Chapter

4

The Right Truck

In This Chapter

There’s one solid rule when you search for your truck, and you have to promise to keep repeating it to yourself during the process:

You get what you pay for.

If you try to take shortcuts, you’ll pay for them later. Gas lines, generators, fryers, ovens, mileage: if you skimp on any of them, you’ll lose big time. When it comes to buying a quality food truck, you have to literally put your money where your mouth is.

The “right” truck doesn’t exist yet; it’s the one you’re going to build to perfectly match your concept. If you’re selling empanadas and plan to do most of the cooking off the truck, your truck is going to need more storage and heating equipment than actual cooking equipment. If you’re selling burgers and fries, your truck must be equipped with grills and fryers. Or maybe you’re selling slushies; if so, you’ll need the highest-capacity slushie machines to pump out loads of icy goodness.

Your marching orders are to locate a truck in the best condition possible and then customize it specifically for your needs. Used or pre-fabricated trucks won’t have been built for the specific needs of your business. Trucks are usually built for general use, or past owners’ uses, often with equipment you have no use for. Even if you buy an inexpensive used truck, it’s highly likely you’ll have to spend money customizing it to your needs.

I start from the beginning and break down the most common types of trucks employed in the food truck industry.

Types of Trucks

You can choose from three main types of food trucks:

Of course, people adapt other types of vehicles for use as food trucks, too, such as Airstream trailers or highly customized vehicles, but since we’re talking about creating the most viable business, and these require extensive custom renovations, I don’t recommend them.

Beep! Beep!

Many trucks come with propane and generators located inside the truck. Propane is dangerous, and having it inside your truck is a recipe for disaster. The Frites & Meats truck had their propane located in or under the truck, and it exploded, sending two people to the emergency room. Also, your generator must be housed securely outside your truck so that you can easily replace or repair it. Picture yourself in the middle of service when your generator goes. If you don’t have easy access to it, you won’t be able to fix it or replace it. There goes a whole day’s revenues, as well as your hard-earned reputation.

The following sections consider each of the three primary types of vehicles people adapt for food truck businesses.

Chevy Step Vans

Step vans are the most economical and effective base on which to build your food truck. Also known as multistop trucks and walk-in delivery vans, step vans are light- or medium-duty trucks created for local deliveries. The following features make these vans ideal food trucks:

Step van trucks are also durable, have strong chassis, and tend to be less pricey than other options.

Step vans have drawbacks as well. They aren’t easy to drive or park, so only trained members of your team will be able to operate them. Also, it can be difficult to find newer trucks, as opposed to Sprinter vans, which are readily available at dealerships.

Truck Tales

Kelvin Natural Slush Co., created by Alex Rein, a former corporate attorney who spent his childhood craving classic convenience store treats, serves all-natural frozen slushies. It’s one of the most popular trucks in Manhattan and was voted Best Dessert at the 2010 Vendy Awards. Drink flavors include ginger, tea, or citrus and a choice of real fruit purée or mix-ins such as fresh chopped mint or basil. Alex’s truck is a 2000 P30 Chevy step van he had customized. His advice is to make sure your equipment is bolted down tightly; his weren’t in the beginning, and he had water leakage issues while traveling from spot to spot.

Step vans are available in many different sizes and models. Unless you’re running a “cold” truck, selling ice cream or slushies, which requires less space for food preparation, the ideal truck is 14 feet long by 9 feet wide. A length of 14 feet gives you plenty of space for selling and prep/cooking areas, but anything longer than that will be nearly unmanageable to drive and especially difficult to park. In terms of width, you need at least 8 feet of space to create an efficient internal layout. Generally you can park in most spots with a width of up to 9 feet. If you choose a van that’s smaller than 14 by 9, you’ll make your working life more difficult because your interior space will be limited.

Buy a step van that runs on gasoline, not diesel. Although diesel trucks are typically cheaper, gas models are more reliable and easier to fix. And buy as new a truck as you can afford. Ideally, your truck should be no more than seven years old and should have fewer than 100,000 miles on it. Plan to spend between $10,000 and $15,000.

Tip

Before you buy a truck, make sure you know what equipment you need to be able to fit in it. The cargo area of the truck you choose must have enough space to accommodate your equipment. Visit your local restaurant supply company and identify the best and largest propane use or electric equipment. I say “largest” because propane equipment is usually small, and you want to maximize your production space. Only after you’ve laid out the equipment in the most efficient manner for your concept is it time to start shopping for your truck.

The majority of food trucks are repurposed step van postal trucks that were used by DHL, FedEx, or other large commercial companies. In fact, the bankruptcy of DHL, and the auction of their fleet of vehicles that followed, was a direct contributor to the food truck revolution.

Sprinters

Sprinter vans are commercial vans, chassis cabs, and minibuses sold under the brands Mercedes Benz and Freightliner. Despite the fact that they’re more expensive than step vans—four to five times more expensive before customization—some entrepreneurs have started to use them for food trucks. Sprinters are easier to drive and park, which means more of your crew will be able to drive the rig. They’re readily available new, and most of them are more up-to-date than step vans, which means that they’re more reliable, have more advanced internal systems, and are generally more comfortable. Sprinters aren’t as wide as step vans, so they don’t have nearly as much space in the cargo area. A new sprinter van will run you $40,000 to $60,000.

Prefabricated Trucks

Companies like AA Cater Truck, Food Cart USA, Armenco, and Roadstoves rent, lease, and sell prefabricated food trucks. They offer one-stop-shopping, and their trucks often come with a guarantee or warranty. Rarely, though, do their deals make good financial sense for small business owners.

The goal of their business is to make money off every part of what they’re selling; in saving the time and energy of managing the process yourself, you’ll be spending tremendous amounts of money. A prefabricated truck customized to fit your needs will cost you well over $100,000. This huge expense makes it nearly impossible to recoup your investment without hitting a Kogi-style home run.

Tip

If you’re planning to buy a used vehicle for your food truck business, spend the money to have the truck tested by a reputable mechanic prior to finalizing the deal. Spending a little bit of money in advance could end up saving you thousands of dollars down the road.

Calculating Truck Costs

For the sake of calculating costs, I am going to assume that you will buy a used step van. Purchasing your truck should cost you no more than $15,000, and if you can keep the cost to $10,000, which I recommend you do, you’ll put yourself ahead of the game. The costs of customizing your rig should break down as follows:

That’s a total cost of $60,000 to $70,000.

Tip

A point of sale system (POS) is important for keeping track of sales, as well as maintaining financial control. New POS options utilizing the iPad, such as SHOPKEEP, POSLAVU, and Revel Systems, generally cost much less than restaurant systems like Micros & Aloha, and are perfect for mobile food trucks.

Finding Your Truck

Now that you know what you should buy, you need to find out where to get it.

The main sources for step vans or used food trucks are eBay (motors.ebay.com), Craigslist (craigslist.org), truck dealers, truck auctions, and customizers. Check out all of them to find the best deal available.

Before you start looking, create a spreadsheet with price, year, mileage, model, previous use, and any other categories you deem important for choosing your truck. Having all the information in one place will make it easier for you to compare the different trucks you’ll be considering.

eBay and Craigslist

On eBay search the terms “step van” or “food truck” from the main page. eBay offers auctions and “buy it now” prices for the trucks available. Use eBay’s search filter so it will only bring up trucks that are within a specified distance from your zip code. No matter how good a deal seems to be, stick to trucks that are within three hours of your location, because you’re going to want to see the truck and have it reviewed by a mechanic prior to finalizing your purchase. On Craigslist look in the “Cars & Trucks” section and search the same terms.

Neither Craigslist nor eBay will provide you with a guarantee for your truck. Once you purchase it, it’s yours, and you have no recourse if the truck breaks down or is faulty. You should also be aware that Craigslist is infamous for vehicle scams, so be on your guard.

Truck Dealers and Auctions

A good truck dealer can provide guidance on which truck models will best suit your needs, which can be invaluable for someone just starting out in the food truck business. Also, most dealerships offer a guarantee or warranty on the trucks they sell. The problem is that when you plan to customize the truck you buy from a dealer or, in truck terms, “chop it up,” you’re basically deeming any guarantee null and void. Speak with the dealer about creating a guarantee on certain parts of the truck, like the engine, chassis, transmission, and tires, so you’ll have protection on the areas you won’t be touching for customization.

Auctions are great places to find incredible deals, but they’re a bit of a gamble. Although you are allowed to make sure it starts, you won’t be able to have a mechanic check the engine and systems. Auctions are a buy “as is” proposition. I’ve heard of people getting spectacular deals at auction, but I’ve also heard horror stories of trucks needing expensive repairs.

Customizers

Customizers purchase trucks and then convert them into prefabricated food trucks. Basically, you’re paying a premium to have them locate a truck for you and do all the work for you. You’d be much better off finding and purchasing the truck yourself and then bringing it to a customizer or metal shop to turn it into your food truck. The only benefit of purchasing directly from the customizer is that they’ll usually offer you a guarantee on the vehicle and their work. Though it will be mighty expensive, as always, you get what you pay for. If your truck breaks down or has issues that relate to their work, they should be responsible.

See Appendix B for a list of some well-known truck customizers.

Beep! Beep!

It’s well known in the truck business that customizers take much longer than expected to do the work—sometimes twice as long as expected. Clearly state the length of time the work should take in your contract with a customizer, along with penalties for late delivery. Waiting an extra three or six months to get your business started could end up with it never getting started at all. Even if you have a good contract, expect moderate delays and pad your pre-opening budget to account for it.

Redesigning an Existing Truck

After you’ve purchased your truck, the fun really begins: it’s time to make it the “right” truck.

The first step in doing this is finding a customizer in your area. In most major cities and on the East and West coasts you’ll find professional food truck customizers, but all you really need to do is locate a quality sheet metal shop. Sheet metal workers have the expertise and machinery necessary to customize your truck, and you should be able to find a local metal shop through a simple online search. I recommend finding someone who has experience working on trucks and is aware of local health codes.

After meeting with the customizer and making sure you’re comfortable with their professionalism and expertise, you should follow up by asking them for references. Check those references to get a feel for the customizer’s reliability and quality of work.

Tip

Make sure your customizer uses high-quality steel. The preferred type is corrosion-resistant restaurant-grade 304 stainless.

Choosing Your Equipment

Based on the work you’ve done on your concept, you should have a basic idea of what you’ll need to pull it off.

Here are important questions to ask yourself at this point:

The next thing to consider before you purchase any equipment is how your assembly line will work. Take a minute to outline your steps of service. What happens when someone places an order? As you go over each step in the process of ordering, cooking, and serving a dish, you’ll see what problems might arise and solve them before they happen. I strongly advocate practicing these steps on the truck or a space that is similarly sized to it. This will give you a real feel for how much space you have, which will help you make better long-term decisions regarding the layout of your truck.

Truck Tales

Steps of service are the basic steps that employees perform in food service businesses. You can make changes in the steps of service as needed to fit the expectations and experience you want your guests to have.

The following figures show basic layouts for a one-window and two-window food truck. Use these diagrams, along with proper measurements of your truck, as a jumping-off point for designing your truck. Take them with you to your local restaurant supply store. Sit with the supplier to find the best and largest propane- or electric-powered equipment that will fit on your truck.

Beep! Beep!

I highly recommend using as much electric-powered equipment as you can; electric is safer and more reliable than gas.

When you have your list of equipment and their dimensions, bring it to your customizer to review. Make sure that he or she signs off—contractually, if possible—on the fact that all the equipment will fit and function in his or her truck design. The last thing you want to do is buy equipment that doesn’t work with your rig.

Recommended Truck Internal Layout #1. This is the ideal layout for a 1 window truck.

Recommended Truck Internal Layout #2. This is the ideal layout for a 2 window truck.

Tip

One of the best ways to showcase your truck’s personality is through your truck’s window, with all the conversation, music, and great smells coming from the kitchen. The larger the window, the more action customers can see while they wait. Remember, the customer is coming for the experience and you, so the more of you, your staff, and the cooking process the customer sees the better.

Powering Your Vehicle

The gas and electric lines on your truck must be flexible. You’re a moving vehicle; anything that isn’t flexible or tightly locked in place will eventually move or break.

Don’t under any circumstances combine the gas lines for the generator and the truck. It may seem like a great idea to only have one tank to fill up, but if something goes wrong you lose both, you have to fix both, and you can’t drive or cook.

Budgeting for Fuel and Maintenance

What makes your truck different from a restaurant business? You’re a moving operation. Not only do you have to do standard restaurant maintenance, but you also have to maintain your truck. Here’s a basic truck maintenance schedule:

As for fuel costs, expect to spend about $50 a day on gasoline for the generator and the truck (if it’s a gas generator).

Propane costs $15 per 20-pound tank if you own the tanks, $30 per tank if you don’t. You can expect to go through one and a half 20-pound tanks per day.

Beep! Beep!

Most cities restrict how much propane you can carry on your truck at one time. In New York City you can carry one 40-pound tank or two 20-pound tanks on your truck. Check with the local authorities before you build your truck; ignorance is no excuse when it comes to the law.

Finding an Off-Truck Kitchen (Commissary)

Locating a good licensed commissary is one of the most important aspects of creating a successful food truck. Other than your truck, the commissary is where you’ll spend the most time, and it will have the most direct impact on the product you serve. Your commissary will be your off-truck kitchen, refrigerated storage facility, dry storage facility, and where you clean the inside and outside of your truck.

Most major cities have multiple licensed commissaries that service the needs of catering companies, food trucks, and other mobile food businesses. With that said, the quality of these facilities varies greatly depending upon the operator. A great way to locate a high-quality facility is to ask a respected operator or speak to the local health department.

Using a licensed commercial facility for your truck can be very costly. Two other options are to use your home kitchen or to partner with a bricks-and-mortar restaurant. If you use your own kitchen, you’ll have to get it inspected and licensed by your local health department. If you own or partner with a restaurant, you’ll save the significant weekly costs of belonging to a commissary, which will greatly increase your profitability. Obviously, that’s your best choice if it’s a possibility for you.

Depending on the size of your operation, a commissary can cost $500 to $5,000 a month.

The Least You Need to Know