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Old 10-08-2015, 09:13 PM   #1
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Thinking of joining Escapees RV Club

We are thinking of joining Escapees Rv Club. I would like to hear about other peoples experiences with them. I want the good the bad and the ugly. I know that Norm and Ginny really like them.

Sandy C.
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Old 10-08-2015, 09:23 PM   #2
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Their forums are a valuable resource. Never been to their meets. Their magazine is also good. The membership price is way down from $60-$70 a couple of years ago so it is a good time to join. If you are interested in full-timing, they know all there is to know and can help you with setting yourself up on domicile and mail service and more. They also have a small park network and their info always includes maps and more on those.
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Old 10-09-2015, 03:10 AM   #3
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What magazine are your referring to?
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Old 10-09-2015, 03:29 AM   #4
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The Escapees organization has a magazine. They have no connection to Escape trailers.
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Old 10-09-2015, 05:44 AM   #5
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Name: Norm and Ginny
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In 2016 year Escapees have their huge national rally called an Escapade in Essex Junction, Vermont from July 24-29th. WE have not been but to fulltimers it's the 'Mecca' of rallies.

They are a whole RV organization with an assisted living center supported by the members in Texas that is very reasonable, really could serve as a model for the nation, a very good magazine, reasonably priced RV retirement communities with their Co-op RV parks. It's definitely worth investigating.

We have had a number of FRV members visit our place in FL to see for themselves what our park is like and to learn some of the benefits. As most of you know FRV members are always welcome visitors.

Escapees.com pretty much tells it all. When we were starting we bought a number of their publications and followed their forum of mostly fulltimers (you don't need to be an Escapee to go to their forum.)

Always
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Old 10-09-2015, 07:52 AM   #6
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We've been members for quite a few years. I think we get good value for the cost of our membership. We've never been to any of the rallies but have stayed at some of the Escapees parks. The fees are very reasonable, sometimes free I think if you just want to boondock overnight. I like the inclusive nature of Escapees. Although it's primarily geared towards the needs of fulltimers and those with big rigs, anyone is welcome and we've always been greeted warmly when we've stayed at an Escapees park in our little trailer. They have a new sub-group for work campers now too and are really making an effort to reach out to younger RV owners. If you travel for long periods of time, they have a great mail forwarding service. I always find something useful and/or interesting in the magazine that comes with our membership too.
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Old 10-09-2015, 10:03 AM   #7
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I joined a few years ago then never really used their services. But I understand some people love Escapees. So I'd just say be clear about your needs when you join any organization. And if you're new to RVing, or you've just retired your needs--hopes and dreams--will evolve over time. For me Good Sam has been great. I really like their Roadside Assistance and most places offer a discount for members so membership gets paid back pretty fast.


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Old 10-09-2015, 10:03 PM   #8
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Thanks to everyone who replied. All the information I could find on Escapees seems to be positive and this is been reflected here. We are going to try being snowbirds this winter. We want to use their campgrounds and Boondocking guide. I think we will probably join them. Please keep the comments coming.

Sandy C
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Old 10-10-2015, 08:27 AM   #9
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I had been looking forward to the Escapees Boot Camp in November. Due to NOT having the surgery I expected, I won't be going. Great place to learn about RVing when you know NOTHING!

Just a note, Escapees and Good Sam are two DIFFERENT functions.

Mon
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Old 10-10-2015, 09:30 AM   #10
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This is one of two RV Organizations that we belong to mainly due to the fact that it suits our way of travelling and we feel that we receive good value for the cost. We dry camp 90% of the time so the dry-camp option at the Escapees parks is well worth the membership fee to us. It is particularly good if you are heading south west to Arizona/California.
The employees, volunteers and members of this group are all very helpful and friendly and have always made us feel welcome wherever we go.
Birds of a Feather(BOF) are special interest groups you might be interested in checking out. eg. We spent a week in Quartzsite,AZ two years ago with the Boomers group and had a great time.(informal movies, seminars, discussions, social hour, pancakes breakfasts)
Day's End is definitely a worth while extra if you plan on doing much boondocking. We found once you join initially if you submit enough updates you can get the next year's list for free.
boondockerswelcome.com is another site you might be interested for your travels.
Other sources of snowbirding information is The Canadian Snowbird association(CSA), Medipac, and Explorer RV Club.
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Old 10-10-2015, 10:03 AM   #11
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Day's End, boondocking, camping, overnight parking

This is a link to the Days End Directory. I recall it's $5 a year for a membership to Day's End if you make no additions. The link above has the ability for non-members to explore it a little.
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Old 10-10-2015, 03:47 PM   #12
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Name: Ray
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Sandy,

For a Scamp13, I guess that I would really suggest some caution,
calling the Escapees phone number, telling them what your rig is,
and asking a lot of questions before joining.

For us, so far, the Escapees membership has not worked out as well
as we had hoped or expected.

For any question that you ask an engineer, the answer you will usually
get is "It depends." The following might be the "It depends" factors.

Does your Scamp 13 have a bathroom and blackwater tank?

Do you hope to do mostly dry camping or do you want to have electric,
water, and sewer hookups? Or just electric plus water? Or just electric?

Do you want to set up any sort of shelter other than an awning attached
to the trailer? (i.e. an EZ-UP, CLAM, etc.)

Are there Escapee parks near your planned destination(s) and, if so,
are they Co-Op parks or Rainbow parks?

Our Scamp13 does not have a bathroom, so we usually use campground
facilities and carry a porta-potti. Because it is a small trailer, we want
the ability to be outdoors and still have some protection from sun, rain,
and bugs. In July of this year, we saw an unexpected 65 mph wind pick
up an awning, blow it up and over a friend's trailer, and completely
destroy the aluminum poles. During that same storm, our small (6x6 feet)
CLAM Traveler shelter/screen-room/tent stood up to the wind and was
completely undamaged.


While at Scamp Camp 2015 in Sebring, we took an afternoon and enjoyed
Norm and Ginny's great hospitality and toured their wonderful Escapee
Co-Op park and home.

Based on that very positive experience, we joined Escapees about a
month later. I'm sorry to report that our experience has not always
been positive.

Although I didn't realize it when we joined, there are two different types
of Escapee parks; the Co-Op parks (like Norm & Ginny's) and the Rainbow
parks. The rules and by-laws for those two types of parks can apparently
be fairly different.

The actual Escapee parks (both types) and other affiliated parks that
provide discounts to Escapee members are described in the Escapee
Travel Guide.
https://www.escapees.com/parking/travel-guide
(You can download a pdf copy of the Travel Guide at the above link.)

In the Travel Guide, you will find that many of the Co-Op parks have
wording that says "self contained RVs only" and some of them even
add a "no porta-potties" clause. In general, it would appear that the
Co-Op parks might be a bit discriminatory and are much more geared
to the larger motorhome/large-trailer folks who usually stay longer
in one place. (Norm & Ginny's Co-Op park seems to be the exception
to that rule and seems to operate in a way that is a bit more like the
Rainbow parks. In general, I would say that Norm & and Ginny are
far more knowledgeable about all aspects of the Escapees parks and
club than I am and they might have more updated information in the
future! )

Some examples of our experience .....
On a recent trip to California, my wife lost a contact lens a couple
weeks into the trip. I needed a place that we could have our home
optical shop send some new contacts where they would hold them
for us until our arrival. I decided that Park Sierra (Coarsegold, Ca.)
was near enough to the Sequoia trees that it might be a good place
to send the contacts and perhaps spend a few days.

What I was told, by the Park Sierra manager, was that we would not
be considered a "self-contained RV " unless we had a blackwater tank.
We did have a fresh water tank, a grey water tank, propane, a 12v
electrical system, and a never-used porta-potti. However, without a
blackwater tank, he suggested that he could only put us in the
primitive/dry-camping area. He suggested that, if we wanted electric
(and possibly water?) that we should probably go to a KOA down the
road a ways. Since we had planned quick overnight stays and lots
of sightseeing, I had not brought our solar panel setup and had not
planned on dry camping. As a result, my wife decided to go the rest
of the trip using some backup single vision glasses (instead of her
contacts
) and I did all of the driving for the rest of the trip.

On another occasion, we made reservations at a Rainbow park and
told them that we hoped to set up the CLAM Traveler shelter and
wanted to make sure that was permitted and that our intended
site would have sufficient room. Whoever answered the phone
said that they would make the reservation and would verify with
the manager(s) that it was OK and that they would call us back
at our home phone number if that would be any problem. Having
heard nothing from them in two weeks (no in person calls and no
voicemails left on our answering machine, we set off for the park.

An hour out from the park, we called to confirm our arrival, ask
about office hours and local discount tickets, etc. We were told
that separate shelters were not permitted and that we had no
reservation (it had been canceled?). We asked if we could rent
a spot in the primitive/dry-camping area for a screen shelter
or a tent and they (again, not the mangers) told my wife that
they didn't have/offer that capability. (It said clearly in the park
description in the Travel Guide that they did offer dry camping
and the park map showed the dry camping area on the west side
of the park.) They suggested that, if we wanted to set up a
screen room, there was a KOA down the road.

At that point, with our daughter and grandchildren already on the
road and approximately an hour behind us, we gave up and found
a Passport America discounted park that provided a site for both
our trailer and a screen room/tent at a similar price point. (When
we returned home, I did review the caller-ID entries and found
an Escapee entry. However, there never was any voicemail left
on our machine that might have told us that our reservation had
not been made or had been canceled.)

In fairness, Escapees recently sent out a survey of what folks
really wanted in a park and what people valued most in their
RV travels. It seems possible that the Escapees organization
might be reviewing their current rules and operating guidelines
and might be interested in making some improvements?

On our trip to California, we stayed in many Passport America
parks, many Good Sam parks, and one KOA. Many times, we
hooked up to electric only and didn't even bother with city water
connections and/or any added water in the grey tank.

Out of 3 attempts to stay at Escapee parks, we have so far
had one success.

I have already renewed our Good Sam membership for several
more years and will likely renew our Passport America membership.

For now, before considering Escapee renewal, I will wait and see
if there are any changes forthcoming in the Escapee parks operation.

Depending on your needs, I still think that the Escapee membership
might have benefits for some folks and that, overall, they might
be trying to improve their operation.

Clearly, our wants and needs in a camping club membership might
be different than some other folks. So, as always, YMMV.

Good luck with whatever you decide meets your requirements!

Ray
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Old 10-10-2015, 11:04 PM   #13
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A couple of years ago I joined the Escapee's and found what Ray was speaking about. Some of their Parks don't allow for Non-self contained RV's.

I consider myself "Self Contained" as I have a gray water tank and a Porta-Potty. I can go a week or so without having to dump. So if they don't want me for a night or two, I don't want them.

I belong to Passport America, which is 1/2 price camping, and found that I can do just as well with them as I could with any of the campgrounds that were in the Escapee's additional campground directory. In fact, lots of the same campgrounds are in both.

Oh by the way Ray, you do have a black water tank if you have a PP.
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Old 10-10-2015, 11:47 PM   #14
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Thanks for all the replies. Ray has definitely given us food for thought. Our little Scamp does not have a bathroom. We use a port potty. We plan to dry camp as much as possible but occasionally plan to stay at a campground and use their facilities mainly showers and such. We would use a shelter/tent for a long term stay. Their Days End directory would be very handy for us as would the travel guide.
Please keep the comments coming.

Sandy C.
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Old 10-11-2015, 06:28 AM   #15
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Name: Norm and Ginny
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Florida
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About Escapee Parks

I certainly believe Ray, he's been to our FL home and is a really nice guy.

After his PM to me I checked all the Coop parks and found 3 of them say 'self contained RVs only'. It actually surprised me because our son's park in Washington says that and he has a 1977 Scamp 13 without even a porta potti and it's never been an issue.

A couple of parks do not have shower rooms, Oregon and The Ranch in NM, all the remainder do have showers.

I took his comments seriously and emailed both Park Sierra and Escapees about the two actions. I am awaiting responses and will report their responses.

My experience is that our park never turns away anyone at our park. If all our full and partial hook up sites and formal dry camping sites are full we create dry camping opportunities in open areas of our park.

We've been to all of the parks except one with small trailers and have never been asked if we were self contained. I suppose if asked I would have said yes even though our shower is not connected.

There are a whole series of different kinds of parks in the Escapee system.

11 Co-ops, owned by the members who set their own rules. (3 Parks say self contained or no Porta Potties)

8 Rainbow Parks owned by the Escapee corporation (None of the Rainbow Parks have a self contained policy)

1000 Private parks in the Escapee Directory that offer Escapees a discount from 15 to 50%.

Days End Directory, over 800 pages, of low cost and free parks and boondock sites.

I'm sorry Ray had a bad experience, feeling his joining resulted from a visit to our park.

More to come as I learn more..
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Old 10-11-2015, 07:29 AM   #16
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Name: Ray
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Missouri
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Thanks for the kind words, Norm!

I want to be clear that, for an awful lot of folks, Escapees could be a fine
choice. I like their magazine. I hear that their events are first class. The
one time that we did stay in an Escapee park, the park was very nice,
the people were warm and welcoming and many of them thought our
little Scamp13 was "cute!".

Having not read that "self-contained only" clause in the book, we were
perhaps too brutally honest when we "asked for a spot near the bathroom
because we don't have built-in onboard facilities."

At the LBL rally, I talked with a fellow who stayed in a park with published
restrictions, but the park manager volunteered "I'm not going to come
out and inspect your trailer for compliance."

I suspect that, in the past, Escapees was more focused on "full timers"
and big rigs. Now, perhaps, they are trying to become more inclusive
and truly be a "Total Support Network for ALL RVers". (I'm sure that
Norm knows much more about the history and future direction of the
Escapees organization than I do.)

Sometimes, even with the best intentions, change comes slowly.

If you have a larger trailer that meets whatever it takes to comply with
their definition of "self-contained", Escapees could be a great choice.

If you have a Scamp13 (see the first sentence of my original post) with
a porta-potti, I think that you might be doing yourselves and the
Escapees organization a real service by picking up the phone and asking
questions. That way, you both may win. They will know what you
want/need; you will know what they have to offer and what restrictions
might apply.

My unfortunate experiences were just that .... unfortunate experiences.
I have more months remaining on my membership and my mind is still
open.

Overall, I think Escapees is probably a really good organization. If you
have a small trailer and porta-potti, maybe they will be relaxing some
of the restrictions in the future? Or, and I hate to suggest this, maybe
you should be aware of the restrictions and just not be as honest as we
were.

I will be eagerly looking forward to Norm's update(s). In the meantime,
call them and maybe give them a chance. Everyone may benefit from
some open communication.

Wishing everyone safe travels and happy camping!

Ray
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Old 10-11-2015, 10:21 PM   #17
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Good advice from Ray, maybe we should call Escapees and talk to them about our needs and what they have available to meet them.

Norm, I think we are all waiting to hear what you find out. Thanks for looking into this.


Sandy C.
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Old 10-12-2015, 07:27 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rdickens View Post
Or, and I hate to suggest this, maybe
you should be aware of the restrictions and just not be as honest as we
were.
Once upon a time, Advice of Counsel to me was: "Not telling all you know is not lying"..
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Old 10-12-2015, 02:06 PM   #19
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Name: Norm and Ginny
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Florida
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Retraction

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandy Christie View Post
Good advice from Ray, maybe we should call Escapees and talk to them about our needs and what they have available to meet them.

Norm, I think we are all waiting to hear what you find out. Thanks for looking into this. Sandy C.


To Sandy and anyone else that feels mislead.

There are two major classes of Escapee Parks 'directly' affiliated with Escapees, Co-ops and Rainbow Parks.

Co-op Parks make their own rules and most of them have "a self contained RV rule", even though most but not all have bathrooms and showers. This was a surprise to me. It turns out that most Co-op parks say "self contained RVs only" and some have statements against Porta Potties.

After Rays PM communications I looked at the Escapee Travel guide in detail. I have travelled for 9 years to Escapee Parks, not being totally self contained. I had not been challenged even once at any of the 18 parks we visited. (Most of those visits were int he 1982 Sunline that was 25 years old, faded, the front painted aluminum looked gunshot from the Labrador highway.) Regardless of our experience there is a rule and all should know it.

Rainbow Parks rules are made by the national organization and I can find no requirement for being self contained.

Finally we have personally been very happy as Escapees. Everywhere we went the people were nice to us, the parks generally quiet with most people over 55. Some of the best travel advice has come from Escapees because most of them have traveled extensively.

The following is a link to their travel guide. It shows all parks that give Escapee discounts including the Rainbow and Co-op parks. A Park with a "50" gives a 50% discount the rest 15%.

https://escapees.com/parking/travel-guide

Sorry if anyone was mislead. I hope to get a response from Park Sierra, a SKP Co-op, and the National Escapees concerning Ray's issues sometime after the holiday.

Don't hesitate to PM me about Escapees if you like.
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Old 10-12-2015, 07:35 PM   #20
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As I stated it was a few years ago when I had joined the Escapee's and there were quite a few of the parks at that time that were listed as "self contained only".

Park Sierra is just down the road from me and it is a self contained only park. I know that because I have friends who were involved in it until recently, we've discussed that policy in depth.

I too, think they are a great organization. Maybe I should take another look at them as possibly the policy has changed at many parks.
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