Escapees

[wdk450]

I joined for a Escapees year in the winter a couple of years ago, but was pretty occupied with my wife's medical care at the time. The (Sacramento) area chapter has monthly lunch meetings all year and monthly local campouts March through November. I was sort of taken aback by their daily campout schedules which seemed to have some sort of group activity all day long. I may try them again, but I get out enough now with the area Heartland rallies, and my monthly Loners On Wheels group.

Sad to say, some of the people I have talked to at the LOW's campouts say they prefer that group due to the "third wheel" feeling of being one of the few singles in a mainly couples group, like Escapees. Even worse, I have heard from LOW's and even single Heartland members about the petty jealousies and hostility that singles are sometimes subject to, from a wife or husband who thinks the single is out to "steal" their mate.

 

[EandJ]

We are debating joining the Escapees - mainly for the cheaper rates on camping. We are not full-timers nor will be for many years. And we have numerous children - so we don't really fit the standard profile of what it appears the Escapees is aiming for. But would membership be a good deal for us if we were to use it just for the discount at parks? Is it better than the Good Sam discounts? (We are already GS members) Or are there more Escapee parks than Good Sam.

Just trying to figure out if it would be redundant or a good deal.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

We are debating joining the Escapees - mainly for the cheaper rates on camping. We are not full-timers nor will be for many years. And we have numerous children - so we don't really fit the standard profile of what it appears the Escapees is aiming for. But would membership be a good deal for us if we were to use it just for the discount at parks? Is it better than the Good Sam discounts? (We are already GS members) Or are there more Escapee parks than Good Sam.

Just trying to figure out if it would be redundant or a good deal.

I'm not a member but you would have to decide if they have RV parks in areas you frequent. Most parks have certain terms that need to be met. It varies from park to park so do your homework before joining.

 

[Invizatu]

E&J... If you do join, be sure to let them know you are a good sam member.... cost $35 instead of $70!

 

[SGeohagan]

You might want to check out Passport America. They offer 50% discount in lots of RV parks. We've saved the cost of joining many times over.

 

[jmgratz]

There are several other benefits to being an Escapee member. Such as their mail forwarding service, the ability to attend the Escapades (national Escapee rallies), the ability to go on their HOPS (heading out programs ) which are organized trips, being able to join their BOF (birds of a feather) groups which are special interest groups such as people interested in geocasting or fishing or medium duty trucks or many of the other BOFs, and we cannot forget their CARE center which is an area at their Rainbow Park (Escapee headquarters in Livingston, TX). The CARE center is a place you can stay in your RV which is similar to an Assisted Living home. They offer various levels of CARE while recovering from surgery, injuries or other reasons. Escapees is a premier organization for RVers, full-time or otherwise. BTW this years Escapade will be held in Gillette WY. We have attended three. They were both great. They even have a RVer Boot Camp for new RVers but even seasoned RVers attend. We attended one and learned much.

 

[EandJ]

OK - in doing a lot more researching.

Jim - thanks for all the extra info on what they do. Problem is I most likely won't use all those extra services. At least for another 25 years or so. Except maybe the boot camp would be helpful. But with work and kids schedules, I can't even make local HOC rallies - so that would just be another group of rallies/groups/programs I miss. (like Samborees, the Goshen Rally, etc) I'm just looking for maximum discounts on camping for the 3 extremely valuable weeks of vacation I get a year.

I think looking at the campgrounds in the respective directories and their discounts - and where we are likely to go in the next few years - I think our best bet is Passport America. They seem to have fewer campgrounds, but greater discounts. And where they don't have a campground, we still have our Good Sam membership (plus its associated benefits - which do come in handy for us) as a backup.

 

[Wharton]

If you are looking for inexpensive camping have you considered boondocking, National Forests, State, county and national parks?

 

[wdk450]

E and J:
Regarding Passport America, be sure to read the individual campground's detailed listing on their website for P/A discount restrictions. They vary from campground to campground.

 

[EandJ]

We have for years done the TX state park pass. (I think it expired last month - have to renew). Boondocking is kind of hard for us. 7 people in TT. 36 gal fresh tank, 37 gallon black tank. Could be done - but complicated. I'm just imaging how bad my boys would smell w/out showering for a few days. (too bad there is no throw-up smilie) Probably make the dog smell good.

We do use county parks when available. But some of the places we are planning to go in the next couple of years - don't fit for national parks etc. What I liked in Passport America - there were some campgrounds right in the larger cities. For example, we are planning to visit San Diego hopefully in about 2 years and they have Mission Bay RV Resort in their list which looks pretty close to the Zoo and Gas Lamp etc.

What I'm trying to find is a good all around mix - so when we go, we have inexpensive choices - state, national parks, Escapees or Passport America, and Good Sam. That way - we should always be able to find something. But I'm cheap and don't want to buy memberships in everything if I don't have to.

 

[EandJ]

E and J:
Regarding Passport America, be sure to read the individual campground's detailed listing on their website for P/A discount restrictions. They vary from campground to campground.

Yeah - I noticed a lot of them are Sun - Thursday. Or something to that effect. Maybe plan travel days to leave and come home on weekend.

 

[Wharton]

The other thing to remember is there are a lot of campgrounds that aren't in any books and don't advertise. They will generally be in the state directory but not any other. There are several smart phone apps that might help also.

 

[wdk450]

The other thing to remember is there are a lot of campgrounds that aren't in any books and don't advertise. They will generally be in the state directory but not any other. There are several smart phone apps that might help also.

I found a file I downloaded into my Garmin GPS at the "POI Factory" website with 14,352 U.S. Campgrounds.