- Messages
- 3,529
- Location
- Saint Helena Island, SC
- Grill(s) owned
- Bull
- Bullseye
- Trailblazer
- Matador
- WyldSide
As a little background info, my home is built into a hillside, so the front of the house is a ground level and the back of the house has a walk-out door from my basement wood shop to a patio area partially covered by a deck. The deck is just outside my kitchen and that’s where the Bullseye, the Matador, and my wife’s RT-340 reside. This truly is an extension of my kitchen, and I cook on one or more of these grills nearly every day.I have no need for any prep area or special space with these grills.
However, the lower patio area is a different story. That’s where the Bull, the Wyldside, the BGE, and the Blackstone are located (no, I don’t have a grill problem!). I wear myself out going up and down the stairs hauling tools, spices, etc. from the kitchen and I needed something to make it work better for me.
That’s why I was really intrigued by the pictures @ARCbbq posted of his grill prep cart, and I know @Uncle Bob was interested in this as well, so here is what I came up with. The cart is from Harbor Freight, a Yukon 46” mobile workbench. It sells for around $290, and I was able to get a 10% discount off the one I bought at my local HF. Note that these are not stocked at all HF stores, but you can order them there for shipment to the store, avoiding the freight charges of having one shipped to your home.
When I went to assemble the cart, I had planned on using some pneumatic tires to replace the casters as ARCbbq had replaced his stock casters. I thought the quality of the stock casters looked fine, so that’s what I went with. I believe the overall quality of the box is quite good-the top is hardwood rather than laminate over pressboard, and the drawer has ball bearing slides. Now I’m not to try and convince you this is Kennedy tool box quality, it isn’t. But then I never bought a Kennedy chest for anywhere near under $300 either!
Here’s how I have outfitted the cart for starters, and I expect that what I store and how I store it will evolve over time. I’m a woodworker, and the cutting board is one I made and have used in my kitchen for 5-6 years now. I’ve made a new board for the kitchen, so this one goes to grill duty. The paper towel holder is magnetic, and can be quickly moved inside the cabinet when covered. There are magnetic hooks added under the handle to store commonly used tools, and the handle shields them from getting knocked around when using the cover.
Another thing about the handle, originally I planned on making a bracket for the other end to use with my 24” butcher paper. As it turns out, the roll of paper rests perfectly on the handle and the bench when I want to pull off a sheet, so no dedicated bracket is needed.
Inside the drawer I have my thermometers, SpitJack injector, spit tools, gloves, towels, etc. The drawer came with a rubber mat, which is a nice touch. When the picture was taken, I had a couple of knives in there but if this cart is staying outside, I’m not comfortable leaving knives in there for theft reasons. I’m using a knife roll now to keep the knives safe in the house.
Speaking of theft, all the doors and the drawer lock, but I would advise not locking them unless you need to do so to keep children out. A thief will destroy a locked box to get at cooking tools that they have no need for, so better to protect the box than to protect tools they will likely not steal.
Inside the doors, the cabinet came with 4 adjustable door racks and 4 adjustable shelves. I bought some 3’ wide carpet runner and cut to fit to use as shelf liners, which worked well and didn’t cost much. By the way, these runners work well for use as a mat under the grills-much cheaper than buying dedicated mats that often curl and don’t work nearly as well.
Unfortunately, the door opening is just slightly narrower than my longest sheet and hotel pans, so I have to tip them to fit, which means I don’t have enough height to use two shelves on the right side. If this cart had been only 3-4” longer, it would be perfect.
I bought the cover from Amazon, it is made for the larger Keter grill cart that some are using here-they are exactly the same size. My only concern is that the cover may allow some dampness to soak through to the wood top, so we will see how that goes. I use a commercial kitchen bus tub to season in, carry supplies to/from the kitchen, and right now I keep it on top of the wood top to cause the cover to tent, allowing rain to run off more easily. We’ll see how it works, but I may have to use a spray water treatment product on the cover.
I’m sure I’ve overlooked mentioning something, and I haven’t used it enough to get a good feel for how it works, but so far I think it is going to be a nice addition to the outdoor kitchen.
However, the lower patio area is a different story. That’s where the Bull, the Wyldside, the BGE, and the Blackstone are located (no, I don’t have a grill problem!). I wear myself out going up and down the stairs hauling tools, spices, etc. from the kitchen and I needed something to make it work better for me.
That’s why I was really intrigued by the pictures @ARCbbq posted of his grill prep cart, and I know @Uncle Bob was interested in this as well, so here is what I came up with. The cart is from Harbor Freight, a Yukon 46” mobile workbench. It sells for around $290, and I was able to get a 10% discount off the one I bought at my local HF. Note that these are not stocked at all HF stores, but you can order them there for shipment to the store, avoiding the freight charges of having one shipped to your home.
When I went to assemble the cart, I had planned on using some pneumatic tires to replace the casters as ARCbbq had replaced his stock casters. I thought the quality of the stock casters looked fine, so that’s what I went with. I believe the overall quality of the box is quite good-the top is hardwood rather than laminate over pressboard, and the drawer has ball bearing slides. Now I’m not to try and convince you this is Kennedy tool box quality, it isn’t. But then I never bought a Kennedy chest for anywhere near under $300 either!
Here’s how I have outfitted the cart for starters, and I expect that what I store and how I store it will evolve over time. I’m a woodworker, and the cutting board is one I made and have used in my kitchen for 5-6 years now. I’ve made a new board for the kitchen, so this one goes to grill duty. The paper towel holder is magnetic, and can be quickly moved inside the cabinet when covered. There are magnetic hooks added under the handle to store commonly used tools, and the handle shields them from getting knocked around when using the cover.
Another thing about the handle, originally I planned on making a bracket for the other end to use with my 24” butcher paper. As it turns out, the roll of paper rests perfectly on the handle and the bench when I want to pull off a sheet, so no dedicated bracket is needed.
Inside the drawer I have my thermometers, SpitJack injector, spit tools, gloves, towels, etc. The drawer came with a rubber mat, which is a nice touch. When the picture was taken, I had a couple of knives in there but if this cart is staying outside, I’m not comfortable leaving knives in there for theft reasons. I’m using a knife roll now to keep the knives safe in the house.
Speaking of theft, all the doors and the drawer lock, but I would advise not locking them unless you need to do so to keep children out. A thief will destroy a locked box to get at cooking tools that they have no need for, so better to protect the box than to protect tools they will likely not steal.
Inside the doors, the cabinet came with 4 adjustable door racks and 4 adjustable shelves. I bought some 3’ wide carpet runner and cut to fit to use as shelf liners, which worked well and didn’t cost much. By the way, these runners work well for use as a mat under the grills-much cheaper than buying dedicated mats that often curl and don’t work nearly as well.
Unfortunately, the door opening is just slightly narrower than my longest sheet and hotel pans, so I have to tip them to fit, which means I don’t have enough height to use two shelves on the right side. If this cart had been only 3-4” longer, it would be perfect.
I bought the cover from Amazon, it is made for the larger Keter grill cart that some are using here-they are exactly the same size. My only concern is that the cover may allow some dampness to soak through to the wood top, so we will see how that goes. I use a commercial kitchen bus tub to season in, carry supplies to/from the kitchen, and right now I keep it on top of the wood top to cause the cover to tent, allowing rain to run off more easily. We’ll see how it works, but I may have to use a spray water treatment product on the cover.
I’m sure I’ve overlooked mentioning something, and I haven’t used it enough to get a good feel for how it works, but so far I think it is going to be a nice addition to the outdoor kitchen.
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