Others may chime in with something I’m missing, but in that price range your best bet would be to scour Facebook/craigslist/etc for a good used smoker.
Personally, I would check out Old Country before I went with Oklahoma Joe. You can find them at Academy or I’ve seen them at Buc-ee’s. The Brazos is in your price range and is all 1/4” steel. I’ve had the Pecos model for maybe 2 years now and it has served me well thus far. The Pecos is definitely not a super nice setup like some others on here have, but it’s a major step up from your char griller and a step or two above the Oklahoma Joe lineup in my opinion. Brazos should work even better and last a lifetime with reasonable care.
Other options would be to check out Lyfe Tyme or All Seasons Feeders. I’ve seen both of these at HEB before and they looked like decent options. Neve cooked on them or seen much in the way of reviews though.
Personally, and this is just my opinion, I think the $1000 budget puts you in a weird black hole in the market between entry level and premium. I think there is a sweet spot around the Oklahoma Joe and Old Country Pecos in terms of a budget priced, but still serviceable cooker that you won’t immediately want to scrap. Otherwise the options are very few until you start approaching $1700-2000+ for a very nice backyard setup. $1000 will get you an Old Country Brazos that I am sure will cook well and is made of all 1/4” steel, but is likely a little rough around the edges in terms of craftsmanship. In my opinion, it’s too expensive for a budget option, but not nice enough to compete with the likes of Lone Star Grillz, Shirley, etc.
I’m in a similar boat in that I opted to buy the Pecos to try out stickburning, and am saving up to just leapfrog the Brazos price point and jump straight to something like the LSG 20x42 or Shirley 24x36 for a really nice setup. My thinking being that if I’m going to spend enough for it to last a lifetime, I want to get something that I am going to really enjoy for a lifetime.
