My first Cookshack smoker was/is a 008 which I got nearly 20 years ago so it's essentially the same unit that you're considering. Over all the years, with a lot of use, it's never missed a beat, and I've never had any mechanical problems, or a need to purchase any replacement parts. Also, I never had a need to do any modifications or purchase additional components to assist/improve its performance. Its always worked as advertised.
It's always sat outside, under cover, on a deck off of the kitchen. It's worked well in sub-zero temps as well as temps over 100F. I once did an overnight smoke when the outside ambient temp was -27F, and after taking a little longer than normal to come up to my desired cook temp, it worked as usual.