I'm new to the forum. But I've had an old (from Oregon old) Traeger BBQ075 for going on 15 years now. Some of the paint is starting to peel. I've never had a problem with this unit. Never have replaced anything on it. I've kept it in the garage when not in use and I think that helps a lot.
I did a lot of online research and I got down to the Grilla Grills Silverbac (w/AlphaSmoke), the Rec-Tec RT-700, and the Assassin 48" Pellet Grill. Key points for me was I wanted the grill surface/grates to be as large as my old BBQ075 which is 34" W x 15" D x 9"H. Without the second tier racks, the Silverbac didn't have enough space for me. That said, that company does a lot of thing right and makes modifications to make the unit better. Just real good engineering in my mind. They have a good warranty. But the height from the lower grate to the top of the cooking chamber is "just shy of 8 1/2"". Beer-can chicken sitting on a beer-can chicken holder barely fits in my BBQ075 at 9". I worried about that and thus eliminated the Silverbac from my decision...which was hard to do because it's a nice unit for the price and has very good YouTube reviews.
I liked the size of the Assassin but they only have a 1-year warranty, had several caveats to the warranty, and they don't have a "trap door" to empty the hopper. I like to use different flavor pellets and scooping them out isn't what I'd prefer. Also, the grease drip pan doesn't have sides. That bothered me. I don't want grease dripping into the bottom of the smoker. Those were show-stoppers for me. But it is one heckuva well-built unit.
That left the Rec-Tec RT-700 to decide on. So, I drove about 150 miles to Evans GA (Outside of Augusta) just last Friday to look at it in person. I like a lot about the unit...size; the height off the lower grate is only 9 1/2" but that's a hair better than my BBQ075; and a lot of stainless steel construction. I could care less about the 40lb pellet hopper...until I want to do a brisket. I'd like to see a pellet hopper dump option/feature. But the area of the main tier grate is 702"...thereabouts. I liked that a lot. So I bought the RT-700.
So, IMHO, things to determine what you want are (1) the size of the main grate; (2) the height from the main/lower grate to the top of the cooking chamber or the lid opening/hinge; (3) construction of the unit; (4) the electronic/digital controller; and (5) a pellet hopper dump. I've got a big family and the overall size of the main grate is important. That can be a bunch of beer-can chickens, burgers, or slabs of ribs. I'm just not a fan of the upper grates. I have way too much trouble getting stuff in and out when I use them. So I went with a vertical rack for my ribs. The stainless steel construction theoretically should last longer than non-SS. Double-wall construction of the barrel itself is important and won favor with me on the Silverbac.
Final summary...I liked the Silverbac a lot. I just needed more size/cooking area. The Assassin had the size, heavy-duty construction, and nice, easy dual racks...both big in size and 5 3/4" between them...which meant the height from the lower grate to the top of the smoking/cooking area was 11 1/2". That was nice. But the warranty sucked...to say the least. That left me with the Rec-Tec RT-700. It will serve me well.
Reviews of many other units just didn't give me a high level of confidence and that got me down to the three units mentioned above. I hope this helps some.
