The Road’s Safety Net: What Escapees CARE Offers Every RVer
The Road’s Safety Net Is Sponsored by RV Roofing Solutions
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What Happens When the Road Gets Hard?
If you’re a full-time RVer and you’ve been on the road for years, your rig is your home. Your community is your neighborhood. And the open road is your backyard. So when something happens — a surgery, a health change, the loss of a partner — the life you’ve built can feel impossible to maintain.
What do you do? Where do you go?
That’s the question Kay Peterson refused to let go unanswered. In 1992, the founder of Escapees RV Club built something for exactly that moment: a program called CARE (Caring Affordable Respite Experience). And it’s the only program of its kind in the United States.
Recently, Jennifer visited the Escapees CARE Center in Livingston, Texas, and brought back three voices that will genuinely change how you think about the road ahead and the options available to you.
What This Episode Is About
Jennifer told me the story of Kay Peterson, a nurse who hit the road in 1972 with her husband and eight kids, founded Escapees RV Club from a handwritten newsletter, and watched her community grow for decades before asking herself: what happens to my people when the road gets hard? And Crystal, the acting director of CARE; Mark (also known as MSW in the Xscapers world), a working-age solo RVer who used CARE after surgery; and Dan, a volunteer who comes back to CARE year after year, share what this revolutionary opportunity has meant to them and the people they know on the road.
This isn’t a warning about getting old. It’s a conversation about taking care of each other.
This Episode Is Perfect For You If You’re:
• A full-timer or long-term traveler who has wondered what happens if your health changes on the road
• A solo RVer without a built-in support system
• A part-timer who didn’t realize CARE isn’t just for older RVers
• Someone who wants to volunteer somewhere meaningful while earning a free camping site and meals
• A family or couple trying to plan ahead for the later chapters of RV life
• Anyone who cares about the RV community and looking for a simple, real way to give back
What You’ll Learn
CARE is not a nursing home. Residents come and live in their own RVs, in their own camping site, surrounded by their own things. They sleep in their own bed. What changes is that they’re no longer carrying the weight of all their care alone. Meals, laundry, transportation, housekeeping every other week, on-site skilled nursing — all is there, but you go home to your rig at the end of the day.
Who CARE Is For
Who CAN Use CARE | What Brings Them There |
Working-age solo RVers | Post-surgery recovery when you can’t drive or cook |
Couples when one partner needs extra support | Health changes that make full-timing harder to manage alone |
Full-timers aging gradually off the road | Loss of a spouse; longing for community and structure |
Anyone who needs a temporary respite | Joint repair, illness treatment, hip replacement, and everything in between |
Livingston community locals | Meals and social connection |
The Learn To RV CARE Challenge
Here’s a number worth sitting with: $849. That’s what it costs per month for one CARE resident to stay in their own RV with professional support, daily meals, transportation, and nursing oversight. That price only exists because of member donations, which fund about 40% of CARE’s entire operating budget. CARE is asking for as little as $10 a month. If 100 listeners said yes, that’s $12,000 a year. If 500 said yes, that’s $60,000. The LTRV community alone could move that needle in a real way. If you’re ready to get involved, donate at escapeescare.org/donate.
How to Volunteer at CARE
Step | What to Do |
1 | Be an Escapees member (membership starts around $50–60/year at escapees.com) |
2 | Apply through the volunteer coordinator at escapeescare.org |
3 | Commit to a full month — volunteers come from the first to the end of the month |
4 | Show up. No medical training required. Main tasks: answer phones, take meal counts, wipe tables, drive residents to appointments |
In return: | Escapee’s CARE will provide a free full-hookup site for the month + a stipend toward your electricity + three meals a day |
Ready to Dive Deeper?
The full episode includes Dan’s story of showing up to CARE not even knowing what it was and continuing to volunteer because the residents’ stories are, in his words, priceless. It includes Jennifer’s memory of meeting Kay Peterson at Escapade in 2017 — the fire she had, the warmth that made everyone feel welcome. And it includes Mark’s quiet, honest account of what it’s like to be a solo Xscaper looking for somewhere to heal when he had nobody to help him cook or drive.
Explore more at escapeescare.org. Read the FAQ at escapeescare.org/faq. Set up automatic giving through igive.com (designate “Escapees CARE”) when you shop at Camping World, Bass Pro Shop, Target, or Cabela’s.
Thinking about joining the Campfire Crew on Patreon? First 7 days are free. Early access, bonus episodes, merch, and a community of RVers living this life. Or buy us a coffee — that works too.
Where to Listen and How to Connect
Catch “The Road’s Safety Net” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and everywhere else podcasts are streamed. Find us at learntorvthepodcast.com.
Connect with us in the free Learn To RV: The Community on Facebook. Follow @LearnToRV on Instagram. Explore more RV resources at learntorv.com.
Know someone who should hear this? Share it. It’s free. And it might be the most important episode you pass along this year. Have a story for Campfire Confessions? Email learntorv@gmail.com.
The Road’s Much Sweeter When We Know We’re Not Out Here Alone
Kay Peterson believed there were two kinds of people: those who discover something wonderful and guard it carefully, and those who shout it from the rooftop. We are rooftop people.
CARE exists because Kay refused to let her people fall through the cracks. If we don’t keep it funded, if we don’t get the word out, that safety net can disappear for the very people who need it most. And some of those people — someday — might be some of us.
Donate at escapeescare.org/donate. Volunteer. Share this episode. And subscribe to learntorvthepodcast.com so you never miss a conversation like this one.
Sponsored by RV Roofing Solutions
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By day, Tasha Martin wears the title of copywriter extraordinaire, crafting compelling stories and sharp, strategic messaging. But when night falls, she steps into her second superpower—podcast queen. With a natural gift for conversation and a voice that draws listeners in, Tasha brings energy, curiosity, and heart to every episode she helps create.
When she’s not writing or podcasting, you’ll find Tasha out exploring. She loves traveling with her family and seeking out unique outings, hidden gems, and memorable experiences on the road. Whether it’s a quirky roadside stop, a scenic trail, or a new town to wander through, Tasha brings the same sense of adventure to her travels that she brings to her creative work.
A storyteller, a traveler, and a connector—Tasha is the kind of voice every RV community needs.
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