Those of you with giant mega trailer smokers...

[b.m.]

I've noticed in this forum there are a pretty good number of you with big trailer smokers.

How many of you run a business, cater events and/or compete professionally, etc..., to warrant such a big smoker? or do you guys just love BBQ that much that you convinced your family you needed a $10k rig to cook a pork butt and some ribs for Sunday dinner?

I'm just really curious. I'm a father of 7 with live in in-laws, which makes for a total of 11 people under one roof that my wife and I cook for every day, and one drum smoker and a Weber Genesis gasser is plenty big enough to feed all of us with lots of leftovers. In fairness, several of the 11 are younguns that don't eat that much, and the gasser is at capacity when doing steaks and burgers, but still.

Maybe there's a day in the future where I'll graduate to a stick burner, but even then I don't see myself getting anything extravagant.

Thanks,
BM

 

[Richard1233]

I don't have a trailer but I have a 500 gallon water tank smoker that holds a lot of food and I got mine cheap from a friend for $400. However within the next couple years my wife said it's ok for me to get a shirley trailer. I do have to buy us a house first but with the way my career is going I should be able to afford both a house and shirley trailer within the next year or so.

 

[daninnewjersey]

I sell ribs at a farmer's market in the summer so I have a 300 gallon propane tank smoker. She cooks about 50+ racks at a time when packed tight. However, I also use it for cooking at home, local parties at friends' houses....and other stuff. I can tell you she was no where NEAR $10K....just north of $1800 if I remember correctly. Nobody needs to spend $10K to get a big smoker....unless you want to.

I started with an electric smoker, graduated to a drum (4 drums actually), and then learned about stick burners. I got tired of running out of room with 4 drums so went with the propane tank design and never looked back. Was a natural progression for me and I'm sure other guys are in the same boat. Sure I'll use the drums when cooking for myself and my wife, but my heart is with my big baby now. Also, there was no convincing anyone...other than myself....

 

[JoSal73]

I want a trailer because I want to cook on site and serve it super fresh without having to hold & transport. Also because it will be a nice show and I like big boy toys.

I will have one next year hopefully once I pay down a little debt.

 

[TcircleT]

To each his own...

 

[FattyMcFatty]

Nope, Don't need the space at all. We are a family of 4 plus small gatherings here and there.

I really enjoy smoking on my ceramic and have been wanting to get me a stick burner, soooooo I'm in line to get me a Shirley :becky:

No justification needed for me other than I want it :heh:

 

[bacchus99]

I've been curious about this as well.

 

[Beentown]

I may use the capacity of my Shirley five times a year. Those are three charity cooks and two big family get togethers. Though, there are more opportunities opening up to do more. Was tired of not having enough capacity when needed.

My Shirley was no where near $10k same as most peoples trailer models on here. You are getting into something completely different once talking about $10k.

I have rifles that are worth as much as this Shirlry cost me but my family gets more enjoyment out of it than the rifle. It is all in what you want to spend your money on.

An 850 CC quad is owned by many but really used like it was meant to by few. Any endeavor has those that don't see the value in certain things while others do. Stay active here much and justification gets easier

 

[Cat797]

Mine is not super large, but that said, I also did not spend anywhere near $10K.........I think I have about $2,500 in it and it took me 2 years of tinkering to complete. I just love to BBQ for my friends and family, I wanted to do a welding project to develop those skills, and I like sleepless nights! :crazy:

All for the greater good! :grin: I say if you want one, get one. Either dive in or buy one, you will not be sorry!

 

[DaveAlvarado]

I don't own a trailer yet, but I will. Something in the 24" x 60" range would be perfect. I've never done a cook big enough that I'd load something like that to the gills, but it's the right size to cook a decent sized party's worth of food including several different meats. Everything in there can have room to breathe.

 

[AZRaptor]

I thought about changing my mind on my Shirley Patio and having Paul build me a trailer instead (in for a penny, in for a pound), but after thinking about it more, if I ever did decide to start hauling it around for cooks away from home, the trailer model would only let me haul the smoker, but a patio model on a toy trailer would let me haul the smoker plus other stuff, so I decided to stick with the patio. That being said it's still going to be a 24x60 smoker which is bigger than I will likely need on a regular basis, but it comes down to "They're cool. I want one." :-D

 

[Smoke®]

How many of you run a business, cater events and/or compete professionally, etc..., to warrant such a big smoker?

Thanks,
BM

For the average backyard cook I really don't feel that the purchase has to be justified by business ventures as much as enjoying cooking on a nice stick burner for friends, family, Sunday school and Church functions and maybe you're retired and find it's a good way to enjoy the day. I have some friends that spent much more money to fly to Africa and float across the Serengeti in a hot air balloon. That had me scratching my head but they enjoyed it and I guess that's what matters.

 

[RDOwens]

Since this has come up, allow me to ask my silly question that I've wondered about.

So, you have a trailer that you take somewhere to do a cook. Let's say it's a church bbq or something similar. You've cooked your ribs and chicken and everyone had a good time. Now it's time to go home. What do you do with your coals? I know at comps there is a place to dispose of them, but on an event I can't imagine there would be a place to dump them. Do you wait until everything cools down? Do you drive down the road with some heat still in the chamber? Do you keep a rack warming for when you get home? Just curious and as I said, silly question.

 

[JonP]

or do you guys just love BBQ that much that you convinced your family you needed a $10k rig to cook a pork butt and some ribs for Sunday dinner?


Maybe there's a day in the future where I'll graduate to a stick burner, but even then I don't see myself getting anything extravagant.

Thanks,
BM

Sounds super judgemental.

 

[Beentown]

Sounds super judgemental.

Thats how it translated for me also.

 

[pjtexas1]

How much someone spends on something is interesting. This could be asked about your home or truck. When is it too much? I personally have a smaller house than people that make half what I make but that is me. Nothing wrong with doing what you feel is right for you or your situation. When I first started cooking outdoors I never thought I would spend $500 on a cooker much less order a trailer smoker. 10-12 cookers later I have a Shirley being built next month. Will I ever fill the Shirley to capacity? Probably not but you never know. I don't compete because my current smokers are too heavy to drag around so I now have that option with my SF trailer model. For me it's about trying new things and enjoying this hobby. Most hobby's are expensive as you let them become and ours is no different. I guess what I am trying to say is that as long as you can justify it to you and yours then I say do/get whatever makes you happy. If it's a Weber Smokey Joe or a 30x80 trailer...

 

[TonyT]

I think you'd be surprised at how many smokers you think cost $10k, that in reality only cost a small fraction of that (unless that number was meant in hyperbole).

Though I don't own a big trailer or offset (just a WSM and performer), I bbq at least twice a week and 2-3x a year for 12-25 person parties. I have to be crafty, but I get it done. Truth be told, if I had money to spend, I'd without a doubt get something the size of a Shirley. In my case, probably a Humphreys, because I don't think I'd like the work involved in a stick burner (or cost of wood).

So even though the vast majority of my cooks would be for between 3-5 people, considering how often I bbq, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a nice, larger cooker so I could have space when I needed, not have to run two different pits at once and quite simply to just enjoy something I spend a lot of time doing.

Value to me is how much I use it and how much more enjoyable it is while using it. Don't really need my iphone either. I could use a regular flip phone to call/txt, laptop for e-mail/apps/web surfing and separate GPS unit when driving, but it's certainly a very nice luxury to have an item that I can enjoyably do any and all of those tasks on.

 

[b.m.]

Thats how it translated for me also.

Not trying to be judgemental- sorry I came across that way.

I'm more speaking from my own life situation- If I want to make a big purchase in my family, I have to present it in a way that justifies it to those who are affected by the decision. And spending any significant amount of money, which we don't have much of (7 kids, single income), it affects everyone and there needs to be a significant roi for the family.

In my case, my father in law was the one that specifically wanted a smoker, but I would be the one to cook on it. That's fine by me, I like to cook. He was looking to invest about $300, and was browsing home depot and lowes websites. That terrified me- as left to himself, he'd toss his money on some piece of garbage that I'd end up stuck with. So, I had to convince everyone that building a UDS was the biggest ROI for that price range.

BM

 

[revkab]

Mine, the one you see to the left, measures about 72" long by 40" in diameter. It has an upper and a lower set of racks, and can cook a large quantity of Q when I need.

I had this rig built for a couple of reasons.

1) I like being able to cook more than one turkey at a time. And I live a couple of hours away from family, so I like to be able to hook it up and bring it with me.

2) It is less about how much I can possibly cram into it at one time, than it is about the volume of the cook chamber, and how it circulates the smoke. I have a much smaller patio-sized offset that I can do good Q on, but I find it really concentrates the smoke and I have to be real careful not to get too much (is there such a thing) smoke flavor.) Having the big offset, a small offset, and an UDS, I still lean toward the big boy, even when doing one or two slabs. The food just tastes better.

3) The big boy is just plain more fun!

I think that if I had to get rid of all but one, I'd still keep the large, towable offset. It's my fav. Besides, aburgers and steaks for larger crowds. man just can't have too many grills and smokers. I'm currently beginning a towable grill, so I can do large burger/steak cookouts for church.

 

[sylntghost]

there are 4 people in my family and i bought a 24x70 shirley. the most ive had on it was 3 racks of ribs and a butt.i bought it basically because its cool.my wife gave me a budget and i bought the biggest i could buy.:becky: