Escapees RV Club - Historical Timeline 2

“The truth is, there was no grand scheme. There was no lofty vision. There was no detailed plan with five-and ten-year goals. We were simply two working travelers enthralled with the RV lifestyle who wanted to make RVing the best it could possibly be for ourselves, our friends, and our fellow travelers.” -Kay Peterson, Co-Founder

Escapees RV Club is currently over 70,000 people strong across the United States, Canada and throughout North America. The club started with humble roots as groups of families, working and raising children while on the road, all bound together with a common set of values—caring and sharing. The sentiment of “people helping people” became the driving force for all the services Escapees offers today. We didn’t set out to become “a total support network for all RVers.” Instead, we grew to offer services in eight different industries, because it helped friends, like you, to be more successful in this wonderful, unconventional lifestyle.

Escapees RV Club - Historical Timeline 3

1978

July 4th

Even though there are several different events which could mark the beginning of the club, such as when the first members joined, 1st newsletter was distributed, or 1st gathering happened, July 4th was chosen as the official “birthday” for Escapees RV Club. This commemorates the first gathering of Escapees RV Club members that happened over July 4th week!

August

Joe and Kay published our first five-page newsletter. Read more about it here, where you can also download and read the original publication!

February

24 rigs attended the first Escapade in Bakersfield, CA. “It was a very informal rally with no preassigned duties because we had no idea who was coming. Joe & I knew a few people, but for the most part, all of us were strangers.” -Kay Peterson

1979

1980

July

With the help of newsletters, Joe & Kay’s monthly column in Woodall’s Trailer Travel, word of mouth, and fun gatherings, the club grew to 375 member families.

September

After several years of planning and hard work, the first SKP Co-Op, RoVers Roost, opened! Many volunteers (later organized into the Rainbow Builders) offered their hands and skills to build this co-op park, even if they had no need to camp there. Read more about this process in Teamwork Makes the Dream Work.

1982

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1984

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February

Birds of a Feather (BOF) groups began, originally called SIGs for Special Interest Groups, with the Northern California SIG becoming the first Escapees RV Club chapter!

April

A 27 acre property was purchased in Livingston, Texas to become home for the Escapees National Headquarters and the first of eight Escapees RV Parks (previously known as Rainbow Parks), Rainbow’s End.

July

In July 1984, the club proudly celebrated the opening of its national headquarters office in Livingston, TX.

August

Establishing a headquarters allowed us to answer the request of many members: to launch a mail-forwarding service for full-time RVers. This service is still a cornerstone of our member benefits!

1985

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1986

May

In two years, we grew from one chapter to nineteen. It was time to hire collective chapter directors, a position eagerly filled by Joe and Jan Tenpenny!

April

Wahoo!!! We celebrated SKP #10,000 joining the club!

July

Our “little” newsletter got a steroid boost- this year, we expanded it to a 52-page booklet full of peer-to-peer advice, club news, and more!

1988

1989

October

Eager to ensure we’re meeting the needs of as many of our members as we can, we created the Advisory Council, comprised of members and club leadership.

September

To celebrate Escapees across the country, we hosted our first fall and eastern Escapade in Gray, Tennessee!

1990

1992

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January

The newly-expanded (by 3500 sq ft!) headquarters office opens! With the help of the Rainbow Builders, led by Leon Culbertson, we could accommodate the needs of our growing membership even better.

April

Fueled by Kay’s compassion for others, CARE, Inc. began with the goal of caring for RVers who can no longer travel.

December

Escapees is growing!!! We celebrated SKP #25,000 this year!

January

To help our members save on camping costs throughout their travels, we created a discount parks program.

1993

1994

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January

Though we began offering a message service for traveling RVers in 1985, the program didn’t take off until we offered a private voice mail service with unlimited messages and toll-free numbers this year. Members were thrilled!

March

Our newsletter hit another growth spurt! We officially became a magazine this year, Escapees magazine, and expanded to 64 pages, then 72 pages. This is also when we began offering a limited number of advertising spots in each issue, among other changes.

Joe and Kay Peterson step down from the roles of President and Vice President. Cathie Carr becomes President and Chief Executive Officer of Escapees. Bud Carr becomes Vice President of Escapees and President of Escapees RV Parks.

Headquarters keeps expanding! This year, we added another 12,000 sq feet to our national office to accommodate the growing mail service and the need for more staff to serve our growing membership!

1996

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1997

December

Ever-growing, we rejoiced when our 50,000th SKP signed up this year!

March

While it may sound strange in current times, in the early days of consumer internet access, email addresses were tied to your internet service provider, which was usually location specific. Imagine the trouble this caused for RVers! To offer a viable solution for traveling RVers, Escapees launched a free email service for all members! RVers could use the same email address no matter where their travels took them!

July

To commemorate our 20th anniversary, we buried time capsules at headquarters and in some parks.

July

We headed to Great Falls, Montana, for our first Fun Days! This event, though similar to Escapade, was less formal and more focused on social activities, compared to the educational focus of Escapade.

1998

1999

April

Escapees goes digital! We launched our website this year and joined the digital age.

August

Joy & Kay Peterson are recognized for their contributions to the RVing industry and community through induction into the RV/Motorhome Hall of Fame. Look for their plaque when you next visit Elkhart, Indiana!

2001

2003

July

Cathie Carr, the club’s president at the time, announced the Lamplighter Program in Escapees magazine. The Lamplighter Program rewards members for referring new members to the club. “You may not realize it, but 95% of Escapees members are referred by fellow Escapees. We believe that when RVers share their knowledge, they shine a light on a path that might have otherwise seemed a dark and frightful venture.”

January

The Ninth Court of Appeals declared Escapees votes are legal!  From September 2000 to January 2003, Escapees was involved in a legal battle with the state of Texas to protect the voting rights of full-time RVers, and we won! To read the full story, check out our advocacy timeline.

January

Escapade, Fun Days, and informal gatherings in between weren’t enough for our friendly and adventurous members. To offer additional organized opportunities for socializing and exploring, we launched the Head-Out Program (HOPs)!

2004

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2005

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July

Escapees magazine goes full color!

September

Once-per-year classes at Escapade aren’t enough for knowledge-hungry Escapees. To answer this need, we created and launched RVers Boot Camp to share operation, safety, and maintenance classes with our members, with the first session taking place in Du Quoin, Illinois.

September

Escapees gathered together in Van Wert, Ohio for our 45th Escapade!

December

Baylor University named Escapees RV Club the Family Business of the Year for the SECOND time!

2006

2007

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January

A yearly tradition started in Quartzsite this year- the all-chapter gathering of Escapees! Today, this event is called Party on Plomosa.

February

Can you believe we gained SKP #100,000 this year?! Escapees just keeps growing!

July

The club celebrated our 30th anniversary at the 48th Escapade in Gillette, Wyoming! To mark this occasion, time capsules buried in 1998 were opened and we shared how much had changed in those ten years.

2008

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2009

November

Though we launched RVers Boot Camp in 2005, this is the first year we’ve held boot camp at Rainbow’s End. It was so popular that we had to add a second session the following weekend! This event has remained a fixture at Rainbow’s End nearly every year since.

June

RV Business magazine named Joe & Kay Peterson among the top 100 most influential people in the RV industry for their work in supporting the RVing community.

July

Accessible and reliable education has always been a key component of our offerings. This year, we eagerly announced the creation of SmartWeigh, a program that measures the wheel-by-wheel weight of your RV to help RVers ensure they are not overweight, they are balanced corner-to-corner, and have properly inflated tires. It has remained an in-demand service since!

2010

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2011

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January

We sadly had to say goodbye to club co-founder, Joe Peterson. He touched the lives of many RVers through his work with Escapees RV Club and the many members he supported along the way. Celebration of Life ceremonies were held throughout the Escapees parks.

July

Our mail-forwarding service started in Texas, but as the club grew, members asked for additional options they could call “home.” So, this year we began expanding our mail service options to include Florida and South Dakota!

2014

2015

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March

This year’s Escapade was a super-special one. Our club was created in 1978 to support working aged RVers and their families during their full-time travels. The launch of Xscapers at this year’s event brought our club back to its roots! Read more about Xscapers here.

May

Cathie and Bud Carr officially retire from their leadership positions, bestowing upon Travis Carr the title of President and Melanie Carr, the title of Vice President.

June

As handy as Escapees Travel Guide was, it was often outdated within a few weeks of publishing, due to campground ownership changes and other variables. To remedy this, we launched the Escapees Mapping Tool, an online directory and map the shows users all of the Escapees RV parks and partnering discount parks along your travel route.

2016

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2017

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May

Demand for more RVers Boot Camp sessions pushed us to create a digital opportunity for reliable, accessible RV education- RVers Online University!

June

The club mourns co-founder Kay Peterson who was cherished by many RVers for her warmth, humor, and passion.

May

With the average age of full-time RVers dropping year over year, the need for earning an income on the road increased. The job board we previously hosted on our website wasn’t enough to answer this need, leading us to launch the RVer Job Exchange this year!

January

Xscapers began loosely gathering in Quartzsite, Arizona in 2016. With the group growing exponentially each year, we decided to make it an official event and kicked off the first Xscapers Annual Bash this year!

2018

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2019

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March

Travis and Melanie Carr receive RVIA’s 40 Under 40 award.

May

Escapees Hangouts, announced at Escapade earlier this year, hosts their first event in May! This event program blends the energy and adventure of Xscapers Convergences with the flexible activities and busy schedule of HOPs.

October

To expand upon RVers Online University’s educational offerings, Escapees acquires RV to Freedom and includes a course to help RVers navigate the full-time lifestyle through its Roadmap to Full-Time RVing.

December

With increasing reports of public lands abuse and neglect, Escapees wanted to set the standard for how RVers can respectfully enjoy lands set aside for all to access. We created the RVers Boondocking Policy, backed by numerous camping, outdoors, and RVing organizations.

December

Escapees debuts its new event trailer, Freedom One, at the Xscapers New Year’s Eve Blowout. With 3000 watts of solar and 12 lithium-ion batteries, this trailer can throw an event anywhere and host a band, DJs, speakers, and comfortably host hundreds of attendees.

2021

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2022

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August

Much like how our mail-forwarding service came about, constantly changing technology led member demand for a mobile app! This year, after several years of planning, coding, and tweaking, we launched the Escapees Mobile App!

January

To expand our network of resources for the working RVers, Escapees acquires Live. Camp. Work.

July

The club celebrates its 45th Anniversary!

2023

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The best is yet to come!