Follow my trailer/ smoker/ grill/ griddle/ range build! (lots of pics)

[jsoda17]

Hello everybody!

Not only is this my first build, this is also my first post. I am from VA but have enjoyed BBQ all over the country, Texas having some of the best, in my opinion (can't beat PPO- peppers, pickles, onion). Being that my Big Green Egg can only hold two racks of ribs and I come from a family where I have to feed 10 hungry people, I realized that it was not going to cut it for long.

About a month ago I began searching and reading this forum. From there I discovered the wealth of info on this site along with the concept of reverse flow. After being captivated by so many great looking builds, I conceptualized a build of my own, incorporating all the elements I liked from each smoker.

I am now a little past the beginning stages of the build and am looking to get some insight from the pros around here as to what I can do better and how to improve my design.

So far I have acquired the following:

2- 120 gallon propane tanks

1- 275 gallon oil tank

5- 4' X 5' "rock shaker screens" (freebie)

1- 5' X 8' trailer converted into a 5' X 11' trailer

2- 185k BTU Bayou burners

20' of 1/8th" by 2 " steel to frame the door

24' of 1.5" square tube for more trailer framing

20' of 1.5" angle iron

4- 4" steel hinges (need 4 more)

The total for everything so far is about $950. I would expect to spend about $400 more to get the finishing materials, sheet metal (baffle plate) and other small things. Below are a series of pictures I have used to document the build. Please leave any design suggestions, criticism, or any other comments! Thanks for the help!

After typing this post and adding 8 pictures with comments, I clicked submit and it all disappeared. Good thing I copy and pasted as much as I did. I will add the pics in the next post, just want to get this one going.

 

[jsoda17]

 

 

[jsoda17]

 

[jsoda17]

After 6 hours of intense grinding and sanding, no more surface rust, only some smooth primer. Then I cut it in half to add the 3 ft extension

My new 5' X 11' trailer, ready for the real fun to start!

After a morning of gathering, tanks, grates, and metal, I am ready for the real designing:

Here's my design of the reverse flow smoker. This is using the 275 gallon tank as the smoke box and the 120 gallon tank as the firebox. Try to imagine this as a cutaway. I will have three racks for meat. The hooks hanging from the top are for when the racks are removed, so I am able to smoke fish:

This is a "to scale" picture looking from the top down. Each block represents 6". The right side of the trailer will be dominated by the smoker while the left will have my two burner range. The grill is going to be an open grill consisting of the 2nd 120 gallon propane tank split in half, one side covered with a 1/4" piece of steel for a griddle, the other half covered with my grill grate. So far this configuration makes the most sense, but I am open to suggestions.

after about 20 hours of work over 5 days spread over 3 weeks, this is where I'm at. I put the tanks on there temporarily (sitting on tires) just to make sense of it and feel like I'm getting somewhere. My next step is to drop the propane tank about 6 inches lower and frame it into the trailer and then frame in the oil tank about 6 inches higher so they will be on the correct plane. After that, I will need to cut out the holes to connect the two.

 

[jsoda17]

Got it to work! As soon as my posts get released from moderation, the pictures and captions should hopefully be up. Let me know what you guys think!

 

[sunman76]

looks like the start of a great smoker! Its great to have a trailer that you can have a long smoke going and grill on the otherside!

 

[jimf]

That's a huge firebox. Great start. I'm looking forward to watching the progress.

 

[dennis waters]

Looking great, I just finished a build, 20 yrs of planning and 3 yrs to build and re-build and re-build

 

[jsoda17]

What happens if my firebox is too big?
 

 

[dennis waters]

You have to burn more wood, but you can always down size it by adding  insert walls with spacers inside the box if not satisfied with the results. A liile more metal beats a re-build of the fire box, also the dead space acts as a insulator. Only my opinion.

 

[scarbelly]

Looks like it will be a great project 

 

[confederateknowhow]

Great build so far! My only concern is the weight distribution on the trailer. That axle looks like its pretty far back, and it appears like you are going to have quite a bit of a load on the tongue of that trailer. Just something you might want to watch if you haven't considered it. Keep up the great work.

 

[bruno994]

Off to a great start.  I will be following this one. 

 

[diesel]

Looks like a good plan.  You will be really happy with an RF smoker.

 

[alan preble]

you may want to consider reversing the cooking chamber and the fire box, it will be easier to clean the ash from the firebox and the heat will be at the rear instead of next to your wood storage.

 

[bruno994]

Excellent suggestion Alan.  Mine and most fireboxes are at the back for easy access and to keep the heat away from everything else.  I mounted mine outside the framework of the trailer, but it is not necessary. 

 

[jsoda17]

Thank you for all of the encouragement. I had another build day and am sad to say that things move very slow! I think because a lot of it is plan as you go with this project, I am having to spend lots of time figuring out what I would like to do and then even more time executing.

I like the suggestion of moving the firebox to the rear but am afraid that would put too much weight behind the axle. I will also be putting more weight across the axle and into the rear to balance everything out. As far as ash removal, the way I mounted it to the trailer, some of the bottom of the firebox is accessible from underneath. I may try to put in a trap door that would allow for part of the bottom to open up to be able to brush the ash out. Having too many cuts/ openings concerns me as well.

The good news is that I was able to mount my firebox and lower it to exactly where I wanted it. I also cut brackets that will raise the smoke box to the top of the firebox. I cut the hole in the smoke box where I will be connecting it to the firebox. I'm thinking getting those two to mesh up will be quite the challenge. Any input on the best way to cut the hole in the firebox to make them mesh easily? 

The last thing I got done was plasma cutting the second tank to be able to open it up for my grill/griddle. It isnt completely apart because of some of the slag that remelts. After some more cutting, it should fall right apart. Goal for next week is to mount the smoke chamber to the firebox and start to frame out the doors, create the racks, and possibly do a burn to get rid of some of the paint/oil residue.

Feel free to give some feedback! Thank you

 

[dragons breath]

Nice start Jsoda 17. You're doing fine. Just innovate. That's the way you do it. Run into problems, think them through, post, get input and solve the problem. That was easy! You'll be smoking on that bad boy in no time.

A fire box too large is much better than one too small. I found the extra firebox space allows me to put more charcoal in and control the temperature with the input dampers to burn longer without adding more fuel. With a load of charcoal I can get temperature for 6 or more hours without adding more fuel. My firebox is big but I wish I had made it larger now that I have had a few smokes.

You might consider insulating because of the thinness the metal.

 

[jsoda17]

Another update. Everything seems to be coming together fairly easily. Obviously there are some roadblocks to overcome but nothing a little thought and the welder have not been able to tackle.

Here is the frame to hold the tank upright. It has created a great spot underneath the tank for some storage. I'm not sure how I'll use it but I could picture some drawers underneath.

This is the tank upright. It is level with the top of the firebox. The halved tank is not exactly in the right place but is there to give a general idea. That half will be the griddle and the other half of it will be the open grill.

Opening from the firebox to the smoke chamber. Any thoughts on using muffler putty to fill in some of the gaps there may be? What else can be used to seal doors/ openings?

Below is how the trailer is sitting now. The tanks are welded to the frame of the trailer. Next step is to get the rf baffle plate framed out and installed. I also need to figure out how to make air intakes in the firebox. I am thinking that below the top rail of the frame will be a perfect spot. Somehow I also need to to make an ash door. I cant picture exactly how that will work yet. Maybe a drop out bottom? From there, I will weld the angle iron in for the racks, create the racks themselves, mount op the doors and start to do some test burns. Sounds simple huh?

Please give some helpful ideas and concerns you may see with the plans. Thanks for following!

 

[kcbluesnbbq]

Looks like a great start. I would not use muffler putty due to who knows what is in it. If you have any gaps between firebox and cook chamber, weld in patches. Gaps around doors can be sealed with wood stove gasket. It looks like braided fiberglass. I attached it to opening around the door of my cooking chamber using a high temp silicone that is NSF approved. Works great, been on it for 2 years with no problem.

You may wish later that your firebox had a side door instead of an opening at the top. The firebox gets hot enough that I put a cast iron skillet on mine cook breakfast and stuff. Mine is flat on top. You may have trouble getting a good seal around the lid. Heat rises and the lid will be the hottest part of your firebox. You may want to build a basket to fit inside the firebox to allow air flow around your fuel.

You never know how things will work until you try them. Nice thing about steel, if you want to make changes later, just cut it and weld it.

Will be waiting to see how this comes along. Always enjoy a good build.