120 Gallon RF Trailer Build (Painted w/Pics and Pron!)

Cat797 · Posted: Sat Jul 03 10 12:58 am Post subject:

Ok, Here's a couple pics from today:

Welds.....needing practice Embarassed

In the process of straightening the door:

We'll have to see if this is enough heat to get it to hold memory.....I'll let it completely cool before letting up on the tension.

More to come..........
Ed

pullit · Newbie Joined: 15 Nov 2007 Posts: 49

looks like you are doing fine.
To me it looks like your welds are a little cold.
Good progress on your smoker. I am still waiting on the company to call me and tell me my tank is ready.....Until then, I am watching you and everyone else build yours....

Cat797

Well, progress has been a little slow, but finally able to get some work done on my firebox.........

First, had to work on the obligatory weld cart for my new welder. Need to get some more plate stock to finish this up...........

Working on the firebox.....It's going to be insulated, so I'm putting all of the plates on the inside first, then I will go around the outside with plate after I get the insulation installed.

Smoker side:

Door side:

Let me know what y'all think........My welding is getting better the more I practice. Cool

Ed

Cat797 · Posted: Mon Sep 27 10 7:30 am Post subject:

By the way, anyone know how to edit the title of this thread so that I can add the date I last updated?

Thanks.

k.a.m. · Posted: Mon Sep 27 10 9:24 am Post subject:

Cat797, your making some nice progress. Very Happy

I look forward to seeing some more pics and updates.
To edit your date and original post topic you need to go to your first post on page one and edit from there. Just click on the edit tab and then you can change the way the topic reads.
_________________
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Hybrid Cooker

Cat797 · Posted: Mon Sep 27 10 10:13 am Post subject:

Thanks K.A.M...........

BBQ Freak · Posted: Wed Oct 13 10 10:47 am Post subject:

Cat797,
Great to see someone else from central Illinois here doing a build! I'm not far away from you (Gibson City, 35 miles east of Bloomington). Your build will be fun to follow. I just started my build this weekend. Damn project keeps getting bigger and bigger. Was going to start small and am now up to a tandem axle trailer w/ two tanks. One 250 gallon propane for the smoker and a 125 gallon for a plain old charcoal grill. Gonna have lots of other goodies too. Good luck!

iowaguy908 · Newbie Joined: 06 Oct 2010 Posts: 30

Cat
What are you insulating it with? I am leaning towards an insulated f.b. and don't know what to insulate it with.

brentski · Newbie Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Posts: 68 Location: DFW Texas

I used this to insulate my firebox:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Kaowool-Ceramic-Fiber-Blank-2300-2-x24-x12-5-8-dens-/130411935427?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e5d2836c3
I was shocked at the difference between this insulated firebox and my older one that 1/3 the size. The new insulated pit burns about 1 piece of wood per hour once up to temps while the smaller will burn about 1 per hour but for a much smaller pit.

http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo38/brentski64/BBQ%20Pit%20Project/IMG_0504.jpg

http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo38/brentski64/BBQ%20Pit%20Project/IMG_0502.jpg

Cat797 · Posted: Fri Oct 15 10 12:24 pm Post subject:

iowaguy: I'm planning on using something similar to what Brentski is using, but I'm planning on buying it from McMaster-Carr's website.

Brentski: Thanks for the pics, I'm hoping for similar results......

This thing is just taking me a lot longer to get done than I had planned. Got too many honeydo's in the works before winter sets in, and I had a buddy that said he would help, but has all the sudden turned up missing Rolling Eyes

So, sorry for the delay in progress..........

brentski · Newbie Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Posts: 68 Location: DFW Texas

I wouldn't worry about the time, we all struggle building something while keep our jobs and families happy. It will get done with time and I learned the hard way to take my time because the details are what make you happier in the end and the start you have is great, just keep up the good work.

Cat797 · Posted: Sun Jan 02 11 9:32 am Post subject:

Well, it's been a while since I posted an update on this project. Slowly but surely I'm making progress. Winter has been crazy so far, with way more snow than I can remember in the recent past. So on to the man cave..........

Please excuse my mess.......(my unheated mess! Shocked

)

Pretty much been working on welding out the firebox. Finally got the right insulation from McMaster-Carr.

Prepping for the air intake plates. Started to weld these up tonight, but had some technical difficulties (read: too tight) and had to take apart. Will have pictures tomorrow.

Got the door built and insulated. Notice my bung that I welded in for later addition of Stoker or homemade job.......Note to all others considering similar: I wanted to use Black pipe, but my local hardware store was out, so I had to use Galvanized. Be sure to get all the coating off by grinding it clean. MIG welding does not like the coating at all and will splatter excessively.

Here's basically what it will look like with the door installed. I got to make some hinges tomorrow.

That's all for now.........Hopefully will have some pics tomorrow of the air intakes and door installed. Then she'll be ready for mating with the tank. I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel, but it could be a train! Laughing

Cheers,
Ed
_________________
Insulated Offset RF:
UDS:
Weber 22.5 OTG
Weber 22.5 Performer

ckone · Posted: Sun Jan 02 11 9:55 am Post subject:

3 months!! you could have at least finished the welder cart.

Just razzin ya. The build is looking good.
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OK Joe
The Bubba Keg

Cat797 · Posted: Mon Jan 17 11 5:37 am Post subject:

Hey all,

Got some work done this week.......

First, the intakes finished.....Still need some grinding to clean up and eventually handles, but I'm waiting to see how I mount it on my trailer first.

Also got the door gasket installed.........

I'm now at a stand still. I had an idea to fab up some hinges, but it's not going to work the way I had planned, so plan b is to see if I can find somewhere to cut out some hinges out of 1/2" plate or something. Luckily my employer is gracious enough to give us MLK day off, so I get to do some running to try and get these done.

Stay tuned..........
_________________
Insulated Offset RF:
UDS:
Weber 22.5 OTG
Weber 22.5 Performer

jigsnpigs · Posted: Tue Jan 25 11 7:33 am Post subject:

man you were using some premium splits to burn that sucker out with! wood like that is like gold to me Smile

Cat797 · Posted: Thu Apr 28 11 2:01 am Post subject:

Ok time for another update..........

I know, I know, progress has been painfully slow on this thing, but I'm about ready to weld the tank and the firebox together and get ready to mount to my trailer.

A few pics:

Hinges welded on-

Notice integral door stops:

I finally got the firebox door mounted and the handle figured out:

Now for my problems. When I initially cut the door out, it tweaked on me a little bit. I tried to heat it and beat into submission, but that didn't work. I finally got the strap welded to the outside of the door, but as you can see in the following pics, I'm going to need some major help getting it to seal right. My biggest problem is that I don't have a torch. I'm going to have to see if I have a buddy or something that can help.......The question is, even with a torch, how do I go about getting this thing to fit properly. I may need some coaching on this one. Here's the pics:

And finally, the picture of the tank with door mounted:

So the next steps for me since I don't have a crane, is to have my buddy bring in his tractor with a loader so we can hoist up the tank and get the firebox welded on. Once I get that done, I'm going to have to get to work on the trailer.......I'm going to have to bob the back end and come up with the elevated mounting position for the smoker. I thought that I could just build a frame for it to sit on and sit that on the trailer, but it is going to be too tall for me, so I'll have to bob it and have the firebox set lower than the frame.....or option two is I could buy an el-cheapo trailer from Tractor supply (I think it is like $400) and hack it up. However, my plan all along is to use this trailer I have and replace it with a bigger one down the road.

As always, thanks in advance for the help, comments, and advice.

Ed
_________________
Insulated Offset RF:
UDS:
Weber 22.5 OTG
Weber 22.5 Performer

k.a.m. · Posted: Thu Apr 28 11 2:30 am Post subject:

Cat797, look at Rodneys thread for your door help. I showed him the best way to deal with this problem in the backyard situation.
http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=49641&start=20
_________________
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Hybrid Cooker

Cat797 · Posted: Mon May 02 11 10:28 am Post subject:

Well, thanks to a little coaching from k.a.m., I have been able to get the door to fit on my tank halfway decent. I had a couple of problems to begin with.......

First the top edge of the door was bound up and not fitting very good, so k.a.m. suggested that I cut off the hinges and get the top fitting first. I did that, and used the persuader to beat my corner into submission (I also cut some grooves into the back side of the door, and laid a couple of welds right close to the corner where it was sticking up....

Before:

After (still need to adjust the strapping a bit with a hammer):

Once, I had the top figured out, I tacked the hinges in place to get the door back on.

Then per k.a.m.'s instructions, I had to put the door under some tension via a chain binder as per his post above, and proceed to "whip it" into submission. Let me tell you, I beat this b!tch like it owed me money! Shocked

and I'll be damned if it didn't work like a charm..... Cool

. The bottom edge still leaves a little to be desired, but I think I can seal it with some RTV, so good enough for the girls I go with.......

Before:

After:

Finally, I got the hinges welded out completely. You can see the heat affected zone from welding on the underside to pull it down....I also beat the hell out of this corner too.

k.a.m. thanks buddy..........I owe you big time. I was about at my wits end on this deal, but now I'm ready to marry the tank and the firebox, and have it blasted to work on the inside.

Cheers,
Ed
_________________
Insulated Offset RF:
UDS:
Weber 22.5 OTG
Weber 22.5 Performer

k.a.m. · Posted: Mon May 02 11 7:05 pm Post subject:

Ed, I am glad it worked out for you your door has a nice fit now very nice work my Friend. Very Happy

I must say that your description of whipping her like she owed you money had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. Thanks for the A.M. laugh.

I look forward to seeing some more pics and updates. Very Happy

_________________
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.

Hybrid Cooker

rodneymeatsnsweets · Posted: Mon May 02 11 8:28 pm Post subject: