The 8 Things You Must Consider Before Buying Any Thousand Trails Membership
You’ve done your homework on the Journey, Explore, and Adventure tiers — you know what the booking windows are, what’s included, and roughly what each one costs. Now comes the harder question: which one is actually right for you?
That’s what this article is for. Think of it as Part 2 of our new membership series. Part 1 laid out exactly what’s different between the tiers (Journey, Explore and Adventure)— if you haven’t read that yet, start there. This article asks the questions that help you figure out where you fall on the spectrum.
Because here’s the truth: a membership specialist can walk you through the options, but only you know your travel style, your planning habits, your budget, and how you actually use your RV. These 8 questions are designed to surface that self-knowledge — and point you to the right membership before you sign anything.
Table of Contents
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📖 Haven't Read Part 1 Yet?
This article assumes you already know the difference between Journey, Explore, and Adventure. If you haven't read the tier breakdown yet, start there first — it'll make everything here make more sense.
Read Part 1: Journey vs Explore vs Adventure →Membership Primer: What’s the Core Difference? (Quick Version)
Before we dive into your personal travel style, let’s quickly recap the fundamental difference between the tiers. I have an entire blog post and video dedicated to the memberships (see below) so I won’t go into every little detail here, but check out the chart below for the crucial differentiators
One further note on used memberships: If you are thinking of buying a used lifetime membership, for now, a rough comparison is:
- Journey ≈ Used Elite Basic
- Explore ≈ Used Elite Connections (with a slightly lower booking window of 150 days vs. 180 days on the new Elite Connections)
- Adventure ≈ The New Adventure
2026 Updates!
Not much has changed in the year since this post was originally released! The offerings are still the same from TT. There was a pretty decent price increase – so I would strongly consider the 4 year membership if you know you are likely to go 4 years. Right now, because we have less than a year of data, we don’t have an accurate read on how much TT will increase the subscription. I leave that number to your discretion if you use my new cost calculator.
2026 Pricing
For my complete, updated 2026 Thousand Trails Pricing and Guide, click here!
You can also check out the pricing table below. Interested in Thousand Trails or thinking of joining? Check out the options below. Whether you buy new or used, LiveFreeRV is there for you and to help you!
Take the Quiz
Want the short version? Take the quiz below for a personalized recommendation in about two minutes. Or keep reading — the 8 questions below will walk you through the thinking behind it.
Journey, Explore, or Adventure?
Tap the card to take the 2-minute quiz.
1. The Booking Window: The Make or Break Factor.
This is the single most critical factor in your membership. It determines whether you get a campsite or a headache. Especially for high demand areas at hig demand time!
The other key difference that most people gloss over: Only Adventure gets a 90-day booking window at Trails Collection/Encore parks, and only Adventure can go park-to-park at Trails Collection/Encore!
This difference is significant in more popular areas at popular times. I’ll outright say it: If you are wintering in Florida or Arizona—Adventure is basically a must. Same with New England in the summer. If you’re planning Texas in the winter, however, all three premium options are much more viable. Also, the more you are willing to drive or the longer you are willing to stay out of park – the less important a higher end membership becomes!
2. Nights Camping Per Year (The Cost Justification).
Look, let’s be honest. For a two-year contract, the current pricing for top-tier memberships breaks down roughly to:
- Camping Pass: ≈$756
- Journey: ≈$4,000
- Explore: ≈$6,000
- Adventure: ≈$8,000
The more nights you intend to camp per year, the more a higher-end membership is justifiable. Right now, I spend about 200 nights a year in TT/TC+ parks. That means my cost to camp is about $20 per night with an Adventure. If I only camped 50 nights a year, that would be $80 a night. Real hard to justify that expense!
Self-Reflection: Don’t buy a membership for the RVer you want to be. Buy one for the RVer you are.
Use My Calculator to Determine Your Cost!
New for 2026 – I created this exclusive calculator to help you compare the cost of a Thousand Trails membership to paying retail camping rates! Its an amazing tool that will help you visualize how much you can save by using Thousand Trails!
- Get current membership pricing — check out the options below.
- Then – use that cost, plug it into the calculator, and viola – see the magic!
3. Popular Destinations in Peak Season (The Availability Problem).
Now we are getting into the heart of the matter. What’s popular? Florida in the Winter. New England in the Summer.
England in the Summer.
Here’s the straight-up truth: If you buy a Journey membership and plan to winter in Florida, you will be very disappointed. Why?
- Florida has only 3 Thousand Trails Parks in the entire state. Those three parks are High Use from December 15 – April 15.
- Your booking window is great, but capped at two TT reservations. You have to be able to jump Trails Collection → Trails Collection to build an itinerary, which you can only do with Adventure.
- Want even a remote shot at a week-plus stay in the Keys? Those are Encore parks. Adventure members are snagging those sites 10 minutes after their 90-day booking window opens. Since everyone else has a 60-day window, your odds are not good.
The contra position is true as well. If you aren’t going to the most popular destinations or aren’t planning on going during peak season, a Journey or Explore is perfectly fine.
My Journey Example: I had a Journey when I first started out. I bumped around PA/NY and the East Coast all summer with zero problems! I loved Circle M, and TT Hershey is probably my favorite park so far.
4. Typical Length of Stay (More Days = More Problems).
Here’s the next reality for you: The shorter the stay you intend, the cheaper the membership you can get away with. Why?
There are a lot more sites available for a mid-week, 4-5 day stay than a 3-week stay at the same site. Therefore, you need:
- Shorter stays → More available sites → Shorter booking window needed.
- Longer stays → Fewer available sites → Longer booking window needed.
When I first started, I rarely stayed in one place more than 5 days. Again, my Journey served me well for that. As I’ve discovered my love for this lifestyle, now 14 days is feeling too short! Now I book 14–21 day stays the day my booking window opens. While I’m not saying I couldn’t get some of those stays with a Journey, the odds are definitely not in your favor.
5. How Far in Advance You Plan Trips.
Here’s another shot of truth. If you aren’t going to book 6 months in advance, it rarely makes sense to pay big money for a membership whose main value is booking 6 months in advance.
In my Post 9 Trail Tested Secrets to Maximize Your Thousand Trails Membership (click here to read) I explain how to use AI to plan your trips. I’m planning 9-12 months in advance!
So for me, I will plan and utilize my membership booking window. But if you aren’t going to use it – why buy it?
The Caveat: The exception here is the Florida/Arizona Winter Trip. Because of the dearth of Thousand Trails parks and the reliance on Encore parks, you might need the Adventure upgrade regardless of your planning style just to gain that Park-to-Park Encore access and the 90-day window. Otherwise, you’re constantly leaving the system for 7 days or driving huge loops between the 3 TT parks.
6. Natural Organization / Scheduling Ability
This is how I plan. This spreadsheet is always out at least nine months ahead of the current booking date. That’s why I don’t muss a deadline. Its also calendared on my phone. To say I’m organized might be an understatement.
But overall – This one is a double-edged sword that ties directly into your booking window usage.
- The Unorganized Flip Side: If you are not organized, you may want to book all your parks at once. With a 6-month Adventure booking window, you can book a lot more at one time. It takes real organization and scrupulous discipline to use a Journey (120-day) booking window effectively!
- The Margin of Error: If I miss my Adventure booking window by a week, it’s really no big deal, because Journey and Explore haven’t opened up yet. I have a bigger margin of error. Conversely, if I have a Journey and I miss my window by a week, I may be out entirely because Adventure, Explore, and the other Journey folks on the ball have already booked!
Personal Experience: I started with a Journey and loved it. I’ll go into all the reasons I upgraded to Adventure in a separate video/blog post. But for me, my personality was such that I couldn’t stand not knowing where I was going to be 6 months from now when I had that option. Part of why I upgraded was simple piece of mind… I wanted to know that “I got the spot.”
7. Age 55+ (Access to Age-Restricted Parks)
I’m not 55. This is a cold, hard reality: Many Encore parks in Arizona (most) and Texas are age-restricted. Candidly, that sucks for me.
So, my ability to go Encore to Encore in Arizona? Kinda doesn’t matter, because I can’t get into half of them anyway! This means Adventure may matter less to you if you primarily intend to hang around Arizona and Texas and are under 55. If you are over 55, this benefit is huge.
8. Cost Sensitivity (The Budget vs. Features Battle).
Some folks don’t care what something costs. They just want all the bells and whistles and to know they have “the best.”
Well, if that\x{2019}s you, go straight to Adventure. Interested in Thousand Trails or thinking of joining? Check out the options below. Whether you buy new or used, LiveFreeRV is there for you and to help you!
However, if you are cost-conscious as I am, you really need to ask yourself the questions above.
- Can you thrive with a Journey? Absolutely! I did. But my pattern was just very conducive for it. I booked within 2 days of my window opening. I tended to have shorter stays, and I only went to a few highly coveted parks. Journey was perfect!
- But now that I’m truly full-time, staying 14+ days at highly desirable parks? I’m not sure I wouldn’t be getting a bit frustrated without the Adventure benefits.
Take My Membership Level Quiz Here!
I developed a quiz for new memberships to help you decide which membership is right for you! This is a starting point and guide but is very helpful. After getting your results, I recommend you speak to a Thousand Trails Membership Specialist to get the most accurate and up-to-date information.
One note: this quiz is geared towards near membership options. However, it will generally serve as a useful reference if you decide a Used Lifetime is right for you! That’s because you can apply some of the same principles. So, if the quiz comes back that a Journey membership might be a good fit for you, check out basic Elite memberships. New Adventure? You can also look at Used Adventure.
Explore Your Options.
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Quick Links.
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Sell a Membership — Free → Browse Used Memberships → 🔔 Set a free buyer alert Not Sure? Start Here → Book a Call with Ty — → Buying new? Talk to a TT specialistWatch My Thousand Trails Membership Guides
Don’t want to read a super long article? I’ve prepared a video series on my YouTube Channel Shifting Live Free RV that introduce you to Thousand Trails, help you decide if it is right for you, introduce you to the membership options, and help you decide which membership is right for you!
These four videos cover the biggest questions people have about Thousand Trails memberships! Watch them now to save countless hours of research and potentially thousands of dollars!
📍🚐 Video 1: Why Thousand Trails Is a Great Fit For RV/ Van Life!
Video 2: How to Buy a Thousand Trails Membership.
Video 3: The Different Thousand Trails Membership Options..
Video 4: New vs Used Thousand Trails Membership Options..
Video 5: Should I Buy a Journey, Explore, or Adventure???
Video 6: How To Maximize the Benefits of Your Membership!
Video 7: Who Should Not Buy a Thousand Trails Membership
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A Little Bit About Me.
I started writing this blog as a way to capture the adventurous and free lifestyle I’m privileged to live. I’ve traveled to over 28 countries and 35 U.S States. I’ve lived aboard in multiple countries and averaged over 100 days a year of travel for work. I’ve skied and hiked all over the world – and my new obsession is mountain biking.
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Spend 50 minutes on the phone with Ty — a fellow camper who reads the actual contracts. Whether a Thousand Trails membership is right for you at all, which type fits how you actually travel, what to ask before you commit, and the traps that cost people thousands. Geared entirely to YOU.
