I give merit to Steve's red 55 gallon upright barrel grills. We made one some 20 years ago, and it was always our go-to cooker when we wanted the best barbeque. We have several grills of the gorilla heavy steel variety, but the simplcity and consistancy of this type works producing for quality barbeque. I've made a couple since the first one, which was my Mom's favorite. They are inexpensive (unless you want to really dress one up, which is fine), easy to build (most everyone has the tools in the garage anyway) and are easy to move around (if you need to). I have enver won any awards for my barbeque pit, but I have for my barbeque. I live in South Texas and do not have to contend with the extreme cold,so I would imagine some modifications would be needed for northern winter climates. Myron Mixon uses a wool blanket to wrap around his cookers when it gets cold.