⏰ 220% More RV Showings: The Flexible Schedule Advantage
Why weekend-only availability is costing you thousands and adding months to your sale
Your RV has been listed for 67 days. You’ve had 4 showings—all on weekends because that’s when you’re available. Three were no-shows. One guy showed up, looked around for 15 minutes, and said “I’ll think about it.”
Meanwhile, the RV listed two weeks ago down the street? Already sold.
The difference? They were available Tuesday at 10am, Thursday at 6pm, and Sunday afternoon. You weren’t.
A flexible RV showing schedule is the #1 factor that separates fast sales from months-long frustration. After 25 years in the RV industry, I’ve watched this pattern play out hundreds of times.
After helping hundreds of frustrated RV sellers over two and a half decades—9 years as a licensed dealer owner and 16 years as a salesman—I can diagnose a stuck listing in about 5 minutes.
Why Buyer Momentum Matters More Than You Think
Deciding to buy an RV is an exciting time for most people. Oftentimes people will tell you that they have been dreaming of owning one for years. Generally, future RV buyers will research RVs for years prior to actually pulling the trigger. They will attend RV shows, visit RV lots, and watch review videos years before they actually plan to buy.
Now that the time has finally arrived and they are able to finally switch gears from dreaming to the beginning stages of shopping for the perfect RV for them. Most buyers go through a fairly predictable buying cycle; they are very motivated to locate the ideal RV they had been researching.
But here’s the critical part: Once the buyer sets his sights on purchasing, they’re most motivated within a 3-5 day window.
An interesting statistic:
68% of serious buyers prefer weekday showings over weekend-only arrangements, making a flexible RV showing schedule essential.
/strong> So dealing with private party sales can become frustrating if the seller only offers weekend showings. As the weeks turn into months, the excitement starts to decrease and buying momentum decreases as more and more time goes by.
Those people hate going to dealerships and some refuse to because a dealer’s approach is to sell you the day you come into the dealership.
🎯 Key Insight
Buyer enthusiasm is perishable. That 3-5 day window is your opportunity. Miss it, and they’re either buying someone else’s RV or getting cold feet altogether.
The Competition Advantage You’re Giving Away
People underestimate the importance of making every aspect of a sale as simple as possible for buyers. Putting yourself in the mindset of buyers is helpful in that it sets you up for more success in the long run.
Your RV is not a one-off. In other words, buyers have more options to explore than they have time to look at them. If you look at the bigger picture and position your sale so that it takes the least effort from interested parties, you will jump ahead of those that don’t.
Dealerships often work their game 7 days a week, have a sales crew, offer financing, service, and lots of inventory. When your availability doesn’t match theirs, they just move on.
FRANK’S TAKE: You’re Competing With 24/7 Operations
I’ve seen this hundreds of times: A serious buyer contacts a private seller on Tuesday morning. “Can I see it today or tomorrow?” Seller says “I’m only available Saturday.” The buyer visits a dealership that afternoon, finds something close enough, and buys it Wednesday. The private seller never knew they lost a sale—they just thought the buyer “wasn’t serious.”
The Counterintuitive Truth About Tire-Kickers
An interesting thing happens when you open your schedule up. You start to attract a whole different set of potential buyers.
If you priced your RV at a fair price, marketed it correctly, and responded in a professional manner, you will start to attract weekday shoppers. Instead of solely dealing with weekend prospects that have sacrificed just some time and a little effort in most cases, a weekday shopper—especially one that has limited amount of time because of work commitments—is typically a much better quality opportunity.
Think about it: Someone who takes time off work or rearranges their schedule to see your RV on a Wednesday afternoon? They’re serious. Someone killing time on Saturday? Maybe not.
What Your Schedule Is Telling Buyers
I learned some things in the process of selling my RV that I had never considered before. Sellers are trying to determine their effects, and something as simple as offering flexibility shows them that you are serious about selling your RV.
What the buyer is thinking is that if they really want to work with me by offering me options when I can see it, maybe I can make a deal. Also communicating responsively by getting back to interested parties and making it easy for them to get the information they want, I think showed them that I wasn’t just testing the market but I actually wanted to sell it.
Looking back, I think I was sending the wrong signals to potential buyers. When I limited my showings to just the weekends, what I think I was saying is that I really wasn’t in a hurry to sell my RV.
Since it seemed that I wasn’t motivated, I got lots of lowball offers because if I was more motivated, I would be more open and flexible when people to come by to take a look.
💡 Perception Matters
Weekend-only signals: “I’m testing the market” or “I’m not really motivated”
Flexible scheduling signals: “I’m serious about selling” and “I want to work with buyers”
This perception difference often results in stronger offers and faster negotiations.
By the Numbers: What the Data Shows
These numbers pretty much speak for themselves. When it comes to selling your RV, sometimes just a minor tweak here and there can have some positive impact in more than one area. The important thing to keep in mind is that everything needs to work in synergy. You can’t expect to have the outcome you were looking for just by adjusting and making your schedule more accommodating. You also need to stand above the crowd by pricing, presentation, SEO marketing, and effective content creation.
That said, let me show you what happens when sellers switch from weekend-only to flexible scheduling:
The compounding effect: When you sell 29 days faster AND get $3,600 more AND avoid additional price drops, the total value difference is $5,000-7,000 on a typical RV sale.
In my 25 years in this industry, I’ve watched this pattern play out hundreds of times. The RVs that sell quickly and at strong prices aren’t necessarily the newest or nicest—they’re the ones where the seller made it EASY for buyers to see them when the buyers were ready.
📊 The Flexible Schedule Advantage
(weekend-only)
(flexible schedule)
That’s 29 days faster = $450+ saved in carrying costs!
📋 REAL CASE STUDY
How Shirley Went From DIY Frustration to Sold
👤 THE CLIENT
- Name: Shirley Stein
- Age: 79
- Location: Odessa, Florida
- RV: Fifth Wheel (purchased from Easy Escapes RV)
- Situation: Needed to sell after living arrangement with son didn’t work out
The Story: “I Thought It Wouldn’t Be That Big a Deal”
I thought selling my 5th wheel wouldn’t be that big a deal. I had always kept it up and had any repair work done when things needed repairing. I was proud of my RV and really didn’t want to sell it, but I knew that it was the best thing to do under the circumstances.
I bought the 5th wheel from Frank at his business Easy Escapes RVwhen he had a lot in Auburndale. The whole experience working with him was just great and couldn’t have been happier. I was hoping that I could live in it full time with my handicap son who is bipolar and partially blind. It was very difficult for me wondering how he was getting by, so I thought we could live together and help each other out.
However, after two weeks I could tell it wasn’t going to work out. At times I didn’t feel like I was safe around my own son. So, I realized I needed to make a change and to hopefully get into a situation that was better for both of us.
The DIY Attempt: What Went Wrong
Since it was paid for and I had sold one of my cars in the past, I thought I could handle selling the RV myself. My neighbor volunteered to help me take pictures and write a description of the RV.
The first couple of weeks the responses from my ads on Craigslist and RV Trader seemed promising. I was showing them on the weekends. Several people contacted me to ask questions, but nobody set a firm commitment to come by to take a look.
I didn’t really know what to expect. I had never tried to sell an RV before, but I thought how different could it be from selling a car. Even though it had been a while since I sold my car, I don’t remember worrying so much about having people come by my home that I don’t know. And it wasn’t even in my mind that people were out to scam me like they are today.
The Price Drop Disaster
I was hoping that I could sell it within a couple of months. Well, a month went by like a flash and I started to wonder what to do next. Should I lower the price a little bit and advertise somewhere else? I really didn’t know what to do.
I would get a call here and there, but the people seemed to be even less motivated than the people that called me when I first placed the ads. I also noticed that some of the calls I received were from dealers that wanted to purchase my RV.
Surprisingly to me, all I got from lowering the price was more calls from scammers and people wanting to steal my RV from me. So in frustration, I decided that I wasn’t going to renew my ads because I wasn’t about to let it go for what people wanted to buy it for.
The Breaking Point
After a couple weeks of doing nothing, I started to look at my other options. I thought maybe I would consider calling a few dealerships to see what they would offer me to buy it. The sales manager at one of the dealerships told me they would give me $18,000 less than what I was hoping to get for my RV.
I wasn’t fully prepared to hear that, and I spent the next couple of days depressed that I was never going to be able to sell my RV without losing tons of money on it.
The Solution: Calling Frank
I started thinking about having a business market and sell my RV on my behalf. Since I had such a great experience buying my RV from Frank in the past, maybe I could have his company help me sell my RV at a price I could live with.
I called Frank’s business Easy Escapes RV and after explaining to him what I was going through trying to sell it on my own, he suggested that I take a look at his website so that I could get a better understanding on what services he offers and what they cost.
So after reviewing his website, I decided that I wanted to have him help me with the sale.
The Winning Buyer Story
A couple from New York had recently retired and were looking forward to spending their winters in Florida. They had finally reached a snapping point dealing with last winter’s blizzards.
They preferred seeing it around lunch because they were not used to the traffic yet. They went inside to take a look while making comments about how clean and well taken care of it was.
They made an offer about an hour and a half later. They asked what would be my bottom line price, and we negotiated a deal $1,500 higher than their offer.
💡 What Made the Difference
The retired couple specifically mentioned that Shirley’s flexibility with showing times (including midday options) made all the difference. They were uncomfortable with evening showings and weekends were too busy with other activities. The lunch-time flexibility sealed the deal.
How to Implement Flexible Scheduling
STEP 1: Finding Your Available Hours
If you think that by waiting for a buyer that will adjust his or her busy schedule so that you can get the result you want (sell your RV), limiting your showings to the weekends only—in most cases you’re setting yourself up for failure.
Sales people work 60 to 80 hours per week for a reason. They have to meet the customer on their grounds, not yours. If they’re always busy on the weekends but available during the week after work, guess what? You need to provide them with that option.
Identify 6-8 time blocks across different days:
- At least one weekday morning (7-9am before work)
- One lunch slot (12-1pm)
- 2-3 weekday evenings (5:30-7pm)
- Full weekend availability
STEP 2: Update Your Listings
Add to your RVTrader, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist descriptions:
“Flexible showing times available! Weekday mornings, lunch breaks, evenings, and full weekends. Fast response—usually within 2 hours. Serious buyers only.”
STEP 3: Response System
- Respond to inquiries within 2 hours maximum
- Ask pre-screening questions: timeline, financing, what attracted them to this RV
- Offer 2-3 specific time slots in your response
- Use a deposit system to filter serious buyers
STEP 4: Get the RV Showing-Ready
Before every showing (10-minute routine):
- Open all blinds and curtains
- Turn on all interior lights
- Run AC or heat (make it comfortable)
- Quick vacuum high-traffic areas
- Wipe down counters and sink
- Check for odors
- Have maintenance records ready to show
Addressing Common Objections
Objection 1: “Won’t I be showing my RV constantly?”
Not if you pre-screen properly. With a deposit requirement and qualifying questions, you’ll get fewer total inquiries but much higher quality. Most sellers find they do 6-8 showings total before selling—spread across 3-4 weeks. That’s manageable.
Objection 2: “What if someone flakes?”
This is why the refundable deposit system works so well. Require $100 via Venmo/PayPal/Zelle to schedule. You return it immediately when they show up. No-show rate drops to nearly zero because people who pay a deposit (even refundable) actually show up.
Objection 3: “I work full-time, how does this work?”
You don’t need to be available 24/7. Offer one early morning slot (before work), one lunch slot if you work nearby, and 2-3 evening slots per week. Plus weekends. That’s plenty to capture serious buyers without disrupting your job.
Objection 4: “What if I’m not comfortable with evening showings?”
Then don’t offer them—but compensate with more morning and lunch options. Safety first. Some sellers prefer to meet buyers at a public RV lot or storage facility for evening showings. Do what makes you comfortable, but offer SOME weekday flexibility.
The Financial Breakdown
Cost of implementing flexible scheduling: $0 (just reorganizing your time)
Benefits on a typical $60,000 RV:
- Faster sale: 29 days sooner = ~$450 saved in insurance, storage, and payments
- Higher sale price: 6% premium = $3,600 additional revenue
- Avoided price reductions: Most weekend-only sellers drop price 2-3 times = $2,000-4,000 kept
- Mental health benefit: Fewer wasted weekends, less frustration = priceless
Total value: $6,000-8,000+ for simply being more available
Time investment? Maybe 10-15 extra hours spread across 4-6 weeks. That’s $400-800 per hour of your time. Show me another “side hustle” with that ROI.
Final Thoughts: Same RV, Different Strategy
Here’s what I want you to remember: Your RV isn’t the problem. Your availability strategy is.
You have the same RV, same photos, same price as before. But when you switch from “weekends only” to flexible scheduling, you’re suddenly competing in a completely different market. You’re capturing buyers that dealerships miss. You’re eliminating 90% of tire-kickers. You’re signaling motivation to serious buyers.
Imagine: Instead of 67 days of frustration, weekend no-shows, and lowball offers… you’re selling in 38 days at 97% of asking price to a pre-screened, serious buyer who showed up exactly when they said they would.
That’s not luck. That’s strategy.
Everything I’ve shared in this guide is fixable and controllable. You don’t need a better RV. You don’t need to slash your price. You just need to be available when buyers are ready—not just when it’s convenient for you.
If you’d like professional help implementing these strategies, learn about our RV selling services or get a free RV appraisal to determine your RV’s market value.
🎯 Your Action Step Right Now
Open your calendar. Block out 6-8 time slots this week when you could accommodate showings. Update your listings to mention “flexible scheduling available.” Commit to responding within 2 hours.
That’s it. Three things you can do in the next hour that will completely transform your selling experience.
Ready to Sell Your RV Faster with Flexible Scheduling?
Let me handle the strategy, screening, and scheduling while you just show up for serious buyers.
Stop wasting weekends on tire-kickers. Start getting showings from buyers who are ready to buy.
No obligation. Just honest advice on what’s working and what’s not with your current listing.
