All the Reasons You Should Join The Escapees RV Club

If you’re an RVer, but you’re not familiar with the benefits of the Escapees RV Club, this post is for you. The Escapees is among the most comprehensive RV membership organizations. Because an Escapees RV Club membership offers so many benefits, we decided to dedicate a post to letting fellow RVers know what they’re missing if they haven’t checked it out.

So, let’s jump right in and take a look at what the Escapees RV Club offers.

What Is the Escapees RV Club?

The Escapees RV Club was founded back in 1978 by an RVing couple named Joe & Kay Peterson. The Petersons enjoyed meeting their fellow RVers and wanted to form a community of RV enthusiasts.

That first year, the Petersons sent out a newsletter to their first 164 members – by hand! Some months later, the members of the 1978 Escapees RV Club gathered at a location in Bakersfield, California for their very first “Escapade.” Today, the Escapees RV Club has over 60,000 members throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and there are 57 different chapters of Escapees.

There are no RV size or type restrictions, and there are no age restrictions (for RVs OR members). In fact, one of the coolest things about the Escapees RV Club is that it spans multiple generations of RVers. There are rallies, events, and other types of gatherings where members meet to enjoy one another’s company and to learn about all things RVing.

The Escapees is still focused on maintaining an RVing community, but it’s more than just a way to network with other RVers.

We’ll get into a full list with more details in just a moment, but RVers who join the Escapees RV Club will also enjoy additional benefits such as the Escapees magazine, access to an unlimited roadside assistance program, RV parking discounts and huge discounts on RV-related items (like tires), a fuel discount program, and even a mail forwarding service. Working-age RVers have access to the RVer job exchange.

And that’s just a snapshot… a partial list of benefits. Throughout the remainder of this article, we’ll give you the details on all of the above and more.

We just wanted to let you know from the outset that while Kay & Joe Peterson founded a fantastic community for RVers, it has broadened into a club that provides a wide array of benefits for its 60,000 members.

The Escapees RV Club is billed as “a total support network for RVers.” It’s definitely that, and more.

Is Escapees Only for Full-Time RVers?

Many people seem to be under the impression that Escapees is solely for full-time RVers. That’s actually not the case at all. While the community caters to the needs of full-timers in terms of providing a multitude of benefits that full-time RVers tend to need and desire, the Escapees is a community of full-timers, part-timers, snowbirds, and even occasional RVers who want to take advantage of what the community has to offer.

What are Xscapers?

Xscapers is a subdivision of the Escapees RV Club that was designed to cater more to working-age Escapees RVers. Xscapers are still members of the Escapees, but they’re either not yet fully retired, or they’ve retired but are still interested in working part-time (and/or are just “young at heart”). This spin-off of the Escapees gives working-age RVers a bit of a different communal focus, including the ability to connect with other still-working RVers specifically.

But otherwise, joining Xscapers is no different from joining Escapees. It all falls under the same umbrella with the same great perks. And all Escapees are welcome at events that are coordinated for and by Xscapers. The music may be a little louder, the activities a little rowdier, and the nights a little longer, but the same great camaraderie exists in either tribe.

What Are the Benefits of Joining the Escapees RV Club?

In addition to the typical “RV Club” camaraderie and participation in their events such as Escapades, HOPs (Head-Out Program), Birds-of-a-Feather (BOF) gatherings, Hangouts, Xscapers Convergences, and Escapees chapter events, as a member of the Escapees, you’ll also have access to the following benefits:

Xscapers

With your Escapees membership, you’ll be able to join Xscapers, the RV lifestyle sub-group within Escapees. Click on the link for more information on this active and free-spirited group that isn’t like your Grandma’s RV club!

RV Park Savings

As a member, you can save money at all Escapees Parks (19 locations from Washington State to Florida), commercial campgrounds (Escapees partners with over 800 commercial parks to offer 15 to 50% discounts to members), and at SKP Co-op parks!

Escapees Maps is an online mapping tool offering a visual guide to the Escapees-associated parks along your planned travel route.

The parks include short-term stays, long-term stays, leases, and even deeded and membership-type home bases.

An Escapees membership also gives you discounts on memberships to both Boondockers Welcome and Harvest Hosts, both of which offer free or vastly discounted overnight parking.

General Discounts

With an Escapees membership you’ll have discounts to everything from RV insurance to Battle Born lithium batteries to RV tires.

(FYI: The tire discounts offer HUGE savings on Goodyear, Michelin, BF Goodrich, and UniRoyal tires. In fact, the Escapees RV tire discounts alone are well worth the Escapees membership fee.)

Click on the link to see a full rundown of Escapees RV Club discounts! (Be sure to check out that link because there are many more discounts than those we’ve mentioned briefly here.)

Escapees Magazine

As an Escapees member, you’ll receive the award-winning bimonthly Escapees magazine, full of specialized information on all aspects of RVing including technical tips, RV maintenance info, safety education, and advice from full-time RVers.

The magazine also includes information on boondocking and off-the-beaten-path camping locations, as well as product reviews, notices of club-related events, outings, celebrations, and more.

Escapees Roadside Assistance Program

Escapees has partnered with Saferide Motor Club to offer the Escapees Roadside Assistance program (ERA).

Available in the US and Canada for a discounted fee, this RV-specific program offers towing service, mobile mechanic service, tire changes, fuel delivery, lockout service, battery jump-starts, winching assistance, trip-interruption insurance, tech support and assistance, dealer locator assistance, hotel and rental car discounts, and more.

In addition, there’s no cap on the number of claims a member may file per year.

Escapees Mail Service

If you saw our post on RV mail forwarding services that forward mail to RVers on the road, then you may recall that joining the Escapees RV Club gives you access to the Escapees mail forwarding service for your longer-term travels.

Escapees SmartWeigh Program

At various RV parks and RV events, you’ll have access to the Escapees SmartWeigh program to get your RV weighed so you’ll know the proper RV tire pressures to be using. (Remember that tire underinflation is the single largest contributor to tire blowouts!)

Escapees RVers Boot Camps

Membership also gives you access to RVers Boot Camps, in-person training to learn all about RV operation, safety, and maintenance.

Escapees RVers Online University

An Escapees membership gives you access to their RVers Online University which consists of online materials to help you learn about RVing at your own pace, extending your access to what you learned at a Boot Camp.

Online Groups

As an Escapees member, you’ll also have access to online Facebook groups and other online forums where you can exchange information with your fellow Escapees members.

Access to Escapees C.A.R.E.

Escapees members who are older full-timers have access to a special program known as C.A.R.E. (which stands for Caring Affordable Respite Experience).

The Escapees CARE Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (tax-exempt) corporation formed in 1992 to provide a safe place with professional assistance at a reasonable cost for members whose travels are temporarily interrupted due to serious health issues, or whose travels may be permanently discontinued due to age.

Escapees C.A.R.E., located in Livingston, Texas, is guided by a volunteer board of directors and run by fellow Escapees members who serve as volunteers in exchange for RV parking expenses and meals at the Texas location.

Note that the C.A.R.E. program is not a nursing home, but rather a way to delay or eliminate the need for a nursing home by offering a place to land where professional assistance is available for things the RVer may no longer be able to do.

C.A.R.E. (also called “Rainbow’s End”) provides assisted living while residents live on the property in their private RVs for as long as possible, with three meals a day provided in a communal setting.

In addition to daily meals, C.A.R.E. provides on-duty nurses and secure day rooms with a comfortable social atmosphere.

C.A.R.E. also schedules medical appointments and provides transportation to those appointments.

How Much Does It Cost to Join Escapees RV Club?

The cost of an annual Escapees membership is $49.95 in the United States, and 59.95 U.S. dollars in Canada and Mexico.

So, for less than 50 bucks in the US and less than 60 bucks in Canada or Mexico, your Escapees RV Club membership will give you access to everything we’ve laid out above including all Escapees and Xscapers communities, support services, discount programs, and educational opportunities.

If you’re interested in joining the Escapees RV Club, you can do it online at their website: Join Escapees Now.

If you’d like to see the type of informative seminars you can attend at events like the Xscapers BASH, here we are onstage in at our very first event, presenting an in-depth look at RV batteries:

Is an Escapees Membership Worth the Cost?

As always, only you can determine what your budget allows and what kinds of perks and services are worthwhile to you.

But we certainly feel that the benefits of being members of the Escapees RV Club are well worth the membership fee.

We’ve attended Escapees/Xscapers events, (we’ve also been featured speakers), and have met a lot of terrific people. We appreciate the camaraderie among RVers, the educational resources, and all of the other benefits listed throughout this post.

An Escapees membership offers an awful lot of perks. And if you happen to take advantage of some of the discounts on RV parks or the excellent tire discounts, you’ll have more than made back your annual fee.

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