It's been a few months since I have made any improvements or additions to my rig and with a comp coming up, it was time. First of all I added a cover for my propane burner, to protect it from rain and the elements while just sitting in the yard. I added a bit of paint work on it to show my Texas pride...
After that I added a spare tire holder (instead of having to throw the spare in the bed of the truck all the time), $19.99 off ebay along with the cover (to show off my American pride) for $8.99 also off ebay....on the other side is my water hose rack, made from some spare parts left over from several other jobs and the trailer when it was a boat trailer in the beginning...
My original plans were to add a sink and water supply on the trailer to make going to comps easier and more convienent, so...I used an old bladder type tank off my water well as my fresh water supply (bladder ruptured years ago, if you had one with a good bladder, a pump might not be necessary) and an old plastic tank off a spot sprayer for the grey water. I plumbed in a water spigot to back fill my fresh water tank from a garden hose, then a valve to shut off the water supply to the pump. I used a 12 volt RV Flo- Jet water pump, also from ebay, $37.99 plus shipping to pump water from the tank to the sink. By the end of the year, I will be replacing both tanks with 16 gallon RV / concession plastic water storage tanks, $32.95 plus shipping on ebay. The sink is a 15 x 15 bar sink, came with the strainer and faucet for $99.99 at Home Depot. Not big enough to do any large washing duties, but excellent for washing hands, knives, small pots, etc. Also by the end of the year, I plan on having the countertop around the sink wrapped in stainless sheet metal, for looks and durability.
Last weekend, I repainted the entire pit with Rustoleum High Heat black (I originally painted it with the same stuff back in March), it just wasn't looking that good anymore, when I had painted it the first time, I was under some time constraints and a deadline, so I only put 1 coat on the entire thing. This time I started by reapplying Ospho to the firebox, then sprayed 2 coats on the entire pit, then the next day heated the pit up to about 200 degrees, while it was heating up, I was steadily wiping it down with canola oil, from the firebox to the exhaust (trying to season the outside like a cast iron skillet). After my first cook on it this past weekend following the repainting and oiling, everything seems to have held up really well. I did not get to reapply oil this past weekend as I was more worried about making my turn ins. I will be heating and oiling this weekend.
The axle needs to be moved forward about a foot or so, due to the added weight of the water (15 gallons). I had alot of flexing in the trailer on the 80 mile trek to the comp, of course I had 3 coolers full of ice, meat and supplies on the cooler rack in front as well, probably another 50 pounds each. I would travel without the water tank full, but some places don't have water access for me to fill on site.