I don't get the sticker shock for the Franklin pit. He was priced at $3,000 and went up to $3,500 this past spring, which I'm almost sure is due to steel prices.
Last I looked Moberg was a $4,000
Mill Scale, who have Franklin's design, cept its 24 X 48 is $4,200
Workhorse 1975 is at $2,800 but I don't see how JD has held the price down with rising steel prices. And he's tweeted a couple of weeks ago, something to the effect that he's just hanging on hoping steel prices come down.
Jambo backyard is $2,800, with a large qualifier that "all prices are subject to change ".
A barrel type pit from LSG runs from $3,000 to $4,000, depending upon length and options.
Franklin's pit is 20 X 47 , the grate is 19 X 39. But the first 12 inches of any offset is not usable due to direct heat. Franklin put a deflector shelf there. A 20" width just improves air flow, another 4" in width does not really add a lot.
If capacity is important, then Franklin's pit is not what ya want. Me, I'm not gonna be feeding the little league football team, nor doing pop-ups .
Are you paying a premium for his name, well , yeah, of course. He's spent a few years developing this smoker, its not like he doesn't know what he's doing.
Bottom line, a quality back yard offset is gonna cost some money.