Which Traeger Pellet Grill Should You Buy in 2026?
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Our pitmasters have cooked on every grill in the Traeger lineup. We’ve tested their ability to cook ribs, brisket, and pulled pork low and slow, as well as how they perform grilling and searing meat.
If you’re considering buying a Traeger but not sure which is best, read on to learn the differences between each model, and how they stack up against the competition.
At a glance:
The Traeger Woodridge offers a new design and some nice features from the higher-end models, at a more affordable price. The Ironwood is a big step up in features and price, while the Timberline is larger, better built, and is more of an outdoor kitchen with an improved cart design and the induction side plate.
The Traeger lineup
When it comes to pellet grills, Traeger is king. Joe Traeger invented this new type of grill in 1986, and it remains the most well-known pellet grill brand today.
Shopping for a Traeger grill can be confusing. With so many years in business, there are many different models and versions to compare.
These days, Traeger produces five models of pellet grill.
The Traeger pellet grill lineup
- Woodridge – The new entry-level option is available in base, Pro, and Elite models.
- Ironwood – A step up from the Woodridge series, offering better build quality and some extra tech.
- Timberline – Even larger sizes, a new cart, a touch screen, and a built-in induction cooktop.
- Tailgater – A portable model with 300 sq inches and a lot less tech, now quite dated.
- Ranger – Suitcase style design, even more portable
We’ll go into a lot more detail in our reviews below to help you decide. This comparison tool is also useful for comparing different Traeger models.
The Best Traeger Grills
These Traeger reviews are summaries of longer reviews we’ve done on each model, so be sure to check those out once you’ve narrowed down which model you are interested in.
1. Best Value for Money – Traeger Woodridge
Read our full Traeger Woodridge Base or Woodridge Pro review.
The Woodridge is Traeger’s new entry-level model. It replaces the older Pro, which was really starting to show its age.
Unlike the Pro, the Woodridge comes in three different configurations: the base, Pro (not to be confused with the old Pro), and Elite.
The base Woodridge is the same price as the older Pro but offers a lot more cooking space, a better grill body, and a digital controller. The Pro and Elite models add size and more tech.
We’ve cooked on the base and Pro models and would definitely recommend going for the Pro for an extra $250.
In our cooking tests, we found the Woodridge excelled at low and slow cooking, maintaining stable temperatures and producing tender, juicy results. Both the brisket and ribs we smoked had a mild smoke profile.
The grill struggled to achieve a proper sear on steaks, even with the Modifire Sear Grate.
| Woodridge | Woodridge Pro | Woodridge Elite | |
| Cooking space (sq in) | 860 (520 primary + 340 warming) | 970 (585 primary + 385 warming) | 970 (585 primary + 385 warming) |
| Weight (lbs) | 138 | 174 | 221 |
| Temperature Range (°F) | 180-500 | 180-500 | 180-500 |
| Hopper (lbs) | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| Super Smoke Mode | No | Yes | Yes |
| Pellet Sensor | No | Yes | Yes |
| Side Sear Burner | No | No | Yes |
| Price | Check Latest Price | Check Latest Price | Check Latest Price |
The Pro model adds a Super Smoke mode and bumps the grill size up to a very respectable 970 square inches of cooking area.
You can watch our full video review of the base model below.
- Large size for the price
- Digital controller and app
- Quite and efficient
- Lack of smoke flavor on base model
- Poor high heat searing
- Base model lacks features
2. Traeger Ironwood Wood Pellet Grill
Read our full Traeger Ironwood review.
The Ironwood sits in the middle of the Traeger lineup. Like the top-of-the-range Timberline, it was updated in 2023 with a new color display, improved insulated construction, and a range of customization options with the P.A.L. accessory system.
Until the Woodridge Pro was released, we considered the Ironwood the best Traeger for most people due to its size and useful tech without the eye-watering Timberline price tag.
Now that you can get Super Smoke on the Woodridge, the Ironwood isn’t quite as appealing, although the build quality and cart are still a lot nicer.
The only difference between the base Ironwood and the XL is the size, so it comes down to how many people you plan on cooking for.
Traeger Ironwood Specifications:
| Ironwood | Ironwood XL | |
| Cooking capacity | 616 Sq in | 924 Sq in |
| Pellet hopper capacity | 22 Pounds | 22 Pounds |
| Grilling area | Rack 1 – 396 Sq in Rack 2 – 220 Sq in | Rack 1 – 594 Sq in Rack 2 – 330 Sq in |
| Max temperature | 500°F | 500°F |
| Weight | 199 Lbs | 243 Lbs |
The Ironwood shares many features with the more expensive Timberline. It now has the ‘DownDraft Exhaust’ and ‘Super Smoke® Mode’ features that used to be unique to the Timberline.
You also have the option to change the smoke level and a pellet sensor.
While it does sound a bit like marketing jargon, these features do seem to help circulate fresh smoke, keeping smoke in the chamber and maintaining even temp.
When Traeger updated the Ironwood design, they added good prep areas and a storage shelf. The P.A.L accessory system allows you to add on extras like a front shelf and storage bin.
For a detailed look at this grill, check out the video below.
You’ve also got some handy features that make this grill easy to use, like the keep warm mode and options to create custom cook settings via the digital control panel or app.
The Ironwood series offers a middle ground between the pricier Timberline and the smaller, more basic Woodridge series.
The Timberline does have some nice features (we’ll get to those in a minute), but the price jump is huge.
- Large cooking area
- Technological features
- Sturdy and durable build
- Smoke profile
- Easy to clean
- No firepot cleanout
- Only 2 rotating, locking caster wheels
3. Traeger Timberline Wood Pellet Grill
Read our full Traeger Timberline review.
When Traeger released the new version of the Timberline, they updated the cart design to make it more of an all-in-one outdoor kitchen.
The new design includes a cabinet, more storage options, and a built-in induction plate for prepping sauces, sides, and searing meat. Like the Ironwood, it uses the P.A.L. Pop-And-Lock system to customize your grill with various attachments.
I’ve been cooking on the TImberline for about a year, and it has continued to surprise me.
Traeger Timberline Specifications:
| Timberline | Timberline XL | |
| Cooking capacity | 880 Sq In | 1320 Sq in |
| Pellet hopper capacity | 22 Lbs | 22 Lbs |
| Grilling area | Rack 1 – 396 Rack 2 – 242 Rack 3 – 242 | Rack 1 – 594 Rack 2 – 363 Rack 3 – 363 |
| Weight | 238 Lbs | 289 Lbs |
| Max temperature | 500°F | 500°F |
| Exterior material | Painted steel |
During my cooking tests, I found the brisket I smoked had noticeably more flavor from the smoke output.
I was also pleasantly surprised that I could get the grill grates hot enough to sear steaks.
This makes it a versatile option for those who want to cook a wide variety of food.
The grill starts relatively fast for its size, and the large touchscreen controller is a joy to use.
I love how they implemented the oven-style racking system so you have a not of flexibility in how you position the grates to fit whatever you’re smoking.
The one big knock against the Timberline is the price point. It is one of the most expensive pellet smokers on the market. Even the smaller Timberline costs almost $1,000 more than the made-in-the-USA Yoder YS640 (we have a detailed comparison of those two smokers you can check out).
If you want the latest and greatest and have the cash, we think it’s worth the investment. Traeger has the best tech and app out of every pellet grill we’ve tested. All the outdoor kitchen features help to justify the price.
- Easy-to-use full-color touchscreen PID controller
- Temperature range up to 500°F
- Smoke insulation
- Built-in induction plate
- Oven-style racking system
- Small sized wheels
- High price
4. Tailgater Portable Pellet Grill
Read our full Traeger Tailgater review.
The Tailgater is Traeger’s attempt to offer the convenience and flavor of cooking with pellets, in a portable format.
With 300 square inches of cooking space, the Tailgater can handle 3 racks of ribs, although it will be a tight fit.
The grill weighs 62 lbs and measures 36 x 37 x 18 inches. The pellet hopper can hold 8 lbs, which should allow 4-6 hours of cooking without refilling.
The EZ-Fold legs are a handy feature that allows you to wheel the grill onto the bed or your truck.
What you gain in portability, you give up on features. The Tailgater doesn’t include WiFi or any other improvements in the Pro, Ironwood, or Timberline grills.
Like the Pro, the Tailgater is showing its age, and it is overdue for a refresh.
This grill still performs well and can handle anywhere from 180 – 450°F. The digital controller keeps temperatures fairly stable within 20 degrees of your set temperature.
Traeger Tailgater Specifications:
| Cooking capacity | 300 Sq In |
| Pellet hopper capacity | 8 Pounds |
| Main grilling area | 300 Sq In |
| Max temperature | 450°F |
| Exterior material | Painted steel |
| Weight | 62 Lbs |
Traeger also sells the smaller Ranger which we cover in more detail in our best portable pellet grills guides.
While there’s something nice about grilling with charcoal when you are camping, you can’t beat the versatility of a pellet grill. Being able to bake, grill and smoke is super convenient when you can only take one grill with you.
- Great at grilling and smoking
- Folds down to easily fit in the trunk
- Easy to clean
- Folding legs can be tricky for one person to deploy
5. Traeger Pro 575 Wood Pellet Grill
Read our full Traeger Pro review.
The Traeger Pro was the best-selling, entry-level Traeger grill. Now that you can get the base model Woodridge for the same price, I don’t think there’s any good reason to buy it, unless you manage to grab it at clearance prices.
When it was last updated in 2019, it was a great value grill with the addition of Wifi technology to connect the grill to the Traeger companion app.
Now, in 2024, the Pro is starting to show its age. Unlike the Timberline and Ironwood, this grill design has not been touched. Plus, you have a lot more options from the competition, which has been busy releasing grills with better features for a similar or even lower price.
The Pro comes in two sizes. The 575 square inch model has enough space to cook five racks of ribs at once, or four chickens which should be plenty for most people. The price jump to the larger is $200, and for that price, you are way better off looking at the Weber Searwood or Camp Chef Woodwind.
You can also choose between black or bronze colors.
The Traeger app is amongst the best of all pellet grills we’ve tested.
If you’re not sure, we have a guide that covers which Traeger grills have WiFi.
Traeger Pro 575 Specifications:
| Cooking capacity | 575 Sq In |
| Pellet hopper capacity | 18 Pounds |
| Main grilling area | 418 Sq In |
| Secondary grilling area | 154 Sq In |
| Max temperature | 500°F |
| Exterior material | Painted steel |
| Weight | 124 Lbs |
Temperature is controlled by the Pro D2 direct drive controller, which lets you cook anywhere between 180 – 500°F.
The RTD probe measures the temperature every second to maintain even temperatures within 15 degrees.
Another benefit of the D2 direct drive technology is the turbo temp fast startup, which lets you start cooking quickly.
You get an 18lb hopper, and thanks to the cleanout feature, you can quickly change pellet flavor during a cook.
Prep space is limited, but this can be fixed by adding the front folding shelf. We have a guide that goes over the best Traeger accessories you can add.
The Pro was great value for years but with stiff competition from
- Accurate PID controller for stable temperatures
- Excellent App and WiFi connectivity
- Front shelf costs extra
Where are Traeger grills made?
All Traeger grills are manufactured in China and Vietnam.
Some people have complained about Traeger offshoring grill production leading to a drop in quality in the 2010s.
While Traeger did go through a rough period, the simple fact is that the vast majority of consumer grills are manufactured outside of the USA.
If you value American-made products, you might consider a Yoder or Lone Star Grillz pellet grill.
Other brands to consider
Thanks to Traeger’s popularity, there are now many more brands to choose from. While Traeger is still the most popular, these brands are hot on their tails.
In most cases we have detailed comparisons where we pit a Traeger model against a comparably priced competitor.
Not sold on Traeger? Check out our list of the best Traeger alternatives.
Pit Boss VS Traeger
Pit Boss is one of the most popular Traeger competitors and offers grills starting at a fraction of the cost of a Traeger Pro.
One feature many
On the upside you can hit temps as high as 500°F which is a full 50°F higher than on the Traeger Pro.
Build quality is pretty similar to Traeger.
Read our full Traeger VS Pit Boss comparison.
Camp Chef VS Traeger
I’m a big fan of Camp Chef and their flagship Woodwind, which is always on our list of favorite pellet grills.
The popular DLX 24 pellet grill is also worth checking out.
Unlike Traeger, Camp Chef produces a variety of outdoor cooking products and other types of grill, so they definitely aren’t as specialized.
The option to purchase a sear box with Camp Chef attachment is one of the main features that set these grills apart.
Camp Chef also has a nice system to dump and switch out the wood pellets, and a great grease and ash catch system.
To learn more, check our detailed Camp Chef vs Traeger head to head comparison.
Green Mountain Grills VS Treager
Green Mountain Grills (GMG for short) has a small but loyal following. For many years, Traeger and GMG were involved in a bitter lawsuit, which has now been settled.
They were ahead of the game when it came to adding WiFi as a standard option with their wood pellet grills.
Well-built and competitively priced, they are a strong alternative to Traeger.
A lot of their fame comes from the excellent Trek portable pellet grill, which is one of our favorite portable pellet smokers. This grill competes with the Traeger Tailgater, but with the GMG, you get WiFi, which is really handy when you are camping.
If you aren’t interested in a portable grill, they also sell the popular Ledge Prime which competes with the Traeger Pro 575.
For the price, Green Mountain Grills make an excellent Traeger alternative. You just don’t have the full range of sizes available.
To learn more, check our detailed Green Mountain Grills VS Traeger comparison.
Z Grills VS Traeger
Z Grills are the newest competitor to Traeger. While it looks like they appeared out of nowhere, they’ve been manufacturing grills out of China for other companies (including including Traeger!) for several years.
The main advantage of Z Grills is value for money. The Z Grills 700D4E offers 700 square inches of cooking space, a 3-year warranty, and similar construction quality to Traeger, all for a lower price.
They also have a smaller 450 square inch model that has a similar construction and the suitcase-style Cruiser 200A that competes with the Traeger Ranger.
After some people reported issues with the temperature control unit, this has been upgraded in the latest models.
We have a more detailed guide that puts the Traeger Pro against a similarly priced Z Grills smoker.
Traeger VS Recteq
Recteq (formerly REC TEC) has a reputation for high-quality pellet grills at a mid-range price point.
There fans are famously loyal. Just go on any forum or Facebook group and you’ll see them pop up everytime anyone asks for a smoker recommendation.
Check out our detailed REC TEC VS Traeger comparison for more information.
Traeger Brand History
I always like to know a little bit about the brand of grill I’m buying. And Traeger has quite an interesting brand story.
Traeger grills were the result of Joe Traeger and Jerry Whitfield experimenting with wood pellet-burning stoves.
Joe Traeger was the first person to develop the pellet grill in 1985, and he patented it in 1986.
Thanks to this patent, Traeger had the pellet grill market all to themselves for the next twenty years.
Early Traeger grills used a simple LMH controller, which lets you choose between low, medium, and high heat.
These early models were fairly basic, as the auger timing didn’t allow for weather conditions or the amount of food being cooked.
During this time Traeger remained a small family company based out of Oregon.
When the original patent expired in 2006, there was a rush of new brands entering the pellet smoker market. By 2014 there were 27 different companies manufacturing pellet grills.
Jeremy Andrus joined Traeger in 2014 when he acquired the business in with private equity firm Trilantic Capital Partners and moved the business to Salt Lake City.
Today, Traeger is still the largest manufacturer of pellet grills, selling more than $300 million worth of products per year.
Like any big company, you hear mixed stories about customer service. From digging through the complaints, I see that most people object to long wait times when ordering replacement parts for faulty grills.
Wrapping it up
For many years, if you wanted a pellet grill, Traeger was the only option you had.
With the rush of companies entering the market, Traeger has had to seriously up their game.
They now offer some of the most advanced pellet grills available in terms of technology.
Having said that, as a big company, they do spend a lot on marketing, and you can get good value deals on some of the other brands like Camp Chef or Green Mountain Grills.
We suggest you shop around and look at a few different models before you pull the trigger.
About Your Pitmaster
Joe Clements is the founder and editor-in-chief of Smoked BBQ Source, a leading barbecue resource that has helped tens of millions master grilling and smoking. Growing up in a vegetarian household, his love for barbecue was unexpected. Determined to master the craft, he launched Smoked BBQ Source in 2016 to document his journey from amateur to pitmaster.
Joe leads a team of expert barbecue creators and oversees the largest collection of in-depth grill reviews and a library of tested, foolproof recipes. Whether he’s firing up a pellet grill or charcoal kettle, he’s passionate about making barbecue approachable and enjoyable for all.
Just bought a traeger grill and wanted to leave a review
Which Traeger did you end up going with? Keen to hear your thoughts about it.
Hope you have better luck than we did
Electrical controls never worked
Can’t ge any temps over 220
Very disappointed and fixing to buy some other brand
Rodney Verret
rverret @superiorderrick.com
My friend is having that same issue. Were you able to get manufacturer support? For the price, you should be able to get free replacement parts.
I have had a Traeger for 3 years, use it a lot it is the best outdoor cooking appliance I have ever used. I have a nearly new high dollar gas grill that has never been use after we got the Traeger. I do not have nor need the wifi connected stuff. It has never failed me. Althoug I have run out of pellets while cookin, but that is my fault!!
You Will Be Disappointed
The Traeger is not a grill. And it’s not a smoker. If you think, as I did, you were going to replace either your grill or your smoker, you will spend a lot of $$ and be sadly disappointed. It is NOT a smoker. And it’s not a good a grill as you probably already have. Don’t get me wrong. There are things it does well. It is a nice outdoor oven that can impart a mild smoke flavor. But you already have an oven oven and you probably have become proficient with your charcoal or gas grill and your smoker. Don’t buy a Traeger. I’m selling mine for whatever I can get for it.
I grill AND smoke on my Traeger, it’ likes everything else, you have to know what you are doing …You name it … I can do anything you can do with a Weber, an Egg, or any of the 100 brands of Stick burners … Don’t let Hate rule your heart
Buy are Traeger and LOVE Smoking, Grilling, Baking …. Brisket with huge smoke ring and great bark to Choclate Chip cookies, Pizza to the best Pulled Pork, Fall off the bone ribs …
This is after my 40+ years on a stick burner …..
Try getting a smoke tube burn what ever wood you want I never have an issue
Got one last year and they work surprisingly well.
Traeger sure is a lot of hype. I’ve had mine for about 9 months. I have had issues with it on every cook. It doesn’t hold the temperature in anything that would be considered an acceptable range. I set it at 250 degrees and the temperature fluctuates constantly between 140 degrees and 380 degrees. I’ve called customer service before, I get a different “solution” every time. Pellets won’t feed into the fire pot ever – I can’t “set it and forget it.” Once again, the grill did it’s fluctuating temperature thing for 4 hours, eventually it just continued to cool down and just shut off and gave me an error message. Traeger representative at Costco suggested that I need an insulating blanket for cooks in cold temperatures. I bought it – big bucks to cook in 30 degree temps. Epic fail! I had the same issues again, and the shut off. I called support again – now they say it’s the “induction pan.” Well, zero for 6 cooks? I give up.
Biggest waste of money I’ve ever spent on a grill. It constantly shuts down and will not stay at the temperature it’s set on. Traeger reps are 0 help. We spent $900 on this thing and I Feel totally ripped off. I’ve probably wasted $200 on meat in this thing. I have never posted or commented on line in my life and I’m 63 years old but if this keeps even 1 person from wasting their hard earned money on one of these things this is time well spent. I’ve had this thing over a year so it’s not like I’ve only tried it a couple times.
I have a Treager Timberline 850, and it is the biggest POS I’ve ever owned. Ever. I’m typing this after the nine hundredth time the grill flared up and ruined the meat on the grill. It’s ONLY use from here on out is at temps of 200-225. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY.
I agree with the other negative comments especially Ed Dent and MPJ. I too have had issues with my Traeger on essentially every cook!
“It doesn’t hold the temperature in anything that would be considered an acceptable range. I set it at 250 degrees and the temperature fluctuates constantly between 140 degrees and 380 degrees. I’ve called customer service before, I get a different “solution” every time.”
I bought several brands of reliable remote read thermometers to keep track of the cook temps and made many notes of the temp. Wild temp swings! Smoke temp up to 450 degrees during a cook.
“I can’t “set it and forget it.”
I naively tried set it and forget it on my first cook. Disaster!
“Once again, the grill did it’s fluctuating temperature thing for 4 hours, eventually it just continued to cool down and just shut off and gave me an error message.”
This is common on almost every cook! I often end up finishing a cook in the kitchen oven.
Customer service has been very pleasant and we have re[placed most parts, probably several times.
I have a Weber Smoky Mountain, several other wqater smokers, an offset wood stick smoker and many years smoker experience. I wanted the convenience of a pellet grill. It’s not convenient when it keeps going out or has wild temperature swings. It’s ruined a lot of cooks and only produced a few good ones. After 2 years of trying I give up but how could I sell it to anyone?
why these comments have no date…………
We had a technical issue with dates on comments so had to remove.
Don’t waste your money on a Traeger Grill, you will be disappointed.
Just as we are. Plus, you cannot even get our money back. You will waste your pellets trying to grill, along with your time. It’s a poor product with poor customer service.
I agree with all the other negative reviews. I have never been able to get my grill over 425 and if i can get it to 425 and open the grill, it takes 30 minutes to get back to temp (if I am that lucky). So steaks are out of the question. Pellets from the hopper don’t always feed into the auger leading to loss of temperature. All the interior sheet metal has warped only after 3 month use. I only use my Traeger for low temp cooking. Wind is the grill enemy for keeping a constant temp and requires a blanket. Thank God I didn’t through my reliable 10 year old Weber away.
Traeger Ironwood 650 – Purchased in late March. The units’ Temp Sensor failed during my 3rd use on the 4th of July while smoking 6 slabs of baby back ribs for friends and family. I’ve now waited 20 days for the warranty replacement of the part.
What makes the grills good is also their greatest problem….if a electrical component fails there is no work around. Further, since the grill is unusable without these various components one would think Traeger would be diligent about keeping those parts in stock.
I have had my traeger timberline for a year and used it at least 20 times. It’s been great. However I did miss grilling as it’s not a grill. So I bought another gas grill.
I have treager century 880 and it has been great. None of the problems of the previous comments. 500 degrees no problem. Holds temperature within 20 degrees all the time. Everything has come out great that I cooked on it.
As a word of caution, don’t waste your hard earned money on a Tragger 850 Timberline unit. Used mine three times and the side of the main cooking drum blistered and burned off the black outer-coating.
Contacted Tragger customer service and their recommendation was that I scrape off the blistered paint and recoat the grill myself. This, after spending over $1,800 directly with Tragger on the unit, left me with the impression that this company builds an inferior product and definitely doesn’t provide a viable warranty in support of their brand.
Don’t buy a traeger. I saved for 3 years to buy the 575 pro. 1 year following, using their pellets, the motor mount bolts twisted off. After 6 months of trying to get them to send me the necessary parts, and waiting countless hours on the phone, we had the trash truck take it away. $800 gone on a worthless 3 yr warranty.
I’m glad I read the reviews before buying a Trager.
I’ll be buying a real Smoker instead of an Easy Bake Oven. A Yoder Loaded Wichita with 1600 cu. in of cooking space looks far more appealing.
If +/- 20 degrees is the best a Trager can do I’m sure I can do better with the Yoder, plus I’ll have the fire box to sear Steaks and cook burgers.
For the money, I’m sure the Yoder is something I can pass on to my Son and he can pass on to his Son. I doubt Trager would last that long.
I just recently had a Traeger fire on Thanksgiving, smoking the bird. Turned out to be a pellet fire. Unfortunately had to settle for a roasted chicken. Wasn’t bad and didn’t let it ruin our Thanksgiving. I was more bummed about losing the smoker than anything else. I had it for 6 years and used it pretty heavily. So I was constantly maintaining the grill, vacuuming the ash, cleaning grease and carbon build ups. I loved that thing. It was the Texas model. A beast. So I was about 6 hours into my cook of the turkey when, from inside the house, I started smelling a real heavy smoke smell. Like burning. So I go out to check the smoker and sure enough, there are flames shooting out from between the hopper and the barrel and out of the smoke stack and there were areas of paint on the barrel that were boiling and melting off. So I unplugged the power chord and kept the lids shut, but this fire was already raging and was super hot. Before I removed the power, the temperature gauge was reading 485 degrees and I took note that the auger was still turning feeding the fire pot! The knob was set and had been cooking all day at 180 degrees. At this point, I felt the fire was presenting a real danger, so I put it out with a fire extinguisher. I called Traeger’s customer service and spoke with a representative who helped me diagnose and pinpoint what the problem was. It was pretty cool, they were able to connect to my iPhone and actually look at the smoker via live stream. Sure enough, the cause of the fire was a pellet overfeed into the firepot which actually overflowed and built up at the bottom of the barrel. The customer service rep said the controller malfunctioned and would need to be replaced, along with a new heat baffle and drip tray as those were disfigured by the fire. At that point, I wasn’t really interested in replacing parts as I felt the entire grill should have been replaced. The barrel itself took on a good amount of damage from the fire. I explained I wasn’t gonna be “that person” to call up customer service after having and heavily using a product for several years, it finally breaks, then demand a new replacement for free! But I did ask what she could do for me as far as helping me out with the purchase of a new grill (thinking Traeger would value their customers and want them to be return customers). She put me on hold for a few minutes to “speak to her manager”, but ultimately returned saying they weren’t going to do anything for me. I was a little frustrated by that and told her when I bought that grill, Traeger was the only ones doing the pellet smoker thing and that now I have a choice of different brands to choose from. But to no avail. So then I asked how much the controller was going to cost me and she told me $149. A new heat baffle and drip pan would cost $79 and $169 respectively. At this point I hadn’t done any research on pricing these parts out on other websites. I told her no thank you and that was that. Overall, my experience with Traeger’s customer service was great. I didn’t get the desired outcome, but I still felt like they cared about my situation and maybe wished there was something they could do. One area I disagree with the above article is when it tells you to order parts from Traeger because the prices are the same on Amazon, no cheaper. 100% false. The cost for all three of those items on Amazon were almost half of what Traeger was asking! $67 for the controller. $39 for the heat baffle and $89 for the drip pan! And they are the same quality and reliability as the parts Traeger sells. End of the day, it’s all coming from China. And besides the barrel itself, those are basically the 3 main parts of any Traeger smoker! So if I decide to replace parts and clean up my old grill, I’ll definitely go with Amazon to purchase the parts. If I go the new grill route, I’m definitely going to give Pit Boss a good serious look over. I know a few people who have Pit Boss and they all love it. I loved my Traeger too. But now I don’t feel like I have to pay a premium for the Traeger name.
To be honest I’ve never had a problem with a Traeger and most people that have these severe issues they nine times out of ten over exaggerate, have these problems because they just simply do not know how to operate a pellet smoker. You can be king of charcoal all day but that means jack squat on a piece of tech like a pellet smoker. ALL, again, ALL pellet smokers have issues. Why? they are heavy on the tech side and it is difficult to keep 100% of your manufactured items perfect. It happens but people demand flawless products in world where this just is not possible. If it fails for them then no one should buy one because their word is gold. Good lord. Look, pellet smokers use very thin smoke and if you think you are getting charcoal and stick burner flavor, you seriously know nothing about pellet smokers. Next, unless they are double wall insulated, they will be absolutely horrid in the winter and this is why every manufacturer tries to sell some type of insulation blanket for their units. If you want a pellet smoker, no matter the brand, take the TIME to understand what you are buying. Don’t just act like you know everything about something you haven’t used and then complain when it doesn’t work. Traegers are a good brand, you pay a lot for name but they are the oldest and they do make quality products. Their customer service is hit and miss and that sucks; you’re at the mercy of how proficient your service tech is. Pit boss is good too and they get bad reviews to like everyone else. Rectec is good. Camp Chef is good. These are all good brands and the differences you decide upon come down to nitpicking at best. Find a brand, learn the smoker, understand what you learn, and enjoy. Most are not good for grilling as most cap at 450-500 degrees. Invest in cast iron aluminum sear kits and you’ll be fine with grilling on them. Again, these above comments are ridiculous because a lot of these issues sound like poor maintenance and human error and others are simply a product that is defective and it happens. Take negative and good reviews with a grain of salt and just be proactive about learning about these products. It is that simple. Also to the master smoker because he owns a lot of smokers, I’d put up a brisket in my Traeger against any of your crap because you sound foolish acting like your issues aren’t because of the human smoking the meat. Give me a break dude.
I’m with you on Traeger.. I have a 2011 Lil Tex that has been fabulous since the day I first fired it up. We still use it quite often too.. I will say I am not interested in a wi-fi smoker, but that’s just me.. If I ever have to replace mine, I hope I can find on just like the one I am using.. Mine will hit 435 to 450 degrees every time too.
My family purchased two of your grills for Christmas. Both came with an all the parts. One grill got resolved very quickly. I have ordered the missing parts almost 2 months ago and cannot get the required pieces to put my grill together properly. Your customer service sucks. I don’t think you ever read your reviews. I would never invite anybody to purchase your grills. I’m surprise you can stay in business doing this kind of stuff. I dare you to give me a call. I am Michael Sipes, 910-262-4061
Michael we are not affiliated with Traeger (we are a barbecue blog), I suggest you get in touch with Traeger support.
buy an offset smoker and save the $ for good cuts of meat. my experience w/ it is horrible. Long smokes that get cut off for the dreaded LEr error, temp on register not correct – ive measured differences between panel and ambient temp of grill of 40 degrees – calls to cust svc are no good. possibly a little easier than feeding a fire but when the LEr error hits – takes a bit to sort out – if youre unfortunate enough to have plunked down $700 – buy a ThermPro or similar to monitor whats going on inside (get beeped if smoker temp starts dropping! so you can go into remedial action). great idea, awful execution. Todds comments are fair – but main reason folks buy these is convenience and there is not much convenience relative to an offset.
Bullshit. Before you buy a Traeger, google “traeger grill won’t hold temperature”. There’ll you’ll find groups of people trying to figure out why you can’t get a premium grill up to the temp that many of their own recipes call for. You’ll end up laying on the cold ground swapping part after part as they try and walk you week after week painfully through rebuilding a grill with the key components that should have worked in the first place. My whole house heats with basically the same sized fire pot and pellet auger. Overrated junk, look elsewhere.
Wow, sorry others have had a bad time with their Traeger! After years of hearing my brother brag about his original Oregon made Traeger, my wife bought one for an anniversary present. Whatta gal, eh? I’ve had my Renegade Pro almost 4 years…works like a champ if you take a little time to clean it after a long cook or every other time if something shorter. I’ve found grease & ash are the two biggest issues. Also don’t let it run out of pellets or you’ll have to wait for it to cool down to reset it…been there, done that too. You really need to keep it clean by using a garage vacuum & change out the foil liner on the drip pan. If you want to reverse sear smething like a prime grade tomahawk ribeye at high heat, it’s imperative or you’ll have a raging fire on your hands!
We purchased our first traeger grill in 2003 in Mount Angel, Oregon. We have since purchased 2 additional models. We still have the 2003 model with the accordion lid/cover. Great product with great customer support ?.
Excellent review and resource. The videos were great too. Mahalo guys!
I bought an Ironwood 650 a few months ago. I had an offset smoker and an electric smoker for years so the family was used to that great, smoky flavor. The entire family has been disappointed with the taste of food coming out of the Traeger, even on Super Smoke. I’m really disappointed. Especially after my friends hyped it up so much. Yes, it’s fire and forget. But that’s about the only good thing I have to say about it.
My thoughts exactly.
Bad out of the box, and horrible customer support.
I bought a Mesa 22 at Costco in May. It failed to work the first 3 times I tried to use it. After many hours on the phone with Traeger support they determined that the unit had a bad controller. The worst part was they did not have any replacement parts so I had to wait until the next shipment came in the first of June.
When I followed up in mid June (they never followed up with me), I was told a shipment had arrived on the 15th and there was one being sent to me. Two weeks later I called back to see where my part was (they never contacted me) and they were out of stock again and could not explain what happened to the one I was promised. AND THE NEXT ORDER WAS NOT EXPECTED UNTIL SEPTEMBER!!
So what is wrong with these cheap $500 grills that so many of them have bad controllers??
Thankfully Costco was more concerned about my situation than Traeger was. They returned my money for a used grill when the Traeger support team had no solution to offer. A month later I got a call from Traeger support wanting to know if my part (never received) resolved my issue. Again, they offered no solution for the inconvenience.
Finally a month later (summer is almost over and if had I kept the grill it would have been unusable from May to the end of August), I received a package with a new controller. I had already told them that I no longer owned this model at least twice.
I was shocked to read these reviews of Traeger. The only thing that makes any sense is that these are fake reviews, trolls if you will. I’ve owned a Traeger for over 4 years, First a Pro575 and then upgraded to a Ironwood 650 grill. I loved it so much that I became 100% wood fired and sold my Weber gas grill. People rave about the food I make on the Traeger and as far as being reliable, it is my only grill and it delivers every time. The only bad thing I can say about it is the meat probes need to be replaced too often.
I have an Ironwood 885. One of the worst grills I have ever used. Their customer service is just as bad as the grill.
I have had this properties for about 5 yrs. The first year it performed great, but then it would not hold temp. they sent me a thermo coupling, no help. They then sent me a new controller, then I had auger problems, I begged them to swap the grill out and they refused. It shuts off about 4 times during a 10 hr brisket. I have decided the Treager pellet grill has to go, I am looking at either a Komodo Joe, or a Yoder. Time to go back to charcoal. Treager really does suck.
Wasted money….
I purchased the Ironwood 885 2 years ago and was told the product, warranty and customer service is superior to others which is why the cost is higher. I’ve consistently cleaned this grill per the manual. When using out of nowhere when trying to sear a steak, or cook burgers a fire in the grill will start and ruin the food. This also causes the thin metal on the inside to get damaged and warped. Another issue is the screen is inoperable and can barely see a corner of it, the meat probes have never given an accurate reading no matter how many times you try to calibrate. I purchased another set of probes and the issue was still there. I have to monitor my cooks manually with a handheld probe. Since I don’t use the grill as often as I would like, and almost had another fire that was put out before destroying my food. I decided to call to speak with customer service, and was basically told I need to be a Traeger maintenance engineer to clean these out and should use their cleaner. I was told I’m not cleaning thoroughly enough and this is the reason for my issues. In my video conference with them it shows a small amount of creosote inside the exhaust panel on one side and they were like that’s the problem, you have to take the grill apart to clean, that’s nowhere in the manual. You will be frustrated with this purchase and the warranty doesn’t cover what you think it will. Better off going with a lower cost pellet grill because the term, you pay for what you get, doesn’t apply here
I am not sure where all these negative reviews come from, but I own a tailgater that I bought in 2015. I have used it 3 times a month on average, and cooked up to a 20lb brisket and 3 racks of baby backs at a time. This little smoker has never let me down, I replaced the fire pot in 2021and that is all I have ever had to do with this smoker, other then clean it. My tailgater is still going strong with no issues, used it last week on a 14 hour brisket cook and it performed flawlessly. My guess is maybe there are bad builds from time to time, and maybe y’all were the unlucky receiptiants, which is to bad. I have taken the tailgater all over the country, set it up and cooked on it with no issue. My review is I couldn’t have made a better purchase than my $450.00 Tailgater, and my neighbors constantly asking what I am cooking next tells me they are satisfied with the end result because they are always around when it is time to eat.
I for one will not be buying another Chinese junk built Traeger.Too many heat spikes,they cannot maintain a steady temp. and the paint chipped INSIDE! Then the igniter rod failed and the damn thing kept tripping the GFI.Got rid of it for a Pit Barrel Cooker,if I buy another pellet grill it will be a Mac or Yoder both MADE IN THE USA!
BTW my neighbor experienced an “overrun” after shutting it down,the auger kept spinning which emptied the entire hopper which filled the cook chamber with pellets.I was able to put out the huge smoldering mess,almost called Fire Dept. b/c they were not home.
I bought a Traeger Fremont smoker last month. If you like smoking sausages buy a different Grill. The lowest temperature setting for this grill is 185 degrees.
only problem I find traeger they’re built in China not an Oregon anymore that’s a shame
Same with all pellet grills in that price range (Treager, Rec Tec, GMG, Z Grills, Pit Boss etc). For a grill made in the USA you are looking at $1,800+.
LOL…..this has turned into a Traeger shit fest. I own a Ironwood 885 and have had none of the problems listed above……yet. Got it brand new for $400 under a employee accommodation discount so no complaints here.
I have a big Tex bbq75 that I drive to Mt. Angel Oregon & purchased direct from Traeger over twenty years ago. I use it heavily year around & love it. No major issues at all. Upgraded to digital control & replaced the hot rod a few times & the hot box once . Still works great but the auger box/tube is in rough shape . Wife got me an ironwood 885 & it’s a POS literally compared to my old treager. The stupid downdraft system is the cause for most of it! With no chimney the moisture can’t escape & as a result everything is tough. It keeps temperature very consistent but does not smoke at all & everything cooked in it is very tough . It’s like a damn steamer! Can’t even get color on the food even at high temps. Love the electronic features but it cooks terribly! I’m looking for a replacement auger box for my big Tex & I will throw or give away the pos ironwood!
3 year old Traeger, purchased during a Costco roadshow, had one of the casters fall apart. Much time on the chat w/Traeger customer service and finally told the casters can be bought at any hardware store. Not impressed with their customer service. They, evidently, do not offer replacement casters and they do not show on their website. I’ll patch it up and sell it at the next neighborhood garage sale. Looks like a Pit Boss or Rec Tec is in my future. Traeger is NOT keeping up with the competition.
I have a Traeger Texas 075 built in Oregon some 15+ years ago. I had a pellet overflow early on that I stupidly reignited the next morning resulting in a big fire that melted the paint. Ordered some Traeger black and spray painted the whole thing. Also bought and installed the temp sensor and better controller.
Flash forward to today, late November, 2022. My old Texas is badly rusted, paint is flecking off all over, the wheels won’t turn anymore, the auger rattles. But the damn thing still cooks like a champ. I’ve put a temperature probe in it, and it stays closer to 225°F than my kitchen oven! I really want to buy a new Traeger with the Wi-Fi and the app, but I just finished cooking a big pork butt and the pulled pork tastes just as wonderful as it ever did.
So, I guess I’ll either keep smoking on this old reliable workhorse or set it at the bottom of my driveway with a sign on it and buy a new one. The old one would be snapped up and disappear before the next morning.
Difficult to part with an old workhorse like that! If the food still tastes good I say keep rolling with that.
Before you hit that agree button, better read what you’re giving them permission to use! Went on to their Traeger app and before you can connect the app to the temperature probe/app you Have To Agree that they can use ALL your personal data as they see fit! Havent had a chance to use the smoker yet but this is a major reason to double think ….in my case I just spent an extra $200 on thermo Works wireless thermo probe to monitor my meat temperatures in this smoker…..
I have a traeger and works good but can’t get it work on internet
do the Traeger pellet grills have an option for a heavier smoke for brisket and alike?
Yes! Traeger calls it Super Smoke mode. It pulses the fan and auger to produce more smoke at low temps (165–225°F), so it’s ideal for the early phase of a brisket cook before you wrap. It’s available on the Ironwood, Timberline, and Woodridge Pro/Elite. The base Woodridge and Pro Series don’t have it.