This Is the Grill You Need for Your Summer Vacation

Whether you’re grilling on the go, or need a portable solution from year to year, I have a grill for you.

UPDATED FOR 2024.

Back in 2017, I wrote about the Coleman Road Trip Grill as the perfect road trip solution. Summer vacations often involve some kind of grilled dinner. And there were enough years where we experienced the big hassle of trying to get a charcoal grill going (it’s difficult even if it’s not so windy). Plus, if you’re buying a cheap charcoal grill from the local Wal-Mart, there’s also the toiveling factor (most lakes around are man made and do not work). Assembling the grill, getting the coals hot enough, and then figuring out where to dump the coals was another huge pain! Seriously, who needs to work so hard just for dinner?

Then came the Coleman. At the time that we bought it, it was around $100 and everyone was very skeptical when I brought it home. It was too cute. 

“That little grill is going to feed all of us?”

I had done my research and I was confident.

When it was time for our family BBQ, all the men gathered around the grill. They screwed in the propane tank (super easy) and lit it up.

“Wow! This little thing has lots of power! This thing is amazing! This is the perfect thing for vacation!”

And the best part: no more charcoal. The propane cylinders are easy enough to find and small enough to be portable.

The Coleman is easy to clean too. The grates and the drip trays underneath easily remove and fit in the sink for washing.

If you have a small patio, or like to travel and make barbecues with your family, whether it’s away from home or simply in local parks, or you rent a different summer home/bungalow from year to year and need something that’s easy to put away, this is your new summer grill solution.

Now that the price of the Coleman Road Trip Grill is higher than when we first wrote this post, a reader asked below if there’s a lower priced option. The answer is yes!

There’s a slightly smaller version of the Coleman Road Trip Grill with a smaller cooking surface that’s just under $200.

Coleman also makes a tabletop version for around $150. It’s the same grill, works just as well and is just as easy to use, you simply need that picnic table to be available (easy enough, right?).

If you want a standup grill, Cuisinart also makes one that’s under $150. It folds up even smaller than the Coleman and the cooking surface is also much smaller. The little Cuisinart tabletop version is around $100 and should be the most practical if you don’t need to cook that much and want it to take up minimal space in the car.

Which one would I choose, now that I retired my old Coleman and we will be in the market for new?

I’d go with the same Coleman in the tabletop version. Space in the car is always a premium, and table space is rarely an issue. So I’d choose tried-and-true, without needing to deal with the hassle of having space for the grill’s legs. It’ll also be easier to store in the off season.

Kashrus Note: We asked the CRC, who discusses the kashrus of cast iron pots here, a sheilah as to whether the grates of this grill need to be kashered as they are made of cast iron, but coated with a porcelain enamel. The answer we received was no, they do not need to be kashered. As always, feel free to ask your own rav.

Read: Vacation in a Kitchen-Less Hotel. Now What?