Can you remember April 2020, when everyone realized how scary COVID-19 was likely to be? We certainly can!
In the few years before COVID hit, Martin had planned to retire in 2025, and we would hit the road living full-time in an RV. We had already tried out the RV life renting Blue Bertha several times at Desert Sands Vintage RV Park in Borrego Springs, CA. We had fallen in love with the lifestyle. To our great sadness, Desert Sands Vintage RV Park has changed owners and names, and we don’t know anything about the new park.
At the time, we rented an apartment in Long Beach, CA, for $2000 a month. It was a fantastic apartment in a great neighborhood, but we had a lot of neighbors who were part of a little drug cartel. This was an expensive condo building, and numerous neighbors were involved in the cartel. After complaining to the condo board, which was controlled by the cartel’s fixer, various homeowners, and the police, we realized nothing would change. Drug deals, drug trafficking, and drug manufacturing were all happening in the unit right next to ours, and nothing was going to be done to improve the situation.
After several years, we became fed up with the BS with our neighbor and condo board, but we hated moving again. We’ve moved several times due to intolerable neighbors. When COVID hit, Martin and I looked at each other and said, “Why are we waiting for you to retire before moving into an RV? We hate where we live and can buy an RV now, live in it until we retire, and pay an RV payment plus lot rent for less than we’re paying for an apartment we hate. Why the hell are we waiting?”
While COVID affected everyone, we were one of the luckier couples. I was already retired, and Martin’s job was considered “essential,” so he continued to work throughout COVID.
Fortunately, we had found a great RV park called Rosewood Mobile Home and RV Park in Bellflower several years prior. We visited the park and spoke to several residents who gave the park high ratings. One resident also recommended the Trailer Hitch RV dealership in Nipomo, CA, north of Santa Barbara. The dealership was about 5 hours from where we lived, so we called and spoke with the salesman, who said they had flat pricing and no negotiating. I said to myself, “Yeah, right, says the used car salesman!”
We had been researching for several years and knew you should start negotiating at 30% off of MSRP. Over the phone, the salesman told us the prices of several units, and they sounded perfect, so that weekend, we drove up to shop for the right RV. When we arrived, we told the salesmen, “We’ll buy an RV today if you have one we like, and just let us shop without disturbing us.” He said to go ahead and come back to the office when we’re ready.
From our research, we knew we wanted a Grand Design 5th-wheel but didn’t know the exact model yet. After a few hours of going into every Grand Design 5th-wheel they had, we selected a Solitude 375RES, which has five slide-outs, seating for six adults in the living room, a free-standing dining room table with chairs, and a master bedroom with a king-size bed. Since then, the Solitude 376RD, which is virtually the same except for having a nicer bathroom, has replaced the 375RES.
We went back to the office and he told us the price and we were floored. The price he quoted us was 34% off MSRP. It was actually 4% below the price we would have started negotiating at. We were impressed and bought the RV on the spot. Since we didn’t own a tow vehicle yet, we had to have them deliver the RV and thought that $500 was a small price to pay for delivery. We went back to Nipomo the following weekend to do the final Pre-Delivery-Inspection and had it delivered to Rosewood in Bellflower the following Wednesday, April 29.
We were very fortunate that we purchased when we did. If you know anything about the RV industry during COVID, you know that RV prices dipped during the initial days of the pandemic. As people began to see the benefits of living in an RV during a pandemic and production halted in all manufacturing plants, prices skyrocketed by 50% in the months that followed. We unintentionally bought at the bottom of the market before it hit new record prices.
Shortly after delivery of the RV, we adopted our first dog, Penny Lane. She approved of her new home and immediately settled in. We lived at Rosewood for two and a half years before Martin retired two years early in December 2022. We hit the road one month later on January 30, 2023. Moving into an RV early and hitting the road have been two of the best decisions we’ve ever made.
Below you will find some interior and exterior photos of the RV and our RV space at Rosewood.
