Van Essential: Folding BBQ grill

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Van-Tramp

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Ever since I flattened my BBQ (way back in 2014, nearly a year before I met Kerri), I have been on the prowl for a replacement. OK, I admit my prowling about has been pretty lazy these past two years, and it may have been helped with the fact that Kerri had a little charcoal grill already. We abandoned that BBQ more than a year ago as it was too difficult to store in the back of the truck… being round and all, it tended to spill or end up wedged between bins. It was a pain. So for more than a year now, we have been BBQ-less.

Then comes a few weeks ago when Kerri finds a few options of fold-able grills. Easy to store and portability were both important to us,  as 2018 will be spent primarily in the van so the equipment we purchase has to be able to transition to van-life with ease. This is what she found; the Fox Outfitters Medium sized folding grill. (I only gave my “yea, that looks cool” blessing, she made all the decisions and research).

Embedded video at http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/van-essential-folding-bbq-grill/


As Kerri illustrates so well, the grill is assembled with just a few short movements. We both feared that it would be a pain and teeter wildly, but the grill assembled with no real use of our brains and was quite sturdy, especially so once you added coals. Once no longer in use, it quickly cooled (coals used to start the logs for an evening fire), and just a quick soapy-water bath in the sink removed the grime. Folded back up and placed in the bag, it is barely larger than a good hard-covered book.

It’s cooking ability was just like any other small grill, but thanks to it’s small size, I did not have to use up a ton of briquettes for a 2-person meal. And that’s really all we needed and that is about what you get out of this little guy; a meal for two. I could easily fit four good-sized burger patties, or a dozen hotdogs, on this grill though, so it could suit a small family is space is a premium.

One down side, thanks to the small size again, was that a small pile of coals generates a lot of heat and there was no cool side to move the meat too during the cooking process. This is something I can work on during the next BBQ meal, with less coals piled into one corner. Another issue was the lack of a lid. While there is ample heat from below, a lid to trap that heat is the way to cook. I went ahead and grabbed the dutch oven lid to place over our food which did the trick. A disposable aluminum food pan or pie pan would do the trick as well.

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Van-Tramp said:
Then comes a few weeks ago when Kerri finds a few options of fold-able grills. Easy to store and portability were both important to us,  as 2018 will be spent primarily in the van so the equipment we purchase has to be able to transition to van-life with ease. This is what she found; the Fox Outfitters Medium sized folding grill. (I only gave my “yea, that looks cool” blessing, she made all the decisions and research).

Embedded video at http://www.van-tramp.com/wp/van-essential-folding-bbq-grill/

That's pretty cool!

a cheap skate trick, scan fire pits for half burnt wood. You can collect a bucket full pretty quickly and it's much cheaper than the natural lump charcoal from the store.
 
That looks good!

My Favorites list sure is getting long.....
 
That's cool. I looked at those a little while back when I was looking for a small-spaces grill. Must have been something in the air with grill-shopping. I liked the concept but was worried about that grill style for the same reasons you guys were (it being wobbly or not going together solidly). It's nice that your video shows otherwise. I ended up with a teeny-tiny Texsport bucket grill.

I agree with you on the lid factor, mine didn't come with one either so my cast-iron frying pan pulls double-duty as a lid.
 
I have something similar to one of these.

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Just the weight of the food on them locks them at whatever level you set them at.

They can be swing to one side  to regulate the heat and aren't much to stow when done with one.
 
When one of your brats rolls off the grill, is it Kerri's?
 
If I had one like that, it would have to have a rim -- I'm too clutzy.... ALL my food would end up in the fire, super-well-done. But I do like that idea.
 
TrainChaser,  I know it is a small photo...but look closely at the edges.  They are warped up kind of like a dish to keep foods from rolling off.   Yeah...hot dogs and Brats are a concern when new with these.  But for their simplicity they're hard to beat.  Set up is a snap,  clean isn't difficult, and taking it from fire to table is like magic. (just lift it up of the post and carry it like a big skillet.  (have some old newspapers etc on the table to lay it on)
 
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