Did a lot of research and it came down to this for me.....(around $1200 range)
1.warranty (made of electric parts and they do fail)
2.durability/longevity
3.size
4.customer care
When looking at warranty don't be fooled by numbers. Yoder says it has a 10 year warranty. WOW. No not wow! 10 years on the body only!! Boo the body takes no abuse, and it doesn't cover rust. What about igniters, augers, drip pans, heat shields, and controller. Yoders, like most pellet grills, have a very limited warranty. The "real" warranty for the parts of the yoder is only like 2 years. I think the controller maybe only like a year warranty. GMG, Treager, Louisiana, blazin all have 3 year parts warranty when it all comes down to it.
RECTEC has a 6 year warranty that covers everything except powder coat.
Durability and longevity are also tied into my warranty decision. Look at the gauge of the body and lid. Yoder is thick but known to be a pellet hog. Takes a lot to get up to temp. Why does it have air baffles, if I wanna mess with that I will use my stick burner. While GMG, and treager I think is 16 gauge, while Louisiana, blazin and
RECTEC are 14. I didn't like the fact that some companies would sell there grill without a bottom shelf. Having nothing to stabilize the legs of the grill. Look for stainless steel, especially the fire pot, it takes all the abuse. Watch out for regular chrome steel for the grates, it will rust and corrode. Look for powder coat for the body, holds up well and common.
Cooking surface size was important. Yoder 640 has 640 sq in. GMG JB has about 640' so does treager Texas. Louisiana and blazin without the chrome steel second shelf has around the 670 sq in.
RECTEC has 702 sq in without any shelf. Weight says a lot about how beefy and sturdy the grill is. Treager weighs around 120. GMG around 180, blazin like 160. Louisiana is around 180.
RECTEC is 200. And the yoder like 320. I think the yoder would fall through my porch. Also I move my grill around and take it tailgating or to friends houses. So keep that in mind. Hopper size is a factor as well, GMG treager Louisiana blazin yoder and most grills have 18-20 I think. RECTEC has a 40 lb hopper without extension. It is also rear fed and the fire pot is in the center. I didn't want to mess with a second shelf because of head room.
I tried contacting most of the companies, lots of emails and computers talking to me pushing numbers to get to a voicemail. Louisiana emailed very quickly, GMG and Treager pointed me in the directions of dealers. Yoder took a while to hear back from them, then I found out it would be 4 months before I could get it! Was able to talk to the Blazin guys and they were nice. I called RECTEC on a Saturday while doing research expecting to get a voicemail and spoke to Ben the GM. Called back Monday to see if it was a fluke and got to speak with him again. Even though treager has the road show, those guys act like used car salesman, throwing in all kinds of accessories step by step of negotiation. When dealing with any company I don't want my neighbor to get a better deal than me. That most certainly can happen with the dealer and costco road shows. Look for a company that you want to deal with, one that gives you answers, and you feel comfortable with.
Do research! Read reviews! Also look for money back guarantees!
I had a treager and GMG hand me downs before so I knew what to expect with them. Yoder was too expensive, heavy, pellet hog and I didn't like the look of the cart. Blazin threw me off with the uneven cooking reviews I read. Louisiana was a little to expensive for me after it was all said and done, but I did like the controller. I went with RECTEC and haven't regretted it since. From the moment it arrived it has surpassed my expectation for a pellet grill. When I broke my dome light on the inside of the grill I called Bens personal cell phone and once again they were a dream to deal with. Even sent me some paint free of charge when I scratched it with my spatula. Of course I got the owners cell numbers as well as bens, that cemented my love for them and made me feel great with my purchase. I didn't feel like I got taken advantage of. I got much more bang for my buck. I also know that I got the same deal as everyone else. The support I get is better than an company I have ever dealt with. Do your research, and homework. It's a lot of money!
I wasn't being biased just honest. I love my RECTEC.
DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!
Grill on my brotha!!!!