The Complete Guide to Escapees RV Club
If you’re looking for RV membership clubs to join to enhance and assist your life on the road, there are plenty of options. But none compare to the Escapees RV Club – a full suite of RVer services and programs with a major focus on community, inclusivity, and friendship.
If you’re curious about Escapees RV Club or are searching for that feeling of community and belonging, read on. This complete guide to Escapees RV Club provides the lowdown on all the best products and services the Club has to offer.
What Is Escapees RV Club?
Escapees RV Club is a membership club for RVers that provides a plethora of services, campgrounds, and discounts for all types of RVers. The Escapees RV Club is one of the oldest, largest, and most loved RV membership organizations in the world.
They truly are a total support network for all RVers: full-timers, part-timers, van-lifers, skoolies, and everyone in-between.
The main goal of the Escapees RV Club is to provide essential programs and services for RVers and to help foster a community of like-minded individuals on the road.
How Escapees RV Club Began
Joe and Kay Peterson founded Escapees RV Club in 1978, and it’s still a family business today.
The Club was originally started as a newsletter about the full-time RV lifestyle to fill the need for connection and information in a time before cell phones and the internet. The Petersons founded Escapees RV Club with a motto of “Sharing and Caring”, and the inclusive and altruistic principles of the founders lives on today in the Club itself and its members.
Then vs Now
What started as a hand-cranked printed newsletter in 1978 quickly blossomed into the booming RV Club that Escapees is today. The first newsletter went out to the very first 164 Escapees members, and the club boasts over 70,000 members today!
In addition to newsletters – sent by email now – the Club has dozens of programs and services all intentionally created to support those living the nomadic lifestyle.
From a mail service for RVers to a network of RV parks and campgrounds, a magazine, RV educational programs, multiple in-person events, special interest groups, and more, Escapees offers tons of resources for it’s members.
The Main Benefits of an Escapees RV Club Membership
With so many services and programs for RVers, it’s hard to pinpoint the most popular service or benefit. RVers are extremely diverse and so are their lifestyles, and Escapees has something for everyone!
Here are some of the top benefits of an Escapees RV Club membership:
- RVer Mail Forwarding Service
- RV Community Both Online and Offline
- RV Rallies and Events
- RV Educational Programs and Courses – Online and Offline
- The RVer Job Exchange
- RV Roadside Assistance
- Tire and Fuel Discount Programs
- Member Discounts on Products and Services
Now let’s got though each one in more details.
RVer Mail Forwarding Service
One of the biggest programs is the RVer Mail Forwarding service, created by RVers for RVers. The Escapees Mail Forwarding service provides RVers with mail forwarding when they’re on the road, and a physical address for full-time RVers to use for domicile purposes.
RVers can choose addresses in Texas, Florida, or South Dakota – three of the most popular domicile states for full-time travelers.
The Escapees mail room is located at their headquarters in Livingston, Texas, and all mail processing is handled in-house by their talented staff. Their mail service is catered to RVers and is licensed by the United States Postal Service, and they have multiple tiers of service for many mail service needs.
RV Community Both Online and Offline
One of the biggest focuses of the Escapees RV Club is on community. Finding your community on the road is so important and, for some people, it can make or break the RV lifestyle!
Community is at the heart of the Club and it has been since it’s founding in 1978.
Escapees knows that RVers are diverse in so many ways – including their interests, passions, and travel styles.
Here are some of the communities within Escapees RV Club.
- Xscapers are one of the fastest-growing communities within Escapees RV Club, with their own events called Convergences. Xscapers is catered to the working-age RVer – although anyone who likes a more active lifestyle is free to join! Many Xscapers are working and raising a family from the road, and their events reflect that.
- BoFs – This stands for Birds of a Feather (because they flock together) and these groups are member-led and focused on special interests. There are so many BoFs – like Boomers, Boondockers, Solo Travelers, Pet Lovers, Photographers, Stonewall, and much more.
- Chapters: Escapees Chapters are regional groups that hold events for members located in geographical regions and states. There are currently 39 Chapters around the US and Canada.
All Escapees members are free to join any sub-group and attend any and all Escapees events. This wide variety of community is a big part of what makes the club so unique!
RV Rallies and Events
What good is community if you never get a chance to connect in-person?
Escapees RV Club and Chapters have dozens of RV events and rallies throughout the year – plus many more informal meetups created by members on the road.
Escapade is the annual national club rally and the biggest Club event of the year, followed by the Xscapers Annual Bash – the Xscapers annual national 10-day Bash.
In addition to the annual events, the club leads multiple events throughout the year. And there’s something for everyone – no matter your preferences or activity level.
- HOPs – HOP stands for Head Out Program. These events are bucket-list style events put on by Escapees that feature the highest level of service. The Club plans the itinerary, many of the meals, reservations, and more. All you have to do is show up and everything is taken care of.
- Escapees Hangouts are more laid-back events with a casual atmosphere. These events feature lightly-structured and planned activities and a lot of downtime to get to know other members.
Hangouts include things like hiking, kayaking, cycling, breweries, food tours, local festivals, National Park restoration, and more. - Xscapers Convergences – the Xscapers community has their own events (open to all Escapees members) called Convergences.
Convergences provide social activities, happy hours, and lightly structured schedules and activities. These events are typically scheduled outside of working hours for remote workers and homeschoolers and are almost always dry camping or boondocking.
In addition to the annual events and monthly scheduled events, there are plenty of other chances to meetup and socialize with BoF meetups and events, Chapter meetups and events, and informal meetups on the road.
RV Educational Programs and Courses – Online and Offline
The educational opportunities for Escapees RV Club members are vast.
From in-person educational opportunities like RVers Boot Camp and free seminars at many RV shows to online education, every RVer is covered. RVers Online University provides online courses for things like RV safety, operation, and maintenance, as well as courses geared towards becoming a full-time RVer.
In addition to courses, the club has educational seminars at their events, online webinars, an educational and entertaining magazine, an online forum, and more. Members also get access to Escapees SmartWeigh – which is both an educational program and a great safety service.
SmartWeigh is a service that weighs your RV and tow vehicle in-person and then provides weight safety and load management information to help keep you safe on the road.
Unlike traditional scales, SmartWeigh weighs each individual tire to give you a total picture of your weight management and potential loading issues.
The RVer Job Exchange
The rise of the internet has enabled many people to work remotely – and many remote workers are taking full advantage and working from the road! To help empower more pre-retirement age people to live the RV lifestyle, Escapees RV Club created the RVer Job Exchange, an online job board with jobs catered to RVers.
The RVer Job Exchange is a powerful resource for the working RVer. This job board features many types of jobs from Workamping to freelance work to part and full-time jobs. Sign-up for free and start creating your profile to grab your next job, or search the help wanted ads to see what jobs are currently available! Go to the RVer Job Exchange!
RV Roadside Assistance
The Escapees RV Roadside Assistance program is the highest level of roadside assistance for RVers available.
The Club is partnered with Saferide Motor Club to bring this comprehensive coverage that includes towing, mobile mechanics, tire changes, fuel delivery, trip interruption coverage, and much more.
There’s no cap to how many times you can use this roadside assistance, either – and they cover many types of vehicles, not just RVs.
RV Camping and Discounted Overnight RV Parking
If it’s campgrounds, overnight parking, or discounted stays you’re interested in – Escapees has that too.
Their comprehensive RV parking system includes their very own Escapees RV Parks, a discount parking network, the Escapees Co-Op campgrounds run by members, a low-cost camping directory, and discounts on popular camping services like Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome.
Tire and Fuel Discount Programs
Tires and fuel are some of the most expensive parts about owning and traveling in an RV besides the RV itself. Members have access to exclusive tire and fuel discount programs as a benefit of an Escapees membership.
Members can save on motorhome, trailer, truck and car tires with multiple tire discount programs within Escapees. And with rising fuel costs, the Escapees RV Club Discount Fuel Program is a major benefit for every member.
Escapees members save an average of $0.29 on diesel fuel and $0.12 on gas at every fill up.
Member Discounts on Products and Services
There are so many more benefits of an Escapees RV Club membership.
There are dozens of member discounts on RV-related products and services. In addition, there’s an entire directory of Commercial Members who provide their own products and services to members at a discount, too.
Members can get discounts on a variety of products and services like Lithium Batteries, e-Bikes, other memberships like Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome, pet insurance, satellite TV and internet, extended warranties, and much more.
Is Escapees RV Club Right for You?
There’s a lot to love about Escapees RV Club – and they truly are a total support network for all RVers.
This RV membership club has put together an entire suite of services, programs, and discounts that can assist or enhance almost every aspect of life on the road.
From RV camping and parking to education to tires and fuel, mail, and more, there’s not much that they don’t do. If you’re looking for a club that offers services and has a greater focus on a tight-knit, inclusive and diverse community, Escapees has what you’re looking for.
Although their services and programs are amazing, community is at the heart of the club and a major part of what makes being an Escapee great.