Searching for Food Vending Trailers: Tips for What to Buy

Once you have decided to operate your own mobile food business, one of the things you will want to look at is food vending trailers. If you are going to have a small menu of food options on offer, then you may only need a trailer instead of a van or truck. A trailer can be attached to your regular car and towed along to events or public spots.

There is a great selection of food vending trailers on the market, depending on for what use you want them. As an example, if you are selling hot food such as burgers, grilled chicken or  simple meals, you could buy a 6 x 8 foot trailer or a 6 x 10 foot trailer with the following equipment:

- grill or charbroiler with extractor fan or open flame burner
- coffee urn
- steam table
- meat cooler
- two soda cooler units
- three bay sinks
- hand sink

Standard fittings are a battery with charger, screen doors, counters at the display window, stainless steel finish, rubber roof, fiberglass panel interiors, and lighting overhead. Extras can usually be purchased, such as an outside storage box, awnings and umbrellas, cash drawers, and a fridge or freezer.

These units look very small from the outside but surprisingly have room for all these items of equipment. When buying them from registered dealers you can be assured they will be up to the required standard. If you are more ambitious, there are trailers that are the size of a small kitchen with full-sized ovens, fridges and cupboards.

An alternative to a walk-in trailer is a smaller version; for example, a hot dog trailer, which opens up to reveal all the facilities available. These are more for food like hot dogs, which does not need any messy preparation, as there are not usually the cleaning facilities as in a walk-in trailer. They still have cold storage for foodstuffs and drinks, and heating for the hot dogs or similar.

The other option is to consider secondhand food vending trailers. Whilst these may be cheaper, you do not really have a guarantee that they are safe or hygienic. Check out why the vendor is selling the unit, as it may be that he was shut down because he did not meet the safety requirements.

The last thing you want to do is to spend money on a trailer only to find out that you have to spend as much again on getting it into an operating condition. There are all sorts of things to take into consideration, such as the construction of the unit itself and materials used for the counters, worktops and cupboards, ventilation, washing facilities, display and storage units for hot and cold food, lockers and containers, and garbage disposal.

There is a lot of choice when it comes to food vending trailers, and the type and size you choose depends on what you are selling. If selling hot food cooked on the spot, you obviously need the correct cooking equipment, which is not necessary if you are selling cold food.

If you are selling food that is pre-cooked and just needs reheating, then you may only need a microwave. Whatever you choose, make sure that it can cope quickly and efficiently with the potentially large volume of food that you will be selling.