Food Truck Design 101: How to Build a Food Truck (Like a Pro)
You’ve come to the right spot if you’re seeking a manual on how to build your own food truck design and start a successful mobile food business. Building a food truck is definitely not simple, and there are many factors to take into account but it is achievable. It is feasible if you have the necessary skills, equipment, and patience.
Building a Food Truck
Here the things you need to do in order to build a good food truck;
Food Truck Layout and Flooring
Layout
The first step is to draw up a plan or food truck design showing how all of your culinary equipment will fit within a food truck or trailer.
This pattern is simple enough to create even on a piece of paper because a concession truck blueprint isn’t particularly complex.
When designing the layout for your food truck, keep the workflow in mind. To collect the ingredients for a hamburger, you shouldn’t have to trek from the rear to the front of the truck.
If you intend to operate a truck with more than one or two people, this is very crucial. It quickly becomes crowded in a food truck, therefore you want to avoid bumping into one another while moving about in a poorly designed trailer.
Following the layout design, it’s time to consider the flooring for your food truck.
Flooring
Before installing flooring, you should prepare the floor by taking out any extraneous trim or obstacles that might come in the way of the floor’s placement.
Expert advice is to remove the doorway and any transition pieces together so you can install the flooring directly underneath it and get a smooth finish. Following cleaning, you can dry-fit the flooring to check how it will fit.
Before gluing down the flooring, you can cut or trim the edges if it is wider than the trailer. After trimming the excess edges, you can now glue the flooring in place.
Start by removing only half of the flooring before applying the adhesive straight to the floor and carefully reinstalling the flooring. Remember to use moderate amounts of adhesive to avoid creating bubbles.
Repeat the process on the opposite side of the flooring, and depending on the type of floor and glue used, wait until the adhesive has cured, preferably for up to 48 hours.
Electrical Wiring
For your food truck design to be able to operate the numerous pieces of equipment for your business, you must have enough electricity.
For a coffee truck to operate espresso equipment, coffeemakers, and a blender, if you offer smoothies, you need a higher degree of electrical power.
Attention: If you lack the necessary knowledge and experience, powering a food truck can be a challenging task that could result in accidents that could lead to harm or even a fire.
Please engage a qualified electrician for the job if you don’t feel up to handling the electrical work yourself.
You’ll need an electrical S/O cable, which is your main electrical cable, to connect to your generator inlet box when installing the electrical components of your food truck.
You plug your generator into this intake box. A 50 amp plug is typically utilized.
If you won’t be using any 240V equipment, the food truck needs to be wired for 120V. Run the S/O cable underneath the trailer and feeds the breaker panel from there.
The main service panel, also known as the breaker panel, is where the generator’s power is routed into your food truck’s electrical system. Your wiring will link your breaker panel to a switch or an outlet.
A breaker panel distributes each of the circuits that power the different lights, outlets, appliances, and other equipment throughout the food truck.
A food truck’s wiring is comparable to a house’s wiring. You can watch this video for more information to get a better idea of how your food truck’s electrical system should actually appear.
Gas Line Setup
A propane regulator, thread sealant, and two propane tanks are required for the installation of your propane lines.
To connect all the gas lines during the switchover, you will require a black steel pipe nipple.
To provide the ideal location for the tank to sit for the hood or the fire suppression system, form a gap or a 90-degree angle. The video is below; click play to see how it appears in real life.
You will then require two pigtails, and you must ensure that the quarter-inch inverted tip is the proper size to plug into the outlet or the inlet of the changeover.
Make a 34-inch hole in the side of the trailer using a unibit. After all, the pigtails have been connected to the changeover.
In this manner, a hole is created to pass the 34-inch nipple through, which connects all the inside gas pipes to the outside changeover.
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Plumbing
It is advised to hire a skilled plumber to set up this process and make sure everything is running adequately for the long haul.
Even though the majority of seasoned plumbers can probably figure out how to arrange the plumbing in your car, plan on paying 2–3 times the initial quote.
If the plumber has never worked on a truck before, it will take him more time to learn everything.
The plumber will now install a dump valve, connect the sinks to the fresh water tank, and finish any additional work needed to comply with local rules.
Equipment Installation for Food Trucks
You’ll require three (3) pieces of essential food truck design gear: the concession window, the exhaust hood, and the water tanks.
A device that provides ventilation directly above your oven and cooking area is the exhaust hood. To get rid of smoke, grease, and other odors from the food truck, you’ll need this piece of equipment.
The concession window is where your customers enter to receive your mouthwatering food. These factors make a concession window for your trailer essential.
You’ll also require two water tanks. There are two tanks: one for fresh water and the other for gray or wastewater.
Cooking Equipment Installation for Food Trucks
A commercial kitchen’s layout is comparable to that of a kitchen seen in a food truck. It is necessary to designate areas for cooking, cooling, storing, and serving.
You’ll also need to maximize space because a food truck’s kitchen is considerably smaller than those of most restaurants.
You’ll need various cooking tools depending on the menu you intend to provide to your customers. Here are a few of the typical cooking appliances seen on food trucks.
Fryer: To make common menu items like fried fish tacos, French fries, and chicken wings, a good deal of food trucks need a fryer.
Griddle: Popular items including hamburgers, eggs, pancakes, and vegetables must be prepared on a griddle or grill.
Range: You can pan-fry, sauté, boil, and simmer anything on a range, from meats to sauce.
Microwave: You can steam or reheat meals in the microwave.
Toaster: Using a toaster, you can get the ideal texture on bread for sandwiches or breakfast items like bagels, waffles, and English muffins.
Lighting Installation of the Truck
A food truck needs good lighting to bring its presence, brand, and food to life in order to stand out.
There are numerous options available when it comes to light bulbs. The type of light bulb and the style and color options available can affect the brightness level.
There are brightness settings ranging from low to high, but you should aim for the biggest impact to draw in more clients.
Your food truck will stand out if it is the brightest. It’s wise to select LED bulbs as they don’t consume as much power and allow you to add more lumens (the larger the number of lumens, the brighter the lightbulb).
Make a rough estimation of the ultimate installation location before putting on the lights. Position the lights strategically for aesthetic reasons; there is no right or incorrect place to do so.
Conclusion
Starting a food truck is not as difficult as it seems. It just requires a little dedication and capital.
And it is a very profitable business, so from this guide, I’m sure you would be able to build your own food truck. But if you are not sure please contact a professional to assist you to build your truck.
