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Topic ClosedStoltzfus RV in Adamstown, PA

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techntrek View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Stoltzfus RV in Adamstown, PA
    Posted: 19 Dec 2009 at 5:46pm
We bought from Stoltzfus RV in Adamstown, PA.  Had to "play the game": got the usual mixing of numbers between trade-in and new (like car dealers do), got that seperated and he came in way too low on our old one so we're keeping it.  Came in way too high on the 171, but after some negotiation he came within $100 of our target price.  Then we told him we didn't need the PA inspection so how much does that cost you?  $50.  Ok, you need to take that off the price then...
 
And so we ended up within $50 of our target.  Big smile
 
We picked it up on August 14th, we just happened to have a camping trip scheduled in the area that weekend so we picked it up and took it right to the campground.
 
This was a post I made on August 14th:
--------------------------------------------
 
I'm sitting in camp under the r-dome of our newly picked-up r-pod.  Big smile
 
We picked it up on the way to camp, so it took a while to move all of our stuff from the car and find a place for it in the 'pod.  Everything that was in the popup was temporarily stuffed in every possible crevice in the minivan.  Happily we won't have to do that again.
 
The drive to camp was nice, it pulls much more comfortably than the popup.  Probably because of the lower tongue weight.  I could tell it was lighter than my popup on the back roads, but I could really feel it drag down once I got above 50.  I see why everyone says their MPG drops to single-digits.  But I also discovered that my wife forgot to put high-grade gas in the minivan when she filled it up this week!  The engine has variable valve timing and can put out an extra 10-20 HP with the good stuff... and I could have used it.
 
The dome was an adventure.  For starters the truck arrived from the factory with 3 new pods on it - and our r-dome - while we were doing our walk-through.  So we went for ice cream for an hour while the tech installed it.  Then in camp we slid it in the track, correctly, but thought it was wrong.  Out it came, and back in.  The wrong way.  Out again.  Back in again the right way.  The neighbors got a great show as we completed the setup.
 
We may be calling ours the Ladybug.  We found several on it while we set up, and it sort of looks like a bug.  Not sure yet.  Might just be The Bug. 
 
I have pics of the new pods on the truck, pics of us in camp, and it will all have to get posted later.  I've been at a conference for the last 3 days and I'm tired.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Jul 2011 at 2:51pm
An update on Stoltzfus, in Adamstown (there is another Stoltzfus RV in southern PA, closer to Delaware, that is not the same place, I've included their web site below).
 
Its been almost 2 years since we picked up our new 'pod.  I think this weekend it will be 2 years since we signed on the dotted line.  We've had it back twice for various things - first time the decals were peeling and they replaced them under warranty, plus replaced the dinette table under warranty since we picked it up with damage. 
 
The second time (to be picked up tomorrow) we had the front and back decals removed for good since they are peeling again.  Not sure if we'll try something else in the future, we need to see how much of a marshmellow it looks like now.  It still has the side decals so it shouldn't be too bad.  We also have been getting a clicking sound from the fridge when the cooling fans kick on and its in AC mode.  They've tried for days to reproduce it but w/o success.  They have also installed an outside shower faucet, something we used a lot on our popup and missed.  I mentioned that our black tank was clogged so we couldn't dump it after our last trip and asked if they had a dump outlet on the property that I could use before I left - they don't but he offered to take it to his father's business down the street where they do have one and dump it for us!  He also said no charge on the time they spent looking at the fridge.  Oh, and I asked them to adjust the brakes since it was pulling to one side, he said they complete disassembled both sides and lubed where appropriate to prevent it from sticking.  What could have been a quick 10 minute adjustment (then out the door), instead they took the time to make sure it worked right.
 
Very accomodating on their multiple attempts to diagnose the fridge, quick to respond with a quote and do the work for the outside shower, made sure the brakes were done right, and an offer to dump our black tank for us... somewhere else.  How many places would offer to do that?
 
 
Edit:  all of this work wasn't exactly cheap, but I wanted to emphasize the level of service.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Jul 2011 at 4:49pm
They do good work.  Have dealt with them for over 15 years as the R-pod was the 3rd unit we purchased from them.  They will stand behind the work.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Jun 2014 at 11:11am

I can no longer recommend this dealer.  Twice now I have given them specific written instructions for a job and they have completely ignored it.  This is a bigger deal for me since it is a 3-hour round trip and both times I've discovered the problem while I was hooking up the camper in their lot.

Last year I detailed elsewhere here how I had them add 3rd brake lights just below the light bar.  Even though I told them in an email how I wanted the wires run down the edge channel and connected to the existing left and right turn/brake lights, they wired up both lights to the brakes.  Even if I hadn't told them how I wanted it wired up, why they would even consider doing this is beyond me.  Their techs should know the brakes only get 5-6-7 volts, so just how would the lights work right when they aren't getting 12 volts?  So I left the pod in their lot and ultimately they sent someone to deliver the pod to me so I didn't waste another Saturday running up there.
 
Last summer our fridge stopped working on day 2 of a 3 1/2 week trip.  It would mostly work on AC, and only very rarely on DC or LPG.  I finally made an appointment 6 weeks ago to drop the pod off over Memorial weekend, which gave them up to a month to fix it.  After just a week they said it was ready, and said over the phone they had to replace a fuse and it cooled down just fine on LPG.  Great!
 
I arrived on Saturday, paid the bill and hooked up.  I verified on the work order that they got my instructions right - very intermittent cooling on DC and LPG - and I saw the solution was "replaced main fuse".  So I tracked down the tech to find out where this fuse was.  If it blows while I'm on our next 4 week trip I want to be able to fix it, dealing with a cooler was a big pain last year.
 
He came out and pointed to the fuse I installed as a battery disconnect.  "Yeah, had to replace that fuse, after that the fridge came on just fine."  My jaw hit the floor and I knew immediately my fridge was still broken.  Yes, that fuse was removed, by me, when I dropped off the trailer.  Everyone knows you can't leave the battery connected.  "Oh no, you should never disconnect the battery from the camper for any reason."  Really?!?  So he insisted the draw from LPG detector and fridge wasn't a problem.
 
So then he asked me how I was sure the fridge didn't work.  I told him I used a wireless thermometer, and I could watch the temperature slowly rise to ambient once I switched to LPG mode going down the road.  At one point it hit 85.  I told him I had to throw out a gallon of milk, twice, because it was warm.  "Oh no, you can't use one of those thermometers, you gotta stick a probe in your food or a glass of water to measure the fridge temp".  Really?!?  "Yeah, those camper fridges work differently than... "  I cut him off, yes I know all about ammonia absorption fridges, but that doesn't change how they get the food cold - no different than your fridge at home, it cools the AIR, which cools the food.  A wireless thermometer will tell me just fine if the fridge is cold or not.  He argued it was not.  This is their lead tech talking, and the service manager was standing next to him backing him up.
 
I gave up, I told them I would bring it home and do my own tests.  Guess what?  30 hours on LPG mode and it was nice and toasty inside, including the ice-cold beer I stuck in there just to humor the tech's horrible logic, now a very warm beer (didn't open it, just felt it).  Amazingly after an overnight on DC mode the thermometer is reading 33 degrees but I don't trust that to hold at all.  Now it is on AC mode for a test all day.
 
So now I need to fight with Stoltzfus to get my money back for what they did to "fix" my fridge.  I sure hope the grease job they did on the axle is ok...
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jun 2014 at 9:32am
My wife and I were there yesterday looking at the 179, and we're very interested.

A little dismayed to read this, but we won't have the trailer serviced there because it's easily a 3 hour round trip for us too. 

We met with Wayne in the sales department. He seemed to be a straight-up guy.  He quoted us the pricing that appears on their website, and gave us a preliminary number on our trade. I haven't negotiated anything yet as we've still got to make the decision to purchase the RPod. 

Next closest dealer is in Joppa, MD...


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jun 2014 at 1:02pm
The one in Joppa is much closer for me, too.  I think that location had a different owner and didn't sell pods when we bought ours 5 years ago.  This time I'm going to try Charlie's RV on Liberty Rd, it is close to where I work.  They only do repair work now.
 
Stoltzfus may be ok in the sales dept, I had a good experience once I presented them with Couch's pricing.  But, since it has been so long things could be different.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jun 2014 at 6:30pm
Yeah, I was going to run a quote from Couch's and Bayshore past them and see what they say.

Couch's sent me a quote today that is about $4k cheaper, but I'd have to sell my current unit privately. I can't imagine them coming down that much, but then delivery from Ohio is $1000, and I don't gain the slight tax savings on the trade. 

We'll see...
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jun 2014 at 6:50pm
If you can spare a weekend you can get out there and back for a lot less than $1000.  However, if you keep pinging dealers farther and farther from Baltimore eventually you'll find one fairly close that will give you a close deal.  Expect to pay several hundred more, but that is about what you'd pay in gas if you go yourself and is far less than $1000.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jun 2014 at 7:16pm
Agreed. There are lots of factors to consider. I'd prefer not to have to drive to Ohio...it's over 10 hours out there, and probably 12-15 coming back with no traffic. Stoltzfus is 90 minutes at the right time of day, and Bayshore is about the same. 

The next closest dealer is in either Easton, PA (no inventory) or Virginia. 

What's harder about this is there is no Edmunds for RVs. What constitutes a fair price? It's not like invoice v MSRP is readily available outside what the dealer tells you. 

Definitely appreciate the thoughts. 
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jun 2014 at 9:08pm
Generally they can take 1/3 off of their sticker if pushed.  When I bought mine they were asking 18k sticker, and would only go to 14k after negotiations.  Then I brought out the printout with Couch's price and they dropped to 12k, within a few hundred of Couch.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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