Not that long ago, if you wanted to purchase a portable gas grill you went to your local retailer and had one or, sometimes two, choices.

Not anymore. Now there are a lot of portable gas grills on the market, with prices ranging from less than $30 for a basic model to $500 for a high end model.

How do you choose? This is what I’ve learned.

First of all, how often are you going to be using the grill? If you’re not going to be using one very often it doesn’t pay to spend a lot of money on one.

We bought our first portable gas grill for camping 4 years ago and got it for $19.99 on sale. It worked okay. The biggest problem with it was temperature control - it always cooked on high. But because we didn’t cook a whole lot more than burgers and brats on it, it worked for us. It also only lasted one year, so the next year we spent $23.99 to replace it. That one lasted until the end of last year.

This year, however, I decided I wanted something a little better because we use a gas grill quite often when camping and I wanted to be able to control the heat a little better so I could cook things like chicken without having it charred to a crisp on the outside in order to not have it raw inside.

After some research and talks with people who already owned gas grills, we purchased a Weber Baby-Q for around $120. I really like it. We have good temperature control, it cooks evenly, and it’s easy to clean up. On the negative side, it’s pretty heavy - 29 pounds. I wouldn’t want to carry it very far. You need two hands to carry it because the carrying handles are on both sides of the grill. Also, if you want a stand for it you have to purchase it separately.

Another grill we looked at closely and one that we see a lot at tailgating parties is the Coleman Road Trip. My brother and sister-in-law purchased one two years ago. While they like it’s portability (it folds up neatly for transporting) and how evenly it cooks, they hate cleaning it up - so much so that they hardly ever use it anymore. For that reason alone I didn’t purchase it. I thought the price was a little high too - it’s currently selling for around $160 on Amazon.

There are other portable gas grills on the market. If you feel like shelling out $500, you can get Outdoor Concepts 100% stainless steel one.

Shop around before purchasing a gas grill and don’t be afraid to stop and chat with people you see using one you’re considering. Most people are more than happy to tell you the pros and cons of the grill they own.

The 53rd annual Midwest RV Super Show and Rally is happening in a few short weeks - August 16-19, 2007 at the Elkhart County Fairgrounds in Goshen, Indiana.

The rally is a great bargain. It’s being sponsored this year by the Elkhart County Convention and Visitors Bureau which is helping to underwrite the cost of it. Three nights of camping at the rally (all sites with have a 30 amp connection and water hookup - with a limited number of 50 amp full hookup sites available on a first come first served basis). Your cost is just $25 for all three nights! But, only 300 sites are available so make your reservation as soon as possible. Click here for all the details.

If you don’t want to stay on the grounds at the rally but are just looking to attend the RV show, it’s going to be a great as well with over 300 exhibitors signed up.

For more information about the show and rally, click here.

While you’re in the area you may want to check out the area RV manufacturers and go to a couple of manufacturing facility tours. Elkhart County Indiana is called the RV Capital because there are a lot of RV manufacturers in the area.

I own a popup camper and while I love the fact that I didn’t have to take out a second mortgage to buy it and that it’s easy to tow, the limited interior space is a challenge to deal with. To make the most of the space I have available, I use stacking plastic storage drawers for all my non-refrigerated food.

Here’s a picture of them in use in my popup camper. Everything I need is readily available from canned goods to spices to snacks to potatoes to onions to bananas to cereal and everything else my family needs and wants to eat while we’re camping. We even keep our daily vitamins and medications in the top drawer for easy access.

Being able to stack the drawers lets me take advantage of the camper’s vertical space while fully utilizing the small amount of horizontal space.

Plastic storage drawers like there are inexpensive, lightweight and easy to clean. When I’m not using them in the camper I store them in my basement. When I’m getting ready for a camping trip, I put the drawers on my kitchen counter and fill them with all my needed items. It works great.

The drawers are available at most discount stores. I purchased mine at Target.