RV of Broward owner launches advice, services site
RV Sales of Broward owner Gigi Stetler has survived a lot in her life, including a physical attack in which she nearly died and a decade-long courtroom battle over business dealings.
So she’s not afraid of a little competition, she says.
That’s why Stetler, 57, and her son, Jarryd Stetler, 24, didn’t hesitate to launch a new business earlier this month: an online platform for RV enthusiasts, TheRVAdvisor.com.
The site aims to provide certified recommendations for RV dealerships and verified reviews, similar in concept to HomeAdvisor or Angie’s List.
But winning over RV dealerships and consumers to her online business is just another challenge for Stetler, a single mother and one of the few women in the business when she started her first company, a Daviebased recreational vehicle dealership called RV Sales of Broward, in the mid-1980s.
Stetler said she introduced new approaches to the industry in South Florida, such as keeping her dealership open seven days a week and renting RVs to the equestrian industry.
Now, her new company is taking on a giant in the industry, Camping World, which owns Good Sam Club, an RV membership club and online site.
Camping World, which has 135 retail locations in 36 states, also is a company with which Stetler has had a long, public battle over the loss of a show sponsorship.
Stetler said her online platform has a different focus than Good Sam Club, because it features smalland medium-sized RV dealerships across the country and in Canada.
In operating her RV dealership, Stetler said she often was asked for advice about where to buy an RV elsewhere in the country, but she didn’t want to provide that information unless she had researched the business and their customer service practices.
“I want to hold the dealers accountable,” she said. “If I’m going to send a customer to your dealership, I want to know your service practices.”
She decided to launch RV Advisor to leverage the knowledge she has gained after three decades in the business with RV Sales of Broward.
Buying an RV is not just about the price, she said. “It’s a very complicated machine. You need to have a relationship with your local dealer,” Stetler said.
Daniel Cooke, a Boca Raton management consultant who helped Stetler with her business plan for RV Advisor, said the site’s mission is important to her. “She’s trying to empower the moms and pops to have a voice,” he said.
Cooke said he spoke with Stetler about the challenge of going up against an industry giant in launching her business.
But she’s “fearless,” he said.
While the site only has been up for a couple of weeks, RV Advisor has 2,200 members, she said.
Annual membership costs $25 and includes 10 percent off RV parts; discounts and coupons to campgrounds, restaurants and amusement parks; and information geared toward RV owners on the site. The service is free for veterans.
For $99 a year, RV Advisor also provides roadside assistance for RV owners and their families, which covers both their RVs and other vehicles.
For $350 a year, members receive three consultations with Stetler and a private shopper service.
There are other extras, such as a virtual diagnosis service for $99.
“If you want to change a battery yourself — we’ll walk you through it virtually — instead of having to bring it to a dealer,” she said.
Competitor Good Sam Club costs $27 for a oneyear membership, with discounts for multiple years, according to its site.
Good Sam Club also provides roadside assistance for $80 to $200, and other RV services.
In 2010, Stetler sued Camping World, among others, after RV Sales of Broward lost a show sponsorship to that company.
Stetler lost the case this year but said she plans to appeal.
Even before Stetler went into the RV business, she didn’t let much get her down.
In 1986, Stetler said she was attacked by a homeless man she had let use an empty apartment in a Miami building she owned. She survived, and despite 200 stitches, went ahead and opened RV Sales of Broward as planned that year.
“I was stabbed 21 times and left for dead,” she said. “If I can survive that, I can survive anything.”