I bought a Traeger PTG (the little portable one) to use on a four-month trip; that was pretty much a mistake. I think the real problem with it is that it's too small.
The device works by running the auger driving pellets into the firebox for a specified percentage of every minute. The stock controller selects those percentages; I found temperatures to be wildly variable. I replaced that controller with a Traeger digital controller, which uses actual temperature to run or not run the auger. Temperatures at the usual 250F smoking setting usually varied from around 200F to 300F, while high temperature setting were usually rock solid.
It wouldn't sear or put grill marks on anything with the stock grate; a set of GrillGrates fixed that.
Because the angle of the hopper sides is less than the bigger Traegers the pellets won't freely slide down into the auger feed hole and eventually the auger won't feed any pellets even though there are plenty in the hopper, so there's a need to push pellets toward the feed hole every now and then.
We found the amount of smoke produced to be inversely proportional to the cooking temperature. At lower temperatures food was oversmoked and at long smoking times coated with black guck, while at higher temperatures a lot less smoke was produced.
We've had food produced on the big Traegers and it was just fine; I think all the problems with the PTG are attributable to its small size.
I greatly prefer the BGE or WSM as smokers and any Weber kettle as a grill.
-jbh-
