When advising those venturing into the world of mobile food truck business, I cannot stress enough the importance of building an "optimal" food truck. And by optimal I don't mean the largest, baddest, priciest new truck you are able to design just for the pure fun of it. You genuinely wish to keep in mind that you will be creating a food truck to yield maximum profits but at least expense, to help you look professional and be successful, while keeping the maximum amount of of those profits as you can for yourself and your household! Once you dig in, you will see there may be a lot to it. I genuinely wish to give you some secrets the following that I think are the most crucial considerations, which will be sufficient to steer you in the right direction.

 

Number 1, I would strongly suggest you choose a quality used food custom truck builders. And finding one is obviously pretty straightforward. Lots of industrial trucks happen to be built to operate for 300,000, 400,000, as well as 500,000 miles! The sweet spot is often found by getting something such as a FedEx or UPS truck, a bread delivery truck, or perhaps a potato chip delivery truck. These examples are true work horses and you might probably find one with around 100,000-120,000 miles for a significant price; heck, even 150,000 miles still factors in lots of useful worklife to start and grow your mobile food business. And ensure the truck has been well-maintained, which almost certainly it sure has been originating from FedEx, UPS or such big-name truck fleet. You obviously would like to get it checked out by way of a mechanic but this route will soon be your most affordable option and one that will aid you well because, again, these things last 300,000, 400,000, 500,000 miles easily.

 

When stocking your meal truck, choose middle-of-the-line equipment that's planning to be durable. And I do want to tell you here some ways to safeguard yourself. I lost countless amounts of dollars because I simply didn't know what things to shop for when I was hiring out the building of my mobile kitchen. And although I did the study and visited five or six other truck builders, I still got taken advantage of. Building the truck is in some ways a little like the Wild, Wild West. For reasons uknown there's not a lot of regulation in this industry and I'm unsure why. One of many things I'll encourage you to do with regards to protecting yourself is to obtain a contract in writing and, when dealing with an out of state vendor, ensure that if you have a dispute that the contract states it will soon be resolved at home state.

Make that out-of-state vendor come to you if/when it involves it. The other thing I would do is be sure to pay them in thirds. By that After all a third upon signing the contract, a third midway through when you are able expect the vehicle and ensure that it's coming along on schedule, and then the final third once you've inspected your meal truck and it's delivered.

 

And in further consideration when building your meal truck for maximum profit at minimum cost, ensure you visit your neighborhood jurisdiction and know their laws and codes first and then have your truck developed to those specs. And here's sort of a bonus tip for you. Place in the contract that the truck must be developed to these codes and specs and if they are not, owner can pay to own it corrected. Don't attempt to work this out after the build; do it up front the right way when you have leverage with the builder. This can be a big mistake I see many clients that I consult with make. Sometimes it's too late by the time I get to them, but I do want to ensure you don't get this mistake. Be sure that you understand the codes - and by the way, for every city or jurisdiction you're planning to park in, you've to go to their health department and find out what their codes and laws are. My city, Baltimore, is actually one of many toughest in the united states but yours can differ wildly in some aspects.

 

And obviously, you wish to ensure that your truck looks appealing. Remember this really is your mobile billboard and it generates catering jobs and clients for the restaurant. From personal experience, we actually had the roof of a food truck taped, so that whenever we visited a small business district, the office building upper stories could see our website and an intro message down there, so they may actually order online and then come because of the truck and grab their food.

 

To sum all of it up, I would not recommend choosing low-end food truck equipment nor would I would suggest going high-end. The old adage of not being penny wise but pound foolish certainly applies to the mobile food industry. Choose wisely and save but don't buy the cheapest equipment you will find in the classifieds just because a breakdown is the past thing you wish to be fretting about out there! I wish you success and joy in your mobile food business endeavors!