Bionic Bandera

"We can Rebuild it."

i adopted Rbsnwngs Bandera last week to leave at the place for our Boy Scout me Meetings. Once or twice a month, I'll be cooking for the troop at the regular troop meetings and at all special event meetings, so it shoul dbe at least biweekly. Anyway, The poor Bandera has been left alone for a year or so and needs some TLC..

Lid is warped so it dont close well, and it is modless, needed a baffle and firegrate.

Its at my cousins, who is an ironworker.. i went yesterday(he had it one day), and he allready made a new top for it. I called smoker and got dimensions of our baffle and mikes welding one on that will wrap a litlle bit around the waterpan. Also adding a few more shelves.

all seams are being recinforced and heavy plate is being welded inside the fire and smokeboxes.

Then, the frame is being modded/reinforced and hes welding a reciever on it that will go directly into a trailer hitch. That way, The Boy Scout Bandera can be lifted directly onto the back of one of the trucks when we go camping.

more to come!!



These are the first set of photos, I'll post more as it progresses.

Check out the new lid made of 3/8 inch plate.

The hitch thing is actually more for the wrangler im thinking. its designed as an "H", welded to all 4 legs, with the crossbeam being offset closer to the firebox. The crossbeam will be a 2.5" channel with a smaller channel that slides in or out so it can have some adjustment for clearance into a hitch. That will account for spare tire carries or larget bumpers.

the cookout was great.. and all i can say is, the magic is IN THE FIREBOX!

We finished the top and added a 1/4 or 3/8 inch steel baffle to it and a new firegrate. Also sealed up those annoyin seams/cracks in the top of the firebox and added some reinforcing steel angle to the bottom.

I seasoned it thursday and incinerated some sausages while doing so.

dumped a full chimney of kingsford in it and added a log of oak. Waited for temps to start climbing, and past experience said that that fuel load should bring be to about 250... i left everything fullopen down and went inside. Checked an hour later and the beast was still locked at 350+ and the sausages were incinerated to porklump. The log was still intact and coalbed was about half gone. I dampered down and it ran for nearly another 2 hours on that fuel load with temps dropping down to 225. Being it was just seasoning some new racks, the baffle and some spots where i wire brushed the crud off it, i felt 3 hours was plenty and let if die down. i shut top and bottom dampers and the next day, the log was still there as a big chunk of lump charcoal. Showed that the top sealed good enuf to snuf out the fire. The first cook for the boyscouts I'll give details in a seperate thread, but i used only one chimney of kingsford, about a chimney or 2 of lump to keep a coalbed going and only half the wood that i anticipated and brought with me.

The litttle beast is going back to he welding shop for more work. The cousin wants to rebuild the entire firebox with 3/8 inch steel. and we may get to welding on the reciever to be place into a hitch. Which BTW.. is for TRANSPORT ONLY.. Seems a few guys thought i was going to be cooking with the bandera on the hitch.. Plan is, to be able to hitch it to the wrangler, bring it to the campsite and take ot OFF the hitch to cook!.

the baffle is in the 3rd picture from the bottom. its pretty much the saame kind we always use, but slightly longer.. We were going to cut it around the waterpan, but got lazy.

Expanded steel fold out shelf will be going there.