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we use ours frequently, because of ease of use. They aren’t particularly hard to clean either. That said, I carry a charcoal grill got laver when we have the time to wait for the coals to get hot. That’s really the best of both worlds.

When we bought our bus last year we were the first ones to ever use the grill (or the cooktop), so I don’t think many use it at all.

[Don]

We use it all the time. It sets up easily and is a good way to keep the interior cooler in summer and avoids having to live with the remainder odors of cooking. Ours is a Jenn Aire and has hotplates as well as the grill. No problem cleaning.

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Ditto. We have had one on every coach and I cannot imagine not having one. The one we have now is relatively small but adequate. I would not allow the lack of a grille to be a deal breaker on a good coach because there are so many ways to add one to a coach which we did ourselves on the first coach we had.

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We enjoyed the hot dogs and burgers prepared on Jon’s Liberty grill while at Indy..FMCA rally.

We need to prepare hot dogs and burgers on a Marathon grill for a taste test comparison. Rumor has it Marathon prepared hot dogs and burgers have a highly prized “10” rating. at the national 2012 bus grill BBQ cook-off .

[John]

And we enjoyed the convenience of the pull out table Marathon provided in Al’s coach. He wishes he had a grille, and we wish we had that nice extending table.

We have cooked countless times on the grill, and the previous coach had a grille and two hotplates which made cooking even easier. I think we have cooked inside on the cooktop two or three times total.

[Archived]

A great week was spent with the PC contingent at FMCA Indy.

I don’t have a built in BBQ; mine is stored in a cardboard box and seems to work well on a folding table. I did purchase the slides to build in the BBQ but haven’t had time to do it yet. I guess the deluxe options come standard on the new coaches.

I did like the iPhone app that Karl had. Allowed him to evaluate any wine that was being considered at a restaurant and look up the wines in his cellar. It wasn’t clear if the wine cellar was located in the first bay of his Liberty or at home.

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Starting to redesign the second bay of our Liberty XLV and would like to install a grill. Are you using gas or electric and what brand of grill? Trying to decide which would work better, a mounted grill that slides out or a portable one. Any suggestions are welcomed. Don

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Don,

Your question creates other questions which need to be considered. Does your coach have the second bay open or do you have an entertainment center that needs to be modified or removed? If the bay is open are the wires typically used by Liberty for the grille available to you? They are likely behind a panel accessible from the panel in the first bay or through the back of the second bay.

Do you prefer a gas grill and the concerns associated with carrying propane, or do you prefer an electric grille?

Our 97 did not have an entertainment center, but had a full width “drawer” on a slide that allowed it to be fully extended beyond the bay door. The “drawer” had a grille on the left and to the right of the grille was a pair of electric cooktop hotplates. The whole assembly was a Jenn Air and dropped into a cutout in the “drawer” top surface. To the far right was a corion work surface that lifted up to expose a recessed area that held the electric cable and had space for the BBQ tools.

We currently just have a grille (also a Jenn Air) that has its own slide. No work surface, no cooktop hotplates. It works but I liked the full width unit because it gave room to work and I could cook an entire meal.

Our first coach I installed a propane grille. But that was a coach that had a 50 gallon propane tank for the furnaces and the refrigerator along with the 3 burner kitchen stove. I used a long rubber hose designed for propane with a safety shut off. That grille was on a pair of slides and also slid out beyond the bay door. I did not have a work surface and compared to coach #2 it was not as convenient.

Assuming the wires for electric power are in place but unused I would opt for an electric grille but mounted in a full width cooking work surface. Just make sure it is set up so it cannot be stowed with the electric cord attached to prevent a fire potential.

[Archived]

My Liberty has the slide out grill, but I (like the previous owners) have never used it. I tried to boil a stock pot of water for shrimp once, and it could never bring the pot to boil. I am sure it would grill fine, but I remain a little apprehensive about the smoke/mess so close to the raised bay door.

I have found a solution that works for me very well. I have a Texas Sizzler Jr propane grill I carry in the first bay. I also have a light weight but strong folding stand that the grill fits on and a canvas case for the grill. I keep a couple of green propane cylinders in the bay.

I can have it set set up in under a minute. For my taste, it is hard to beat the cooking on a gas grill. The Sizzler is a true “infrared” burner with the ceramic block that has the ability to get really hot; perfect for that Pittsburg rare steak. And I like the fact that I can get the gear away from the bus.

I know there is some risk to any gas system, but the green cannisters seem safer than a built-in system, so it does not worry me very much.

This set up works great for me.

[AL]

I hope the Liberty guys don’t hear about this. It’s in all there sales contracts that no one is allowed to serve TUBE STEAK from one of there coaches. The burgers are acceptable cause I know Jon would only use Kobe beef in them.

Remember. If with the CC crowd you get prime rib!!!!!:-))

[Georges]

I carry a small Weber and 10 pound propane bottle. The grill is in a box with utensils in the 2nd bay. I have a fold up table next to the battery enclosure, in case the campground doesn’t have a picnic table. For me, this is the way to go. I’m not a fan of cooking too close to the coach, so I don’t think I’m missing a thing by not having the slide out grill. It did have dinner with a Liberty owner with the slide out grill that he removed and used an extension cord to operate it from the picnic table. I kind of like the idea on a slide for storage.

For me, there are just too many other features that would be far more important to my buying decision.

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I removed the slide out electric grill as it did not cook well, meaning it didn’t get hot enough to brown the meat and took forever to cook with, especially if it were windy. That grill had no lava rocks and was open on the bottom and top. Cooking in the rain was also miserable, your food will get wet. I also did not like cooking right next to the side of the coach and with the bay door open.

After removing the entertainment center with grill we now have a bay for storage and an refrig/freezer chest, a very nice thing to have.

Now I cook on a small portable stainless steel propane grill with 20# tank. This I carry in the Avalanche toad and can set up in several places, tailgate, picnic table, portable folding table, very convenient and because it is a real grill it all works the way it should. When grilling is finished, just turn it and the tank off and close the lid and go eat. When on the go by the time you are done eating the grill will be cold enough to pack away or if you are at a place for awhile you just leave it on the table for the next time.

I would personally not bother with a charcoal grill.

I will post a picture tomorrow.

JIM

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We bought the Weber Q Electric unit , even though our dated coach has propane, I like the versatility this unit provides. We don’t do a lot of fancy full fledged meals but this unit works fine. Not huge either, but good for burgers/dogs and keeps fish cooking out of bus. I also like it because it is ready to move quickly and we can use it anywhere we can get an extension cord to, and in most campgrounds thats….everywhere.

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Jon, any chance you have any photos of your electric grill installed in your prior coach? Sounds alot like what I am considering. Thanks for everyone’s responses, we are new to this and learning everyday. Don

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one more thought…

At home we use a Traeger wood smoker that can also catlike a grill. Should we ever be able to justify the updating of our rig I envision for full timing, I would like to put in one of these. They may have to make me a smaller, custom one, but the flexibility and improvement in taste is with it. Also, no propane hassles or safety issues because you are carrying a bag of wood pellets.