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Topic: RV Park Directories - Trailer Life vs. Woodalls??????? (Read 3 times) previous topic - next topic
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RV Park Directories - Trailer Life vs. Woodalls???????
Yahoo Message Number: 86404
I have bought TL directories for too many years.  I see that Woodalls now has a western states book (I never go east of the Mississippi) for a substantially lower price.  Will I be sacrificing content if I go with the Woodalls book or should I stick with TL? ? ? ?

Your feedback IS appreciated!

Glen
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Re: RV Park Directories - Trailer Life vs. Woodalls???????
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86448
Glen,
 We tried the Woodalls book one year and were not as happy with it as the TL directory.  Both are notorious for being biased by the amount of advertising dollars a particular campground spend with them, but Woodalls seemed significantly worse (granting much higher than deserved ratings to inferior parks), plus they only had a single rating compared to TLs 3 categories.  If you travel with a computer, the TL directory on disk is nice to have because it has interactive maps to help you locate the closest park, etc.

Even better, although not as complete, is the website rvparkreviews dot com.  There is no commercial input to this website - it is made up of the reviews from actual campers so you can get some detail that might not make it into a published directory.  Unfortunately there aren't anywhere near as many parks listed on this site as are contained
Re: RV Park Directories - Trailer Life vs. Woodalls???????
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86450
Just my 2 cents worth...we use the Woodall's more than the Trailer Life and we use the rvparkreviews consistently...but the nicest surprise has been the Passport America...we paid for the first year's membership on our maiden voyage and we've already
2006 MB
Re: RV Park Directories - Trailer Life vs. Woodalls???????
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86453
Quote
I have bought TL directories for too many years. I see that Woodalls now has a western states book (I never go east of the Mississippi) for a substantially lower price. > Will I be sacrificing content if I go with the Woodalls book or should I stick with TL? ? ? ?

 The Woodalls Western States Directory isn't new...it's been in existance since at least 1998 when we started fulltiming.

While I like the smaller book (we, too, rarely venture east of the Mississippi), I don't like the formatting or the way the ratings are done as well as I like the Trailer Life Directory.  It seems like the Woodalls Western States Directory doesn't have as many listings for a particular area as the Trailer Life Directory, although we haven't sat down with both of them side by side and gone through every area in which we travel, so maybe this impression isn't true.  It would be great if Trailer Life would also have the regional directories.
 Why not keep your current Trailer Life Directory and buy a 2008 Woodalls Western States Directory to use this next year and make your own decision as to which one you like best?

Linda Hylton http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167 http://earl-linda.blogspot.com/
Linda Hylton
Re: RV Park Directories - Trailer Life vs. Woodalls???????
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86466
While I have ordered it but haven't received it yet, the TL Directory is available on CD. Has a nice feature. You can search within a 100 mile radius of any point for campgrounds. That should prove useful in some situations.

Ed
Re: RV Park Directories - Trailer Life vs. Woodalls???????
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86484
I don't know if you all are aware of it or not, but the Trailer Life and Woodalls directories are both put out by the same company.  When I was at Camping World and was trying to decide which one to buy, I asked someone who worked there and they confirmed my suspicions.  Other than having a different rating system, they both seem to be quite similar and carry way too much  for my taste.  If you want a more objective source, I'd recommend the Frommer's Best Campgrounds Directory.  They don't sell it at Camping World, but you can get it at a Borders or Barnes & Noble.  While this directory doesn't list all campgrounds, it does list the ones that it considers to be the best in each state.  Interestingly enough, quite a few of these are State Parks which are not rated in either the Trailer Life or Woodall directories (my guess is that it's because they won't pay to advertise, and some of them would be rated higher than paid advertisers.........kind of a conflict for them).  I still carry a Trailer Life directory in my RV, but I always check Frommers first to see if one of the campgrounds that they have listed is within range.  I've found the Frommers directory to be very accurate (I've never been disappointed) and it's also quite detailed (even telling you which numbered campsites have the best shade, view, etc.).

Tom Busch McKinney, TX

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Re: RV Park Directories - Trailer Life vs. Woodalls???????
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 86521
Tom,
 Thanks for your tip! I just went to half dot com and purchased it ŒLike New¹ for less then $7 delivered.

Neil Carlberg