Recently as part of my VanLife adventure, I started considering purchasing a Thousand Trails Membership. As of 2025, Thousand Trails has discontinued selling new “lifetime” memberships and gone instead to a subscription based model. However, through a variety of online channels or retailers, one can still purchase a “used” “lifetime” membership. So, naturally, I wanted to determine which is the more cost effective solution and what are the true costs of owning a Thousand Trails “lifetime” membership as opposed to subscribing. In other words, is it better to buy the car or lease the car???
What is Thousand Trails?
Thousand Trails is a membership-based network of RV resorts and campgrounds across the United States. While Thousand Trails memberships are primarily aimed at the RV/Travel Trailer crowd as they are “parks” or “resorts:, they can be useful in Van Life. As I travel the country in my Van and seek out amazing mountain biking destinations, I intend to use Thousand Trails campgrounds as a quick recharge or when I just need a bit of a break. Here’s a quick summary:
What It Is:
– A system of over 190 campgroundsacross the U.S., primarily in scenic and rural locations.
– Designed for **RV travelers**, though many locations also offer cabins, tent sites, and other accommodations.
How It Works:
– Memberships give access to the campgrounds free or at a significantly reduced rate.
– There are various membership tiers which allow such things as longer booking windows, free or discounted cabin stays, and other benefits. However, the most advantageous seems to be the longer booking window. Which is critical for more popular parks – such as those located in Florida during the winter.
### Key Features:
– Many parks include amenities like pools, clubhouses, hiking trails, and laundry facilities.
– Time limits on how long you can stay (typically 14–21 days per park depending on your membership).
– Some memberships allow park-to-park stays with no time out in between whereas some older memberships require you to exit the system for a number of days..
Pros:
– Cost-effective for frequent RVers.
– Wide coverage across popular travel regions.
– Great community and social events at some parks.
### Cons:
– Quality and maintenance vary by location.
– Reservation availability can be limited, especially in peak season.
– Not all campgrounds have full hookups or amenities.
Current Thousand Trails Offerings.
Journey:
- 120-Day Advanced Booking @ all 82-Thousand Trails Campgrounds
- 21-Day Stays / Park-to-Park
- 1-week annually rental cabin voucher
- 2- or 4-Year Term\
Trails Collection Included addon
- 60-Day Booking at Encore Resorts
- 14-Day stays at Encore Resorts
- No park-to-park at Encore
Resort Parks International Preferred Gold addon
- Dozens of Independent campgrounds
- 7-14 Night stays – $10 Per Night
- Discounts on 3,000 Vacation properties Worldwide
Explore
- 150-Day Advanced Booking all 82-Thousand Trails Campgrounds
- 21-Day Stays / Park-to-Park
- 1-week annually rental cabin voucher
- 1-week Getaway Cabin Stays
- 2- or 4-Year Term
Trails Collection Included addon
- 60-Day Booking at Encore Resorts
- 14-Day stays at Encore Resorts
- No park-to-park at Encore
Resort Parks International Resort Connections addon
- Dozens of Independent campgrounds
- 7-14 Night stays – $10 Per Night
- Discounts on 3,000 Vacation properties Worldwide
- Getaway Cabin Trades
Adventure
- 180-Day Advanced Booking @ all 82-Thousand Trails Campgrounds
- 21-Day Stays / Park-to-Park
- 1-week annually rental cabin voucher
- 1-week Getaway Cabin Stays
- 2 or 4 Year Term
Trails Collection Plus Included addon
- 90-Day Booking at Encore Resorts
- 21-Day stays at Encore Resorts
- Park-to-park at Encore
Resort Parks International Resort Connections addon
- Dozens of Independent campgrounds
- 7-14 Night stays – $10 Per Night
- Discounts on 3,000 Vacation properties Worldwide
- Getaway Cabin Trades
- Annual $500 Vacation Credit
My BreakEven Analysis To Help You Decide When to Buy a New Thousand Trails Subscription or Used Lifetime Membership.
I began looking for Thousand Trails memberships a few weeks ago through Facebook Marketplace and a group specifically for buying and selling used memberships. Unfortunately, because TT is so old and has had such a rich history, there are many different types of contracts with different language and different rules that you can buy used. You will hear words like “Ultimate Odyssey”, “Platinum Elite” and “Alliance” that all describe categories of older memberships that one can still purchase on the used market. I would implore you to consider each of those memberships and find the one right for you. But for now, we will look at the most common:
Basic Elite is roughly equal to Journey, Elite Connections is roughy equal to Explore, and Adventure is roughly equal to Adventure.
When Thousand Trails discontinued selling “lifetime” memberships, some membership holders used this as an attempt to ask for astronomical pricing for their “used” memberships. I decided to test the economics of this pricing and contracted models accordingly.
One outrageous poster even demanded $14,000 for his used “Adventure” membership and has vehemently defended that pricing. His argument is that a 4 year Thousand Trails Subscription is roughly $14,000 so “of course” you want the “lifetime” for $14,000 – its a “no brainer”
Or is It…
Historical Pricing For Used Memberships.
Historically, used memberships generally sell between the following price points:
Elite Basic: $2000-$2500
Elite Connections: $3000-$4500
Adventure $7000-8500.
However, in light of Thousand Trails discontinuing selling “new” “lifetime” memberships, some members have taken the position that their “lifetime” membership is now worth substantially more. One member asked for a jaw-dropping $14,000 and became downright belligerent when folks suggested that pricing was unreasonable. Below, I did a basic spreadsheet to explore what it would cost to subscribe to Thousand Trails Adventure Package for 4 years vs to purchase a used “lifetime” membership. If you follow my numbers, you will see if that if his pricing is correct, and Thousand Trails charges $14,000 for a four year Adventure membership, you would still not be break-even at sometime between year 12 and 13 buying his used “lifetime” membership.
Explanation and Conclusion.
In the above example I compared the cost of purchasing a “used” “lifetime’ adventure membership with the cost of the new subscription membership from Thousand Trails. This pricing may vary so you should consult TT.
Columns OC Money/Annual Amount
In the first two columns, I consider the cost of annual appreciation on your money. In a subscription model, you come out a few hundred to a few thousand dollars plus monthly dues. When you purchase a used membership, that initial upfront cost is the cost you agree to pay, plus an additional $750-$950 transfer fee. I chose 7% as the return on investment based on historical returns of my portfolio – which is quite conservative.
Columns TT Dues and Annual Cost of Ownership
In the next column, entitled “TT Dues” I took the current yearly dues you wll have to pay. If you buy a used membership, you will pay annual dues. These dues vary depending on what you add. The subscription comes with Thousand Trails + Trail Collections + RPI. Currently, that would cost $1405 per year with a used membership whereas that is included in the subscription model.
Annual Cost of Ownership/Compounding Cost.
The next column shows your annual cost of ownership and how much it adds up over the years. These tell you the true cost of ownership of a TT used “lifetime” membership based on a purchase price, your loss of pulling that investment out to purchase the membership, and dues you will pay.
TT Subscription Cost.
In the final two columns, I calculate the annual and total cost of a Thousand Trails Subscription. These are based on an adventure membership and numbers quoted within the last few weeks of publication of this Article. I would suggest you call Thousand Trails and get your own quote. Use my contact form and I will put you in touch with a great Thousand Trails Representative who explained the various options to me and walked me through the plans to decide which might be best for me.
But as you can see, if you were to buy a “used” “lifetime” adventure membership at the outrageous price someone recently demanded of $14,000, you don’t actually go cash positive until after your 2nd renewal at year 12 with Thousand Trails. In my world, it makes more sense to lease the car just based on those numbers. But
You Decide.
Run Your Own Numbers.
Regardless, to help you run your own numbers, I am making my google sheet downloadable for you. I encourage you to download the spreadsheet and change the numbers to reflect your situation – what you are paying, what your typical return on investment is so you can determine the opportunity cost of money for you, and which additions you plan to add to determine your annual dues.
By doing so, you can conduct your own break even analysis and determine whether you should buy the car or rent the car,
Before you go, check out my other observations below on the advantages of the Subscription model and the one big concern I have about a subscription as opposed to a purchase.
Click here to download my Google Sheets document to run your own numbers!
Some Additional Consideration.
1. The False Scarcity Problem.
Many of the folks who are suddenly seeking some insane value to their “Lifetime” membership justify it along the following lines: Thousand Trails discontinued lifetime memberships. Therefore there will be less supply. Therefore mine is more valuable.
And at first glance, this is an understandable argument. But it fails for several reasons.
1. There are over 113,000 outstanding memberships for just over 63,000 total campsites (a portion of these are “retail” and not available to members). That number comes directly from Equity Lifestyles 10-k. So unless they are committing fraud – it’s a real number. That alone tells you – there is no scarcity problem. There are plenty of lifetime memberships available. Just beacuase Toyota stops making the 20020 Tacoma doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of Tacomas available for the foreseeable future…
2. Thousand Trails didn’t actually stop selling the “Adventure” membership – they just changed how they did it and did it in a way more favorable to the consumer. Let’s do an analogy. Let’s say you buy an electric car. You sure are proud of that new $60,000 Stellantis. And let’s say tomorrow, the government decides “we want people to drive electric cars. But we don’t want to give them to people. Instead, we will lease them for 4 years at a dollar a month. And we will produce 100,000,000 cars per month is that in four months every American as an electric car for $48 for 4 years.” Would someone still be willing to pay you $60,000 for your Stellantis? I doubt it.
It’s not that Thousand Trails stopped selling the “Adventure” membership. It’s that they changed the form.
2. By Removing a Barrier to Entry and Creating Unlimited Memberships, Thousand Trails DeValued Existing “Lifetime” Memberships.
To Further elaborate on that point. Prior to the new subscription model, someone wanting to buy had to put down thousands of dollars on either a new membership or existing. Or they had to sign a long term contract – that required huge payments. Now. Someone can get a Thousand Trails membership for less than a thousand dollars down and a few hundred dollars a month. By removing a major barrier to entry, more people can use the system. More people means less spots available when there are a fixed number of spots. Therefore, the value of all memberships went down, not up. [/caption]
And Thousand Trails can sell as many memberships as they please at whatever price they please. So again, discontinuing “lifetime” (for now) has little effect.
3. If you Buy a used membership you Bear the Risk of Loss.
I used to be a lawyer. And a large part of the legal profession is trying to allocate the risk of loss, and then a loss when it occurs. Here is just a short list of the Risks you assume when you buy a Thousand Trails membership as opposed to sign up for a new subscription:
1. That you will be able to and want to continue to use the membership for longer than 4 years. Things happen. Health happens. Family situations happen. We get older. We get tired. We get bored. If you buy a membership that you have sunk thousands of dollars into – many used memberships can’t be resold. And those that resale often downgrade. You may not be able to resale it at all and you’ll be stuck paying dues or canceling and paying out our contract.
2. Thousand Trails has a Change of Business. While I have no evidence to suggest its a concern at the time of writing, you bear the risk if Thousand Trails goes bankrupt, or severely limits the number of campgrounds or sites, or any of a myriad of possible things happen that adversely effects Thousand Trails. With a subscription, i you aren’t happy you simply walk away. If you bought a “lifetime” you are out that money. I can tell you as a lawyer, Thousand Trails doesn’t view your “lifetime” membership as a liability to them – they view it as an asset – entitling you to pay dues and not much more.
3. Thousand Trails can devalue a “Lifetime” membership at a blink of an Eye. Thousand Trails can offer new lifetime memberships tomorrow at any price it chooses. It can charge $1.00 for a “lifetime” adventure membership to generate more dues paying customers. It can create a newer, longer booking window that allows you to book a decade in advance. It can reduce the number of campsites or stop doing maintenance on parks. Basically, it can do anything it wants. And legally, there is nothing that can be done.
4. “Owning” a Thousand Trails “Lifetime” Membership Is Not like Owning a House. Legally It is Very Different.
One analogy folks keep using is that owning a thousand trails membership is like owning a house vs renting a house. This is a horrible analogy. First, property ownership confers actual legal rights that come about because you are in “privity of estate” as opposed to “privity of contract”. They literally have little in common.
Second, you don’t own property or even a time share by owning a “Lifetime” membership. You own a contractual right. That right is to pay dues and use the campgrounds and spaces Thousand Trails dictates. That’s it. That’s all your buying. What do you actually own?
The One Major Drawback of Subsciption.
The most obvious problem is a subscription is that y0ur dues can go up after the expiration of your initial contract. They could also go down if Thousand Trails wants to incentivize you to stay.. Whereas the dues in most “lifetime” memberships are capped at how much they can increase each year, no such protection exists.
The Advantages of a Used Lifetime Thousand Trails. Membership.
There are some noteable advantages of owning a used Thousand Trails lifetime membership. First – if you know you are likely to continue utilizing your membership past the initial 2 or 4 year period – a used lifetime priced well might be the way to go. Additionally, some memberships are infinitely re-saleable.
This might give you the ability to recoup some or all of your initial out of pocket expense, depending on whether memberships rise or fall in value. But the two biggest advantages of a used Thousand Trails Lifetime Membership that I see are:
1. With a lifetime membership, you have the ability to opt in/out of certain additions like Trails Collection and RPI. Collectively this could save you $650 a year or more and depending on where you plan to travel – that might be the best course for you. Don’t need Florida or Arizona? You may not want to pay $450 for Trails Collection.
2. The used memberships have dues increases that are tied to the CPI. This means you have some certainty in the relative rate at which your annual cost will increase whereas with a subscription – your dues may go up dramatically (or they may go down – unlikely – but possible on renewal).
In essence, the longer you intend to use a Thousand Trails membership – the more a used lifetime makes sense.
So Ty - Which Thousand Trails Membership Is Right for Me?
You may think from reading this post that I’m advocating for you to buy a subscription as opposed got a used “lifetime’ membership. I’m actually not. I’m advocating for you to run the number and decide what works for you based on your personal situation with actual knowledge and not based upon a fear of missing out or fake scarcity.
For example. I’m horrible at saving money. Terrible. So sometimes it is better for me to pay cash just to get the money into a better asset so I don’t buy silly stuff. Or to fix my cost. Those are advantages of a “lifetime” membership.
It also turns on how much you will use it. How long, How much you pay for the used “lifetime”. If your break even is 4 years or 5 years and you know you will be RVing for longer than that because you just love being in your RV – then buy all means – by a lifetime. But negotiate fairly. And don’t let someone convince you that just because Thousand Trails stopped offering Lifetime memberships means Thousand Trails won’t start selling them again tomorrow or that they suddenly became scarce or that “owning” is better than “renting”. Because owning isn’t always better than renting. And as a lawyer, I don’t think that “owning” a Thousand Trails membership actually confers many legal rights that are typically associated with “ownership”.
If I can help you in any way – feel free to reach out via my contact form. I truly wish you the best and I hope to meet you on the Road!
~ Ty and Odie.
1. You are basing the used membership at a super high price. Realistically, used memberships will go for around $4000 – $8000. The $14,000 is an unrealistic cost analysis approach.
2. Many memberships allow a dues freeze at 62, so the 3% yearly raise on dues is not necessarily a given. The fine print states dues can be raised based based on the rate of inflation.
3. Total outstanding memberships are not all lifetime memberships. Many zone pass memberships are given out with the purchase of a new RV.
4. The price for the 2 and 4 year memberships are not likely to remain static.
5. Lifetime memberships could be resold – getting back a couple of grand after use. The subscription based can never be re-sold.
6. I would not count on lifetime memberships coming back; this model the new structure, is of course designed to increase profits, as all public corporations must do, not make less money and give customers even more than what they pay for. Lifetime memberships, if used heavily for over 5 years, are a screaming deal.
7. Used membership prices are what the market will bear; and I am betting after 5 years years, they will be in high demand, but that is just my bet.
Hi Lisa!
Thank you so much for your insightful comments. Sorry it took me so long to publish – I just saw the notification!
I agree with you that I used a high figure. I did that because some folks were starting to ask $14,000 for a used Adventure membership and claiming that to be a “no brainer”. Obviously – I disagreed. I’m not sure on the dues freeze simply because I’ve been told that on resale some memberships lose that ability. I’ve also been told that some memberships downgrade on sale and are not infinitely re-saleable (is that a word?). I could be wrong. I am by no means a Thousand Trails expert and am just going off of comments I”ve read and a few convos with TT reps.
In terms of whether TT will bring back lifetime memberships. I just think it depends. If TT start seeing lifetimes selling for a huge premium – I believe they will bring them back for less than the resale. TT can create as many memberships as they want and sell them for whatever price they want. So only time will tell.
My view is that basically TT devalued the membership by creating a relatively cheap subscription. But only time will tell – you may be right and they may increase in value!!
Thanks for reading my blog and posting good comments and thoughts!