I'm back. And so is my trailer. Now it's time for a restoration.

[SmeltshackBBQ]

Well, here we go. I bought this thing in 2016, two days before I had back surgery. That was supposed to fix me right up. Well, that didn't go as planned. I almost sold this trailer three times over the past 8 years... Each time, something stupid happened, and I guess it was just supposed to stay here. I cooked on it a few times right after it landed here, had pretty good luck. But... As things with my back got worse, I kind of stopped cooking BBQ. The trailer got towed down beside the woods, and that's where it's lived, up til last week. The actual reason it came out isn't the greatest, a family member is sick, and needs a sendoff 'party'. He seemed to really enjoy the things I cooked for our little gatherings, and I intend to give him the best sendoff in the history of sendoffs. Within reason. I've got about three weeks to get this thing ready to go. The first order of business was to get it out of where it was. That only took a John Deere skidsteer and a Kioti tractor chained together to get it up out of the mud. It rode on the walking beams for 40 feet before it popped up/ out, and onto 'dry' land.. I'll let the pics tell the tale from here.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Lucky the tires didn’t dry rot. At any rate. Good luck with your venture. I hope it all works out.

 

[SmeltshackBBQ]

So, the second order of business was to get the smoker ready to get cooking again. I lit a fire with some of the old wood we had piled up. It was alive. Once it got good and hot, I kept it there for a while and just watched it go. The next day, my cordless Dewalt drill and I got up early, hooked up with a few scotch-brite wheels on our way out the door and got to work on the 500 gallon smoker. It was a MESS. The first cook I ever did resulted in a terrible grease fire. It burned some of the paint off the tank, and I've hated what it looked like ever since.

Well, Big Boy now looks better than when I originally bought the trailer. Again, I'll let the pics tell the tale.

 

[SmeltshackBBQ]

Pics didn't go.

 

[SmeltshackBBQ]

Lucky the tires didn’t dry rot. At any rate. Good luck with your venture. I hope it all works out.

Oh, they're as dry rotted as tires can be, and still hold air. I have a rim clamp machine here, I just need to find four nice-looking tires.

 

[SmeltshackBBQ]

The weather's terrible today, so I spent most of the day in the kitchen of the trailer. Pulling out drawers of serving tools. Washing everything. Hooked up the water heater. Forgot to hook up the 12V water pump before I turned on the garden hose, and flooded the floor. That's OK, it needed a good mop job. I've got most of the kitchen clean now, and nearly ready to be called a 'kitchen' again. Pics of that when the rain stops, the camera hates rain.

Next order of business is to climb under the trailer, and start wire brushing the heavy stuff off, then it gets the scotch-brite wheel treatment. Anything that's blue will be satin black by mid-week. The clock is ticking...

 

[912smoker]

That thing is NICE! And sounds like a stayed around for a very good reason.

Keith

 

[JLinza]

Always cool to see an old cooker come back into action.

 

[SmeltshackBBQ]

That thing is NICE! And sounds like a stayed around for a very good reason.

Keith

Thanks Keith! It's sort of a bittersweet re-awakening, but it's back out in the yard again.

 

[SmeltshackBBQ]

Always cool to see an old cooker come back into action.

I wish it was for a different reason, but it is what it is. It looks like the rest of the week is supposed to be fairly warm and dry. Fingers crossed for painting weather.

 

[Wet Spaniel]

Now that's a true labour of love, you are doing a fine job with that trailer, and an even finer job for your friend. Thank you for sharing the pictures.

 

[DRKsmoking]

Sorry for the reason you are doing all of this . But good on you for doing it .

Nice big rig, and you are making it shine up nice.

This will be a great time and gathering ( sorry don't know how to say it with out sounding harsh, We lost a great family member last summer , and it was hard to do for him without feeling sad for him ) But he did not want sad , just a good time with what he had left.

And that is what you are doing.

David

 

[SmeltshackBBQ]

Now that's a true labour of love, you are doing a fine job with that trailer, and an even finer job for your friend. Thank you for sharing the pictures.

Well thanks. I'll try to get a lot of good shots as I go. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees this thing sitting down there in a few weeks...

 

[forktender]

Oh, they're as dry rotted as tires can be, and still hold air. I have a rim clamp machine here, I just need to find four nice-looking tires.

If you have a Costco or Walmart near you, ask to pick around their take-off's.
I've had great luck, finding decent tires for several projects at both places.

Sorry to hear about the reason for your incentive, that really sucks.
The smoker looks great though.
Best of luck.
Dan

 

[SmeltshackBBQ]

Sorry for the reason you are doing all of this . But good on you for doing it .

Nice big rig, and you are making it shine up nice.

This will be a great time and gathering ( sorry don't know how to say it with out sounding harsh, We lost a great family member last summer , and it was hard to do for him without feeling sad for him ) But he did not want sad , just a good time with what he had left.

And that is what you are doing.

David

Thank you. And yes, I think this will be a mainly happy day.

He actually did the excavation in the spot the trailer is headed after the party. We joked that day that the area we were working on would be named his 'memorial park' at some point in the future. Well.. I'll take some pics of what I'm up to over there as soon as we get started.

 

[SmeltshackBBQ]

If you have a Costco or Walmart near you, ask to pick around their take-off's.
I've had great luck, finding decent tires for several projects at both places.

Sorry to hear about the reason for your incentive, that really sucks.
The smoker looks great though.
Best of luck.
Dan

Luckily it's on 15" rims, so the tires will be easy enough to get. I'm working on a tiny little budget here, at least most of what the trailer needs is just plain love and a few pails of elbow grease. Plus some paint.

The reason isn't great to say the least, but if there's a silver lining... It's that things will be done 'right', and at the end of all this, there will be a BBQ 'restaurant' in the front yard. Right where he did all that landscaping for us.

 

[fxsales1959]

Well, here we go. I bought this thing in 2016, two days before I had back surgery. That was supposed to fix me right up. Well, that didn't go as planned. I almost sold this trailer three times over the past 8 years... Each time, something stupid happened, and I guess it was just supposed to stay here. I cooked on it a few times right after it landed here, had pretty good luck. But... As things with my back got worse, I kind of stopped cooking BBQ. The trailer got towed down beside the woods, and that's where it's lived, up til last week. The actual reason it came out isn't the greatest, a family member is sick, and needs a sendoff 'party'. He seemed to really enjoy the things I cooked for our little gatherings, and I intend to give him the best sendoff in the history of sendoffs. Within reason. I've got about three weeks to get this thing ready to go. The first order of business was to get it out of where it was. That only took a John Deere skidsteer and a Kioti tractor chained together to get it up out of the mud. It rode on the walking beams for 40 feet before it popped up/ out, and onto 'dry' land.. I'll let the pics tell the tale from here.

good tongue weight with that hunk of metal up front!

 

[SmeltshackBBQ]

Tuesday the 28th: The countdown continues. Heavy rain last night says there won't be a lot of laying under the trailer this morning, so I'll concentrate on the outside perimeter of the frame. Lots of lights and conduit to be removed/ refreshed, and re-installed after the frame is cleaned up and painted.... I think I'll replace the 150W halogen light housings with something a little more efficient. Maybe even add some cheap DJ lighting back there for effect. I need to look into lighting colors though, LED's are terrible for showing true colors...

I grabbed a few shots of the kitchen just now.. It's fully lined from floor to ceiling in thick stainless steel sheets, the previous owner spent some SERIOUS coin there. I want to do a near-mirror polish job on the entire interior, but we'll see what time looks like once I'm finished with the exterior.

 

[SmeltshackBBQ]

good tongue weight with that hunk of metal up front!

It's not light. Haha. Weighs in around 10k 'bare'. The old Cummins that came with the trailer hauled it pretty nice. I sold the truck after it sat like everything else around here..

 

[forktender]

Luckily it's on 15" rims, so the tires will be easy enough to get. I'm working on a tiny little budget here, at least most of what the trailer needs is just plain love and a few pails of elbow grease. Plus some paint.

The reason isn't great to say the least, but if there's a silver lining... It's that things will be done 'right', and at the end of all this, there will be a BBQ 'restaurant' in the front yard. Right where he did all that landscaping for us.

The Take-offs are free, some had more thread than the tires on my truck. LOL!!!