I had the same problem trying to find something shipped to Buffalo NY at a reasonable price. I took advantage of the Fathers Day Sale that they had at Texas Original Pits two weeks ago. They have a 2 - 3 week turnaround right now.....Mine is scheduled for delivery tomorrow. I went with the 16" which is 36" long, so it is like the Cheyenne only longer. I did find a Horizon dealer about 2 hours from here in Northern PA...but it was either get the 16" classic that was too short, or the 20" classic that was overkill. He also only stocked the loaded ones so that was more than I wanted to spend. Other than Texas Original, ordering everywhere else was 8 - 12 weeks lead time, except the Horizon in stock if you wanted the fully loaded more expensive version.
I too was reluctant at first since there were few reviews out there...there are a few guys with youtube videos though. I did call the company myself and spoke with the owner before placing my order. I also added in probe ports and a heat management plate which came in about 100 bucks over the 16 x 32 Horizon (smaller with no goodies) and had free shipping. They also had a promotion with a free wood rack and apron....neat. I will report back once I have mine running this weekend. So far the process has been painless...ordered what I wanted right from their website. The promotion they are running right now is not quite as good, but still has free shipping. Also....lead times are reasonable.
I am not sure where you find info claiming Texas Original Pits is made in Mexico?
From their site:
"Each pit is handcrafted completely in our Houston, Texas facility by folks that love building fires and cooking BBQ. Because we cook on the same pits we build we understand the importance of things like holding an even temperature across the length of a cook, minimizing wood consumption, and of course maximizing heat retention. If you have a question about pit design or construction (even if it's not ours), airflow, customizations, construction tolerances … anything at all, call us. The same guys who build out pits will be the ones answering your call, and we would be very pleased to tell you why we love our pits and how we use them."