Stupid Question - But how many that compete dont have RVs and Motorhomes

[Shiz-Nit]

In do dont
I sleep under my EZ UP or my truck if the weather gets to bad

 

[gettinbasted]

We sleep in an old '83 Dodge conversion van. If the weather gets too bad, we go to a hotel.

 

[Cayman1]

Ok, I'll admit I'm a wuss. Got tired of trying to sleep and work in cold crappy weather so I got the 7x14 trailer. It has worked out great, best part is that we don't have to pack and unpack after every contest. It just stays in the trailer.

 

[Lowki]

We set up a camping tent and use it to catch up on sleep and for the kids to play in when they are around, but i have slept in the car as well. RV would be nice, but is not necessary.

 

[bruno994]

I sleep good in the backseat of my truck, sometimes too good.

 

[turtle]

We started with 1 used ez up and slept in a tent or gravity chairs or on the ground. Over the years we would add items to our setup so it didn't seem as painful to the wallet. Last year we graduated and bought a 6x10 cargo trailer. So now I feel like I'm living the high life.

 

[bluzieq]

I just got back from esperanza in marion,ark. It was midnight when we got set up with my 10*10 canopy beside a guy with a 40*60 area. I slept in the covered bed of my truck on a blanket with cardboard covering my feet to keep dry,my wife slept in the back seat.my back hurt till I got the trophy, see my thread here. So I really do think I'm borderline crazy.

 

[swamprb]

I'm from the ease on into it group. I've literally gotten 98% of all my equipment off craigslist. Starting with a couple 18" WSM's, a few drums and 10x10 popups, I crammed my gear in the minivan (one time until the wife put the kibosh on that!) buying a $300 Courier truck bed trailer and hauling it behind a Honda CRV. Then an enclosed 5x8 barn door and currently a used 6x10 enclosed ramp door from a soon to be famous BBQ Pitmaster TV personality! I'd love a Toyhauler, but I don't want a tow vehicle to haul it. Like JD said-PNWBA events are not really trailer or RV friendly with most spots 20x20 and if I can't park the trailer onsite, I won't cook that event. Don't have a generator, but one is coming, have a Duracell 600 for the Guru's, no real need for AC around here, LED rope lights, battery lanterns, headlamps seem to be all I need. Those Harbor Freight LED lights with a magnet on the back throw off a lot of light for $2.99 and a few of them come in real handy.

That said, my teammate Ty sometimes drags his RV out and I'll gladly sleep on a warm bed, take a refreshing shower or beat the heat with that AC blasting.

 

[RhinoRibs]

I used tents for a long time with no issue other than A\C and hot water would have been nice. Last May the wife and I finally bought a 28ft travel trailer for camping and BBQ. Sometimes I have to request larger pits but so far it hasn't been an issue. I have an 8KW Honda generator that isn't terribly loud that I take if needed but i've noticed that a lot of the events around here have had power and water.

 

[MikeJ65]

I have been working to reduce my setup time and effort. I'm a bit jealous of the guys that just pull in, park, and start cooking. I've made my 6x10 cargo trailer into a mock catering trailer. One side is the smokers, the other side is a raised 8' table with two coolers and two bins underneath. All of the 'take it just in case' stuff like extra extension cords, generator, gas can, etc go in the very front. When I get to a site, I pull out the two smokers and I can start prep if necessary. At some point, I set up an extra table under an ez up outside for our eating and relaxing area. At night, the cot goes where the smokers were. I still need to get permanent lights and A/C installed, but it is going to be a decent setup.

 

[tnjimbob]

We use 2 10x10 EZ-UPs and a 6'x10' cargo trailer. We sleep in sleeping bags on cots with walls on one of the EZ-UPs, which kept us dry in the near monsoon we cooked in a few weeks ago. Two 6' tables is plenty of work space and we roll out two cookers from the trailer and set them up under one of the EZ-UPs.

We did splurge on a Cambro and a laundry sink earlier this year and those two things have made life a little easier. Maybe someday we will upgrade to a toy hauler, but that's still a ways off for us, since we are only doing 6-8 comps a year so far.

 

[Rich Parker]

It also depends on how many people are on your team. I cooked the first couple years out of a 6 x 12 and it is a lot of work to pack and unpack by yourself in the rain and heat. I moved up to a porch trailer to make it easier.

 

[Stoke&Smoke]

We have done 111 (not a typo, that's eleventy-one) There are hot or wet or windy times when we look longingly at the RVs, but that only lasts until we remember that with the minivan we're getting 22mpg and going as fast as we want to.

I hear that! I'm down to 8 MPG (aprx) hauling the trailer....but, my sleeping on the ground or under the sky days are over! And we don't go too far from home usually

 

[Vince RnQ]

I hear that! I'm down to 8 MPG (aprx) hauling the trailer....but, my sleeping on the ground or under the sky days are over! And we don't go too far from home usually

We solved that problem with this little gem!

Cabela's Outfitter XL Cot

It's rated up to 600 lbs. which means it can hold my fat ass and then some! It is normally priced at about $120 but it looks like it is currently on sale for $90. Honestly, this has been one of the best purchases we've made for our competition set up. Worth every penny!

 

[Tim H]

We pack it all in the Big Red Chevy Cargo van. 4 WSM, 2 10X10 EZ ups, a Cabela's Camp Table and a 6" table. Dice lights for the EZ Up. Once cook site is set up, the empty van become my sleeping quarters. My teammates usuallly sleep in their cars.

 

[BBQ_MAFIA]

We normally use 2 10x10 EZ Ups with a few chairs, a camping lantern, and some head lights. The sleeping issue is not big deal as we don't do it. The Lang likes to get fed every half hour so sleep is something that has to wait until after the contest is over. I kinda doze in a Zero Gravity chair but that isn't sleep.

I really love the thought of a trailer so packing is a bit easier.

 

[Butt Rubb'n BBQ]

We use 2 10x10 canopies one with sidewalls and a tarp for a floor. Have cots to sleep on but usually get drunk and sleep in lounge chair. Have kicked the seats back and slept in the f 150. Cook on a stick burner.

 

[daedalus]

10x12 canopy and a zero gravity chair for sleeping. Heck, I even have to borrow a freaking utility trailer to get my smoker to the event. I would say we do it on a shoestring, but the shoestring broke in the 40 MPH winds in Pleasant Hill last month.:wink:

 

[jmoney7269]

I hear that! I'm down to 8 MPG (aprx) hauling the trailer....but, my sleeping on the ground or under the sky days are over! And we don't go too far from home usually

shoot, i wish i could get 8! we average about 5 on a good day but its all worth it. we saved for a pretty good while to get a used one pretty cheap i did some repairs to and presto, now the wife is a happy camper and actually likes cookoffs

 

[Candy Sue]

In my almost decade of competing, I've done it all ways! Started off with everthing in the back of the PU (with topper over the back). Got a trailer, then a bigger truck to haul it better. Next came the Pellet Geer (Jambo), so I was back to the truck and a canopy. Won a GC in 2009 and made a down-payment on the van (class B on a Sprinter chassis) and the Jambo. Facilities and comforts are nice but the biggest plus is mileage - it gets 22 mpg towing the cooker! Last contest was a steak cookoff and I loaded up the Ford Edge and towed the Woodmaster minihog.

However you configure your cooking area and equipment, it's all good and it's good to be flexible to be able to cook any way you have to!