Dave, don't mind at all as far as price goes...if ya want the Traeger Pro 34 like this, get ready to part ways with a little over $1K. The bottom shelf btwn the legs as well as the front, collapsible shelf are options...mo money. About $125-130 for those two shelves if I remember correctly. If out of your range possibly, and not cooking for the masses at times, take a look at the Traeger 22 series line. They'll still do five/six Butts easily, crazy amount of burgers/dogs, half chickens, etc.
This Pro 34 has 884 total sq inches of grate action, btwn the bottom main rack and the upper rack. It's a biggun. And it's built like a tank. It's an absolute solid machine. When I saved up and pulled the trigger on this thing...it was a long-term investment vice a 'heat of the moment' purchase. I did a helluva lot of reading and reviews on everything out there for may weeks. I think the Traeger is the cats' ass. Traeger been doing this chit for several decades...
You can get their pellet smokers/grills with an option of Bronze door or Blue door. I think some models even come in standard black doors, just have to check them out. I personally prefer the Bronze look.
It's a heavy, solid machine...I think you'd do good investing in one. You can grill anything you want, just like any other grill regardless of what it is...chops, chicken,burgers/dogs, steaks...the only difference is the medium of where it gets its heat source from...pellets fed through an auger into a cooking pot vice charcoal, LP gas, etc. They just have the advantage of long, controlled smokes when it comes to Butts, shoulders, even smaller while hogs.
I don't think you'll be pissing your money away getting a Traeger. There's many others out there to buy as well...take a look around. I been smoking and grilling groceries for four decades now...I take my smoking and grilling seriously. Smoking and fine eats are all about constant temp moderation.
I'm just a little turd in the smoking/grilling world, but I guarantee one thing Dave...I can hold my own with the big boys.
