The Pierceton Peddler LLC was made official on December third, 2018. The Pierceton Peddler Rental LLC was made official on May tenth, 2018. The business was first started by selling Leonard Miller’s personal 1990 Dutchman camper. Leonard then gave the proceeds from that sale to Josh Sommers “To see what he could do with it”. After buying and selling multiple campers, boats and tractors, Josh was given the nick name “The Pierceton Peddler” by his friends, and that’s how the company name began… Leonard Miller and Dan Bontrager had a few rental campers that they were having trouble getting rental bookings filled. Once again, Leonard came to Josh for his peddling skills and asked for help with getting the campers booked. By the summer of 2018, they had 5 rental campers that Josh was able to get rented out every weekend!
Leonard and Josh were both employed in the RV industry with Renegade RV while starting this venture. We truly believe that we can do this and create our own destiny. We are both are very quality oriented and like to do the job the right the first time. We have hired a few “Top Guns”, making our expertise level bar none! With combined experience from Heartland, Renegade, Keystone, Forest River, Open Range, Gulf Stream, Thor, Pilgrim, Thor, Newmar and Four Winds, there is NOTHING we can’t handle when it comes to servicing your RV. We guarantee it will be done right the FIRST time, or we will take care of it, on us!
Although the name is “The Pierceton Peddler” we are actually located at 202 Waste Water Drive in Millersburg, Indiana. Leonard resides in Shipshewana, while Josh resides in Pierceton. We both wanted a centrally located “half-way” point with a good location, and a lot large enough for service, new and used RV sales, and rentals.
The Pierceton Peddler offers an 8000 square foot building for all your full-service RV repair needs, and is large enough to accommodate even the largest “Big Rigs”. We also offer a mobile service. We will come to you at your residence or even in the RV park. We take great pride in our mobile service, as we know many RV’s are set up with a permanent deck or built on sunrooms. For those of you who have no option to take your RV to a service center or dealership….NO WORRIES! We will come to you!
We also offer new and used RV’s. The Pierceton Peddler has partnered with Riverside RV in LaGrange, Indiana in offering great entry level campers, small lite weights, and sizes up to large fifth wheels.
Here at The Pierceton Peddler we believe our greatest asset is not just our quality of service, but you, our customers. We look forward to giving you great service, quality workmanship and making you a satisfied customer! Without our customers, we wouldn’t be here. We here at The Pierceton Peddler truly look forward to growing this company with our customers and making many happy campers along the journey!
Sincerely,
Josh Sommers & Leonard Miller
Originally from Middlebury Indiana, Leonard now resides in Shipshewana Indiana. Leonard moved from Middlebury when he was 10, to a 30 acre duck farm in Shipshewana. He comes from large, hard working family. His father is a mechanic. His mother is a homemaker and raised Leonard and his 5 siblings.
Leonards first job away from the farm was at a woodworking shop at the age of 15. At the age of 17, he started working construction. Three years later he decided to try the RV industry. He has worked for Keystone – 2 years rubber roofing, Open Range- 5 years in flooring, Rockwood – 4years in slide outs, and then Renegade RV – shelling department.
While working at Renegade, he met Josh Sommers. Leonard and Josh took a working friendship and evolved it into the idea of “The Pierceton Peddler LLC” in 2018.
Leonard met his wife, Melanie, in 2005 and they were married in 2010. They have 4 children, Allison, Jeslyn, Brandon and Trenton.
Owner Pierceton Peddler
Josh is the son of 2 very hardworking parents. His father Max was born in Missouri and grew up on a farm, and later, was an auctioneer. Josh’s father Max, moved to Indiana in the 1980’s seeking RV work. Max has been in RV management for 40 plus years. Josh’s mother, Lee Ann, was born and raised in Nappanee Indiana, where she has been in management at Yoder’s Kitchens for 20 plus years. Josh’s sister, Kasi Grace of Goshen, Indiana has also been in management since high school. Kasi is currently a service manager at Weaver Ag and Lawn Equipment in Wakarusa.
Hard work started early in life. Mowing, shoveling snow, newspaper routes, and cleaning offices taught Josh at an early age about working hard. As a teenager, Josh would go to Missouri in the summers to do construction work for his uncle, and logging at the saw mill for his older cousin. At 14 Josh started working full time at Newcomer Service in Nappanee. The owner was tough on him and helped mold Josh into the man he is today.
Josh attended Northwood High School and the Elkhart Area Career Center. While in high school, he was employed at Lavine Restoration. Then next 7 years after high school, Josh worked at Heartland RV in the slide out department. After that, he spent 4 plus years at Renegade RV. This is where Josh met his business partner and friend, Leonard Miller. Josh was able to put his eye for quality into use at Renegade, and he was proud to be a part of a company that surrounded him with like minded people who truly cared about the product they all produced together.
Growing up, Josh enjoyed working, fishing and hunting. He still loves to hunt. During hunting season, you’ll find him in the woods. Josh also has a “need for speed”. Since his youth, Josh has raced anything from riding mowers to ATV’s and dirt bikes to boats. And of course, fast cars. Josh has been racing cars for the past 14 years. In the past he has raced street stocks and outlaw late models. Whenever he gets a chance to go to the track, he currently races a sportsman model. As Josh has focused more on family and business, he doesn’t race as often anymore. But, when he does get a chance, he still wins and puts on a show.
Josh grew up down the road from his wife but never really talked to her until they were in high school. They started dating after high school. Their first date was dinner at Ponderosa and night of racing at Plymouth Speedway. Josh married Kristen in 2010. His wife is also a hard worker and started off the trailer factories and worked in the industry until they started their family. Kristen has worked in the food service industry as a waitress and bartender for the past few years. She is currently a bartender at Wings etc. in Warsaw. Josh and Kristen have 2 children. Their daughter is the oldest, and Raegan is quite the “sassy little firecracker” and their son Easton “loves to eat, ride equipment with dad and go to the races”.
Josh’s goal is to change his reputation from “the race car guy” to successful father, husband, family man, and business man. He is working hard to make the Pierceton Peddler a successful chapter in his life’s book and always striving to find new and better ways to improve his business and his family life.
Owner Pierceton Peddler