Best Grill for Camping?

[Darko]

Wow! That is going to be one heck of a trip! Regardless of your choice, I hope you have a great time. Just keep us posted & share some pics.

[hawgheaven]

Depends on if you wanna mess with charcoal. Me, I love charcoal and its mess, and I love my SJ. That's my vote.

[hawgheaven]

And WOW!! That's a great vacation!! Take me please!!!

[Erich]

I use a Go Anywhere charcoal model.  I built a wooden box out of 1/2 inch plywood.  It keeps the trunk clean and it can double as a low table when cooking on the sand.

[Foster Dahlet]

@Darko & @hawgheaven , thank you.  i am very much looking forward to this trip and i am in the process of planning right now.....even that is fun.  @hawgheaven , i love charcoal....it is all i know how to cook on... i am not good around the kitchen or a gas grill....but dammit, after 15+ years on a weber kettle, i can do that.  nonetheless, i am thinking about convenience and space on this particular excursion....so, i am considering the propane alternatives too.  thank you @Erich , for your input.  it is being weighed and considered too.

[GoAnywhereJeep]

Chiming in late here, Foster, but please let me reiterate the recommendation for the GoAnywhere Charcoal with upgraded Craycort cast grates.

I purchased my first travel grill over 30 years ago and have been through:
Smokey Joe with vents on the bottom - original size  (wooden handles)
Smokey Joe with snap shut lid - original size  (wooden handles)
Go Anywhere charcoal - MIA  (wooden handles)
Go Anywhere charcoal - replaced the above unit  (wooden handles)
Go Anywhere gas  (wooden handles)
Q 120 (had this one for a very long time before getting back on charcoal)

I do a lot of jeeping and car camping and some grilling at the park with the portable grills. My portables tend to get bounced around and abused. I also cook for a family of 5 but usually run the jeep trails solo. I also tend to use the portable grills around the house when i am feeling too lazy to fire up the Performer. Tonight was an example. The performer and the WSM had their covers on and it was rainy today so i used the GAC with craycort grates.

Lugging that q120 around was a complete pain. It just cooked to darned well. Glad I am back on a GAC with the grates. I can also stow everything inside compactly, including some charcoal, fire starters, the fire starters and a small weber charcoal chimney.

Here in California, you are not allowed to burn charcoal while out on the sand (coast lines) even though a lot of people do it and right in front of the po po's lind eyes (saw this in Santa Cruz). Still, though, i would like to have a GAG so i can bring it to the beach. The craycort grates are a little different for the gas model in that they have more metal directly above the burner and i think might work well with the newer GAG that no longer have the
flavorizer shield on the bottom.

I don't see myself going back to a Q for travel unless i could leave it at a cabin or something.

[greenweb]

@ Foster Dahlet - regardless of which grill you take, it will be one awesome trip you and your family will cherish for a long time.

With what you mentioned about the space limitation and consideration for q or using gas...... how about one  cga and another gas ga.  Always nice to have other options and they are the most compact grills. If needed for more cooking space but still want to go all charcoal......, gas ga burner assy. taken out and used as a second charcoal grill to cook or grill.

With both GA, you have double the cooking space at all times and have the option to go gas when charcoal is not allowed or strapped for time.

[addicted-to-smoke]

It's abundantly clear by now that the family and "other cargo" should stay at home, so that Foster can load up with about 5-10 different types of grills.

[Foster Dahlet]

lol @addicted-to-smoke !  thanks for the chuckle.  @greenweb, I have considered toting 2 compact grills for sure.  but, i am not sure about space, not only for the grill, gas, plus charcoal and chimney.  @GoAnywhereJeep , thank you.  i am certainly considering the charcoal go anywhere, and your storage solution is helpful. 

[PotsieWeber]

I just picked up the older style Smokey Joe Platinum yesterday and cooked out on it today.  Basically, it is the previous version of the Jumbo Joe. 

You can find people comparing the two elsewhere and most seem to give the nod to the newer Jumbo Joe.  However, I found something today that I found to be an interesting positive that I don't believe anyone has discussed before.  Because it is taller than the new Jumbo Joe, it winds up being almost a perfect height for cooking while sitting in a lawn chair.  For a month long camping trip, it might be nice NOT having to find something to set the grill on so you can grill standing up and NOT having a grill that is so close to the ground that it is hassle cooking for 5 people with it so close to the ground. 

Since it is taller, it will take up a bit more room than the more modern Jumbo Joe, but you could clean it out and pack stuff inside or put the stuff in plastic bags. 

While I wasn't drinking beer while sitting in my lawn chair cooking on this grill, I couldn't help but think about having some beer with my next cook. 

[addicted-to-smoke]

I do like the idea of sitting and grilling ... those hard-to-find Platinums surely inspired the custom "midgets" (cut-down 18s and 22s some have made). What the Platinum offers is better overall indirect performance, since the charcoal grate isn't as close to the cook grate as the modern JJ's is.

[PotsieWeber]

After doing the sitting and grilling yesterday, I started thinking about those custom midgets that I'd seen on here and thought it might be something I'll do with a larger grill.

I do like the idea of sitting and grilling ... those hard-to-find Platinums surely inspired the custom "midgets" (cut-down 18s and 22s some have made). What the Platinum offers is better overall indirect performance, since the charcoal grate isn't as close to the cook grate as the modern JJ's is.

[Foster Dahlet]

Well I picked up a NOS GGA (2000?) for $15 and a CGA for $35.  The GGA was never assembled, but now has two very small chips in the porcelain which developed after I assembled it and locked the lid with the legs.  Oh well, it will make me feel less guilty for using it....I'll cook on these....and if I like em, they will make the trip.  If not, two Go Anywhere grills for the price of one isn't a bad deal anyway.






@MTW524 @HoosierKettle @MDurso  @Erich @GoAnywhereJeep @greenweb

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[HoosierKettle]

Awesome!  One or both should stow nicely. Let us know what you think. I have yet to get a cga.


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[Spen1818]

Nice grills.  I got a Q 200 with folding cart for $20.  Brought to Deer Camp and loved it. 


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