Had a Traeger for many years and it worked great. Finally ditched it due to the high price of pellets ($20 in my area) and it being such a pain to clean out.

Went with the Bubba Keg which isn't made anymore. Love it. Similar to Big Green Egg, but cheaper and more durable as it doesn't use ceramics to hold the heat energy. Instead, double steel walls with oven insulation between works just as well and it won't crack during transportation. In fact, it even came with a receiver hitch adapter so you can throw it behind your vehicle and hit the road. It was made to the same dimensions as the BGE so most accessories you want such as grills and heat deflectors fit great.

I think the BGE is great, but a little over hyped. My neighbor had one and I felt the side of it while he was smoking a turkey. It was way hotter than the side of mine while at smoking temperature which means it was losing energy. Not good if you want to set it up in the morning and walk away until the evening when you harvest your meat.

So what to get if the Bubba Keg is out of production? Check this out http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...rillicompan-20. Pretty much a carbon copy of my set up. A little spendy, but still cheaper than the BGE, I think. Uses lump charcoal, too, which is a fraction of pellet prices. Lump burns hotter and cleaner than traditional charcoal and it's so efficient that a bag lasts months and I grill A LOT! The red bag stuff sold at WalMart is only about $10 a bag. If you want the real wood smoke taste (highly recommended) buy a bag of wood chips (hickory, mesquite, cherry, etc.), soak a handful of them in water for a while, and then throw them on top of the hot charcoal before you put in the meat. Makes meat as good as, or better than, any of the big name famous BBQ joints around the country. Trust me. With a little practice, not having the digital thermostat of the Traeger is a moot point as it's so stable and efficient. Just don't let it get too hot after initial fire up as you'll never get it back down to smoking temp if that's what you're after. It just holds the heat too well to pull it off without snuffing it out completely.

Get out there and grill!!