Used BBQ Smokers & Trailers For Sale by Owner

Searching for quality used BBQ smokers, trailers, or trucks for sale? You’ve come to the right place. Each one of our listings is sold directly by independent owners without fees or commissions so you get the best price.

Browse active BBQ smokers, trucks, and trailer listings below. Each listing includes photos, asking price, location, equipment lists, and other essential details. Whether your looking for a cheap BBQ smoker trailer for small catering events or a high-end food truck for starting a new business, you’ll find what you’re looking for right here.

Active BBQ Smoker and Trailer Listings

Check this page regularly for new BBQ smoker inventory. We add new listings every week.

BBQ Smoker and Trailer Buyer’s Guide

Texas Q BBQ and Catering trailer is ready to serve you.

Need help purchasing a BBQ truck or trailer? We’ve got you covered with best practices for identifying a unit that meets your needs. Whether you want to start full-time business serving smoked meats and ribs or just want to take your backyard barbecue to the next level, we’ve got you covered.

What Are Your Needs?

First and foremost, time the time to understand the goals of your BBQ unit. If you plan to serve at small to medium sized events or catering than a small trailer is all you’ll need. Smaller BBQ 10′ – 15′ trailers will usually be priced between $8,000 – $30,000. The average price is determined by condition of the trailer, size, materials used to build the unit and of course the seller’s personal motivations. Small smokers can be easily towed with a small truck and even a car in some instances.

If you’re looking for higher volume sales to serve at locations like county fairs or street dances a large BBQ smoker trailer or truck (16′ – 20′ in length) will be the right choice. The average price for these trailers and trucks will range from $40,000 – $100,000. Many of these include a back porch for smoking. If you plan to serve a few hundred covers per day this is the clear choice for professional concession vendors.

Windows up on this BBQ concession truck.

A larger smoker trailer offers greater sales volume for a few reasons. First, there’s more storage and refrigeration space. The more inventory you’re able to keep on your trailer the more you can sell before running out for the day. As you know, cooking competition level BBQ takes time. You’ll need to plan ahead if you want to deliver a quality product to customers.

The second reason you can sell more with a large unit is due to the available cooking space. The larger the cooking surface, the more meat you can smoke. In addition to looking at the size of the trailer, we recommend asking about the total cooking space available in inches as well. It doesn’t matter how big the trailer is if there’s not the right kitchen equipment installed. A large unit should provide 3,000 inches or more of cooking space.

Finally, larger units will be able to fit more employees comfortably into the unit. If you run a good sized barbecue joint already, you understand space can get tight in a small kitchen. A bigger space means more room for employees that can focus on serving customers, accepting payments, plating dishes, and getting food out the window as fast as possible!

Pro Tip: In addition to size of unit, another factor influencing the asking price is whether you want to buy a truck or trailer. Trucks will always be more expensive than trailers because of the engine. Trucks simply cost more to produce for that reason compared to trailers.

Standard Equipment List

Here’s a standard list of equipment that comes standard with most barbecue smoker trailers. Make sure each piece is inspected and working properly before investing in any pre-owned unit.

Cooking chamber: This is where meat is smoked.
Firebox: This is where the wood is burned. The firebox is where the heat and smoke come from.
Racks: You’ll place meats and some sides like corn directly on the metal heating racks. Ideally these racks can be easily removed from the smoker to make cooking and serving easier.
Vents and Thermometer: To cook competition-grade barbecue you’ll need a reliable thermometer installed on the smoker to ensure consistent temps throughout the cooking process. The vent will regulate the temperature inside of the smoker.
Prep Space: This is an easy one to overlook, but you’ll want ample space to comfortably cut and season meat with specialty rubs.
3-Compartment Sink: A 3-compartment sink provides a place to wash dishes, spoons, bowls, and serving tongs. The space can also double as an addition prep or cutting area by placing a low-cost plastic cutting board over the top of the sink.
Hand Washing Sink: This ensures you and employees have a dedicated place to wash hands. Usually a requirement by local health departments.
Refrigeration: Small smoker trailers will utilize a cooler or ice box to keep meat cold A larger unit will contain refrigerators for storing or brining meat. Refrigerators also open up ready to serve side dish options like potato salad too.
Wood Storage: Ideally you’ll want a place to store wood for smoking like apple, maple, hickory, or other popular options. You can often find storage attached to the exterior of the unit.
Combination Smoker and BBQ Grill – Depending on the style of barbecue you plan to serve a combination smoker and BBQ grill is something you’ll need. These are commonly referred to as chargrill smokers.

Questions to Ask Before You Buy

Buying a BBQ smoker is a big investment. You should never purchase a food trailer or truck before seeing it in person first and confirming the cooking equipment operates as expected. Never send any type of payment to anyone even as a down-payment before seeing merchandise in person.

If you’re not an experienced mechanic, we also recommend bringing along an expert to provide feedback on the quality of the truck or trailer. The last thing you want to do is purchase a unit that breaks down frequently and prevents you from participating in lucrative events or catering gigs. Here are some questions to ask the owner of the BBQ unit.

Is the steel used to create the trailer at least a quarter inch in thickness? If not, the trailer and equipment won’t be durable enough to sustain the wear and tear of commutes.
Has the unit passed health inspections? If so, can you see the permit? Every location will have different health requirements, but you can be more confident in making a purchase if it’s cleared previous health inspections in the recent past.
Can you test the smoker? Ideally you would like to see it running and maintaining a temperature. Ensure there are no leaks around doors that could result in air escaping.
How has the unit been maintained? How frequently was it in service? Sometimes you can find like-new BBQ smokers that were intended for catering events, but the business never got off the ground and was rarely used. These can be great finds. If you are buying the unit from a successful competition BBQ team, you can be more confident in knowing the unit was well maintained.

How to Operate a Profitable BBQ Concession Business

This section provides best practices on the operations of a BBQ concession business. As a general rule of thumb, we always recommend writing a business plan before hitting the road so the operations and menu of your business is well thought out. You need to take the time to determine what your menu and prices should be to ensure a profitable business.

The BBQ business has a straight-forward business model. Most businesses will generate the bulk of their revenue through one of the following:

Catering: From weddings to graduations to family reunions there are endless reasons customers hire catering services. Nothing beats freshly smoked BBQ for guests. Focusing on building a BBQ catering business is a popular operations plan since you can be confident about how much you can expect to make each time you serve. Click here to learn how to book your first catering gig if you don’t have prior experience.

Events: Any event in your city that attracts a crowd is an opportunity for you to vend. Popular vending options include fairs, Fourth of July celebrations, farmers markets, concerts, high school football games and fundraisers.

Daily Service: When individuals think about how food trucks make money this is usually what they think of. Street vending is another option on city streets (where allowed) or outside of corporate offices. You can monitor the locations other food trucks in your area vend to get some ideas on where to start in your area.

While the most common ways to create a profitable mobile business are listed above don’t forget that more creative options that can be utilized as well to create supplemental income such as creating a custom rub to sell or BBQ sauce.

Other Considerations

We hope this piece helps you understand what to look for in a used BBQ smoker trailer. Here are a few parting tips we want to remind you about before making a final purchase decision.

Don’t ever feel rushed or pressured to buy a specific smoker unit. We add new listings to our website each week and there will never be a shortage of used inventory. Take the time to find the right trailer for you!
Always conduct due diligence and inspect a food trailer in person before buying.
It can be tempting to buy the lowest price smoker trailer, but that’s not always the best idea. Take into consideration the appearance and reliability of the unit as well. Both will impact the profitability and ease of operating the business. You want to be focused on building your business, not repairs.
Always find out the health requirements of concession units in your area before making a purchase. What might pass inspections in Alabama, may not meet requirements in California. Understand what you need from a health perspective in your area before you buy.

Thanks for taking the time to learn more about BBQ smokers and trailers. Click here to browse our full list of active food trucks and trailers for sale.