Escapees RV Club is one of the oldest and largest RV membership clubs in the United States today. We operate as a total support network for all RVers–whether you travel in an RV, bus, skoolie, van, or even if you’re still in the planning phase.
As an RV Club, we wouldn’t be here without our members. And we also know that RVing can be a lonely journey if you haven’t met the right people, so community is at the forefront and heart of our Club!
Escapees RV Club is inclusive and welcoming to everyone–and our members are some of the most welcoming and friendly people you’ll ever meet. As our members like to say:
“When you see an Escapees sticker, you know you’ve found a friend.“
No matter what our background or interests, we all have one thing in common: the love of travel and the open road.
In this ultimate guide, you’ll learn everything there is to know about our Club and what we have to offer!
Want a shortened version to see if Escapees is right for you? Learn more here.
- What Is Escapees RV Club?
- Overview Of Escapees RV Club Membership Benefits
- What is a SKP?
- Why and How Escapees RV Club Began
- Deep Dive Into Some of the Top Benefits of an Escapees RV Club Membership
- Escapees RV Club Mail Service
- Roadside Assistance
- Tire Discounts
- Discounted Camping Options
- In-Depth RV Educational Programs
- RV Rallies and Events
- Thriving RV Community
- What Is Xscapers? Difference Between Escapees and Xscapers
- The RVer Job Exchange
- Member Discounts On RV-Related Products and Services
- RV Advocacy
- How to Join Escapees
- Is Escapees RV Club Right For You?
What Is Escapees RV Club?
Escapees RV Club is one of the oldest, largest, and most loved RV membership organizations in the world.
The Escapees RV Club was founded by Joe and Kay Peterson in 1978, and we are still family-owned and operated today.
Our mission is to provide a total support network for all RVers–no matter what type of RV you have (or don’t)!
We provide you with what we call a “total support network” through products and services like:
- A USPS certified mail forwarding service for RVers (created by RVers)
- RV roadside assistance
- RV tire discounts
- Educational RVer resources both online and offline like: RVers Boot Camp, RVers Online University, SmartWeigh, Escapees Magazine, Escapees Webinars, blogs, and more
- Discount RV parks and campgrounds
- RVer Job Exchange: a job board created for the mobile workforce and employers who hire them
- A tight-knit community of over 70,000 RVers from all walks of life
- In-person events to facilitate meeting other members in real life
- RVer advocacy efforts
Who Is Escapees RV Club For?
Escapees RV Club is for any and every RV enthusiast, no matter your background, where you live, how or where you RV–we are inclusive of everyone and every nomadic and RV life enthusiast. Skoolies, buses, vans, DIY campers–everyone is welcome here!
Community is at the heart of Escapees RV Club. Although we provide a myriad of services and benefits to help make your life on the road easier, we wouldn’t be anything without our community.
Escapees was founded by RVers and is still family-owned today, and we have many full- and part-time RVers on our team.
We know from personal experience how important community is on the road, and the majority of what we do outside of our benefits is building and strengthening our community for the betterment of all.
So, whether you’re trying to find “your people” on the road, want to take advantage of our awesome benefits, or just need a mail-forwarding service run by people who know what it’s like to be an RVer, we’re here for you.
Overview Of Escapees RV Club Membership Benefits
Escapees RV Club offers a wide variety of benefits for RVers and RV enthusiasts alike.
Escapees members enjoy benefits like:
- RVer Mail Forwarding Service
- A network of discount RV parks and campgrounds
- RV roadside assistance
- RV, towed, and tow vehicle tire discounts
- A variety of RVer events and rallies throughout the year
- Escapees Maps: an online RV trip planner
- Regional Chapter and Special-Interest Groups
- Xscapers – a lifestyle community within Escapees RV Club
- RVer Education:
- RVers Boot Camp (In-Person)
- Webinars (Online) and Seminars (In-Person)
- RVers Online University (Online)
- SmartWeigh – (In-Person)
- RVer Job Exchange
- Member Discounts
We’ll cover our primary member benefits in detail in the following sections.
Join Escapees RV Club Today!
Join Escapees RV Club today and get access to all of our member benefits, events, community, and more. Membership is just $49.95 per year!
What is a SKP?
If you’ve spent any time learning about Escapees RV Club or hanging out in our Facebook groups, you may have seen abbreviations like SKP or HOP.
Here’s what they mean!
- SKP – A nickname for Escapee, an abbreviation used to describe a club member. Example: “I’m an Escapee!” or “I’m an SKP!” (You may hear it pronounced ‘S-K-P’ or ‘skip’). When you join, you are assigned a member number called an SKP number.
- HOP or HOPs – Escapees HOPs – Head Out Program is one of our organized events programs.
- BoF – This stands for Birds of a Feather. BoF groups are special-interest community groups within Escapees RV Club. Popular BoF groups include Escapees Boomers, Escapees Solos, and Stonewall, to name a few among the 35+ groups available.
Why and How Escapees RV Club Began
Joe and Kay Peterson were full-time RVers in the 70’s, long before the internet and before full-time RVing was considered ‘cool’.
As working aged-RVers raising a family on the road, the Petersons saw a need:
Full-time RVers needed a way to stay connected to each other on the road, because full-time RVing can be lonely without a community.
In this article written by Cathie Carr, Kay’s daughter who was 17 at the time they hit the road, she says:
“In the 70’s there was very little written to assist those who had the nomadic itch. In fact, it was a time when naysayers were literally blaming the destruction of the American family on an expanding ‘mobile society’.”
Kay published her first book in 1977 called “Home is Where You Park It”, which became so popular among RVers that it was revised and republished 6 times over a 25-year period.
As you now know today, “Home is Where You/We Park It” became a catchy phrase among RVers… That today is seen everywhere on stickers, T-shirts, Instagram hashtags, and more.
Escapees RV Club was officially launched in 1978 as a 5-page newsletter that Joe and Kay distributed to 164 RVing friends and founding members.
What started as a simple newsletter for fewer than 200 people has grown into what Escapees is today, over 40 years later: A bustling RV club with dozens of benefits and over 70,000 RV enthusiast members!
Today, the president and vice president of Escapees RV Club are Travis and Melanie Carr. Travis is the son of Cathie Carr and grandson of the Petersons.
You can learn more about the entire Escapees RV Club team here.
Deep Dive Into Some of the Top Benefits of an Escapees RV Club Membership
Now that you know more about the Club and how we got here today, let’s take a closer look at our suite of benefits and services.
Escapees RV Club Mail Service
Escapees RV Club operates the oldest and largest private mail forwarding service in the United States.
Our mail forwarding service for RVers was created in 1985 and is officially licensed by the United States Postal Service.
One of the biggest problems facing RVers today is figuring out how to get your mail on the road–and the Escapees Mail Service solves that.
Our mail center is located at Escapees headquarters in Livingston, Texas, where our highly trained staff members receive, sort, and forward your mail to you at your request.
The Escapees RV Club Mail Service offers 3 different categories of service and rates.
Here’s what you can expect from our mail service:
- A personal mailbox that has a physical street address
- Mail forwarding
- Mail review by phone
- Mail scanning
- Special sorting
- Online access
- A mobile app
Learn more about the Escapees RV Club Mail Forwarding Service here.
Roadside Assistance
As Saferide partners, we bring you the highest level of roadside assistance available for RVers at an affordable price.
Escapees Roadside Assistance has unlimited coverage including:
- Towing service
- Mobile mechanic service
- Tire changes
- Fuel delivery
- Lockout service
- Battery jumpstarts
- Winching assistance
- Trip interruption coverage
- Hotel and rental car discounts
- and much more.
Our RV roadside assistance also offers personal assistance and concierge services at any time.
Plus, there’s no cap on the number of claims you can file per year.
Learn more about our RVer Roadside Assistance plan here.
Tire Discounts
There are many things about RVing that are expensive–and tires are one of the biggest.
The Escapees RV Club Michelin Advantage program gives you access to discounts on Michelin, BFGoodrich, and Uniroyal tires for your motorhome, trailer, truck, or passenger vehicle. Escapees also offers discounts on Goodyear tires for tow, towed, and passenger vehicles. In addition, members get a special discount at Premier Tire in our HQ hometown of Livingston, Texas.
Learn more about our tire discounts here.
Discounted Camping Options
There are a variety of ways to get discounts on RV parking and camping through Escapees RV Club.
Escapees RV Parks
Escapees RV Parks are a network of club-owned RV parks that are open to both Escapees RV Club members and non-members alike. Club members get discounts on their stays at Escapees RV Parks.
There are currently 8 Escapees RV Parks located in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, and Missouri.
Learn more about Escapees RV Parks here.
SKP Co-Ops
SKP Co-Ops are RV parks and campgrounds that are managed and maintained by individual members of the co-ops.Co-Ops are only open to Escapees members.
Some Co-Ops offer discounts on weekly stays or a first-timers special rate.
There are 11 Co-Ops located across the US in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Texas, and Florida.
Learn more about SKP Co-Ops here.
Discount Parking and Overnight Camping
In addition to Escapees RV Parks and Co-Ops, we’ve partnered with a network of campgrounds across the US to offer discounts on parking and overnight camping.
There are 800+ campgrounds in the US that offer discounts of 15%-50% for Escapees members.
Learn more about the Discount Park Directory here.
In addition, Escapees members have access to discounts for Boondockers Welcome, Harvest Hosts, and exclusive access to an online free and low-cost RV parking service called the Days End Directory.
Learn more about Overnight RV Parking through Escapees here.
In-Depth RV Educational Programs
Escapees RV Club is a premier destination for high-quality RV education taught by RV industry experts and experienced full-time RVers.
RVers Boot Camp
RVers Boot Camp is an in-person RV educational training that encompasses more than 20 hours of formal training in 3 days on essential RV topics.
These events are held throughout the year at various locations and RV events.
These events are open to both members and non-members alike because we believe everyone should have access to high-quality RV education, not just our members.
RVers Boot Camp covers things like:
- Tire and weight safety
- Basic RV systems
- Fire and life safety
- Proper towing techniques
- Electrical and battery systems
- RV plumbing
- RV maintenance
- RV driving safety
And much more.
Learn about RVers Boot Camp here and check the calendar for upcoming events.
RVers Online University
RVers Online University is our online RV education platform where we host courses taught and led by RV industry experts and experienced full-time RVers.
The RV Foundations: Operation, Safety, and Maintenance course is our RVers Boot Camp turned into an online course format for anyone who prefers learning on their own time or can’t make an in-person event.
In RV Foundations, you’ll learn everything you’d learn at an RVers Boot Camp, the operation, safety, and maintenace of your RV.
The Roadmap to Full-Time RVing course is an online course that teaches you everything you need to know to transition to full-time RV life.
This course takes you from not even owning an RV through purchasing the best RV for you, downsizing to live in an RV, and helps you navigate any challenges you may encounter as you start to live your full-time RV life.
Learn more about the RVers Online University courses here.
Escapees SmartWeigh
Escapees SmartWeigh is both a high-quality RV weighing service and educational program.
Getting your RV weighed with SmartWeigh provides critical RV loading and weight distribution information.
Unlike traditional truck stop scales, a SmartWeigh weighmaster weighs each individual tire to give you an in-depth picture of your weight management.
After your rig and/or vehicle are weighed, you get a consultation with your weighmaster to learn more about weight management and correct any potential issues you may have.
There are SmartWeigh locations in Florida and Texas, or you can catch SmartWeigh at some Escapees RV Club events.
Learn more about SmartWeigh here.
RVer Domicile Guides
Domicile is one of the most unique challenges facing full-time RVers, and for most of us, it’s something we know very little about.
We at Escapees know this first hand, and we’ve partnered with the attorneys at East Texas Legal to help you navigate the tricky topic of domicile.
In addition, we have domicile guides that you can download for free on our website–no need to be a member.
We have a domicile guide for the 3 most popular states for RVers–Texas, Florida, and South Dakota.
Learn more about domicile and download the guides here.
Escapees Blogs and Escapees Magazine
Our blogs and magazine are full of articles and information on every aspect of RV life.
Our blogs are free to read and accessible to the public. We have blogs on these websites:
Our magazine is a member perk–and as an Escapees member you get access to both physical and digital copies! Plus, you can browse the online repository of previous issues. Check out a sample issue of Escapees Magazine here.
Escapees Discussion Forum
The Escapees Discussion Forum can be found at RVNetwork.com – this forum is open to both members and non-members alike.
There are thousands of posts and threads on all-things RVing and RV lifestyle on the RVNetwork forum, and plenty of knowledgeable RVers ready to respond and answer your questions.
Join Escapees RV Club Today!
Join Escapees RV Club today and get access to all of our member benefits, events, community, and more. Membership is just $49.95 per year!
RV Rallies and Events
Community is at the heart of Escapees RV Club–and the best way to get in touch with your community is through in-person events!
We host a variety of different RV events throughout the year.
Because our membership is diverse in ages, interests, and more, our events are varied in order to appeal to different types of people.
Here’s a brief overview of our Escapees RV Club RV rallies and events.
Escapade
Escapade is our annual national rally and it’s the largest and most diverse gathering of the Escapees community.
Escapade has a variety of seminars, social gatherings, entertainment and more packed into 5 days, once a year.
Escapees HOPs – Head Out Program
The Escapees HOPs – Head Out Program is our highest level of event and service.
HOPs are excursions with fellow RVers in unique, bucket-list worthy destinations.
The Club does all the work from planning the itinerary, making campground reservations, restaurants and tours, and organizing many of the meals. All you have to do is show up!
Previous HOPs have gone to the Rose Parade, the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, cruises to Alaska, Cuba, and the Panama Canal, and more.
Escapees Hangouts
Escapees Hangouts are fun, casual events that were created for members to make new friends and share fun, active, and adventurous experiences.
These events take place in a campground setting and have a lightly structured schedule with optional organized activities.
Past Hangouts have participated in National Park cleanups, mural painting festivals, and have had optional excursions like hiking, kayaking, brewery and foodie tours, and more.
Xscapers Convergences
Xscapers is a lifestyle community within Escapees catering to working-aged RVers, and Convergences are the events at the heart of Xscapers.
Convergences provide education, social activities, some nightlife, and outdoor adventures in a casual gathering.
These events have a lightly structured schedule with organized activities that generally take place later in the day to accommodate working and homeschooling hours.
These events are often dry camping or boondocking.
Xscapers Annual Bash
Xscapers Annual Bash is the largest Xscapers event of the year, held in January. This event has days filled with athletic events, excursions, educational seminars, and much more. After hours, the fun continues late into the night with food and drink competitions, live music, and dancing.
Escapees Chapter Events
Escapees Chapters are member-led regional groups of Escapees members. Chapters have their own events, campouts, and get-togethers so you can meet Escapees close to home.
Birds of a Feather Events
Escapees BoFs or Birds of a Feather are member-led groups centered around a shared lifestyle interest, like biking and hiking, boomers, boondocking, pet lovers, and more.
Some BoFs hold events annually or more often, and some arrange meetups at the larger Escapees events.
Learn more about all the different types of Escapees Events here.
Thriving RV Community
As we’ve stated multiple times in this article–community is at the heart of our Club!
Since 1978, we have grown a thriving community of over 70k RV enthusiasts who have all come together with one main thing in common: the love of the RV lifestyle.
No matter where you’re from, how you RV (or even if you’re off the road, or still dreaming), we are proud to have you.
Since we have such a large member base, there are many lifestyle community groups within Escapees that come together over a shared interest.
Birds of a Feather (BoFs)
Birds of a Feather groups are member-led groups focused around a shared interest.
Popular BoFs include Boomers, Boondockers, Stonewall, Pet Lovers, Traveling Yogis, and more.
Learn about Escapees BoFs here.
Escapees Chapters
Escapees Chapters are regional member-led groups that offer local events and social opportunities for nearby Escapees in the US, Mexico, and Canada.
You can connect with a Chapter to attend local luncheons, RV outings, and holiday get-togethers. Nonmember visitors are welcome guests at Escapees Chapter events and outings.
Learn more about Escapees Chapters here.
What Is Xscapers? Difference Between Escapees and Xscapers
The main difference between Escapees and Xscapers is that Xscapers is a lifestyle community within Escapees RV Club. So, every Xscaper is an Escapee, but not all Escapees members choose to be designated as Xscapers.
Xscapers was founded in 2015. It’s a lifestyle group that’s geared towards working-aged RVers with resources for those who are working and/or raising a family from the road.
When Joe and Kay Peterson started full-time RV life, they were in their 40’s, working and raising a family from the road. The Xscapers group was created with the roots of Escapees RV Club in mind.
Xscapers is the fastest-growing community within Escapees RV Club today with over 15,000 individuals strong and growing.
This community has a passion for RVing and an active and free-spirited life that focuses more on experiences than material possessions.
Xscapers know how to throw a party, too!
Although Xscapers is geared towards working RVers, any Escapees member can choose to be an Xscaper. Many Xscapers are retired, but they attend Xscapers events because they enjoy the active, free-spirited, and adventurous nature of Xscapers.
The RVer Job Exchange
The RVer Job Exchange is an online job board connecting working RVers with jobs you can do from the road.
Working from the road is no longer a rarity–it’s a rapidly growing segment of the RV lifestyle. And with more and more employers offering remote work, working while traveling has never been easier or more accessible.
We created the RVer Job Exchange to provide job opportunities in every industry and connect remote and flexible employers with a remote and flexible workforce.
Whether you want to search for RVing-friendly work or post a RVer friendly job, the RVer Job Exchange is the place.
Check out the RVer Job Exchange Here.
Member Discounts On RV-Related Products and Services
In our efforts to provide a total support network for all RVers, we’ve partnered with many different RV brands, products, and services to bring members discounts on all things related to the RV lifestyle.
Here are a few of the discounts members enjoy:
- Battle Born Batteries
- ASPCA Pet Health Insurance
- Wifi Ranger
- Mobile Internet Resource Center
- RV Driving School
- SYKL Power Bikes
- Wholesale Warranties
- Passport America
- Harvest Hosts
- Boondockers Welcome
- Full Time Families
And much, much more.
Learn more about our member discounts here.
RV Advocacy
Escapees RV Advocacy efforts began in 1998 after determining that if the Club didn’t take the lead to protect the rights of full-time RVers, no one would.
In the years since, Escapees RV Club has defended the rights of RVers on many levels in both the public and private sectors.
Escapees RV Club has publicly stood up for and advocated for RVers rights on issues like:
- Defending full-time RVers’ right to vote
- Protecting overnight parking options in places other than commercial campgrounds
- Battling unfair RV-specific taxes
- Battling adverse motor vehicle laws for full-time RVers
And much more.
View the Escapees RV Club Advocacy page and timeline here—you can even submit a topic or issue you think the Club can help with.
How to Join Escapees
Want to join Escapees?
You can join online right here, or by navigating to the “Join” button in our website menu.
If you’d prefer to join by phone, just call us at 936-327-8873 during business hours, and our friendly and helpful staff will assist you.
Join Escapees RV Club Today!
Join Escapees RV Club today and get access to all of our member benefits, events, community, and more. Membership is just $49.95 per year!
Is Escapees RV Club Right For You?
Escapees RV Club is one of the oldest and largest RV Clubs around today, and we continually strive to be the best at what we do–supporting all RVers from every walk of life.
Whether you’re a full-timer, part-timer, or just dreaming, we are here for you. We also welcome every type of rig–RV, bus, skoolie, van, car camper, what-have-you, everyone is welcome.
If you’re looking for an RV club that places community at the forefront, Escapees RV Club is right for you.
As many of our members say: “If you see an Escapees sticker, you know you’ve found a friend.”
