Who doesn’t love a great tailgate party with the crew; the drinks are flowing, the beats are jamming and, of course, the meat is grilling. However, you’re committing a major party foul if you don’t have a grill that lives up to everyone’s expectations. So, maybe you landed here at Simply Tailgating while searching for Camco Olympian 5500 Grill reviews to find out whether this is the right grill for you because we all know buying a trustworthy grill is anything but simple.

Well, your exploring should end here because we have the what’s hot and what’s not about this grill. Some things may shock you, so I strongly suggest that you read this Camco Olympian 5500 Grill review carefully. You’ve been warned!

About Camco Manufacturing, Inc.

Camco Manufacturing, found online at Camco.net, was founded in 1966 by owner and current CEO, Donald Caine. The company manufactures all kinds of camping, outdoor and home improvement products and equipment, including the Camco Olympian 5500 Grill. They are headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Camco Olympian 5500 Grill Features

Camco claims that its Olympian 5500 Grill is known for its compactness and functionality while on the go. So let’s take a closer look at what makes this grill tick.

180 sq. inch Cooking Surface – The Camco Olympian 5500 features a 180 sq. inch cooking surface with a removable stainless steel grate. It also has a cast iron smoker plate to minimize stubborn grease fire that may char your meat.

Vehicle Mounting Bracket – The grill is ideally designed to mount on the side of an RV, or your tailgating truck or vehicle. Just simply hook the grill’s mounting bracket to your mounting rail and mount the grill in place. If you don’t have a mounting rail, you can easily get one on Amazon.com.

12,000 BTU Stainless Steel Burner – The burner is designed for use with an RV’s low pressure propane quick connect outlet, but you can also use a 1lb, 5lb or 20lb cylinder. You can easily find commercially available adapters on Amazon.com.

Other Notable Features

• Foldable legs for table-top cooking
• Temperature gauge
• Electric spark starter
• Drip tray

Camco Olympian 5500 Grill Cleaning & Maintenance

The Camco Olympian is mainly stainless steel, so a microfiber cloth, warm water and stainless steel cleaner should do the trick. You can clean the cast iron smoker plate with a grill brush, soap and water. Just be sure to leave it to dry off completely before reattaching it to the grill.

There’s a stainless steel drip tray to the side of the grill, solving your grease drain problem. A grill brush also comes in handy while cleaning the cook box and cooking grate. Then use a microfiber towel to wipe of water residue.

Camco Olympian 5500 Grill Portability

When fully assembled the Camco Olympian 5500 Grill measures 14.2 x 25.5 x 17.5 inches and weighs 26 pounds. Perhaps the grill’s portability is a little bitter-sweet because it’s designed to attach to the side of your vehicle using mounting brackets. You’ll need to attach a mounting rail to your car for that to happen. Otherwise, you’re left with the option of using it as a tabletop grill, which isn’t ideal. But you can buy foldable grilling tables on Amazon.com to get around all that hustle.

Camco Olympian 5500 Grill Warranty

Well, the manufacturer doesn’t specify the unit’s warranty, you’ll have to call customer service for that information. But you don’t have to worry about warranty issues when you buy from Amazon.com, which offers a 1 year limited warranty on this unit and customer service is always great.

Camco Olympian 5500 Grill Accessories

While buying any type of tailgating grill, it’s always smart to consider to what extent you can accessorize the unit. With the Camco Olympian 5500, you can accessorize with the following parts:

• Folding table
• Griddle (for your eggs and bacon)
• Storage bag
• Mounting bracket

If you want the best prices on these accessories, they’re available on Amazon.com where you get great discounts and offers like the 2-3 Day Free Delivery if you’re a Prime member.

Camco Olympian 5500 Grill Replacement Parts

You may need to replace some parts of the Olympian 5500 Grill, as wear-and-tear is normal. So with this unit, you can replace the following parts:

• Propane hose and adapter
• Electric spark starter
• Smoker plate
• Drip pan

Camco Olympian 5500 Grill Cost

Depending on where you’re buying, this unit may set you back $170. But in comparison, Amazon.com is clearly the better option for the best price and the advantage of FREE 2-3 day shipping if you’re a Prime member.

What Do We Like?

Here’s what makes the Camco Olympian 5500 Grill special. If you agree, let us know in the comments section at the end of this review!

Compact Design – The grill’s overall design is compact and functional, with no parts unnecessarily hanging out. We all know how annoying that can be! The vital parts to the grill are enclosed in the unit’s housing, including the regulator, that quickly connects to your vehicle’s propane outlet.

Camco Olympian 5500 Grill Complaints

Before you buy this grill you will want to know where it falls short based on what buyers are saying about it. So, the following complaints may help you decide whether the Camco Olympian would be the right choice for you.

It’s not designed for a party

You won’t feed an army with this grill, just three or four of you maybe. With just 180 sq.ft of cooking space, there’s not much you can do with that amount of space. If you’re considering your cooking space options, maybe you’re better off with the Blackstone 36” Griddle with six times the cooking area of the Camco Olympian 5500.

Regulator Problems

Some customers had problems working the regulator, which suggests that the unit doesn’t respond well when adjusting the temperature from high to low. It heats up quite nicely but when you try to bring down the temperature, the gauge fails to play ball. Other customers say the temperature gauge just stopped working after a couple cooking rounds.

Other Grills to Consider

The best alternative to the Camco Olympian 5500 would easily be the Char-Broil Grill2Go X200 we previously reviewed, but here are other options that may counter this grill’s shortcomings:

• Blackstone 36” Griddle – Larger cooking space
• Weber Q 1200 – Better heat regulation
• Weber Smokey Joe – Same size but cheaper

Should you buy the Camco Olympian 5500 Grill?

The Camco Olympian is definitely a worthy buy especially if you tailgate with an RV. Its shiny compact design makes it a thing of beauty, and it can effortlessly mount to any vertical surface. You may have problems with the regulator in isolated cases, and it’s probably not the best grill for a large party, but, overall, it’s a great grill that’s worth the price. You can buy it on Amazon.com and get 2-3 day Free shipping if you’re a Prime member. If you have more questions about this grill, you can find answers on the product’s Amazon page.

What’s Hot

• Compact and Lightweight design– 26 lbs
• Portable – designed to attach to the side of an RV

What’s Not

• Small cooking space
• Regulator Problems

So it’s a wrap folks! Thanks for reading my Camco Olympian 5500 Grill review. Do you have any experience with this or any other tailgating grill out there? We would love to know your thoughts about it in the comments section below!

Chris