty with a puny man made lake and campsites like a parking lot. If you go to your deal be ready for the "pitch"


We got the same coupn from General Rv last summer and had the same presentation at the Davison Mi campground. I just let the man know i was only there for the free 21 day camp pass and we were in and out in about 60 min.They did their long winded speech ,gave me free popcorn and a golf cart ride and i was on my way with the free pass. I used it to stay at their Standish area campground and was LESS than impressed. Surley NOT worth a $10K investment. And i just checked the date you posted this and realize it was 5 yrs ago.Duh.


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## battalionchief3

5 years ago????







....


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## puffer

battalionchief3 said:


> 5 years ago????
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ....


I dont know,the comment i responded to says Dec 2004,Figured i was a few years late.


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