Super Newbie - please be gentle

TxDorsey1975 · July 30, 2015

Howdy! My husband and I are just a few weeks away from closing on our S&B. We are in our 40s and will still be working, not retiring just yet. For a few months, we will be staying in the Dallas metroplex, while Hubby's work is here. We are wanting to set up SKP Mail Service, but have a lot of questions. We want to have our address set up by the time we close on the house so that any checks or such can be sent there. One of the questions we have is about traveling.

When we are traveling between locations, or not going to be in a location for long, is our mail simply held in Livingston (we are setting up a TX address)? If we choose to have our mail scanned, is this based on calling in and asking for specific things to be scanned?

We have no other ties to the area we are currently living in, so simply using a relative's address for a short while, is really not an option for us. Both of our children will be in the military. We also don't really want to buy a short-term post office box in the area, as we hope to start changing our registrations, drivers licenses, etc... to the Livingston address from our S&B as soon as we possibly are able.

I have not yet been to Livingston, but am considering making a solo trip there in the next week to talk to someone. This is all becoming very overwhelming and I fear making a wrong choice.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

~Distressed in Dallas Metro, aka Dorsey hehe

Carolaow · July 30, 2015

Hello and congratulations!

And please relax, at least about the XKP mail service.

I have found them to be super flexible. Sometimes I call to see what is in my box and sometimes I email. Sometimes I ask them to open things up and let me know what is in an item and sometimes not. Sometimes I let things pile up for a month or more before asking them to forward a batch. They can forward your mail first class or priority, or whatever you choose. I haven't ever had something scanned, so not sure how that works, but I would guess that it would just be the items you request to be scanned. You can always call them and ask. Bottom line, the mail service is very individualized, personal, and reliable.

Good luck with your new journey!

mptjelgin · July 30, 2015

The SKP Mail Service makes things very simple!! They hold on to your mail until you call for it. Be it days, weeks, or months... Or, if you prefer, you can have them send it to you at a specific time interval like once per week. We are sometimes travelling for as much as 6 weeks between locations where we will be stopped long enough to call for mail, so they are very used to irregular timing. You don't really even need to go down there to talk with them as they make it simple to set things up remotely. We've had an SKP mailing address for several years now and have never set foot on the place!!

Selah · July 30, 2015

I took a quick look at the SKP mail forwarding service. I must not have seen all of the options because it appears that you have to call them to see what mail has arrived, or when and where to send it, etc. Most of the mail services I reviewed when we first started FT are all done on-line.

They scan the incoming envelope and post it to your private account. You view the envelope on line and have the option to Hold, Send, Shred, or Scan contents. Perhaps SKP does that as well and I just missed it.

Using a web site to manage your mail is very convenient.

2gypsies · July 30, 2015

If you have questions just give Escapees a call. No need to drive there - unless you want to see the state of the art mail facility.

When you want your mail sent to you you can request it either online or by phone. You specify the date and where it is to be sent. Ours was always sent Priority and we received it in 2-3 days from the mailing date. You can request it to be sent many ways.

If you're in a RV park ask the park if they will accept your mail. If not, have it sent c/o General Delivery at your nearest SMALL TOWN post office. Don't have it sent to Dallas as they have many satellite offices. Big cities can have your mail going anywhere.

As far as scanning, we didn't request this service so you'd need to call for the specifics.

We've never had problems with Escapees in 18 years. We've always gotten our mail on time - even in Alaska. Have fun in your new lifestyle!

Kirk W · July 30, 2015

Welcome to the Escapees RV Club and also to these forums! We are very pleased to have you be a part of our gang and we will do all that we are able to help you, support you, and to make this transition less stressful. Do not hesitate to come here for anything you need and we'll do our best to help!

We have been Escapee mail service customers since Jan. of 2000 and have found them to be a wonderful bunch, going far beyond the expected services when needed. Many of us here can give you all sorts of advice and suggestions, but let me suggest that you also call the Escapee Office (888-757-2582 / 936-327-8873) and discuss any and all issues that concern you with the folks in the mail room. It is important to remember that most of us have gone through the very same anxieties which you now deal with and there are solutions for each and every one of them.

I would suggest that you get your mail service address set up as soon as you can because more lead time for your mail transfer is better. Remember that they have the only mail service which has been challenged in the courts and upheld as legal for all purposes so this system is well tested and reliable.

When we are traveling between locations, or not going to be in a location for long, is our mail simply held in Livingston (we are setting up a TX address)?

Once you have your address set up, the mail room receives your mail and it is placed into a box with your address and it remains in that box until you give them directions on what you wish done next. You can call them or email them with directions on where, when, and how often you want your mail sent to you as well as for how long. Most of us have our mail sent no more than weekly and no less than monthly, when sitting in one location. Before we begin to travel we instruct the mail room to hold our mail until further instructions come, or if they have no active directions on where your mail is to go, they simply hold it in your box until they receive directions again. Should you happen to visit Rainbow's End, you may just drop by the mail room window and they will hand it to you. If you will be going to a large city and needing to use General Delivery, touch bases with the postal office in that city first and see which branch handles GD mail as most cities have only one or two locations which do so. You have the option of getting mail sent to you by USPS, FedEx, or UPS and if you need to you can have either FedEx or UPS hold the package in their office for you to pick up.

The mail scanning service is pretty new so questions about that should be asked of the mail room personnel. They have always been pleasant and helpful to us when we have had occasion to call them. Should you just want to know what is waiting to be forwarded before you choose to have mail sent to you, you just call and give the mail room your box address and they will read off what is in it, or check for a particular item. You also have the option of having an employee open an item and read it to you, if you wish. We did take advantage of that reading service once and that worked well and the opened mail was forwarded with the next package.

We also don't really want to buy a short-term post office box in the area, as we hope to start changing our registrations, drivers licenses, etc... to the Livingston address from our S&B as soon as we possibly are able.

Since you now live in the Dallas area, I assume that you also have TX driver's licenses and vehicle registrations... If that is correct you can make the needed changes to those by mail or at your nearest office of the two departments. We lived in Ft. Worth when we hit the road and did all of our needed changes by mail and by phone, never visiting Rainbow's End at all until we had been residents there for nearly 3 years! Should you have the time to visit, I really think that you might find it reassuring since you have a rather short time to get this done, but I'd get the address ASAP and then do the address change with d/l and registration locally, just to get that out of the way. Your mail can be forwarded to the Escapees via a mail forwarding order at the PO for up to 6 months, but you need to also change the address you use with all of those who send mail to you, since that is only a temporary service. It does get you the time to get everything done without such a rush and if you do that today, you can then test the Escapee forwarding by having mail sent from there to you one or two times before you hit the road again.

I have not yet been to Livingston, but am considering making a solo trip there in the next week to talk to someone. This is all becoming very overwhelming and I fear making a wrong choice.

While it may not be critical that you visit Livingston and the Escapee HQ, I really think that you may find it helpful to do so, just to experience the friendly, helpful attitude of the staff who serve us there. I assure you that we have found them to be the most consistently service oriented group that we have ever done business with, and as a former customer service professional, I'm probably as critical of such services as anyone could be. Back when we were fairly new on the road, we had a daughter-in-law in a disastrous auto wreck just 1 day after I had set up mail forwarding for our coming trip back to TX and so called the mail room to cancel everything for us to travel to WA instead to help our son & his children. Not only was the mail room staff accommodating and helpful, but about a week later we even received a card of caring signed by all of them and nearly all of the home office staff, including the CEO and the owners! It may be possible for some other service to be as caring and concerned as Escapee's are, but I do not believe that it likely and clearly it is not possible for anyone to be more caring. You have clearly made the right choice for your domicile.

If you have not done so, visit the Escapee website and download a copy of the free booklet How To Become A Real Texan as well as other information and needed forms. I think that you will find this booklet helpful. Also, we live about 70 miles to the east of you but we have a son in an east Dallas suburb and we are there frequently. If there may be anything which we could do to assist you are to alleviate your anxiety, feel free to drop me an email at woody(at)1tree(dot)net or send a private note on this forum and I'll be happy to make contact with you and if desired, Pam can possibly reassure your wife.

Just like all of the Escapee staff, we do care and we are here to help!

LindaH · July 30, 2015

I took a quick look at the SKP mail forwarding service. I must not have seen all of the options because it appears that you have to call them to see what mail has arrived, or when and where to send it, etc.

I always request our mail by signing into the Members area on the main Escapees website, going to My Mail and filling out the request form. If you want to find out what's in your mail box before it's sent out, then a call would be in order, but it isn't necessary to call them to request your mail. We don't use their new scanning service, so I don't know how that works.