Old Ironsides...

[Speed]

I decide I wanted to try and build an insulated grill for my BBQ trailer. I didn't start taking pics soon enough but here are some after we got it all insulated and welded up. It is insulated with play sand. I needed alot of weight to counter the pit being on the other side. I named it Old Ironsides beacuse I think a tank could drive over it and it would still be usable. It's all there!!!! I will keep the pics coming as I get more done on it.

Welding up the last side


All welded up and rady for mounting


Mounted on the trailer


Hopefully I'll be able to get the bottom insulated and welded up and then start on the detail work

[Speed]

Finally got the floor of the grill insulated.....Going into the detail work now!!!!



Going to spend all day on it tomorrow.....should make alot of progress!

[Boots]

Do I recall right you used play sand for insulation? Was thinking about a future build job and was thinking firebrick as insulation, but the play sand would be easy and cheap. Have you used it before?

[Papa Tom]

Why not use vermiculite for the insulation? Save a bunch in weight and much less mass to heat up.

[Speed]

Why not use vermiculite for the insulation? Save a bunch in weight and much less mass to heat up.

I really wanted to use the sand for the weight. Something to help counter balance that huge pit on the other side.

[Speed]

Do I recall right you used play sand for insulation? Was thinking about a future build job and was thinking firebrick as insulation, but the play sand would be easy and cheap. Have you used it before?

Sand is something that has been used for years for insulating fireboxes and such. Heard it from an old timer and thought I would try it. This is a first for me but I can tell its going to work very well!

[Speed]

Got somework done yesterday on old ironsides and the trailer itself. I had to get the grill mounted before I could finish framing out the rest of the trailer.





This is the ash pan......It warped a little on me when I was welding it up.

[Speed]

Couple more pics

Spent some time riding the grinder.....




Frame work welded in for the grill top. Once completed, the grill will be flush with the top of the grill itself.

[Speed]

This thread was originally for my grill we were adding to the trailer. I figured I would post some pics of the progress on the trailer build itself.







Going to get more work in on it tomorrow. We got the frame work done for the sink and I'm thinking we are going to start on the burners tomorrow.

[Boots]

You may need to make this a dual axle rig. Looks like a battleship under construction.

[Speed]

Boots, I'm going to upgrade to a heavier axle and springs. I don't have enough room to go dual axles. I wish I did.

Here are a few pics from today. Alot of detail work was done and you can't really see alot of it. It will all come together soon.

This is at the end of the day when we were cleaning up......


a little rattle can magic on the wheels.....


We are going to get more work done on this next weekend......Hopefully it will be all ready to go by Walnut Springs!

[Boots]

Looks prime.

From the looks of your shop, you probably already have this handled but if not, Zanetti's trailer shop over in west Weatherford might be a good source for springs and other axle gear. They changed out the suspension on my horse trailer a while back and did a real nice job, including the aluminum welding. They do a lot of custom work and rebuilds on big trailers, so I figured they might have the right heavy duty gear. Hopefully I am not recommending a competitor of yours, I just was real happy with the work and the price and felt good about recommending them.

[brentski]

Nuera Transport in Dallas gave me the hookup on my axles, springs and really for all of the suspension parts with my trailer and have the best prices in the Dallas area.
http://www.nueratrailerparts.com/
http://www.texasbbqforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17136

I ordered the axles on Monday and by Friday they were calling me to come and get them. I cannot say enough about how much better the 3" axle tube with the camber is even though they are still 3500 lb axles. They had the best price when I called around Dallas for all of the Dexter Axle Reps, the only company to beat them was Tex-Trail parts by about $15.00 an axle, but I would have had to drive to Mt. Pleasant to pick those up. If you are heavy I would also recommend at least using the bronze bushings spring inserts instead of the plastic ones that everyone else has.

http://www.textrail.com/

[Speed]

Thank guys, I appreciate the input! I'm not sure how much it weighs yet but the pit itself is 3/8" thick and pretty heavy. I'm going to drag it across the scales after we get the water tank and stuff on it this weekend.

[Speed]

Well....Got some work in today on the trailer..

Took the original jack off and put a new one in a it is hidden in the trailer....



Got the back welded in place....



Got the sides capped and the burner in place. The burner is on a hinge so I can access the water tank to fill it up.



Holder for propane tanks fabbed up...



A look from the front with propane tanks in place....



We hope to get more done on it tomorrow.....I will post more pics tomorrow if I do.