Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE – My Real Experience

by | Aug 14, 2016

This Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE review is based on personal experience with the grill. When I first wrote this article I had been an owner of the Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE for five years. I purchased this grill when it was first introduced, and have not ever been sorry. Not ever. When I purchased this grill, my family and I were living in an apartment with a small patio area. Based on limited space, the Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE was a logical choice.

We are also active, and take the family car camping several times per year. We also attend sports events, festivals, etc. The Coleman RoadTrip LXE Grill not only lends itself to being a capable full-time home grill, but also adds added convenience by being able to pack n’ go when we do!

The Coleman Road Trip Grill LXE STILL serves as our primary family BBQ grill, even though we now live in our house (with a big patio area). My family of four moved into our new home at the end of 2008, and really never needed to change grills. Now don’t get me wrong, I WILL upgrade at some point to a larger unit and I’m not going to tell you that the Coleman Road Trip LXE Grill will do everything you might need. But again, it serves well.

The Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE has given me over 100 hours of cooking time. That’s an estimate, and I think a conservative one. I primarily cook with the top down – for no other reason that I personally think cooking on a low burner setting with the top down allows for a more even cook – and a slow cook.

Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE Amazon Reviews
Four stars

Overall Rating: 4.4/5
Number of Reviews: 3,514 (as of February 16, 2017)
Read the reviews.

How the Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE is used in my family – and how it can be used by yours.

Backyard BBQ Grill1. The RoadTrip Grill is our Primary Home BBQ Grill

This grill lives on our back patio. We use it 2 – 3 times per week in the summers, and maybe once per week in the winter. We generally cook basic foods (basic in terms of BBQ grill food) such as…

  1. Steaks of all types
  2. Pork chops
  3. Hamburgers and hot dogs
  4. Chicken (not whole birds)
  5. K-bobs
  6. Vegetables

Our food comes out DELICIOUS! Juicy and tender. I can get nice grill marks on the meat with the grill plates in the Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE. I will provide some cooking tips for this grill later in this article.

I will say however, that a grill upgrade is in our future. The reason for this is simply SIZE and not the quality of food. While the Coleman Road Trip Grill LXE works perfectly for our family (of 4), it can be constraining when we have a house full of guests. It’s simply the size of the grilling surface that can cause limitations at times. But the workaround is simply to cook your food in bunches. For instance, if you’re at a tailgate party, you can keep the grill cranking and feed 25 people easily – but if you’re cooking for a large, extended family, it may be important that everyone is able to sit down at the same time.

2. Tailgate Party Grill

Having already mentioned above that the Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE serves well as the primary family grill, a HUGE bonus is that we can take it with us. Sure, this is obvious (as this is a portable grill). But I want to give you an idea of how well this works.

  1. Packability – The Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE is pretty easy to pack. Folds down nicely into a small package. I have traveled with this in the trunk of my car several times.
  2. Quick Set Up and Teardown – You can unpack your grill and have it preheating in 5 minutes. It’s VERY easy to set up and tear down. That’s a huge benefit because you can spend your time on better things, like eating!
  3. Good Looks – The grill just looks sharp!

3. Camping Grill

We take this little baby along with us when we go car camping. As with bringing it to a tailgate party, the Road Trip Grill packs nicely around other gear. The 20,000 BTU burners heat up fast, and can bring our coffee to a boil quickly.

There are attachments available such as the stove grate and griddle. I haven’t used either. If I want to cook eggs, or something else I might need one of these attachments for, I just use a pan or pot on the burner grates. This takes longer than a stove grate or griddle might, but it works just fine.

Travel with the Road Trip GrillThe Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE also may be used for…

  • RV Travel – This is the perfect grill to store in an RV or trailer. It doesn’t take up much space, and when you want to grill, you have a stand-up grill with a large cooking surface. No more tiny table-top or on-ground grilling!
  • Any Outdoor Event – Whatever you’re into – a day long festival, dog show, selling at the swap meet, a charity car wash, etc., etc., you can take this grill along with you and have great grilled food!

Fuel Use

Out of the box, the Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE uses the 16.4oz propane bottles (the olive green ones you can get most anywhere). You can purchase a separate attachment so that you can hook the grill up to a 5lb propane bottle. This is what I do, and I think it’s a MUST.

  • 16oz Propane Bottle: Lasts up to 1.1 hours with both burners on high or 4.5 hours on low on one 16.4oz. propane cylinder
  • 5lb Propane Bottle: Using the grill 2 – 3 times per week during the summer, a 5lb bottle will last me 3 – 4 months.

The attachment needed to connect to the larger bottle runs $15 – $25. However, those little propane bottles can get expensive, and the savings and convenience are worth it.

The benefits of using a 5lb propane bottle over the small 16oz bottles.

  • Save money: The cost of the smaller bottles adds up fast! You’ll save money over the long run using the larger bottles.
  • Eliminate running out of fuel in the middle of cooking: I can attest to this – it sucks when your bottle runs out of propane in the middle of cooking dinner! I’ve done this too many times with the small bottles.

Overall, considering the Coleman Road Trip Grill LXE works with two 20,000 BTU burners, it is pretty conservative with fuel!

Coleman RoadTrip Grill PROs and CONs

Road Trip Grill Pros / Benefits

  • Durable: The folding base is plastic, but it has never given me any issues. I’ve hauled, dragged and dropped this grill over all kinds of terrain. I’ve rolled it over rocks, sand, pavement, gravel and whatever else. It’s never failed. The grill parts have never had to be replaced and are all in fine working order.I store my grill outside in the Arizona sun. The plastic base sees direct sunlight each day until about noon. You would think that it would crack or rot – but NO. We get freezing temperatures in the winter too.NOTE: I DO USE A GRILL COVER. I purchased a cover for a Weber Q Grill and it fits great. The cover only conceals the grill part (the actual grill and slide trays), and does not cover any of the base. The grill cover cost me about $20 at Home Depot.
  • Plenty of Heat: The Coleman Road Trip Grill LXE contains two 20,000 BTU burners. This is PLENTY of heat for anything you need to cook on this grill!
  • The burner has Low, Medium, and High settings. The high settings should ONLY BE USED for the burner attachment or griddle attachment. There is no need to use 20,000 BTUs of heat on a grill this small. While cooking, BE SURE TO COOK AT MEDIUM OR LOW! If you cook at high, you will probably not enjoy your leathery steaks very much. You would be well off to consider the Medium setting as the true High setting.
  • Personal experience time – I learned this the hard way (trial and error). I used to cook on high (because this is what was required on my previous grill), but once I learned to reduce the heat to the low or medium setting, my food was perfect! Seriously – some of the steaks I’ve pulled off of the Coleman Road Trip Grill have been restaurant quality (a good restaurant).

o For comparison, the Weber Q320 Grill offers 21,000 BTU heat. And the Coleman Road Trip Grill costs 1/2 as much!

  • Easy Lighting: I’ve had several grills in the past in which the matchless lighting switch was the first thing to go. After six months of use, the electronic lighting system would fail. NOT WITH THE COLEMAN ROAD TRIP!! After 4.5 years of use, this little baby still lights with one or two pushes of the button!
  • Portable: DU-OH! Yes, this is very portable. You know that. But I will say that the collapsible stand works fantastic, and it is VERY EASY to pack and unpack. See the section above “How my Family Uses the Coleman Road Trip Grill” for details.
  • Affordable: This is perhaps one of the BEST FEATURES of this grill! You can pick up the Coleman Road Trip Grill LXE for anywhere between $150 and $200. This is a steal for this grill!
  • Makes a Tasty Meal: I’ve cooked many ‘a meal on my Road Trip Grill. Again – I’ve pulled off some sweet tri-tip, burgers, ribs and other delicious food. I’ve had people over for a BBQ and they’ve raved over my steaks! Not bad for a 4-year old $200 portable.

The Cons / Drawbacks of the Coleman Road Trip LXE Grill

I really only have ONE complaint about this grill. The latch that keeps the lid closed is not the best. It’s a little cheap really. It works just fine when cooking. No complaints there. My complaint with it is that when you’re pulling the grill by the handle and it’s rolling on the ground, the vibration can shake the little hook latch open. This in turn lets grates fall on the ground. This has happened on multiple occasions, and it’s no fun picking up the dirty grates from the ground.

I get around this now in one of two ways. I either wrap a bungee cord around the grill to keep the lid more secure, or I pull the grates out before transport and wrap them in a towel or something.

But for the price and general overall quality of this grill, and for the convenience of it, this would not stop me from buying.

Coleman Road Trip Grill LXE Manufacturer Specifications

  • Powerful, portable, propane grill with authentic open-flame drip-through grilling
  • Consistent cooking performance even in cold weather, high altitudes and when fuel is low
  • 285 sq. in. cooking surface area
  • Removable “mix & match” surfaces – grill, griddle or stove (each sold separately)
  • Matchless lighting
  • Fully adjustable 20,000 BTU burners, perfect for outdoor cooking even in cold weather
  • Lasts up to 1.1 hours with both burners on high or 4.5 hours on low on one 16.4-oz. propane cylinder
  • Operates on 16.4oz. propane cylinder (not included) or adaptable to 20 lb propane tank (purchase of tank hose and tank required)
  • Propane sold separately (Coleman® Propane recommended)
  • Folds to compact size with easy to pull handle and wheels
  • Tool holders and side tables built in for easy use
  • Removable grease management tray
  • Two grill grates included
  • Limited 5 year Warranty
  • Grill on Stand weight: 44 lbs.
  • Dimensions: 46″L x 18″W x 35″H
  • Made in China

In summary, the Coleman RoadTrip Grill LXE has been FANTASTIC. I love it! Even after 4 years of use and transport it is still serving my family well.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!