Hobobeque

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introHobobeque

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The hobo, Americas last great nomad. Whether its jumping onto boxcars or strutting around city streets hobos have always been true wanderers, and what stereotypical image of a hobo would be complete without a shopping cart.

The average grocery store shopping cart is the perfect accessory for todays hobo on the go. It contains just the right amount of space for all of their possessions. The shopping cart has ample room for bottles/cans, dirty blankets (for those extra nippy nights on the streets), random treasures found while scavenging, and even enough room for relics from a broken former life; however, there comes a time in every hobos life, when they will ask, if this amazing creation called a shopping cart, is capable of more than just storage?"


Today, ladies and gentleman, I finally have an answer for them...

... allow me to present to you, the perfect modification for the perfect hobo accessory ...

The Hobobeque!

Forged from scavenged parts, in true hobo style, the Hobobeque provides a great alternative to those unfashionable 40 gallon drum fires. You'll be the most popular hobo on the street, strutting around with your new Hobobeque. You can use it to cook, provide warmth (replace those dirty old blankets, with FIRE!), or for self defense (teach that other hobo trying to move into your alley a lesson by rolling a flaming shopping cart at him, I'm sure he wont be back), yes the Hobobeque does it all!

So ladies, gentlemen, bums, tramps, and (most importantly) hobos, allow me to take you on a journey through the process of building this amazing device. Many of us will laugh a little, some of us may cry a little, and some others may even die little (does that count as a disclaimer?).



Hobobeque
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step 1Acquiring a shopping cart (and other supplies)

Shopping cart: So the first challenge we are faced with is deciding where to find a shopping cart. Many of you will initially be tempted to steal it from a chain store …

step 2Prepping the shopping cart

Now it is time to prepare the shopping cart for surgery. Do this by removing all plastic pieces, and anything else that may burn, from the cart. This includes (but is n…

step 3Creating the coal bed

Since this is a coal grill (hobos have limited access to propane) we are going to need a bed for the coals. The coal bed is made by repositioning the hinged back of the sh…

step 4Cleaning ... with FIRE!

Before the grilling surface is attached, the Hobobeque needs to pass its first trial by fire. The purpose of this step is to not only burn off any impurities that may be…

step 5Attaching the grilling surface

Attaching the grill is another step that is completely possible without welding (just not nearly as fun); however, if you were able to find a grill that fits snug enough yo…

step 6Cleaning ... with FIRE! ... AGAIN!

Just like the original cleaning, only now with 25% more fire.

step 7Go shopping

Now that your Hobobeque is complete it is time to take it for a test run. Find the most hobo infested food store in your neighborhood (for us it was Albertsons), and take …

step 8The moment of truth

So now that you've collected all your supplies it is time for the Hobobeque's commissioning. It is important that the Hobobeque is in a familiar environment the first time…

step 9Don't get busted

Of course the most important thing to remember when attempting a Hobobeque cookout (or any of my other projects), is to avoid getting caught. If you can resist the urge to…

158 comments
1-50 of 158
Feb 6, 2009. 4:39 PMnoahw says:
**Hobobeque Update**

We just recently saw a couple of guys doing some cooking in the bus stop structure that's right across from Instructables HQ on Folsom St. in San Francisco.

First, we saw steam rising from a group of guys huddled around a shopping cart.

Then, we saw hot food being being passed around that seemed to be coming from the shopping cart itself.

Upon further investigation, I learned that they guys were using the shopping cart as a mobile kitchen and were cooking up some tasty beef tacos. They told me that they had been doing this for a long time and that it was quite common.

It wasn't quite a hobobeque exactly because they were using a propane catering stove instead of a charcoal grill like we had, but they did have a similar setup of heat source on top and food supplies down below.
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Jun 19, 2009. 7:59 PMReCreate says:
Anyone noticed how he replied to almost no comments?
Mar 29, 2008. 4:15 PMFull Frontal Graphic says:
If you put a seat, a steering arrangement, a steam engine, and a drive train on it, all it would need is brakes to make it really an all-in-one project. And maybe some solar panels, lasers and LEDs.

Just imagine the envious looks you'd get from your friends as they watched the slow-speed police chase on TV, with you at the wheel of this glorious flaming delight.
Apr 5, 2008. 3:39 AMNoodle93 says:
You forgot the duct tape.

;)
Apr 5, 2008. 5:30 PMFull Frontal Graphic says:
Of course duct tape to hold the giant fresnel lens.
Jul 4, 2008. 4:22 PMhaz6sic6 says:
all you need in a tool box is wd-40 for things that dont move that should, and duct tape for things that move that shouldn't
May 30, 2009. 8:20 AMDerin says:
And clear packing tape for LCD displays that move but should not.
Sep 5, 2008. 7:03 PMtechnodude92 says:
Thats almost poetic. It brought a tear to my eye...
Apr 24, 2009. 10:45 PMredleg8102 says:
Great instructable. I have to make one, if for nothing just to piss off the cops. F*** the POlice.
Apr 20, 2009. 10:56 AMfunky monk says:
I want to make one just so's I can be different
Jul 3, 2007. 4:34 PMTHeff says:
so did they confancate it?
Apr 16, 2009. 9:46 PMsandvich24 says:
Yeah... did you get in trouble?
Jan 14, 2009. 9:22 PMSpacecoyote says:
Was the cart confiscated?
Dec 18, 2008. 4:15 AMegriff says:
oh my god that video cracked me up. You guys are geniuses. How much was the fine?
Sep 26, 2008. 12:14 PMRmg12 says:
Why is the fire engine green!?. it should be red. And also great instructable ingenious!
Jul 10, 2008. 11:21 AMJOE1903 says:
I'd have boxed in the lower bit (between the wheels and the trolley) and lit that. then you could just bung your food in the trolley and cook it there and then
Sep 18, 2008. 10:25 AMRockmanAU says:
Yeah! It would all be nicely cooked by the time you got home, which is just round the back of the shopping center ! ! !

Gotta love the idea, no matter how toxic (so why is it used in our fridges where us non-hobos store our food steverose?), and extra points for getting the fire brigade onto the scene!

Well done.
Jul 6, 2008. 8:42 AMdannydutton says:
So this has nothing to do with cooking hobos? Damn, I have always wondered what humans taste like. Do I taste like beef, pork, chicken, venison? O' the possibilities!
Jul 10, 2008. 9:16 AMysabet says:
According to the cookbook 'To Serve Man' (yes, it really exists, I've read it) humans taste like relatively high-quality pork; the best bits are supposedly the palms of the hands and the cheeks (face cheeks, not elsewhere; too fatty!) Not that I've tried out any of the recipes, though the 'Chili Con Hombre' looks awfully good.... XD

Sep 15, 2008. 3:33 PMnoahh says:
Oh dear. I feel sick.
Jul 9, 2008. 11:57 AMHoboman says:
...
Jul 7, 2008. 12:02 PMTrogdor_The_Burninator says:
Apparently, you taste like veal. I read about this sane guy who tried human meat and tasted it. I forgot where i read that though.
Jul 7, 2008. 12:02 PMTrogdor_The_Burninator says:
woah my comment got messed up. tried and tasted. woah.
Jul 9, 2008. 5:07 PMcodongolev says:
TROGDOR!!!!!

wait, you got that from the actual website, not guitar hero 2, right?
Jul 25, 2008. 1:04 PMTrogdor_The_Burninator says:
yeah, ahh funny funny funny strongbad
Jun 19, 2008. 6:57 AMTamarGirl says:
Just think - If you had videoed the whole process from go to whoa you could have entered it into the short film festivals around the world and travelled all over the globe, accompanying your fabulous documentary of a great idea gone wrong. (Of course, the dogooders would want it to be x rated because otherwise you'd be encouraging young and impressionable people to build flaming shopping carts all over the world and THEN what would happen to world order!). Fantastic idea, though. Congrats. One of the few instructables I've read every word of!
Sep 5, 2008. 6:58 PMtechnodude92 says:
i jus luk at da purdy picturs... hu hu hu
Aug 15, 2008. 11:12 PMsteverose says:
Yikes, the chromium and cadmium used in bright plating the metal on these carts, as well as appliance shelves (refrigerators, ovens) is deadly f!@#!@ng toxic, all the more when heated to incandescence and incorporated into your cooked meat. Lotsa bums and hoboes have sickened and died from this in years gone by. Unless you want to get a combination of Alzheimers Disease and kidney failure I would suggest you earstwhile hobo wannabe's stick to spare changing working folks and buy the Big n Tasty at Rally's...
Aug 15, 2008. 4:53 PMassman111 says:
DID YOU HAZ ZHEEZBURGERR!?
Jul 16, 2008. 9:14 PMSkellington says:
LOL! Thanks for this. So what did the cops say? And the fireman? Did he take your cheezbargar?
Jul 27, 2008. 10:19 PMcorey_caffeine says:
one time a cop took mah bukkit
Jul 25, 2008. 12:24 PMmonkey666 says:
i think barrel fires are still stylin. I made an awsome hobo stove from a hinge, a 30 gallon gear grease barrel,a hubcap, a small grill, and a pipe. add torch and a welder and thats all you need.
Jul 10, 2008. 5:26 AMnilmahj says:
HA! I love it.
Jul 10, 2008. 4:28 AMSpinWard says:
Great line..."Obviously this is not normal."

Great video!
Jul 9, 2008. 6:32 AMDaNerd11 says:
If you got two wooden poles like 3-4 ft and somehow stood them up like 5 ft away from the cart, you could prolly lay a blanket or tarp over it and that would be shelter.
Jul 8, 2008. 5:51 PM_Ko0LaiD_ says:
i had an idea, if you close up the bottom, and it gets hot enough, then you have an oven.
Jul 7, 2008. 8:53 AMgripes says:
lol @ hood dogs. hahahahah
Jul 6, 2008. 3:44 PMmsweston says:
ONE QUESTION, HOW IS A HOBO GOING TO DO THIS?

crap I left caps lock on...
Jul 6, 2008. 3:38 PMsavetheworldaskmehow says:
make sure that metal and it's coating if any is safe to burn!!!!!!
Jul 4, 2008. 5:17 PMCwoodkiter says:
OMG that was too cool, I surely like the way you guys think!! Did any of the firefighters take you up on your offer of food before they put out your Q?
Jul 4, 2008. 12:35 PMGjdj3 says:
You guys at instructables do seem to have a lot of fun. That looked really awesome. Just curious... how much did you get fined?
Jul 4, 2008. 12:30 PMNova Hawk says:
Dang I thought you were gonna barbecue a hobo... Ack well this was just as cool...
Jul 4, 2008. 6:50 AMilldoyourdrugs says:
HA HA HA! Awesome idea. Will be making one soon! Ha ha ha
Jun 24, 2008. 7:56 PMstruckbyanarrow says:
lol " mr sunglasses" is my neighbor im not sure but i think his name is larry
Jun 8, 2008. 10:34 PMPandaMania says:
dude thats the greatest idea for bbq i have seen in a long time i am so making one
Jun 1, 2008. 10:22 AMultra_super_pyro_boom_man_dude says:
This is an awesome Instructable. All the pictures at the end made me laugh. I might try this out. But where can a hobo get a welder?
Jun 1, 2008. 10:45 AMTetranitrate (author) says:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Microwave-Transformer-Homemade-Welder/
Feb 22, 2008. 8:27 AMAburame Shino says:
LOL. I do luvs my fire.

I would like to thank those hairy, hunchbacked men, millions of years ago, for this wonderful discovery.

But I do has a question for you. What is fire, in terms of matter? Solid? Liquid? Gas? Plasma? I do have my bets placed on gas ...
Jun 1, 2008. 10:24 AMultra_super_pyro_boom_man_dude says:
One of my uncles (who is a brain surgeon, randomly) told me that fire was just pure energy released from whatever was burning, say, wood
Mar 29, 2008. 7:07 PMw00ty32 says:
i have no clue, but i've always wondered it. why not wiki it?
1-50 of 158

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