HitchFire Forge 15 Overview: Ideally fitted to Adventurers

We purchased the HitchFire Forge 15 grill so our reviewer would possibly test it out throughout the good open air. Protect learning for our full product evaluation.

When tenting, off-roading, or tailgating, a grill can take up pretty a little bit little bit of room in your automotive, which is why the HitchFire Forge 15 instantly caught my consideration. This propane-powered grill has a one-of-a-kind design that mounts to a automotive hitch and swings out to the side for helpful car-side cooking. I needed to see if it would really stand as a lot as being toted spherical on the surface of a truck, so my boyfriend and I took it overlanding to put it to the test. Proper right here’s what we found.

Setup Course of: Surprisingly easy

I anticipated the HitchFire Forge 15 to be subtle to rearrange, nevertheless it absolutely wasn’t the least bit. The grill is assembled correct out of the sphere, as is the swingarm, so all we wanted to do was put the two gadgets collectively.

First, the arm will get put in into the hitch of your automotive or truck—it’s designed to swimsuit proper right into a 2-inch hitch—and it’s secured with an enormous bolt. We would have liked to find a wrench to tighten it, as there are no devices included for assembly, and it’s undoubtedly less complicated you most likely have two people, as one specific particular person can keep the arm in place whereas the alternative secures the bolt. From there, we merely linked the grill to the assistance arm, inserting pins and bolts in line with the directions, and we had been achieved! Your complete course of took decrease than half-hour for two people and was really easy.

You most likely have an outsized bumper/tailgate and even have to arrange a bike rack along with the grill, the mannequin does provide a hitch extender, and throughout the FAQs, HitchFire moreover says you can adapt the swingarm to swimsuit a 1-¼ inch hitch you most likely have a suitable adapter with a weight rating ample for the grill.

Design: Constructed for journey

The HitchFire Forge 15 stands out amongst completely different moveable grills as a result of its distinctive hitch-mounted design. Instead of stashing this grill in your trunk all through journey, it mounts to the surface of your automotive on its pivoting swingarm. The grill itself is 39 x 13 x 21 inches with 355 sq. inches of cooking home, and it has a fairly angular variety with a matte black powder-coated finish.

Once you get to your trip spot, the HitchFire grill could possibly be swung out to 90 or 180 ranges on its swingarm for cooking, and the grill could possibly be rotated to face in direction of or away out of your automotive. This design lets you open your trunk or tailgate unencumbered—we mounted the grill onto my boyfriend’s Toyota Tacoma, and we had been ready to open and shut the tailgate with no downside. The grill moreover has two fold-out side tables that make cooking a breeze. They’re 13 x 10-1/2 inches each and should merely assist a plate filled with meals, condiments, or grilling devices.

There are some issues to note in regards to the HitchFire Forge 15’s design. First, in case your automotive has back-up sensors or cameras, the grill will block them. My boyfriend wanted to close off the sensors on his truck on account of they wouldn’t stop beeping whereas the grill was linked. Secondly, the grill blocks visibility of your license plate all through journey, nevertheless it absolutely comes with {{hardware}} that lets you re-mount your license plate on the swingarm.

One different facet of this grill that we really appreciated is that it might be used as a day by day tabletop grill, and it has rubber ft on the underside of the physique to keep up it from scratching the desk. This makes it applicable for frequently use, along with on-the-go grilling.

Supplies: Heavy-duty and well-secured

Clearly one amongst our important questions on this grill was whether or not or not it’s sturdy ample to withstand driving down a bumpy mud avenue to a campsite, and it handed this test with flying colors. Every the grill and swingarm are created from heavy-duty metallic with a sturdy powder-coated finish, and we had been happy to seek out that the arm locks into place at plenty of elements using sturdy screws, pins, and latches, making sure it doesn’t budge for those who’re driving. The grill lid moreover has a latch to keep up it shut all through transport, nonetheless we did uncover that you have to keep the lid proper all the way down to get the latch to completely interact.

Gasoline Kind: Twin propane tanks

The HitchFire Forge 15 runs on two 16-ounce propane tanks that screw into each side—the inexperienced Coleman tanks match utterly. There are wire helps that keep the tanks securely in place, nonetheless you do have to remove them sooner than driving for safety capabilities. Each tank controls a separate burner, allowing you to organize dinner with one or every, and the mannequin says you must make the most of a 20-pound propane tank with the grill do you have to get a suitable adapter hose.

Sadly, on account of it makes use of the small propane tanks, there’s no gasoline gauge to measure how so much propane is left, and we didn’t like that we wanted to have plenty of extra propane tanks available—one for each burner. As soon as we went tenting, we ended up bringing 4 16-ounce tanks to ensure every burners had a great deal of gasoline.

Temperature Administration: Greater with two burners

The grill has two straight burners that run from the doorway to once more of the grill with drip guards over each, and we examined it using just one and every to see the way in which it carried out. It’s worth noting that there’s no ignition button on the burners—you have to push and change the dial to prime the gas, then it lights as you click on on it onto extreme.

With one burner working, the grill was ready to achieve 400 ranges after preheating for 10 minutes, nonetheless the temperature dipped pretty a bit every time we opened the lid. With every burners, the grill merely reached over 500 ranges within the similar preheat time, and the temperature was less complicated to handle. With every burners firing, we had been ready to organize dinner meals shortly, nonetheless the house between the two burners doesn’t get pretty as scorching as a result of the grate home instantly above them.

Effectivity: Packs a vital punch

To get a extremely really feel for the effectivity of the HitchFire grill, we first examined it out at home, using it to organize dinner dinner for the two of us. We cooked scorching canine and grilled asparagus using just one burner (to be reliable, we solely had one propane tank hanging spherical), and the meals was ready in spherical 10 minutes. We did uncover that the grill typically has flare-ups, although there are drip guards over the burners. When on extreme, the flames will creep throughout the sides of the metallic guards, so dripping oils do set off it to flare. As quickly as we turned the heat down, we didn’t have any extra points.

My boyfriend likes to overland alongside along with his Tacoma, so we deliberate a one-night journey out to a close-by campsite to test the grill’s capability to hold out “throughout the wild.” After double checking that all the grill’s latches had been secure, we drove spherical 10 miles to the trailhead and one different 5 miles on bumpy mud trails to the lakeside campsite. The grill didn’t budge whereas we traveled, and after we prepare our tent for the night time time, we fired up the grill to organize dinner steaks for dinner.

We used every burners on the grill this time, and throughout the time it took to prep and season the steaks, the grill had reached 500 ranges. We cooked the meat for spherical 4 minutes on all sides, together with a pat of butter to each to boost the flavour, and they also had been a great medium—my hottest diploma of doneness. Common, we had been terribly pleased with the effectivity of the grill, as a result of it’ll get so much hotter and maintains additional fixed heat than completely different moveable grills we’ve used so far.

My boyfriend moreover took the HitchFire Forge 15 on a four-day overlanding journey in Maine. He drove roughly 350 miles on the freeway to reach the campground, and he talked about the grill stayed secure all the time. He moreover drove one different 200 miles on mud roads and hard trails, and the HitchFire carried out flawlessly, though he did should tighten one among many screws that had shaken unfastened after a really bumpy stretch of avenue.

Via the journey, he was with a bunch of 12 people, and they also found the HitchFire was faster to rearrange and put away than completely different people’s moveable grills, in order that they sometimes cooked lunch for everyone on it. He was ready to match two full packs of scorching canine, two cans of beans, and a veggie burger on the grill directly.

Cleaning: Cowl purchased individually

It was easy to wash the HitchFire after using it. After it cooled down a bit, we scrubbed down the grates with a wire grill brush and worn out the grease tray at the back of the unit. The tray is a bit robust to get out, as there’s a tab that holds it in place, and ultimately, we’ll possibly line it with aluminum foil to make cleaning less complicated. Previous that, we merely wiped the meals particles out of the underside of the grill chamber and often called it a day.

One issue my boyfriend was concerned about was how dirty the grill and its inside would get whereas driving on the freeway and down mud roads. (HitchFire does provide a grill cowl, nevertheless it absolutely’s purchased individually.) After a protracted stretch of mud avenue on his off-roading journey, the grill did have a layer of mud and mud on the within, nevertheless it absolutely was fairly easy to wipe out with a paper towel sooner than cooking.

Value: Pricey for its dimension

The HitchFire Forge 15 retails for $549, which is undeniably expensive for a two-burner grill with 355 sq. inches of cooking home—for comparability, the Coleman NXT 200 has two burners and 321 sq. inches of cooking home and costs $270. However, together with the grill, which itself could possibly be very well-built, you moreover get the swingarm, which makes it terribly helpful for tenting, off-roading, and even tailgating. To that end, the higher value is additional justified.

HitchFire Forge 15 vs. Weber Q2200

The HitchFire Forge 15 actually really reminded me pretty a little bit little bit of the Weber Q2200, one different compact propane-powered grill that I examined. The Weber has a barely smaller cooking house of 280 sq. inches and just one burner, nevertheless it absolutely has associated fold-out side tables and is roughly the similar dimension as a result of the HitchFire. The Weber Q2200 retails for $280, making it significantly additional cheap, and its compact dimension makes it excellent for tailgating and tenting. In spite of everything, the first downfall is that it doesn’t mount to your hitch, so you will have to dedicate trunk home for it. However, it’s completely different if the HitchFire is out of your funds.