Changing a patio Gator Pit to a Trailer

Taylormade · May 16, 2019

Been kicking the idea of selling one of my Gator Pits due to lack of/pain of use. It's a patio cooker but a big one and so it hadn't been seeing much use. I used it for private chef/catering gigs but when I used it on site it was a pain to load in a trailer, unload etc. I hated to sell it because I love the pit so I decided to make it into a trailerable unit.

It's rather "unfinished" at the moment because I'm thinking about adding a 3 sink system for catering, my seldom used Blackstone, etc. I'm going to use it as is for a little bit and then reassess in the fall when I have an idea of what I'm missing. I'm already wanting to add umbrella holders, finish the expanded metal under the horizontal cooker for shelf space and perhaps a sink with hot water heater, grey water tank, etc. Anyone else have any ideas I'm not even thinking about?

Before.

After (phase one)

JJJBBQ · May 16, 2019

Run some electrical for a kegerator... just kidding. Or maybe not. Looks great already. I certainly don’t have the metal working chops to pull that off!

Taylormade · May 16, 2019

Kegerator wouldn't be good for anyone involved lol, but I can appreciate an amply stocked cooler!

I don't have the metal working chops for it either. I should have mentioned that in the first post. I have a Lincoln flux/mig welder but I'm not comfortable creating a trailer from scratch that's for sure so I had a local welder hook me up. Thankfully he's a mile down the road from me so I could pop in multiple times a day to check on placements, make sure everything was where I wanted it, etc.

The lights, second coat of paint on the trailer and touch up paint on the smoker go on tomorrow. Ordered some nice aluminum rims tonight too!

InThePitBBQ · May 16, 2019

Hey that's coming along nicely! That's a whole bunch of pit for a patio model, big improvement!

The added mobility will come in handy for sure.

KClandcruiser · May 17, 2019

That's looking great so far and I think it will make it much more usable for you. I like your plan of leaving it as is and cooking on it to see what you really need added.

Bdsankey · May 17, 2019

The pictures are not showing up on my PC sadly.

Taylormade · May 17, 2019

InThePitBBQ said:
Hey that's coming along nicely! That's a whole bunch of pit for a patio model, big improvement!

The added mobility will come in handy for sure.

Yeah, thanks! I think the mobility aspect will allow me to use this far more often than I had been. It was going months between uses. I still love my smaller patio pit but this one has the 2" insulated firebox and holds temps much easier (albeit taking MUCH more wood to get said temps lol)

KClandcruiser said:
That's looking great so far and I think it will make it much more usable for you. I like your plan of leaving it as is and cooking on it to see what you really need added.

Thanks! I had to force myself to step back and not go hog wild as I tend to do usually. Instead of the Blackstone I might want a regular charcoal grill on that side. Maybe there's room for both?? :loco:

Bdsankey said:
The pictures are not showing up on my PC sadly.

Hmm... just checked on my Mac and PC and they're showing. Maybe try the 'ol Ctr-F5 trick to force it to refresh?

cholloway · May 17, 2019

Don't forget the paper towel holder!!! :doh:
(That's gotten to be like a cup holder on a riding lawn mower.)
BTW... nice job so far.

BBQ_MAFIA · May 17, 2019

Gator make one heck of a pit.
Good luck with the trailer. It looks great.

Big George's BBQ · May 17, 2019

Looking very good :thumb:

Taylormade · May 17, 2019

cholloway said:
Don't forget the paper towel holder!!! :doh:
(That's gotten to be like a cup holder on a riding lawn mower.)
BTW... nice job so far.

Yeah, I'll definitely make a paper towel holder no doubt. I was all excited about the oversized cup holder on my zero turn when I got it and learned quickly that there's no real point in having one on those guys because you need both hands pretty much all the time.

BBQ_MAFIA said:
Gator make one heck of a pit.
Good luck with the trailer. It looks great.

Yeah I've been really impressed with his work over the years. The more I see other pits, the happier I am with mine. Thanks for following along!

SmokerKing · May 18, 2019

great conversion!

Taylormade · May 19, 2019

Got some time in this weekend and made some good progress! I fabbed up some hangers for utensils and made sure to include the almighty paper towel holder!

Had to do some touch up paint to the smoker from where the chains scuffed it up while mounting it to the trailer. I also got the lights installed and wired. I ran a 7 way plug for future uses of reverse lights and a battery charger in case I ever need it.

While I had the spray gun out, I figured it was time to give the little brother some loving too so I did some sanding and slapped a fresh coat of paint on it as well.

Last thing to do (for a while at least) is to get the new wheels and tires mounted along with the spare tire mount and a tongue box where I'll keep an extra hub and god only knows what else.

Thanks for lookin!

InThePitBBQ · May 19, 2019

That's awesome! You put a lot of work and pride into finishing it and it shows well done indeed.

Taylormade · May 19, 2019

Thanks very much! I do take a lot of pride in these type of projects for sure. My wife always says I don't have any hobbies, just obsessions. She's not wrong

cowgirl · May 19, 2019

Great job!

InThePitBBQ · May 19, 2019

Taylormade said:
Thanks very much! I do take a lot of pride in these type of projects for sure. My wife always says I don't have any hobbies, just obsessions. She's not wrong

Pretty intuitive on her part I mean you have to be really committed to step up dollar wise to any of the tier one pits like your Gator and then taking it to the next level like this clearly shows it's a not a case of instant gratification once it comes home and the new to you is gone after a while.

Here's to some good times going down the road with it now! :thumb:

dan_wrider · May 19, 2019

Subscribed! Good looking build. That is actually how I found this place was looking for ideas on building a trailer cooker. Love watching these things come together.
Thanks for sharing!

Taylormade · May 19, 2019

InThePitBBQ said:
Pretty intuitive on her part I mean you have to be really committed to step up dollar wise to any of the tier one pits like your Gator and then taking it to the next level like this clearly shows it's a not a case of instant gratification once it comes home and the new to you is gone after a while.

Here's to some good times going down the road with it now! :thumb:

Yeah well let's not talk to her about the money I've spend on these pits lol! I've done about a dozen or so private chef or catering events where I've been able to tag along off someone else's commissary or business license but it was always a pita to get it there. Moving it into the trailer, unloading it, loading it, etc. This makes the next step (licensing it, etc) all that much easier and if I never do it, I've got a great pit that I can haul with me to the outlaws (NC) and friends houses/tailgates, etc.

Taylormade · May 29, 2019

Alright, it's all together finally! Put the new wheels/tires on it, welded the receiver sleeves on the trailer, made the table, got the umbrella holder (and umbrella), she's ready!

I ordered a matching spare tire holder and I'll put some expanded metal on under the front for additional shelving in another week or two. On the far side of the front (behind the upright cooking chamber), I'll have a modular design where I can swap out my Blackstone, sink set up, direct grill, etc. I'm happy with how she's set up and I'm ready to get back to using it regularly!

Thanks for following along.

Changing a patio Gator Pit to a Trailer

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