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During COVID, dealerships were selling RVs at full MSRP. Some were selling above it. I watched it happen from the inside — and I understood immediately what it meant.
Manufacturers were running their lines as fast as they could to meet a demand spike nobody had ever seen before. Quality control processes that normally take time were compressed. Coaches were moving off lots before the industry had time to breathe, let alone think carefully about what happened when the demand wave receded.
I could see what was coming. Not immediately — but within a few years.
The buyers who paid full MSRP or above during that period would find themselves exactly where the clients I'd been trying to help for years had found themselves: owing significantly more than their RV was worth, with no resources to cover the gap. Except this time it wouldn't be a handful of clients on a consignment lot. It would be tens of thousands of Florida RV owners who had no idea the market was about to correct underneath them.
The consignment model couldn't help those people. I already knew that — I'd watched it fail individual clients for years. But the scale of what was coming made it impossible to keep operating under that model in good conscience.
I gave up my dealer license in 2024 and built something different.
This post is about what I saw, what has already happened to Florida RV values since then, and what is still working through the system for owners who bought at the peak.
What I Watched Happen During COVID
The RV industry during COVID was unlike anything I'd seen in 25 years. Demand exploded. People who had never considered RV ownership suddenly wanted out of cities, out of apartments, out of shared spaces. Dealerships that had historically negotiated — sometimes significantly — were selling at full MSRP. Some were selling above it. Waitlists formed. Units moved before they were off the truck.
From the outside, this looked like a boom. From the inside, I saw something else.
Manufacturers were under pressure to produce as many units as possible as fast as possible. The industry had been caught flat-footed by the demand spike and was scrambling to catch up. Lead times that normally allowed for careful assembly and quality control were compressed. I watched coaches come through the pipeline faster than I'd ever seen — and I knew what that meant for the long-term reliability of those units.
But more importantly, I understood the financial situation those buyers were walking into.
What Full MSRP Means for a Future Seller
When you pay full MSRP for an RV — or above it — you are paying the absolute ceiling of what that unit is valued at on the day you buy it. The moment you drive it off the lot, it depreciates. In a normal market, that depreciation is gradual and predictable. In a market that experienced an artificial demand spike, the correction is steeper and faster. COVID-era RV buyers who paid full MSRP or above are now holding units worth 20% to 40% less than what they paid — in some cases more — while their loan payoffs have not decreased proportionally.
What the Consignment Model Could Not Do
I had been watching the consignment model fail individual clients for years before COVID. The woman trying to borrow from her daughter to cover the gap. The couple from California whose Travel Supreme sat on the lot until the window closed. The gentleman with the orphaned coach who couldn't understand why the market didn't recognize what he'd paid for it.
These were individual situations. Hard ones. But manageable at the scale I was operating.
What COVID created was a different problem entirely — not individual sellers caught in difficult situations, but a systemic wave of owners who would all find themselves in roughly the same position at roughly the same time. Upside down. Unable to cover the gap. With no consignment dealer capable of solving that math for them.
The consignment model's structural failure is simple: the dealer needs margin to operate, and that margin comes out of the seller's net before the loan gets paid. When the loan payoff is already above what the market will bear — which is the situation for a significant portion of COVID-era RV buyers — consignment cannot close the gap. It can only let the seller sit until they accept a number that still doesn't solve their problem, while carrying costs accumulate.
I couldn't build a business around that outcome at scale.
The COVID RV Correction — What Has Already Happened
RV values peaked in 2021 and have been correcting since. The correction has been uneven — some classes and brands have held better than others — but the direction has been consistent for coach types that saw the largest price spikes during COVID.
Florida RV Market — What the Correction Looks Like
2020–2021
Demand spike. Full MSRP sales common. Some units sell above list. Manufacturers compress production timelines to meet demand. Used RV values surge alongside new.
2022
New inventory begins catching up. Demand starts softening. Dealers who had been selling above MSRP return to negotiating. Used values begin correcting from peak.
2023
Correction accelerates. Interest rates rise. Monthly payments on new RV loans become harder to qualify for. Used market softens further as buyers have fewer financing options. Sellers who bought at peak begin feeling the gap.
2024–2025
Significant inventory of used RVs from COVID-era buyers enters the market. Competition among sellers increases. Units purchased for $120,000 in 2021 are listed at $75,000 to $85,000 — and sitting.
2026 and Beyond
Sellers who held the longest are now facing the widest gaps. Carrying costs have accumulated. The window that was difficult in 2023 is in some cases now closed. This trend will continue as COVID-era loans mature and owners face decisions they have been deferring.
Why I Built Something Different
The flat-fee model exists because the consignment model cannot serve the sellers who need help the most — and the COVID correction has dramatically expanded the population of sellers in that position.
A flat-fee structure changes the math in one specific way: the dealer's margin doesn't come out of the seller's net. The seller pays a fixed consulting fee and keeps everything above it. On a coach where the seller is $15,000 to $20,000 upside down under a consignment structure, a flat-fee private sale may put them at even or only modestly out of pocket — because the $15,000 that would have gone to the consignment dealer stays with the seller.
It also means I can be honest from day one. I don't need to tell a seller their coach is worth more than the market will support in order to get it on my lot. My incentive is a closed deal, not inventory. And a closed deal requires an honest price from the beginning.
⚠ If you purchased an RV between 2020 and 2022 and are now considering selling, the gap between your loan payoff and the current market value is almost certainly larger than you expect. Getting the real number before you list — not after months of no activity — is the single most important thing you can do.
I left the consignment business because I could see what was coming and knew the structure I was operating under couldn't honestly serve it. Easy Escapes RV was built for the sellers on the other side of that correction.
If you bought during COVID and are now trying to figure out where you stand, start here. The first conversation is free. And it will give you the real number — not the number that gets your coach on a lot.
Go Deeper — What This Means for Your Specific Situation
Understanding the dealer's calculation is the starting point for every selling decision — especially if you bought at peak pricing.
The consignment model's structural problem is exactly why I left. Here's the math — and what works instead when the equity isn't there.
For sellers who bought at peak, every month at an unsupported price makes the gap between loan and market value wider — not smaller.
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The clients I'd been trying to help for years — the ones who were upside down, who couldn't cover the gap, who gave coaches back to the bank — were individual stories. Painful ones. But they were individual.
What COVID created was different. An entire generation of RV buyers who paid peak prices for rush-produced coaches, financed at high loan-to-value ratios, who will spend the next several years figuring out that the market value of what they own and the payoff on what they owe are very far apart. That's not a handful of clients. That's a structural problem across the Florida RV market.
The consignment model isn't built for structural problems. It's built for individual transactions where there's enough margin for everyone. When the margin disappears — which is exactly what happens when a buyer paid full MSRP and the market has corrected 30% — consignment has nothing to offer except time and carrying costs.
Easy Escapes RV was built for what comes after the correction. If you bought during COVID and haven't run the real numbers yet, the time to do it is before you list — not after six months of no activity at a price the market won't support.
Frank Mason
Former Licensed Florida RV Dealer · Founder, Easy Escapes RV
Frank Mason spent 25 years in the Florida RV industry, including 9 years as a licensed RV dealer running consignment operations. He watched the COVID RV boom from inside the industry, understood what the correction would mean for buyers, and gave up his dealer license in 2024 to build Easy Escapes RV — a flat-fee model built for the sellers the consignment industry cannot honestly serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Not legal, financial, or tax advice. The content on this page is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, financial, tax, or professional advice of any kind. Every RV selling situation is unique. Consult a qualified attorney, CPA, or licensed financial advisor before making decisions based on your specific situation — particularly for matters involving loan deficiency, short sales, repossession, estate transactions, or tax consequences of forgiven debt.
About the author. Frank Mason is a 25-year Florida RV industry professional and former licensed Florida RV consignment dealer (2015–2024). He is not a licensed attorney, CPA, or financial advisor. His guidance reflects professional experience, not licensed professional advice.
Market conditions. RV market values, interest rates, lender policies, and Florida statutes change regularly. Information on this page reflects conditions as of publication date. Verify current figures with appropriate sources before acting.
Affiliate disclosure. Easy Escapes RV may receive compensation from third-party services referenced on this page. This does not influence our recommendations. We only reference services we believe provide genuine value to Florida RV sellers.