looking for new grill/smoker combo

[Silverback]

For the price the Old Country and Texas Longhorn smokers at Academy are decent. They work a lot better if you do the mods to them.
I have a Longhorn and as it came from the store the smoke chamber door didn't seal perfectly, the temps varied a lot across the grate and vertically, and it burned a TON of fuel. It's got 1100 sq in of cooking surface in the chamber so it will hold a lot of meat.
I put in a diffuser plate, modified the exhaust to make it draft from grill level, and sealed the door with black RTV. Now it holds temps great, is very even temperature wise horizontally and vertically, and uses a lot less fuel.
Tejas or Lifetyme smokers are badass and don't need any modification. They are a lot heavier and better made but they do cost a lot more than the ones at Academy too.
I would also stay away from the combo ones as the ones I have seen don't work well for either purpose, but especially for smoking.

how did you put on the black RTV for sealing? I put a bead on and tried the wax paper trick, where you put it between the rtv and the lid, then close it and let it set, but I guess I left it too long, because the wax paper stuck to the black rtv. My old country main chamber already has the exhaust at grill height, but I've thought about putting in a better diffuser plate, with equally spaced openings for better temperature control. But mine isn't terrible, and I actually like being able to move the food to the far left and let it keep warm, while the far right is where I smoke quick cook items like sausage, apps, etc.

I also want to put in an electric temperature controller on the opposite side of the built in vent on the firebox. Still debating that one.

[Baron Von Crowder]

Baron,

The trailer smoker I've smoked and grilled on quite a few times at Nascar races is setup with a propane burner in the firebox, under another grate where the wood sits on top of it. It was only used for helping start new logs, or help stoke the fire. We never used it for cooking directly over the burner.

My only thought was like with a gas grill, you'd want the burner higher with a diffuser plate over it for heat distribution. But I don't see why it wouldn't work, other than it getter really hot being over your burning wood.

It really made it easy getting the fire started in the smoker early in the morning, and came in handy when trying to get the pit back up to temp when the drunkeness set in and we go forgetful

Almost exactly what I've seen on searches. The setup they used for grilling over the gas involved a removable insert that was essentially a steel mesh bag with either lava rocks or ceramic brink deals.

[Trick Pony]

how did you put on the black RTV for sealing? I put a bead on and tried the wax paper trick, where you put it between the rtv and the lid, then close it and let it set, but I guess I left it too long, because the wax paper stuck to the black rtv. My old country main chamber already has the exhaust at grill height, but I've thought about putting in a better diffuser plate, with equally spaced openings for better temperature control. But mine isn't terrible, and I actually like being able to move the food to the far left and let it keep warm, while the far right is where I smoke quick cook items like sausage, apps, etc.

I also want to put in an electric temperature controller on the opposite side of the built in vent on the firebox. Still debating that one.

You should only have the door closed on the wax paper for a short time to get the sealant to spread. Then open the door and let it set with the door open. May depend on what brand of rtv and wax paper you use too.

[Silverback]

I was using the standard black rtv from o'reillys I really probably let it sit too long.

The lid on the firebox is where most of my leaks come from, so i just use foil tripled over into 1 inch wide strips, that i wrap around the edges of the opening, and the lid closes on, it eliminated 95% of the leaks with minimal effort, just doesn't look all pretty