As you know, the outside compartments on my 1990 Breakaway are not very tall. In fact the openings are only 10" tall. Right now we have a grill that doesn't fit outside. We have to carry it inside. We need to replace it and were wondering what type of grill do you carry and that can fit outside in those short openings?

Thanks

...Don't know how much grilling surface area you need or want, but for the two of us, we've been pleased with this:

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?pr...-755&categoryid=2036

We cook outside most of the time just for the "camping" ambiance, and this grill plus an LP 2-burner stove fit nicely in our smaller outside bay.

Hi Lee, I saw that one on E-bay and was wondering how big it was. What is the approximate diameter of the grill? I guess with the legs removed it is less than 10" tall? Does it cook fairly even across the surface?

Thanks

Don't have it in front of me right now, but I'm gonna guess 14-15" diamater & maybe 7-8" tall with legs removed.....At 8000btu it won't feed an army, but just right for a couple of ribeyes.

I wanted a grill, and found most of them tto bulky; even though StaRV II was several times more storage than most Breakaways, I stil have to be churlish about things' bulk. I got a two-burner propane stainless steel stove and a fold-down grill thingy at Wal-Mart. I cut the excess on the ends off the grill for compactness. Together, the two are about 4" tall. I'll measure the other dimensions tomorrow if your like. I bought a 12' extension hose to use the coach propane, saving more room by not needing to carry the little bottles.

I use this grill



It's called a Coleman RoadTrip Grill



Go to this link and watch how it folds up. You can even remove it from it's base and cook on a countertop.

I give it a 5 star rating for ease of use and portability. I can not say enough good things about this grill and the neat attachments for it.

It's about 8" tall and 32" long - I went down and snapped a shot so you can see what I'm talking about. If you can't make out the tape measurement the lower weather seal is 10" and the extra space above the ruler is where 10' would have fallen. You have a lot of space above the grill if you're shooting for less then 10"

Most portable gas grilles are not very hot. A 1 lb bottle usually means not very hot.

To judge heat, you need to actually measure the length of the hole pattern on the burner. Then divide the BTU rating of the burner by the length. Stated grille area means very little, as the burner is the heat source.

After much of this, we bought a Porta Chef from CW. With a rating of 20,000 BTUs and a hole pattern length of 14 inches, it works out to 1428 BTUs per inch. The Porta Chef is a litttle large, and has its drawbacks , but now our thick steaks come out just right.

We have found that anything less than this BTU figure of 1400 per inch is less satisfactory for steaks. Other stuff cooks fine.

This, of course, depends on your preferences for steaks, such as how thick, how rare, how much browning, etc. In our case, we cut our own to 1 1/2 inches, like them rare and with a good char on the outside, not just grid tracks. Other preferences in steak may require less heat.

For a more compact BBQ, my favorite is an old Weber compact gas table top grille. The rectangular one without a regulator. The newer ones are less good, particularly for slow cooking small birds like quail. I had two burner tubes for mine, the regular one for most stuff and one with enlarged holes for steaks. We loved it for years, but we got started grilling marinated veggies and baking sun-dried tomato bread on the grill, etc and needed more grill area.

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
Most portable gas grilles are not very hot. A 1 lb bottle usually means not very hot.

I have the optional regulator hose for the 30lb bottle that you see in the background. This grill works very well for me and is a staple at most campsite during a NASCAR event. Just ask Danny...

I use a 12" X 12" hibachi grille and Match Lite charcoal, and have found it perfect for grilling two filets or two centercut pork chops. It has room to grille four steaks or pork chops, if needed. I store it in the compartment below my refridgerator. You can normally find one at a garage sale or a flee market for very few bucks.

Jake Jacobson

A nifty take on the small charcoal grill is the "Pyromid" oven. Uses 9 brickets and makes 1200 degrees or you can use any good hardwood fuel. It folds into a 12"X2" carrying case and is all stainless steel.
We have had one since our tent camping days and they really work great.
Another great "back to basics" idea is our old Optimus 8R stove.
I'll bet they show up on ebay.
Don

quote:

Originally posted by jakeofmi:
I use a 12" X 12" hibachi grille and Match Lite charcoal, and have found it perfect for grilling two filets or two centercut pork chops. It has room to grille four steaks or pork chops, if needed. I store it in the compartment below my refridgerator. You can normally find one at a garage sale or a flee market for very few bucks.

Jake Jacobson