Portable Gas Grills

[dsharp]

I want to get a grill for next year. What kind of grills do you guys use, and what do you think of them? What would you like to have?

I have a travel trailer.
There are only two of us, rarely four or more.
My wife needs to be able to handle loading and unloading, and setup herself, just in case.

 

[Carl L]

I am a throwback.? ?I use a small self contained charcoal grill along the lines of CLICK HERE.? ?Simple cheap, compact, dump the cold ashes in the morning and lock its cover down and you are ready to go.? No need to clean the grill or much of anything else.? Cooks great steaks, chicken, burgers, and wurst.

 

[Lowell]

We have a small propane gas grill that usese one of those small Coleman torch type propane cylinders.  We got it at Wallmart.  It folds up easily so I can store the grill in one of the TT storage compartments.  I don't store the propane canister in the TT.  It works very well for 2-6 people and cost less than $20 as I recall.

 

[Tom]

We're not as nostalgic as Carl. We use a small Weber gas grill. Nothing fancy, but it works just fine and is relatively inexpensive. Bought it at a hardware store (Home Depot or Lowes). My wife previously bought a Sunbeam BBQ from WalMart, but it wouldn't stay lit in the wind so I gave it away.

 

[dsharp]

Thanks for the answers. I am considering gas and charcoal both. For the gas grill, I find that most of them that use a bottle also can be adapted to run from a tank.
How much burn time do you get from 1 bottle on your grill?
I have a external connection into the system on my trailer for a grill/lantern/whatever. Do a lot of folks use this, or is it easier to just carry a few bottles?
Anybody ever use a butane grill?

For charcoal(which I NEVER use) do you have a favorite brand, or does anything work?

 

[Tom]

When we first had our prior coach I used a connection from the coach's gas tank, but I've used small bottles for a number of years. I couldn't tell you how long a small bottle lasts, but I usually carry a couple of spares.

 

[Shayne]

We have an adaptor for the 20# bottles of propane and carry 2 full bottles with us at all times.  That way we have extra propane in case we run out in the MH on cold nights.  We also cary about 4 small bottles with us.  Rather be safe then sorry.

 

[Ned]

After carrying a gas grill with us for several years, and rarely using it, we got rid of it.  We found it much easier to use an electric grill inside.  Works even in the rain

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

We like to grill foods and carry both a small Pyromid charcoal grill (adequate for two person meals) and a larger Broil King Porta-Chefgas grill. The Porta-Chef is used ostly when we cook for guests or at a rally. Or if we set up somewhere for an extended stay and want to have a grill available for regular use.

For average use, one of the little Sunbeam brand portable gas grills avalable at Walmart for $29.95 is fine - works off 1 lb bottles or can be adapted to a bigger tank or the RV's gas system. Or one of the  table top Webers or similar brands available at Lowes and Hoe Depot.  Just about all of them a 10K btu grils and adequate for the job (though seldom up to grill afficianado standards)

We have found that a  5 lb or 10 lb LP tank is the most convenient, though. They are small and light enough for ease of use but last 5x -10x longer than the little 1 lb bottles. We havea  hook-up for the RV's system too, but rarely use it because the grill has to be within several feet of the rig (limited by hose length) and typically that is not a good location for the grill.

 

[John From Detroit]

We have an adaptor for the 20# bottles of propane and carry 2 full bottles with us at all times.  That way we have extra propane in case we run out in the MH on cold nights.  We also cary about 4 small bottles with us.  Rather be safe then sorry.

Great idea, My plan for the trip I'm on today was to tank up on propane on my way INTO the park... Alas, they were not selling Propane that day so I could not.  Result. I'm running on a portable bottle and doing serious propane conservation.

 

[Shayne]

Gary  thanks for the idea.  All these years I never gave the 5 or 10# tanks a thought. Dumb me. Always the 20#ers cause I had them Got to get me a couple.  Also  I have made up 3 different lengths of hose adaptors, so I can get quite a ways from the unit. And Ned we also have an electric grille but much prefer the taste of food from the gas grille  especially the veggies.  Charcoal wold be better and we also have 2 of those, but as previously mentioned, don't like the mess to cleanup.  Or I forget to clean it up the next morn.  With the gas I clean it up when I shut it down and then it's ready to go for next meal.

 

[John From Detroit]

I used to have a five lb bottle,  However it's certification expiered and it's not an OPD so I can no longer refill it,  Decided not to upgrade it and now just carry a 20.

However as time passes there is a very good chance I'll get another 5 pounder.  they are very portable

 

[Jim Godward]

John,

I refill my 5# from a 20# bottle.  Works well but if it run out while traveling, I'm sort of up the ceek!!  ;-((

 

[Carl L]

I carry a 10lb bag of charcoal with me.  If I run out I go to the nearest drug store, hardware store, grocery store, or campground store and buy a new bag.  Rarely run out unexpectedly too.  ;D

 

[keywester]

I'll tell you what I'd NOT get. I am a "pay a lot for quality" person instead of a "pay a little over and over" so I bought a Holland Companion gas grill, a tabletop all-stainless well planned unit for almost $300. It's real nice, heavy duty, no flare up, all that but it has its own time table chart and hamburgers take a half hour, and only if you don't open the cover, then you have to add time. Super nice quality but not for me. So I bought a Coleman Roadtrip Sport for $160 or so. Better but a really shallow pan under the grill and it gets gunked up very fast. It has legs so it doesn't take up table space, but it just didn't cut it for me. Still looking for the perfect grill, or someone who will put a Jenn-aire in my motorhome!

For Sale: slightly used gas grills.......

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Like you, I've bought a lot of portable gas grills, looking for that perfect one.  Haven't found it yet either.  A lot of the portables simply don't cook very well - they lack heat. [I use a 60k btu Aussie grill at home]. The typical 10K btus of the portbles isn't enough for "real" grilling, except in a very small grill. I was very disappointed in the Weber table top, for example. The Weber "Q" grills are quite a bit better, but rather heavy and a bit bulky. But then, so is my Porta-Chef, but at least it has a 30k btu burner.

 

[Rollie]

keywester,
I had a Holland grill for 15 years ... for me the trick on hamburgers was to put them on the back of the grill.  If you put them in the middle it is like doing them in an oven at 350 degrees and will take about a half an hour.  In the back I think it was 9 minutes a side.

 

[woodartist]

Well, after years of experimenting we finally settled on a simple gas grill with the small propane cylinder. Basic Caveman cooking but it works great...unless there is a lot of wind. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to supply propane, and simple.

 

[Carl L]

Basic Caveman cooking

 
Beg your pardon, us real cavepeople use charcoal (Neolithic) or wood (Paleolithic)  ;D

 

[Tom]

I see nothing wrong with the small gas grills, except the ones that don't stay lit. In addition to using a small Weber while camping, we've used an identical one on the stern of our boat for several years and it gets pretty windy where we do most of our boating. I rarely need to turn up the heat, although I've never tried to cook for more than 4 people at a time on it.

While we were travelling together in Oregon last year, I let forum member Dave cook his and his wife's steaks on our small Weber. This couple don't just like their meat cooked well, they want it cremated; They were happy campers.

BTW neither Dave nor I are gourmet chefs, so maybe we don't understand why these grills aren't hot enough  ???