Here to report on my ash pan experiment. I think all in all it worked ok. What I need to do is rig up something to pull it out of the bottom, like a tab or something. It fits right up next to the bottom of the smoker, and I had to get an old knife to lift it a bit to get it out. I pushed a few ashes from the side down into the pan, lifted it out, and dumped in my trash bag and was done. It had rained before I could get the ashes clean, so there was some water in the smoker below the pan which made it a bit more messy. I think if it was dry, it would have been much easier.
Speaking of wet, I have seen a few posts regarding waterproofing the cover. Got a bright idea today (they don't come often). Went out in the garage, got a 39 gallon trash bag and put over the smoker like a cover. Then put the regular cover on over it. We'll see how that works next time it rains.
All in all, for an $8 investment, I would call it a success.