When you’re serious about competition BBQ, you’re probably ready for a competition BBQ trailer.
In this week’s BBQ Tips Podcast, Pitmaster Christie Vanover shares her trailer evolution, the type that she is currently using and what sets it apart from others she’s tried.
I want to talk to you about how I started out with a utility trailer, and kind of where I evolved and some of the lessons I learned along the way. Hopefully, this info can help you decide when you’re ready to advance into a higher end trailer.
Table of Contents
How most teams start
I would say when most teams start competition barbecue, they probably start the same way they have a pickup truck or an SUV.
They load everything inside. Maybe they rent a U-Haul trailer or something for the day of the competition, and then they get to the site.
They set up a ten-by-ten tent and they’re good to go. They pull out all the tables. They have to pull out their wash station, all sorts of stuff. But it basically is everything out of your truck or out of your van or out of your SUV.
That’s how I started. And I know again, that’s how a lot of teams start, because having a trailer can be pretty expensive.
The problem with that is it makes competition barbecue really exhausting because you have to load up your tubs week after week. You’ve got to load up the truck week after week. You’ve got to do so much hand-washing and dish cleaning on site in just little tubs, which makes it difficult.
Carry-On or Utility Trailers
After the first year or so, we decided to get our own trailer. So I think we got like a five by eight trailer from Lowe’s. It’s called a carry-on trailer or utility trailer. It’s basically a little flatbed trailer that has some metal walls.
That way we can load all the grills, tables, etc. on that. That was a lot easier than lifting all the grills up into the back of the truck, into the bed of the truck, because it’s higher.
So having that little trailer helped. That’s a good start. That was about $1,000, maybe a little under $1,000. And if you’re a veteran, you get a 10% military discount at Lowe’s. So that’s always a bonus to make sure to take advantage of that.
One good thing about having that little flatbed trailer is that I could leave things on the trailer like tables, tents, things like that.
I didn’t leave my grills on there because I needed to practice on my grills, but if you have extra grills, you could leave almost everything loaded, which is a little bit of a step up from having to load up your truck or your SUV all the time.
Cargo Trailers
After a flatbed trailer, the next logical step is usually going to a cargo trailer. These are going to be enclosed trailers that are usually about four foot by six foot, six foot by eight foot, or even bigger.
You can get bigger ones, but the smaller ones are about $2,000, $3,000, depending on like what features you get with it, what tires and things like that.
And this is a nice option because again, you can have everything loaded in your tubs, your tents, your chairs, etc.
You can keep those loaded in the trailer. And with this, they’re enclosed. So if you live in an area where you’ve got weather like rain and you don’t have a place under cover to park your other type of trailer, then this is nice because you can just keep everything nice and stored inside and ready to go for the next trip.
The problem with this style trailer, though, is there’s still no bathroom, no bed, no air conditioning. It really is just like a little mini storage shed that you’re taking with you.
And oftentimes when you get on site, you’re going to still need to set up a ten by ten tent because it’s a little bit small to work inside that trailer.
You can set up a little table in there and do some prep in there, which is helpful. But for the most part, you’re going to still need the ten by ten.
So a cargo trailer is nice. If you have a couple thousand dollars that you want to spend, it will definitely make things a little bit easier than the flatbed trailer.
Porch Trailers
Moving on up, I want to talk about the porch trailer. So the porch trailer is similar to a cargo trailer, but it’s much larger, and it usually has a porch or patio on the back.
So this is great because you can leave your grills mounted on that back side. You can either use tie down straps or you can bolt them to the bottom. Just depends on what type of grill you have.
And inside is nice because usually inside there are some really long counters, lots of cabinets, so you can actually keep all of your supplies stored permanently in there.
And added bonus is you’re most likely going to get running water. You’re going to have a sink, which is a game changer to me for competition barbecue.
It’s a hassle, if you’re at a competition and you have to set up a three-bin wash station, and then you have to change that water regularly when it gets dirty, there’s so many other things you need to worry about at a competition.
That’s not one of the things that I want to have to focus on. So I love having running water and a sink, and usually with porch trailers, you can also get them with air conditioning, which is especially nice if you’re cooking in hot climates.
Porch trailers usually start around $15,000. The price can definitely go up depending on what type of features you have in the interior.
You can also get custom colors for the outside, and you can get them wrapped, which is nice. Just like you can with the cargo trailer, you can add your decals and have it fancy and look like your brand, so that’s a cool option.
The porch trailer is a nice option for barbecue competitions, but I actually went with two other options instead of the porch trailer because I wanted the comforts of home.
Travel Trailers
So the first thing that we did is we got a travel trailer with a travel trailer, you’re basically just getting a small little trailer.
It’s got a bed, it had a sink, it had a microwave and a stovetop, and it had a shower and a toilet, which were both key to me. I don’t personally like going in porta pots, and a lot of times at competitions, that’s all you’ve got.
So having my own private bathroom was really nice, and having a bed was super nice because that allowed me to sleep on site, have air conditioning and just be comfortable so that I could wake up refreshed when it was time to cook my barbecue.
A travel trailer is going to cost you about $20,000. If you’re looking at like a 14-foot or 16-foot model. You can get something much larger, like a fifth wheel. That’s huge. But we just started with something super small. I think we had a little Jayco .
It did the trick, but it wasn’t really a barbecue trailer.
It was just me basically pulling my house around with us. We still had to load all of the grills up in the bed of the truck, which made it challenging because we had to lift them so high. You know, all the charcoal and all that stuff still had to go into the truck, and there wasn’t a lot of cabinet space inside of the trailer itself. So it was really more just me pulling my bed and pulling my toilet.
Toy Haulers
I needed something that was a little bit better than that. So that’s when I upgraded to a toy hauler.
What makes a toy hauler different than a travel trailer is there’s actually room inside the trailer for you to secure your toys. In most cases, those toys are things like motorcycles or ATVs, but for me, my toys are grills, so it had a nice large floor space where I could tie down all of my grills and bring them with me inside the trailer.
That was ideal. Plus it also had the toilet. It also had the sink. It has counters and cabinets and a bed, so it had everything that the travel trailer had, but the storage space that the travel trailer did not have. So I no longer have to load everything up into my truck.
It took me a long time to find the exact toy hauler that I wanted, because most toy haulers are designed for people who like to go off roading, ATVing, etc. They’re not really designed for barbecue pitmasters.
So I found a company in Mesa, Arizona, called Dune Sport, and they actually do custom trailers.
Most of the toy haulers that Dune Sport builds are for ATVers and motorcyclists, but I met with them in person and talked to them about the things that I needed, and I was blown away with how much customization I could do with this trailer.
They have a variety of sizes. I think they go as small as 12 foot all the way up to like huge, like 40 something feet.
I went with a 16 footer. I think that’s a nice size. It’s pretty petite. From the tail end to the tongue, It’s about 20 feet in total length, so I can usually back that into my KCBS spot with no problem.
Plus it has a built in awning. I had that option added, so I no longer need to set up a ten by ten tent because the tent is basically included.
Let me talk to you about how the Dune Sport build process works. So you basically pick your model, pick your floor plan, and it comes pretty standard with certain options.
For instance, the model that I chose came with a basic kitchen that had like a stove top and a sink and a microwave and some cabinets and a counter.
Then towards the rear of the trailer, there were two couches that fold against the wall, which leaves you open space for storing your grills. And then when the grills are out, you can turn them into sofas. Or you could lay them flat into beds.
And then above that there’s another bed that’s electric. You just push the button and the bed drops down. So when you’re ready to use the bed, it’s there. When you don’t want to use the bed, you can just raise it.
Plus there’s a full bathroom. It’s got a toilet and a shower and cabinetry inside of the bathroom.
That set up alone would have been fine, but the fact that they do customization allowed me to really make it the way I wanted to.
So I got rid of one of those sofa couches, took it out completely, and lined that whole wall with cabinetry and an eight-foot counter. And I left a two-foot space for my Cambro, so everything along the wall fits perfectly.
Then I still have one sofa bed that folds up on one side, leaving me plenty of room to store four Hunsaker grills right inside of my trailer. Plus, I have that drop down bed.
The way I changed the kitchen area is instead of having the stove and sink against the front wall, I put the stove on the wall where my long counter is, and then I actually had a four-bin sink delivered to them from the restaurant store.
So now I have a full kitchen sink with four bins so I can wash my hands. I can clean my dishes again, running water, which is so important.
It’s super nice to have that huge sink inside the toy hauler instead of one of those little RV sinks that you have to try to wash sheet pans in. That’s just not realistic. So having that really big sink is awesome for me.
You can also do customizations like put your outlets inside and outside wherever you want, add lights wherever you want, move the windows, move the walls like they do every little bit of customization because they build it all on site.
They’re in Arizona and they don’t nickel and dime you, which I appreciate. When I asked to remove the couch and extend the table, they don’t still charge me for the couch.
They actually give me a deduction for getting rid of the couch, and then I just pay for whatever cabinetry I want.
They were super easy to work with. And I loved how everything came out. I think they’re starting price point for the 16-foot is around $20,000 or so. $22,000 maybe.
And then of course the price is going to change depending on what kind of upgrades you add. Mine, at the time when I purchased it, which I think was 2018 or 2019, I paid $26,000 for it.
It may be a little bit more now since, you know, inflation and things have changed, but I’m so happy with my toy hauler from Dune Sport.
It provides me the storage I need for my drums so I don’t have to load them in the back of the truck. It provides me all the cabinet space and counter space I need so I can store all of my spices and rubs and all of my equipment, plus the counter, so I can do all my prep work inside.
Don’t forget your tow vehicle
So no matter what the weather is, everything’s going to be okay. Then I’ve got the bed, I’ve got the bathroom, I am set. Plus of course we have air conditioning.
One thing to keep in mind, no matter what trailer you buy, is you’re going to have to have the right vehicle to tow it. So for me, with a travel trailer that I have now, it is about 7,000 pounds, I think dry weight, you can use a Ram 1500 just fine or an F-150 that will work just fine.
We’ve we did that for several years. We’ve since upgraded to a Ram 2500 Power wagon and it tows it awesome. So that’s not a problem.
I do have a Jeep Gladiator also, that one struggled a little bit to tow it. It’s a little bit heavy on that engine, so I definitely recommend that you have at least like a 1500 or 150.
So that’s my evolution of trailers as a competition pitmaster. We started with that flatbed carry-on trailer, and we evolved into our toy hauler.
So when you’re ready to evolve from spending a couple thousand dollars to $15,000 or more, think about the options that you really, truly want, because it’s easier if you just have to buy one trailer instead of going through the cycle like I did and buying multiple trailers.
Ultimately, I was most happy with that toy hauler because it holds my drums, it gives me a bathroom, it gives me beds and I have running water, air conditioning, and tons of counter and storage space. So I’ve been completely happy with my Dune Sport.
If you have questions about the exact model that I bought from Dune Sport or how I customized it, go ahead and leave me a comment or shoot me a DM.
