Who are Joe and Kay Peterson, and Why are They Important to Our Industry?

By Don Magary, editor

Photos by Erin Magary

Joe and Kay Peterson sold their home in Southern California in 1970 and set out on a full-time RVing adventure. Eight years later, to satisfy the demand for full-time information, the Peterson's started a small club consisting mainly of their friends. Today Joe's and Kay's club is the Escapees with a membership of over 33,000 RV families.

What happens to RVs after the manufacturer builds them and after the dealer sells them?

People use them.

And what they use them for are as varied as the individual interests of those who own them. Car racing fans take them to race events; dog and cat owners may take them to dog and cat shows; fishing enthusiasts could take them to the banks or shores of their favorite fishing spots ­- the list is endless. Some people own RVs because they have decided they want to sell their home and hit the road and use their RVs as permanent and mobile residences -- we call this group "full-timers."

A much-overlooked part of our industry is those groups and companies that exist to serve the many needs of RV owners. And when it comes to serving the needs of the full-timer, the best of this group is "Escapees," an organization founded because the unique needs of the full-timer was not being met by other clubs and organizations.

About 30 years ago Joe Peterson, an electrician in Southern California, and his wife, Kay, a registered nurse, wanted to change their lifestyle so they made the decision to sell their home and travel around the country in their RV.

In a recent interview Joe Peterson told RV News, "We sold our home in 1970 and hit the road in a used trailer, a black cat, a $1,000 in savings and two kids ­ aged 11 and 16. Kay and I were both 43 years old at the time.

"Our plan was that I would work part time. Admittedly, I had a real good way to earn a living --   a union construction electrician. Employment was never a problem. I could work almost anytime I wanted to.

"What we discovered is that the cost of full-time living was so low that we actually prospered."

"In 1978 there was such a demand for information on full-time RVing, Kay and I decided we would start a loose knit organization -- consisting mainly of our friends. We were going to send out an 8-page newsletter with information about full time RVing and life on the road."

And that's the way the Escapees Club started.

It wasn't long before the 8-page newsletter turned into a 16-page newsletter, then a 32-page newsletter and finally a full-fledged magazine. In the mean time the Peterson's small circle of friends told their friends who told their friends until the organization grew to where it is today, a club with a membership of over 33,000 families with 54% of them full timing.

Joe continued, "There are a lot of reasons for people to join the Escapees, but that magazine is pretty close to the top."

Another reason for the Escapee's success is it's system of 18 RV parks -- 11 co-op parks and 7 Escapees owned and operated Rainbow parks.

"We started with co-op parks," Joe said. "These are like home-base parks. These parks are membership owned by the people who buy in --  not by the Escapees club."

After 11 SKP Co-Op parks the Escapees decided that wasn't the direction it needed to go. Joe explained that the original concept was that when the co-op members at these parks were not using his or her site, it would be placed in a pool where other members could rent the space. But what they found was co-op members either didn't travel that much, they had an RV such as a fifth-wheel on the site, but used a smaller RV to travel, or they simply didn't want to rent it when they weren't using it.

Joe said, "We decided we have to have control of these parks. So we started what we call Rainbow Parks. Our first one of these was our headquarters in Livingston, TX."

"Now we have decided that we are going with a third plan. Any member who is interested in buying into any one of these parks can buy, not the lot, but the use of a lot -- he's leasing a lot. He has to sign a contract for five years. At the end of five years, he can renew it for one dollar."

And then if he doesn't renew, he will get all his membership fee back.

"We are looking for a park to buy right now." continued