Pros and Cons of BBQ Trailer

[Coconut Monkey]

I'm considering purchasing a Peoria Cookers Meat Monster. Here is the link: http://www.peoriacookers.com/custom-...nster-mif.html

This is going to be about a $10k investment after I get all the additions and bells and whistles. My question for the group is, is a BBQ trailer worth it? What are the PROs? What are the CONs?

I'll be using it for fund raisers for my church, some family birthdays, and maybe a competition or two. Would love to hear from BBQ Trailer owners as to what they like and dislike about these expensive pieces of equipment! Thanks.

John R.

[Jfrosty27]

Nice. But way out of league. I think the key for anything like this is how much will you actually use it? If you feel it will be enough then go for it.

[Murdy]

If you are going to spend a lot of time cooking for a group, do you want to haul your cooker there and remain onsite for the entire cook? Or would you rather cook at home and transport the food there in cambros?

[rickgregory]

What they've said above. The trailer aspect isn't going to affect the quality of the 'que so the question on that is whether you really care about and will use the mobility (and how often). Second issue would be how often you need that cooking capacity and third, I suppose, is how material $10k is to your finances.

[tbob4]

When I was buying my cabinet the builder had one on a trailer - both with and without a Santa Maria attached. I was never going to compete but I was cooking (never for profit) for large groups a few times a year. My wife didn’t like the extra expense - In hindsight we’ve spent more since. Anyhow, the question really came down to aesthetics. I have a nice BBQ area and the trailer would really detract from it. My wife was right - the number of functions I cooked for wasn’t worth the portability.

I do have a Cambro which makes transporting really easy. It also ensures that my timing is right. Knowing I can cook ahead and hold for events in the Cambro allows a little more room for timing errors. If I were cooking on site, I fear I would time for serving and would mess things up. Obviously if I was into competitions or catered for a living I would work that aspect out.

[rickgregory]

I do have a Cambro which makes transporting really easy.

Really important point. You can buy insulated Cambos and, while it makes little sense for just holding a bit of meat for a couple of hours before serving at home, they're well worth the money if you do enough events and need to transport food there. They're liddable, stackable and tough. If your need for offsite cooking is relatively infrequent, these might be much less money and accomplish much the same thing.

see https://www.cambro.com/Products/insu...-pan-carriers/ and https://www.cambro.com/Products/insu...-pan-carriers/

[tbob4]

I have the 300 model. The wife said it would be much easier that larger models. She let me buy one and said I could get another if I needed one. I haven’t needed a second.

[smokin fool]

Cooking aspects aside, its probably as good as they come....
Insurance....
Do you have room on your property or are you relying on trailer storage, on or off site, inside or outside and is it secure.
Maintaining and repairing your trailer, keep those bearing packed with fresh grease and the lighting system working.
Can you pull and reverse the trailer, backing is they key. I can put a 53 footer pretty much anywhere, a buddy asked me to back in a snowmobile trailer I damn near caved in his quarter panel(s).
None of this is insurmountable but is part of the equation.

[Murdy]

On a related note, in some states, aren't trailers titled?

[smokin fool]

I've never owned a trailer so don't know all the ins and outs but as far as I know in Ontario trailers need a VIN, ownership and a safety just like a car or truck.

[jfmorris]

If you know you will be transporting it often, and don't mind looking at the trailer aspect of it in your own backyard, I think this is a great way to go.

On another note - are you looking at the internal or external firebox version of this cooker?

If looking at the internal, I really question that internal firebox if you intend to burn wood at all. With stick burners, you have to feed the fire about every 30 minutes on average, and with the internal firebox, you would have to be opening the main cooking chamber each time, dropping the cooking temperature and lowering meat temp and prolonging the cook each time.
I think I would personally opt for the external firebox version of this cooker. If you were looking for charcoal only cooking there are much cheaper insulated cabinet smoker options that are also portable. The external firebox version also gives you a lot more cooking space.

[Coconut Monkey]

Really great feedback. I was looking at the internal firebox.

[jfmorris]

Coconut Monkey I think its wise if spending this much money on a cooker to go with the external firebox, so that you have the choice of using wood or charcoal and not interfering with your cook temp and time every time you check the fire. You literally can NOT check the fire without opening the cooker with the internal firebox, and their video seems to indicate they expect that option to be used mainly for smoking with charcoal.

[Coconut Monkey]

This is all really good advice. Thanks so much. The Cambro idea is very clever.

Part of me just wants to roll up with a pimpin' BBQ trailer though. I can't lie.

[Jerod Broussard]

I don't do it often but I hate having to transport cooked product out of town. The trailers I'm looking at would hover around $10,000 (stick burner, Johnsonsmokers Ennis, TX) but the smoker I would really ultimately want is $15,000 ($3,000 uptick in the last year) and would need to be out the elements. I'm single so I can ruminant on it somewhat realistically.

[tbob4]

Me too but I didn’t tell my wife that when we were discussing it. When I was considering it I thought "wouldn’t I look cool driving this thing somewhere"?

[FireMan]

Hey, git it! I’ll give ya my address & ya kin come on over & I’ll help ya break it in. I even have a friend or two who kin help us. WI Bubba works nights so it will have to be late afternoon.

[Coconut Monkey]

If you were in Ohio I would do just that!

[Coconut Monkey]

So it appears that my options for catering for large crowds (150 or less) are either
1) Get the trailer
2) Get a large cabinet smoker (like Backwoods) and transport the meat using a Cambro.

Something to think about...

John

[rickgregory]

Of course the Cambro solution needs a van or some other way to move the Cambros, too.

[tbob4]

The groups I cook for are what you are describing. Again, I am not a professional caterer. One Cambro is sufficient for tri-tip, brisket and pork butt. Ribs take up more space. I also take knives, tongs, serving trays a 50 lb deli slicer and a box of gloves. They all fit well in both my car and truck. I don’t do sides, though. With that written - get the trailer so I can live vicariously through you!

[jfmorris]

You can also transport cabinet smokers. They usually have casters and can be loaded in a truck or trailer. They don't weigh nearly what an offset weighs.

[CandySueQ]

Don't spend the money because it feels like something you'd like to do! Do you cater for church, family and friends now? Have you been to or competed at a BBQ comp? If the answer to both is yes, then maybe this is a solution for you. What you're comfortable spending is what you should spend though. All of these activities can be done without a trailered pit as has been mentioned above.

With that said, when the competition bug bit me, I jumped in with both feet. My first cooker was on a trailer and I towed it behind a Chevy 1500 with a topper on the back. These days I'm styling a bit more, but the cooking space is smaller even though the cooker is a "name" brand. It's an expensive pass time.

[Coconut Monkey]

Something to really think about... No, these events I want to cater for would be new opportunities. I do not currently do anything like it.

[tbob4]

Coconut Monkey - It’s a fun thing to do but you will not stop learning. For example - 150+ people attending a birthday party for an 80 year old will eat half of the 10 tri-tips you cook. A HS football team of 50 (plus 10 coaches) are way underfed with those same 10 roasts. Hahahaha.

[smokin fool]

Another good point, what kinda rig do you have to pull this trailer around.
Pick ups are at a premium up here hard to find. A Denali starts at $80-90K up here if you can find one.
And you may need a pick up or van to carry all your support equipment, charcoal, chairs/tables, maybe a generator.... .

[Dan Deter]

I grew up knowing lots of people with BBQ trailers, but that's because they were all cooking whole hogs. Also, I think most of them were home made. I keep trying to get my work to buy one for use at work events, but they keep coming back at me about being funded by state taxes, blah, blah, blah.

[Coconut Monkey]

IT'S GENIUS. I'll get my work to sponsor my bbq trailer!

[Frozen Smoke]

I had two smoker trailers at one time but sold one and still have the other. I'll be buried in this one. I also have two Cambro's (mine are the Carlisle brand). I did a lot of weddings, grad parties, groomsmen dinners, bachelor parties and even a few bachelorette parties and some parties just to have parties. People who hire you to do these parties want to see the show. That means bringing you're smoker trailer with you. People are fascinated watching someone use a stick burner and are in awe of the cooker itself usually. It will get you more bookings down the road as people take pics and talk about it for sometime after. If you just show up with a couple Cambro's in the back of your car it's not that impressive. Your just a food delivery guy. It is work taking your show on the road. A lot of it. It's pressure to get things done by serving time as well. I would still bring my Carlisles and all the needed pans. If you think you might need something bring it don't leave it behind.

Some ribs get done a bit sooner than others into the Carlisle they go. I did do a golf league party last fall that was less than ten miles from my house and it was wet crappy weather. I did two briskets 8 racks of ribs and two dozen sausages and a pan of beans for about 30 guys. I did those at home because I could back my smoker except for the exhaust stack into the garage. I then transported all the food in the Carlisles to the site and served. Keep in mind off site catering involves a lot more than taking your smoker. You will need prep tables, cutting boards, foil, butcher paper, knife set and all the multitudes of things you use at home. If you forget one thing it can be a problem. I forgot my knife set once. Also have at least one assistant to help you. Wife or someone. You will get overwhelmed by yourself.

Also I have a three bay propane fired steam table. Best investment I ever made. Some parties would be at peoples properties and go all night into the wee hours of the morning. People would eat two maybe three times a night. The steam table kept everything warm all night. Covid pretty much stalled things the last two years. I'm retired now and own some lake property that I spend my summers at. I pick and choose when I want or don't want to cater anymore. Too far away I won't do it. More than 75 people or so I will probably pass. I did not do this as a sole income I still worked a job. But I met some great people got to be at some awesome parties I never would have been to otherwise and have some great stories to tell. It is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.

[Coconut Monkey]

Would you mind sharing the model of the steam table you use?

[Frozen Smoke]

Big Johns is where I got my steam table. It's a investment but they are built like a tank and commercial grade. We use it a family holiday gatherings. We can prepare everything well in advance and it stays nice and warm as long as we need it to without drying out.

http://www.bigjohngrills.com/products/st-3

[PaynTrain]

Frozen Smoke I am intrigued as to how you got this all going. People have been pushing me to get a trailer and do exactly that, but I am so nervous that my stuff won't be good enough. Way too perfectionist when people pay me to cook. Plus I have yet to repeat perfect briskets, so that would not be on the menu. Pork, chicken, ribs fine. Also what about pricing? I feel like I am asking too much, but shit is expensive! I got an LLC to cover me, and am all set with insurance, but am just too scared

[Coconut Monkey]

Question for the group... so are you guys getting to the event like 6 hours early to setup and begin the cook? Or are you starting the cook at home and then driving to the event with your food in the cooker? Or, are you cooking part-way at home, sticking the food in a Cambro, then finishing at the event?

[CandySueQ]

Depends on what you're cooking! I'm taking an offset trailer, a small pellet cooker and a Weber Jumbo joe to a gathering in a couple of weeks. I'm bringing a brisket to cook and other folks are bringing things to put on the cooker. Going to be interesting! I figure with these three (and a cambro), I'll be able to do some good eats.