What the #%$! Have you guys turned me into!!!!

[Tom Sr]

I'd get it sand blasted first to get rid of the rust.

[Diesel Dave]

Originally Posted by Dadeo719

but its big and cool and stuff........

That it is......you said you have a friend who welds, bonus there.
But to make that an offset it looks to me like there is a bit of trailer mods to be done. The tricky thing is when the mods are done will it pull right.
The length might be an issue also as the fire box will need to be quite big and will the trailer be balanced.

But if ya gotta have it, like Fwismoker said, one bite at a time and you'll get that elephant eaten.

[Dadeo719]

Diesel, do you have any pics of your current 60 gallon tank build.

[NeilH]

Nice looking zebra cooker!!!!

[daninnewjersey]

Diamond in the rough, brother....

[J-Rod]

Looks like a project for sure. I second the weld one side shut idea- more doors=more heat loss, and like others said that sucker is gonna EAT the fuel because it's so big. As it sits now it's really just a huge grill, so it'll be tough to "smoke" on the entire cooking surface, but you could smoke on half of it using an indirect fire setup(fire at one end and food on the other). I do it all the time on my old drum grill and it turns out great. Like Dave said adding a firebox might throw off the balance and make it tough to pull, so something to think about there. The rust shouldn't be a big deal, just have the grates blasted and clean up the outside and paint 'er up. Again, it's a huge cooker, but if you think you need the capacity... For the right price,(see:CHEAP) I don't think you can get too beat up by getting it. Keep us posted.

[Dadeo719]

What to do you guys think about halving it so one side is a smoker and one side a grill? Or instead of putting the firebox on outside could one be built inside on onside?

[SmittyJonz]

How often are you gonna be cooking for 60 people? Or 2 whole Hogs ?

[daninnewjersey]

I'd suggest outside. If you want to grill, you can always lift out one of the cooking surfaces and dump in some charcoal for grilling.....

[J-Rod]

Originally Posted by Dadeo719

What to do you guys think about halving it so one side is a smoker and one side a grill? Or instead of putting the firebox on outside could one be built inside on onside?

I suppose if you had enough room/height you could, then put your grilling coals on top of the box for direct grilling if you had the clearance to allow enough space for ash to fall. Keep in mind there is a formula for firebox/cook chamber size ratio, and you'd have to make sure to stay within these requirements for the whole thing to work correctly.

Personally I'd just fire it with an indirect fire setup for smoking, and grill direct over that fire as desired during the cook. This setup also works great for reverse searing the meat. Smoke on the indirect end for a while, then slide meat down and finish it over the coals.

[Dadeo719]

Idk what to do. Reality check is we will not be cooking for 60+ people very often. We will be doing some local competitions and maybe MAYBE down the road possibly doing a small VERY SMALL catering stuff. Really I just want one cause all you guys have one lol! I think I can get it pretty cheap aka 200 or 300. I would think trailer would be worth that. Would defiantly seal one side. What about big wool blankets for the old girl to keep warm.

[peeps]

I don't have one that large, nor have the desire to ever own one that large unless my future path had a major change...

Don't worry about keeping up with the Joneses here...hell, Jeanie turns out better cooks than most of us on a tractor rim and a 2'x3' grate.

[Dadeo719]

LOL. You know I haven't even asked the wifey if I could store this in the yard....

[Dadeo719]

I just saw the post of camping ribs and beans

[brother steve]

That will hold some serious meat. Probably would be good to section it off for smaller cooks. JMO