RE: Coleman RoadTrip Grill

ForestCreature · Sep 28, 2003, 07:05 PM

Coleman RoadTrip Grill

Price paid- Avg retail $169.00

[link=http://www.coleman.com/coleman/ColemanCom/prod_subcategory.asp?CategoryID=27203&SourcePage=Prod_category_main.asp]See It Here[/link]

Did it work as you expected it to?
Yes, it hasn t dissapointed me so far.

What feature(s) did you consider the most important?
The versatility of this grill makes it worth the space, to take along. The interchangable grates and grills make this an all in one grill/stove. We purchased an additional griddle and the stove top grids. It holds large pans well, where the regular propane stove did not.

The quick connect for the propane is a nice feature also.

Is it user friendly?
I find it easy to use. Being free standing it doesn t take up precious table space, and the height is comfortable for me. Clean up is fairly easy(anything that has to be cleaned is work)

How long have you had it or how much have you used it?
We have had it for 1 season.We got it to replace our old coleman stove and to use as a grill when it s raining and can t cook over the fire. To this date we haven t used it as a grill, as it hasn t rained during dinner prep.(how d we get so lucky?)
But as a stove I love this thing.

What other brand / model / product did you consider and why did you decide on this product?
Being the creature it is, the only thing close was the Thermos Grill to Go. Which I never considered because it did not suit our needs.

Would you recommend this to others?
Yes, I would, if you have the money to spare. It is on the high side cost wise, but I m happy with it and glad that we have it. It s one of the best used birthday presents I ve gotten in a long time!

garym053 · Feb 17, 2003, 05:15 PM

ForestCreatureTotally agree with Forestcreature, (Marcy)! This is a great stove! Much more power from the burners than the Thermos Grill to Go, which, by the way, I GAVE away and bought the Road Trip! The Thermos has a 8300 btu burner, the Coleman has 2 burners and 20,000 btu! Do you want to cook, or sit there and wait for it to warm up?
One major flaw with the Thermos was when you tale off the grill and griddle to clean, the remains are top heavy and it will tumble off the stand! That s when I gave it away!

Miss-Teri · Mar 09, 2003, 03:30 PM

ForestCreatureBringing up an old thread... [

]

So the RoadTrip is worth the extra $50 or so over the Thermos? We re trying to squeeze together the money to buy one of them to keep our summer trip less expensive (cooking more often at the camper rather than eating out). Although the Thermos is cheaper, if it doesn t work as well in the long run it will end up more expensive when we have to replace it.

The Roadtrip looked like it was more versatile when we compared them today although heavier and more difficult to clean than the Grill2Go.

ForestCreature · Mar 10, 2003, 10:54 AM

ForestCreatureIn reality, by the time you get all the pieces that make this stove so versatile
you ll have close to $200 invested. I ordered 2 pan grates, and 1 extra griddle.

Cleaning really isn t all that difficult, it comes apart for cleaning..

If you aren t looking to replace both a stove and a grill maybe this isn t what you want, that you have to decide for yourself. But it is nice having a stove that holds bigger pans, and sits alone not taking up table space.

garym053 · Mar 10, 2003, 09:27 PM

ForestCreatureTo be completely honest, having owned both the Grill2Go and the Road Trip Grill, the Grill2Go IS easier to clean, however that is the only thing (in my opinion) that it has going for it!
My Grill2Go was so slow at heating the grill/griddle, sometimes you d look and only half the burner would be lit. I had to put a couple of chunks of alum. foil under one edge of the grill in order to let enough oxygen in for the whole burner to light, then the grease dripped under the grill rather than in the little catch bottle which started a grease fire, which finally burned itself out. Then I took the griddle and grill off at the same time and the whole thing tipped over backwards off it s stand,I threw everything together, put it in it s case and carried it over and gave it to my brother in law! Left the campground for the nearest store, bought a Road Trip Grill and have been happy ever since!
Since then I ve ordered extra griddles, grills, and stove top supports so I can set it up any way I want it!
If you d like more info, email me!

fdean · Mar 18, 2003, 03:13 PM

ForestCreatureI know this grill is more expensive but it will last forever....

http://www.parker-grill.com/

whitestar505 · Apr 11, 2003, 07:28 AM

fdeanYou are right on this one. Call me when the price goes down 200 dollars will ya.

NJDucks · May 08, 2003, 11:10 AM

ForestCreatureI received this grill for my birthday back in February. I bought all the acessories (additional grill, griddle, pot grids, case, and gas connects). We used it for the first time fr our Easter camping trip.

I had researched this in comparison to the Grill to Go and quickly decided this was the better unit due to BTU ouput. I like it, although there is a few downsides.

First off, you have to make sure the grill is level. If it isn t, anything on the griddle becomes a mess to clean up. I found this out after a bunch of scrambled eggs ended up in the water pan.

I m not super happy wth the grease drainage. The grease runs down into the water pan and if you cook a bunch of bacon it is a mess to clean up. The book says to fill the water pan to the max, but I found going to 2/3 rd s full gives easier cleanup. Be careful when you empty the water pan - you need to use a wide receptacle or the water/grease ends up everywhere. Don t think you will be able to empty it into a sewage pipe - it doesn t work.

It cooks very well and the grill is a true grill rather than the raised rib grill of the Thermos. It works well.

Overall, I think it is a great product. If they redesigned the water pan to have a pour off spout it would be wonderful

SactoCampers · May 08, 2003, 11:25 AM

ForestCreatureI have researched the grill2go and the Road Trip and decided that when/if I ever get one, The much higher BTU output and two separate burners justifies the higher cost because some meats need to be seared and then cooked over indirect heat. However, I d like it to replace my current popup stove. Does anyone know if the propane quick connect is compatible with the quick connect that is used on a Palomino popup stove (I don t want to assume all are the same)?

NJDucks · May 08, 2003, 11:56 AM

ForestCreatureThe Road trip is set up for a 1 lb. propane cyclinder. The quick connect screws into the grill connection and on the other end has a standard 20 lb. propane fitting.

I m not familar with Palomino. The Coleman outside stoves are high pressure and the adapter is the same as the 1 lb cylinder.

Does this help?

SactoCampers · May 08, 2003, 12:02 PM

NJDucks

QuoteORIGINAL: NJDucks

The Road trip is set up for a 1 lb. propane cyclinder. The quick connect screws into the grill connection and on the other end has a standard 20 lb. propane fitting.

I m not familar with Palomino. The Coleman outside stoves are high pressure and the adapter is the same as the 1 lb cylinder.

Does this help?

Palomino lines are all low pressure, so I don t think it would work. But I would want to be able to use it both inside and outside anyway to replace my interior stove. I suppose I could just make sure I m well stocked on 1 lb cylinders but what a nuisance. How long does a 1lb cylinder last anyway? With my little portable cheapy 1-burner barbeque grill, I can only get about 60 minutes.

ForestCreature · May 08, 2003, 12:40 PM

SactoCampersThere is an adapter you can get to run it off larger propane tanks. Not sure about your inside stove, maybe Coleman can answer that?

griffsmom · May 10, 2003, 05:20 PM

ForestCreatureWe just bought one 2 weeks ago and used it at our SoCal May rally. I can t speak highly enough about the Road Trip. We grilled steaks and veggies one night, and they were great. The next morning, I made pancakes for our shared breakfast and by making both sides into griddles, I was able to cook 8 pancakes at a time and make over 50 panckes in about 20 minutes.

We bought extra grills, griddles and the rack that allows you to use one side like a burner. We also bought the adapter so that it can run off a full-sized tank of propane, since we felt that we d go through one of those little bottles too quickly. We bought ours at Costco because they include the wheeled carrying bag, which is not included if you buy it elsewhere.

oldmoose · May 11, 2003, 12:56 AM

ForestCreatureLori and Dave convinced us to get one. I tried it at home tonight and it was great. BBQ s some pork chops. Fast cooking and easy clean up. I have the adapter for a bulk tank also.

SkipP · Jul 11, 2003, 12:34 AM

ForestCreatureThought I d dredge this post up and add to it[

] We just got back from a week long campout with three other family s (16 people total, 8 kids-8 adults) and REALLY broke in our Road Trip grill. The thing was up to the task in every respect. Cooked the usual stuff (burgers, hot dogs, etc) as well as some shish-ka-bobs, a couple of omlets and even warmed up a DO. We had ordered extra cooking surfaces and ended up using this thing for almost all of our cooking. Of course, the grill wasn t quite big enough to cook everything for 16 folks at once but I was surprised at how much stuff we could get on there. Cleaning up was a mixed bag. Your supposed to add water to the drip tray, which we did, but it overflowed the first time out. Thereafter, we added water but didn t fill it to the " max" line and it worked much better. Seems the grease caused it to fill up too much.

I ve seen these grills at Sam s Club for $140, we got lucky and got ours at a Wal Mart, on clearance, for $75.

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