First of all, there are actually assembly instructions included. For me, they were jammed in the middle of the product catalog that was included in the box. The jist of the assembly instructions is this: The small screws go on the outside, the larger nuts go on the inside. This will affect the fit of accessories if done the opposite (large nuts on the outside), so be sure to do it the correct way. For reference I have the Camp Chef Expedition 3X. Although the shelves offer convenience for cooking, they are not without a "hassle list", as I like to refer to these issues with various products: 1. If you have the accessory set that includes the paper towel holder and utensil hanger, you won't be able to hang them on the left and right stove handles. They will need to either hang on the shelves themselves (my preference), or on the front of the stove. Regardless of where you choose to place the hangers, when you close the shelves to cover the stove, you will have to move them. You can't close the shelves when they are hanging on the front of the stove, and you obviously can't leave them hanging on the shelves when you try to close them. 2. If you have the grease cup, it will have to be removed before you can close the shelves as the left one will not close with it on. 3. Obviously, any accessory that sits on the stove has to be removed before closing the shelves. Griddle, grill box, etc. 4. If you have the stove cover (recommended), the shelves have to be closed to use it. 5. I have not seen this mentioned for the 3-burner stove, but there are many complaints for the 2-burner version that the windscreen doesn't fit properly with the shelves installed. That is the case with this 3-burner one was well. The screws for the shelves are in the way. The windscreen can flex just enough to be placed OVER the screws--which produces a large gap that will then let the breeze in--or you can trim slots into the windscreen to allow the screws to slide in, allowing it to fit flush against the stove as intended. This is an annoying oversight by Camp Chef. Ideally the windscreen should have slots for the screws to slide in. 6. The windscreen has to be removed before the shelves can be closed. There are probably other hassles that I haven't come across yet, but these are the ones I uncovered just by installing the shelves and setting everything up. All this boils down to the following: When you want to use your Camp Chef and you have these shelves installed, there is some significant set up time involved. Likewise, when you're done cooking, there's significant tear down that needs to be done. You can't just fire up the stove and start cooking. A likely setup process for me: 1. Take off the cover. 2. Open the shelves. 3. Hang the accessory holders. 4. Remove the grate to get the grease cup stored under it. 5. Replace the grate. 6. Install the windscreen. 7. Hang the grease cup. 8. Put the griddle on. 9. Fire up the stove. The jury's out for me on whether this is too much of a hassle or not, since I haven't actually used the shelves during a cooking session yet. Additionally, although fairly heavy duty, this seems way overpriced for two bent pieces of painted metal and two sets of screws with Allen wrenches. But if you want shelves for your 3-burner Camp Chef, this is your only option.
