The crockpot is fine it just takes a while. I like my beans cooked down thick and tender. For me, it takes about 7-8 hours for them to be ready.I am going to finish them off on the Pitboss later today. My wife won't eat these, so I am going a bacon wrapped pork loin and will drop these on the smoker for the last few hours. It will be my first time doing this too. I assume the crockpot will be fine at around 200ish?
It sounds like you are kind of doing the reverse of what I do. I put my red beans in the water bowl of my smoker when I'm smoking meat, after adding the mix of spices I use, usually for about twelve hours. I finish them off on the stove to get nice them and thick. I don't like watery bean soup.
I also smoke some andouille sausage to go in the beans. Top with sharp cheddar and serve with jalapeno and cheese cornbread.