Escapees.com worth it for van dwellers?

[Markw]

So I've been looking over the escapees.com web site and it looks like they do a LOT for a low yearly fee.

  However, I notice they seem to be geared toward RVers and some of the benefits appear to be specific to that group.  For example, their deal with Goodyear tires specifically mentions 'RV tires'...would that deal also apply for van tires as a member?

  Does anyone have experience with them as a van dweller?

 

[crofter]

I do not.

But I did check out their club to access mail forwarding. Then I went with a local service who went out of business, so should have gone with escapees. Also consider your state of domicile. Correct me if I am wrong, but limits domicile state to FL & TX or something which affects your health insurance, taxes, voting access, yearly DMV vehicle costs, etc.
-crofter

 

[abnorm]

I'm a SKP.........4 years now......Membership and my Mail Forwarding Service (w/postage) costs about $250 a year

I've never checked the sponsored "Deals"....I don't attend the rallies.......I will visit my Escapees RV park in Bushnell Florida this month


^Crofter...........Domicile in Florida....South Dakota and Texas

 

[crofter]

Thanks for the info, two out of three!!

@abnorm, did you have to pay a high dollar fee at the beginning for your park spot there in FL? Thousand Trails has a hefty buy in, so for me was a stopper.

Also, are services for seniors better in FL due to the number of retirees? Thinking of health insurance add ons, community food, cheap taxes for seniors, etc.
-crofter

 

[user 423]

I'm considering Escapees now in SD but the way they do their mail forwarding is confusing:

"Mail forwarding service customers who wish to utilize an address in Florida or South Dakota will also be assigned an address with our Texas mail service.  We ask that our FL and SD customers use their FL or SD address (respectively) only for state-specific mail.  All other mail, including packages, should be sent to the Texas mailing address.  Each piece of mail sent to FL or SD will incur an additional fee".

(link to Escapees mail forwarding info)..

https://www.escapees.com/how-escapees-mail-forwarding-service-works/

 

[abnorm]

Crofter........there is NO additional "buy-in"............As for available Florida Senior Services I have NO direct info..........

^ YES the mail service is confusing...........Escapees is a USPS certified RE-Mailer.....FROM the Texas location only !

Any First-Class mail delivered to ME in Florida get forwarded to Texas (at $1 additional each piece)....even if I'm staying at the Florida RV Park......

At that point I can have it mailed (FedEx) wherever I'm traveling........All my accounts are paperless........I call for my mail about twice a year

My TAGS are about the only thing I actually NEED the mail service for

 

[bullfrog]

Escapees has been great for us as we are RVers. We have been members for almost 20 years. Starting out we volunteered/worked at the Livingston Texas park Rainbow's End and got to see first hand how great the Care Center and people there were. Probably the best place we ever worked as far as people go. We still have the mail service but seldom use it. We still maintain our membership as their rates without electricity are between $300 -$400 a month. Some of their parks require a fully self contained camper so vans and some small campers may not qualify although we have camped on BLM and been allowed sometimes to dump and use the facilities. I still have some free passes for nightly stays for volunteering for them. The first few months we learned a lot about life on the road and RVing so I'm sure it would be worth the joining just to learn the ropes. They have gotten much larger in numbers and may not be as good at personal service now, but we have always had someone answer the phone and get us taken care of. As far as insurance and residence questions they are professionals with answers and methods to handle most all situations.

 

[VanForNow]

One big advantage of Escapees is members' access to the Day's End Directory, a guide to free and low-cost campsites, dumps, water sources, etc. In my opinion it is superior to most other resources of this kind, as it highlights campsites found nowhere else. Existing campsites are frequently updated by the Directory's users to insure that they are still open for camping.

Access to the Day's End Directory costs $15 per year. The first year's subscription requires membership in Escapees. Subsequent renewals are allowed even if your Escapees membership has lapsed.

The only drawback to the Day's End Directory is that it does not offer GPS-linked driving instructions. Instead, the online directions to a site are printed the old- fashioned way (such as "turn L on Jones St., drive 1.5 miles and turn R on Smith St. ...") But despite this limitation, I think it is a superb resource for nomads.

 

[wayne49]

Sounds interesting, that directory and the roadside assistance.

 

[Ravella and X]

I'm an Escapee, too, and second all of the positive stuff above about being an Escapee. My domicile is Florida and my mailing address is Texas, except for business with the state of Florida (drivers license, car titles and registration, jury duty, etc.) It isnt confusing. You just don't give anyone your Florida (or South Dakota) domicile address. You give them your Texas mailing address.

I've spent quite a bit of time in both an Escapees park (Bushnell, FL) and an Escapees co-op park (Pahrump, NV). Escapees people as a group and in general are good people with good club impulses. Escapees tend to be nice, helpful, and welcoming. For people wishing to have a "home base", I recommend looking into the co-op parks.

Doug, wgile at Sumter Oaks, tell the ladies crafting group that the lady who was making rag rugs there 5 years ago says hey. Be a good laugh if they've all been replaced by new crafters lol

 

[abnorm]

^ WILL DO !...............

 

[wayne49]

The co-op park sounds like a better deal than spending $10K+ for an unimproved lot in the Pahrump area.

There is a waiting list currently. A refundable deposit of $2K to get on the list.

 

[crofter]

Pahrump is pretty, but there is that nasty white dust thst gets kicked up and causes havoc with my sinuses.
-crofter

 

[travelaround]

After reading all this I'm considering making Texas my domicile state rather than South Dakota. I've never been to Florida... it is sort of out of my range. My mother lived in Texas, retired from being a nomad, for twenty years. Rockport, Texas... on the gulf. I'd like to go back there.

 

[abnorm]

The Texas Home of Escapees is in Livingston........North of Houston

 

[maki2]

I would not want to domicle in Texas because you have to return there every year to get your vehicle inspected so you can get new tabs on it. Of vourse if ir did not pass the inspedction that means trying to find someonevto do the reppair and tben going back for a reinspection.

WA state has no state income tax, it has no vehicle inspection requirements it has no rules about having to be in the state for 6 months of the year. It is pretty to establish residency if you rent a place for a month.

 

[bullfrog]

^^^ I believe you are required to get the inspection when returning to the state physically after so many days I don't believe there is a requirement to return just for inspection.. If you don't return, no inspection, at least that is the way it used to be and in the Livingston area Escapees make up a majority of residents and are treated well by local businesses or they don't stay in business.

 

[B and C]

You have 5 days to get inspection/tags after returning to Texas. Smaller counties would not be too bad but I reside in Harris county (largest in Texas). Normally license tags can be renewed at most grocery stores. If your tags expire, you have to go to the tax office. Loooog lines at the tax office. I come back every year for Thanksgiving with family so not a problem. YMMV

 

[VanFan]

Normally license tags can be renewed at most grocery stores.  If your tags expire, you have to go to the tax office.  Loooog lines at the tax office.

So  true re those lines!  I have renewed tags on-line, with mixed success.  Once, they did not arrive in the mail and I had no option other than going to the tax office.  The inspection, of course, has to be done in person, prior to registration.

Jury duty service may also be an issue, since I believe it is keyed to driver's license records (although at one time it was tied to voter registration, so I'm not sure).  My request for a service deferral in Dallas County--a major COVID hot spot--was denied.  I recently served at the municipal court, which is fairly small, but Dallas County criminal courts jury room is HUGE, and I am pretty uncomfortable with it.  Masks are required (although our governor's AG has probably filed suit on this requirement), and we are supposed to use escalators.  But I digress...

 

[RvNaut]

I am facing this decision myself. After looking at the offering out there and taking into consideration I am goign to go to South Dakota to pickup my new-to-me, America's mailbox seems the better choice... if I was going to base out of TX it could be a toss up...

I posted a poll to get feedback on one vs the other, and/or other services
https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=44350

As for Jury Duty... if one were to explain to the court that they are a 1000 miles away and that it would be a hardship to return, I would guess that would allow for dismissal.