Next Gen OJ Bronco?

[Uncle Bob]

Picked this up from FB last night. The person who posted it was at a hardware trade show and took the pic. They didn't offer any details about all the features, projected price, or release date, so some of that is open to speculation.

Looking at the pic the most obvious "upgrade" is the fuel bin access for those who believe they need to add fuel for longer cooks. Personally my experience with the existing model is that in most cases it's more about fire building/management to get into the 12-15 hour range in the initial load, but the world seems loaded with those not able, or at least believe they're not able, to do that. Beyond that the intake and exhaust remain basically the same with the exhaust getting what looks to be an all weather style damper as opposed to just a rotating flap like the intake. Solid rather than expanded metal side shelf might be an improvement, and does give it a slightly higher end look. The tool hooks are an add, though mounting your own on the older design was an easy solution that even the most mechanically inept could accomplish. What has me curious is the lid design, it appears to be somewhat taller giving more headroom underneath, though the older design had plenty to start with. The upper edge seems more rounded, perhaps to improve convection flow. It would be nice to know their rationale on that choice. The insulation on the lid handle looks to be a tad more substantial, though, again, the previous design only got uncomfortable at very high internal temps which is not the common operating range. Nice to see the wheels upgraded to a rubber rolling surface, though it appears they still roll on a plane surface hub with no bearings. That system works okay, but my personal preference is for smoother operation with ball bearings, which is why I've done a wheel mod on each of my Broncos. All in all it looks like a significant upgrade in total that maintains the same cooking capabilities. It will be interesting to see if they continue to sell the current model as the value choice, and then this new version as the upscale option for those who prefer that.

[bbqLuv]

Wow, MCS--stop it some more.

In the picture the door swings to the left instead of the right. That's not right unless it is the left-handed model.

[Panhead John]

Nice! I like that they’ve eliminated the tubular handle on the left and replaced it with a smaller shelf, not a bad improvement to me, as long as it’s sturdy enough to use when picking it up to roll around. I think the slide out fuel bin access could be handy for initially building your fire, adding wood chunks during a cook and cleaning it after your cook. It eliminates the need to bend over and remove all the hardware above the charcoal pan first. I’m with you though, I never had to add fuel during a cook, so I wouldn’t use it for that purpose.

[Uncle Bob]

Panhead John, that's a wait and see thing for now. Notice also, the intake damper is slightly different with its thumb tab and what looks like a partial skirt behind it. Again, the benefit remains to be seen.

[Troutman]

Oh just great Uncle Bob, now you got Panhead John all excited and MCS'd up and he's going to go out and buy one just as he's downsized to make room for his rocking chair. I swear, you all are just a bunch of enablers.

[Uncle Bob]

Troutman, you say "enablers" as if there's something wrong with that....................it's what we do, read the membership contract.

[Duanessmokedmeats]

I have credit card ready...
I see it as an easier way to remove the basket.

[au4stree]

This. I recognize its nit-picky, but that is my only gripe with the PBC, having to reach into the barrel to clean out the basket/ashes. PBC, PBC, PBC.......

[Duanessmokedmeats]

au4stree If they had that door they would have to charge more, to cover the labor to make it.
In about 15-20 years I will like to have the door.

[gcdmd]

When I saw your title, the image of a white SUV being pursued by a squadron of police cruisers along a freeway popped into my mind.

[Uncle Bob]

You realize there's a whole generation of folks who have no idea what you're referencing there...........

[carolts]

it's sorta like a secret handshake

[bmillin]

If the hot pad fits you must acquit

[DTro]

Awesome find Uncle Bob. The larger lid may help with fire access when grilling and heat retention when smoking. It could also give better access to the meat when hanging, allowing for easy mopping/ spritzing. With that dome shape, I'm thinking of pizza. I would like to see a picture of the lid when opened though.
As for the fuel bin, I would appreciate being able to easily add wood chunks after the warm-up period and before the cook. And no more grease stains on my t-shirts when I reach into the barrel to grab the fire basket to clean it.

[Panhead John]

With a higher lid and taller hangers, I could see where this could give you more vertical space for hanging ribs..brisket and they won’t hit the deflector plate.

[DTro]

Panhead John Good thing you made some room in your garage!

[DTro]

Hard to tell but does that fire basket look smaller to anyone else?

[Uncle Bob]

To my "calibrated eye" it doesn't look smaller, but the ash pan looks different slightly, probably for fitment to the swing out door bracket/shelf. Also that eliminates the need for the support ring the current design uses to hold the ash pan/fuel basket combo, while allowing intake air to circulate around (through?) the swing shelf.

[Steve R.]

The thing I like best about it might be that the charcoal basket is somewhat fixed in place, and you could therefore move the cooker without the basket sliding around on the bottom. The way my Bronco Pro is made, the bolts in the bottom interfere with the charcoal basket sitting directly in the center anyway. The swing-out door would at least fix that.

[tstalafuse]

If I were nitpicking, I wish they would move the air intake tube to the side with the small shelf so that it would have a full unobstructed large side shelf, or move it to the back edge of the shelf so that it it of the way.

[Purc]

Drum Smokers | Oklahoma Joe's® (oklahomajoes.com)

Interesting, I just went to the OKJ site above and they only showed the 18" Bronco and no mention of the 22" orange pro model. Maybe they are revamping both sizes, dropping the 22 " Pro ?

[JohnPaul]

Looks very interesting. I am curious about the steel thickness as the OG Bronco Pro is very thick and holds temp like a dream.

[tstalafuse]

I have never seen this one before, and maybe that is because it wasn't available in the US. Looks very similar to the one Uncle Bob posted. Approximately the same size as the Pro and comes with a Hunsaker style diffusor plate.

https://pitboss-grills.com/grills/charcoal/pit-boss-vertical-barrel-charcoal-smoker-mahogany-pbv24cb

[Uncle Bob]

We had some discussion about it back in August of '22 when it first came out:

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/charcoal-drums-barrels-and-bullet-smokers/other-drum-barrel-or-bullet-smokers/1285394-another-entry-in-the-barrel-cooker-wars

[sarredon]

I just found the 2025 product catalogue (can’t be 100% sure it’s legit) for Oklahoma Joe, it looks like this is a new design for the bronco, the pro appears to be staying the same. I like the idea of a door for the charcoal to clean it out. I hate leaving build up in my grills. Hopefully it seals well.

The product catalogue has a typo in it though. Not sure if that makes me more or less likely to think it’s real!!! Haha

[Panhead John]

I’ll say it has a typo! They’re calling the Bronco Pro a “Pro Series 3 Burner gas grill with side burner”…..??!!

[Purc]

I love my Bronco. These reported improvements look great and should make it even more enjoyable to use.

[Uncle Bob]

This newer version still doesn't show on their official US website. Who knows why. Their "Black Friday" sale just started with the original version of the Bronco sporting $100 off the list price.

[fzxdoc]

New bells/whistles. It certainly takes away from the simple barrel design that I've grown to love in my PBC. Simple is good. But new gadgets are fun too.

Kathryn

[sarredon]

I really do love the simple design of the pit barrel, planning on doing a turkey this thanksgiving in mine. I’ve been reading your notes, thanks for sharing!

But also, how do you clean out the barrel? I haven’t needed to do much to clean it with the ash pan underneath the charcoal basket. But I’ve got a little shop vac that picks up any stray bits

[fzxdoc]

Having an ash pan under the basket and a shop vac for any ash that falls at the edges, I'd say you're in good shape, sarredon . The only other thing is to make sure there's no grease congealed under the ash catcher on the floor of the PBC. I stopped using the ash catcher for that reason--it got the ash all right, but the grease would run off of it and make the floor of the PBC harder to keep clean. So I went back to my 2 layers of HD Aluminum foil shaped to fit the floor of the PBC.

K.