For traveling - Smoky Joe or Go Anywhere?

[Gary H. NJ]

For my future travels - house-sitting, car camping, etc, do folks prefer the Weber 14” Smoky Joe or the charcoal Go Anywhere?

 

[Mike-GA]

Jumbo Joe. At 18”, the JJ is a little bigger but can cook more food like regular kettle. It’s still pretty compact. It also has a built in lid bail.

JJ‘s grill grate is further from coals than a Smokey Joe so less unintentional charring. JJ has enough space to create zones for indirect cooks. I feel I can control heat better with mine than when I had a smokey joe. I used a SJ for 10 years and sold it for more a little more than I bought my barely used JJ. I upgraded mine with a Weber thermometer in lid, hinged grate, and compact chimney.

 

[Keith P]

No experience with Go Anywhere. If you currently use a 22” kettle there is no learning curve with the Smokey or Jumbo Joe’s, they cook the same as the larger kettle, just scaled down on grate real estate. Have no idea if a Go Anywhere cooks the same But since they are all Weber would guess it would also be similar.

agree with Mike-GA, the Jumbo Joe is a great compromise. Large enough to set up an indirect zone, and big enough to handle most that I can throw at it, plus it’s portable

 

[Brian_D]

Depends on how many people you're cooking for. For years I cooked on the go anywhere grill for the 2 of us. Steaks & taters, beef ribs, tri-tips, you name it.

 

[Dustin Flavell]

I’ve have/had all 3 the jumbo, Smokey and the GA charcoal. My preference has always been the jumbo and still is for room and the ability to off set coals and cook small meals indirect. With that said if space is an issue the GA charcoal is nicer as IMO it is a more efficient design for space and offset cooking small items is still an option.

 

[ChuckO]

The SJ has been my go to for travel for as long as I can remember. I've also made it into a Mini, and between the two (with / without the mini attachment) my SJ is often a go to even while at home

 

[Darryl - swazies]

I use the Jumbo Joe myself and it's usually just 2 of us. I like that I can cook indirect which is a lot of what I cook with.
I once travelled and cooked 2 picanhas on it....not sure if I posted pics here or not. 2 picanhas are about 6 to 7 pounds of roast.
It was tight but I was able to pull off medium rare roasts cooked indirect with smoke on them and fed 7 people and everyone ate tons with leftovers.
It was a good time and I was pretty proud of how it all came out and how good it was. No experience with the smaller grills except the smoky Joe.
My starter grill, this is tiny and makes cooking anything a task.

 

[Yair Halamish]

I find the GA better designed for packing and stacking. A better option IMO if your trunk space is limited.

 

[Garvin R]

Get the Jumbo Joe any accessories that fit the 18 inch Weber kettle will fit the JJ so spend the extra 25 to 30 bucks and get the JJ!

 

[Rich Dahl]

I have a SJ and a JJ the Jumbo Joe is my go to charcoal grill for the two of us, it's easier to clean and uses less charcoal than our performer. Whereas the Smokey Joe is great for quick direct cooks like burgers, hot dogs, etc. it's not well suited for indirect cooking.
I went so far as to build a cart strictly for the JJ.
I did have a GA years ago when we had our motor home, and it was fine for that. But in today's world with all the fire restriction on charcoal use in campgrounds I think the wiser choice would be a propane GA if I was going to use one.

 

[Joe Anshien]

The WGA is a better choice IMHO. Check out the two vids. There is also a WGA group on FB.

 

[Brian_D]

I have a SJ and a JJ the Jumbo Joe is my go to charcoal grill for the two of us, it's easier to clean and uses less charcoal than our performer. Whereas the Smokey Joe is great for quick direct cooks like burgers, hot dogs, etc. it's not well suited for indirect cooking.
I went so far as to build a cart strictly for the JJ.
I did have a GA years ago when we had our motor home, and it was fine for that. But in today's world with all the fire restriction on charcoal use in campgrounds I think the wiser choice would be a propane GA if I was going to use one.

View attachment 75637

I like that ash catcher; is that how the come now?

 

[Rich Dahl]

I like that ash catcher; is that how the come now?

Apparently so as I have two JJs and they are both like that.

 

[Gary H. NJ]

Thanks all for your heartfelt input. I ended up getting the go anywhere, largely for its compactness. I’ll try to give it a trial run soon before heading out with it in late September on a trip. Again, thanks to everyone for your help.

 

[Joe Anshien]

Good choice. I think you will be amazed how versatile it is. Make sure to cut the heater to 60/40. That is the first and most important mod. It appears you to store everything in it and allow for easy indirect cooks

 

[Ed P]

Thanks all for your heartfelt input. I ended up getting the go anywhere, largely for its compactness. I’ll try to give it a trial run soon before heading out with it in late September on a trip. Again, thanks to everyone for your help.

There are a TON of mods and ideas for the GA. I am just amazed at how some of these clever folks take the lid off the GA and manage to pack it with everything needed. Spend some time on YT and you will be amazed at how much gear you can stow in the GA!

Most mods begin with cutting the OEM grate into two pieces so that it will lay down in the bottom and that mod opens the GA up for storage.

This video shows the use of a cheap grill topper to setup a charcoal fence on one side or two. These can folded and lay flat when not in use.

Enjoy!

 

[Joe Anshien]

Let me correct my above post since I did it from my phone and auto-correct seems to have got me and I can't seem to edit it.
Good choice. I think you will be amazed how versatile it is. Make sure to cut the grate to 60/40. That is the first and most important mod. It allows you to store everything in it and allow for easy indirect cooks. It is real easy with a bolt cutter or hack saw.

 

[Ed P]

Here's some pics of those grill topper charcoal fences in use and stowed.

 

[MichaelLC]

Not sure if you've seen it, but this bag is great. Note the two types.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GXZCXQ8/?tag=tvwb-20