They offered a very competitive price, and we were taken good care of when we went to purchase the trailer and have the car prepped for towing.

 

I have a lot of respecect for Lee, he is a professional and clearly likes what he is doing and is looking out for the customers interests.  I would recommend them.

Just to throw my 2 cents worth about Stoltzfus...

Today marks our one year anniversary with our 2014 178 purchased from Stoltzfus. I can't speak about their service department other than the Reese WDH and brake controller setup. We haven't had it back for any service issues. Our purchasing and walkthrough experience was pleasant and thorough. We were novice RV purchases although I do have pretty extensive boat/yacht buying/surveying experience which maybe helps a little. I presented Stoltzfus with a quote from Couch's. They countered with a competitive quote and are considerably closer.

Subsequent and recent conversations with Stoltzfus regarding purchase of 6 year extended warranty were also pleasant and professional.

We've had a pretty good year of use from the Pod (about 10K miles) and have made a number of mods (see link in signature). The only thing I may have done differently when purchasing was to ask for Prodigy P3 brake controller vs. the Voyager installed and perhaps negotiated a credit for the battery, which I quickly replaced with dual 6 volt EGCs.

I do wish their was a close FR authorized service center if/when I need it. I'm not 100% confident with brakes/bearing inspection and repacking yet and wouldn't mind some professional guidance. Maybe I'll just do it when you all are around and upload pics as I do it. I am confident in the expertise of this group!

fred

Steve (& Jon) .. Thanks for the feedback.  I think you're right on staying out of o/d.  Plus, I'll probably try to spend a little more time in the 55-60 mph range.  Slower usually translates to a little better mpg.  And, after all, we didn't buy trailers (or trucks) with the idea that mpg is top priority.

I replaced my '08 5 speed Nissan Frontier with a '13 5.7 Grand Cherokee, there couldn't be any two TV that were more different.  They had much different drive train and body designs, one a pickup with a "ladder" frame, the other a unibody SUV.  One a OHC, 4 valve V6 with a 5 speed manual, the other a large pushrod V8 with an automatic.  The only thing they have in common is the weight, both were about 5000#.  The Jeep required a WDH to maintain the ride, I suppose the IRS is the reason, the Nissan had rear leaf springs and a live axle, it's ride wasn't affected, in fact it actually improved with the 'pod attached.  The point is, I got the same mileage on both, but the Jeep is much quieter, never slows on a hill, or requires me to downshift, and that was the only change in my driving habits.  In fact I got the same mileage on both when they are solo too.  

But, maybe I just haven't found the driving combo it's happiest with.  Only have about 1,200 miles of towing with it so probably will learn some driving practices that work better.