Smoker Plans

Ask a lot of questions, try and go see some of the ones you like in person, take measurements if it's possible, did I mention ask lots of questions? I wish you luck with your project, and would like it if you keep us posted, but understand that it will be a huge undertaking. I'm building a much smaller unit right now, and it's way more work than I had ever thought.

When you select your boat trailer, make sure to check it over well, they have a reputation for having rust and rot in some hard to see areas. Start by going over your plans and adding up the weight of all the materials including every nut, bolt, and don't forget the welds add up also. There are some good weight calculators online if you search for "steel weight calculator" that you just punch the dimensions and thickness into and it spits out a weight.

Once you have all of your materials added up, start searching for your trailer and make sure you add at least 30-50% in the capacity to account for all the little things you forgot, or want to add later.

Remember to measure twice, I can't tell you how many times I've measured once, cut twice and still end up with a piece to short. There are a few members here including myself that are building their own pits right now, ask questions if you need to, most members here are very willing to help a fellow brethren.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Hi BBcubed, I built a 12 shelf (60 sf) roto a couple years ago. If I were to cook a comp this would be the cooker I would use. I had no drawings so I drew a 1:1 scale pic on the garage wall. I made a wooden template of the mechanism so I could see that the shelves were as big as possible and still have clearance. There is an air manifold in the firebox for the guru. I have a 6 rpm motor geared down to 2 rpm. If you need a little help give me a shout, heres a couple pics.

pile-0-bones said:

hi bbcubed, i built a 12 shelf (60 sf) roto a couple years ago. If i were to cook a comp this would be the cooker i would use. I had no drawings so i drew a 1:1 scale pic on the garage wall. I made a wooden template of the mechanism so i could see that the shelves were as big as possible and still have clearance. There is an air manifold in the firebox for the guru. I have a 6 rpm motor geared down to 2 rpm. If you need a little help give me a shout, heres a couple pics.

Click to expand...

dayum!!!!!!

pile-0-bones said:

Hi BBcubed, I built a 12 shelf (60 sf) roto a couple years ago. If I were to cook a comp this would be the cooker I would use. I had no drawings so I drew a 1:1 scale pic on the garage wall. I made a wooden template of the mechanism so I could see that the shelves were as big as possible and still have clearance. There is an air manifold in the firebox for the guru. I have a 6 rpm motor geared down to 2 rpm. If you need a little help give me a shout, heres a couple pics.

Click to expand...

Very nice pit! Care to share any inside pictures? What are the doors on top for?

Also, are the chrome smoke stacks removable? I noticed that the slant on top of each stack is facing to the rear of the trailer in the 1st picture, then to the front of the trailer in the second picture.

Papa

Sweet pit. I tend to measure twice, cut, remeasure, cuss, go get more raw stock....

pahutchens said:

Sweet pit. I tend to measure twice, cut, remeasure, cuss, go get more raw stock....

Click to expand...

That sounds like my style of construction.

Love the pit

With the guru it holds temp very well. 235 is easy and fuel consumption is not bad, at 350 she will use a fair bit more fuel. With heavy cuts it holds close to 500 lbs.I always lay a bed of lump across the bottom and put 5 or 6 splits on top. I have a port on the left side to light it with a tiger torch and let the fire work its way across the fire box ( minion).
Papa, the stacks are held by set screws, I put them in the top holding box for transport. the wood handles are for dampers. I can push smoke thru the warming box or close it off, thats why there are 4 stacks. I used to have a slide show of the build from scratch but my photobucket acct went sour. I'll look for some more pics.

A few more pics. I built this in my garage by myself.






The handles are cut from a long dowel and turn the ends to a point. Vibrate ?

The smoker is 3/16 wall. the firebox is 1/4. and works very well . I built 2 stumps clones that are double wall/insulated. I've thought about insulating and sheeting this pit but just cant justify doing it.