Favorite Portable Pellet Grill

Greengas

Greengas

Well-known member
The time is rapidly approaching when Sarah and I will be hitting the road and becoming "Anytimers". My lovely bride told me that she wants to get me a portable pellet smoker as a travel gift (yes, I am a very lucky person). I'm looking for a grill I can put in the basement of my Landmark but I'm not against getting one that rides in the back of the truck if its worth it. So, not wanting to rush into anything and always enjoying the shopping and buying process, I'm looking for recommendations. What portable pellet grill do you own? What do you like the most about it? What do you wish would be different? Why did you buy that grill? You know, fill me in on everything.

As always, thanks in advance for your guidance!
 
cookie

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Ronn, there are a lot of pellet grills to choose from. Some are a bit more portable than others.
Some tabletop models, Traeger comes to mind and some are larger but still manageable for portability.
I personally have a Rec Tec Mini on a rack mounted to the back of my Bighorn. Works good for me. I also have the same model on the deck at home.
Oh, the mini has been discontinued but a replacement model will be out soon.
There are several brands that offer grills about the same size.
Things I looked for when deciding on a particular brand were as follows. I wanted stainless cooking grates that were heavy, I wanted a temperature controller that maintained a set temperature and I wanted something that was not like cooking in a tin can. Rec Tec was all of the above. And their customer support is awesome. They gave us a grill at the last Heartland North American Rally in Goshen last year to use for a cooking demo. We then gave it away as a door prize to one lucky winner that attended the demo. Can't beat that.
This might sound like a Rec Tec sales pitch, but I am just high on that brand.
I like the size that I have because I can cook anything in there. I've done ribs, burgers, smoked butt, pizza, smoked bacon, prime rib and a slew of other things. Wife has her oven for sale.
At the end of the day they will all do the job you just need to decide what your needs will be.

Peace
Dave
 
mlpeloquin

mlpeloquin

Well-known member
I have the Traeger at home. Does a great job. I saw Jim Beletti had the Rec Tec mini. Looks like a good solid unit. I want a bigger smoker for the stick and brick. When it is time, I will get the Rec Tec. They seem to be built stronger. The current Traeger will go into my fifth wheel and than we will see if it can take the pounding. If not, I will end up with two Rec Tecs.

http://www.rectecgrills.com/grills/
 
J

jbeletti

Well-known member
Hi Ronn, most RVers I run into that carry smokers, carry the Traeger Tailgater. They have pretty high praise for them as well.

Growing in popularity for RVers seems to be the Green Mountain Davey Crockett.

As Mark mentioned and Cookie detailed, I have the RecTec Mini. I favored it over the Traeger for the reasons Cookie mentioned. RecTec’s legs fold down easier too. But both brands are worthy travelers. Do note that the RecTec will weigh more - if that’s a concern.

Let us know what you end up with.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
G

gregw

Member
I carry the Green Mountain Davy Crockett in the camper and have a Rec-Tec on the porch at home. Love them both. Rec-Tec's customer service is second to none!
 
rxbristol

rxbristol

Well-known member
I have the Green Mountain Davy Crockett. It does weigh about 70 lbs. when full of pellets, but is still portable. I like its WiFi system which lets you know the temperature of the grill and food via your phone. It cooks almost everything perfect (chicken, loins, brisket, ribs, etc.) and it's easy to clean and maintain. I don't like how it cooks hamburger patties, steaks, or sausages (searing capability is lacking)...for those items I use my Weber Q or my 1930's cast iron pan (very smooth cooking surface that's not available on modern mass production cast iron) on a small stove burner (Coleman).
 
C

CDN

B and B
I have a Green Mountain Davey crocket. My second smoker and favourite. I store it in the front storage compartment. I have several other RV friends that have the GMG Davey Crockett. There are 12 of us, we make everything in them including peach cobbler, beef, mac and cheese, pork, potatoes, beef, apple crisp, chicken wings, veggies, pork and baked beans.
 
pegmikef

pegmikef

Well-known member
I'm one of those with a Traeger Tailgater and love it. I have hauled it around for two and a half years (25k miles) with no problems. Admittedly, the RecTec has some features that are nice, but I like the lighter weight of the Tailgater as it is easier to get in and out of storage and it does about the same thing. I have its counterpart, the Traeger Junior Elite at the house as I got tired of loading and unloading the Tailgater every we arrived at or departed home. From what I have seen they all do a good job, but a lot depends on the recipes and the chef.
 
wdk450

wdk450

Well-known member
I use a standard indoor grill and convection oven/broiler, and 3 flavors of liquid smoke.
 
RoadJunkie

RoadJunkie

Well-known member
Some of the mentioned grills are more Transportable than Portable. There are some pretty elaborate approaches to moving the transportable units in an out of a rig storage area.
 
OSIN

OSIN

Active Member
Had the 1st Generation of the GMG Davy Crockett with WIFI, worked good for smoking Boston Butts, Tri-tips, Pork Loins etc. Not so good for quick grilling of burgers/steaks etc. Gave it to a friend of mine.

Just got the Treager Tailgater Costco special in Temecula, we'll see how it does. Still like the Weber Q for burgers/links etc.
 
Mark-Roberta 051995

Mark-Roberta 051995

Well-known member
My wife and I picked up a Traeger tailgater back in mid-summer. It has the folding legs so I can put it inside the belly box. I keep the pellets in a storage container once the bag is opened - as pellets like to get everywhere. It's nice to be able to place food on there in the morning and come back have ribs, chicken, pork butt or whatever ready. We have done corn on the cob, potatoes, shrimp kabobs, steaks as we use this as a grill - not just a smoker. I am experimenting over the winter for cobblers, pizza, etc. and will do our Thanksgiving turkey on it.

One thing I do not like about this smoker: in order for it to go into the belly box is that one person has to use the handles on the end - but this is not very secure. They are only held on by 2 little bolts. If there were 2 people it would be better but the DW is not capable to lift. When I get ready to fold the legs I have to use a 5 gallon bucket at the end of the controller to stablize as I fold the legs - a little bit of a pain in the you know what. I am going to try to built a small platform that will hold this thing stable for me to fold the legs.

Othere than that - this is well built and their customer service is top notch for the 2 times I had to call them.

IMG_3099.jpg
 
pegmikef

pegmikef

Well-known member
Prfssr said:
One thing I do not like about this smoker: in order for it to go into the belly box is that one person has to use the handles on the end - but this is not very secure. They are only held on by 2 little bolts. If there were 2 people it would be better but the DW is not capable to lift. When I get ready to fold the legs I have to use a 5 gallon bucket at the end of the controller to stablize as I fold the legs - a little bit of a pain in the you know what. I am going to try to built a small platform that will hold this thing stable for me to fold the legs.
Click to expand...

Jim B. had a pretty elaborate lift made to help him load and unload his. It is on this forum somewhere, but I am not sure where to look. Maybe he will see this and point you to it.
 
J

jbeletti

Well-known member
danemayer said:
Here's a link to the grill lift that Jerrod Jess (jesstalkn) fabricated. I think he made one for Jim Beletti.
Click to expand...
Yes he did. Here's what mine looks like:
IMG_4566 (1).jpg

Video of operation:
[video]https://photos.smugmug.com/RV/2018-Heartland-Landmark-Newport/Grill-Lift/i-DkxWhxL/0/1be67a94/1920/Grill%20Lift-1920.mp4[/video]
 
travelin2

travelin2

Pennsylvania Chapter Leaders-retired
After our past winter’s trip and having to buy someone else’s pit BBQ, I treated myself to the Traeger Tailgater. Had to reorganize the BH basement for transport. So now we’ll carry that in addition to the small Weber Q on our longer trips.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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