So my husband and I have found a kcbs comp about 2 hours from us in 2 weeks we want to try. It seems like a smaller one but the woman over it already said they have 31 teams in place. Since this will be our 1st comp I don't expect to walk away with wins. I looked through photos of past events and it looks like lots of people have campers or tv's. Only a few had tents or JUST pop ups. Will we look like huge newbies without big rigs right now? What would be the advice to compete with the big dogs without feeling too inferior? I was thinking 2 ezups, one for cooking and maybe wall the other off for chairs and sleeping? Another problem is we sold our wsm and go5 a pellet smoker, but now I feel like we def need another smoker for everything!.
You will be fine. If it makes you feel better we just use a tent and a mini van. A minivan is great for sleeping. Yes they will think your new. I got that question alot at the Ironman this past April. A second cooker is nice. 2 weeks out is not long enough to learn a new cooker. Stick with what you know and add it later.
Bbq people are great people. We all love bbq otherwise we wouldn't be there. No one has ever treated me badly at a comp. No one ever has looked down on me at a bbq comp.
At the Ironman multiple teams offered lights at night to use. My kid swiped my light lol. So I operated with a headlamp at night. Its a competition yes but I think it might be the only competitive thing where people are willing to help you.
It can be intimidating to be surrounded by huge rv's and Jambo's and gravity fed cabinets and enclosed trailers. They have no effect on your cook. Don't worry about them.
Consider yourself lucky if you are surrounded by rv's or enclosed trailers. It helps break the wind. Most people were fighting wind at the Ironman. We were not because we were completely blocked in. It helped alot.
Couple things I recommend. Make a pack list. Seperate into 5 boxes. 1 for each category. 1 for general purpose. Label them and pack for each category. Double check your pack list.
Order disposable cutting boards. I recommend bbq guru ones they sell in their store.
Disposable pans half and full pans from sams club are useful for prep and easy clean up. Sanitizing wipes are great for table cleaning. Get garbage bags.
If you have down time clean up in between. Get ready for the next step in your process. Make sure you know where everything is for the next step.
If you have an android device such as a cell phone. Get the 180que app. It will help you keep on your timeline. Helps you build one too. My favorite tool and it is free.
You can trim meat at home. Don't season or inject meat at home.
Get buckets to tie your ez up down too. Fill them with water to weigh the tent down.
Hope this helped. If not sorry for rambling.
