So I lied I tech have 4 food trailers now.

Posting this because folks seem to be looking for ways to be self employed and make a decent amount of money. Food Trucks and Trailers are real decent way to make some side cash or work it hard and make a lot of money. This little trailer would cost about $14,000-$16,000 to buy all built and ready to run. Can bring that cost down to around $9,000-$10,000 buying a new box trailer and parts and building it yourself. Can bring it down to $2,000-$5000 buying a fairly decent used box trailer, building it yourself and scrounging second hand parts or already having a hoard of new and used parts On a bad day at a crap location this trailer should put $100-$150 in yer pocket clear. A decent day at a decent location $300-$400 and a good location on a good day selling out of all yer stock $500-$700. One person can work it fairly efficiently and there just ain't room inside for more than 2 people to work it but 2 it would work real fast and efficient.

NO I AM NOT SELLING ANY THING OR OFFERING MY SERVICES TO BUILD FOOD TRAILERS!!! I m just sharing what I have built for some good friends and how out deal works. I have made A LOT of Money running food trailers and Market Produce and Meat Wagons. I am literally the definition of Farm to Plate 87% of what I sell through the Food Trailers is produced on my little farm and 100% of what I sell in the way of produce and frozen meats is produced on the same little farm. I just decided to call 2021 a year long vacation for a number of reasons that I have mentioned in other post. If all the BS is still going on in 2022 I might make it a 2 year vacation But I earn my living working and selling what I produce not by selling advice and ideas

A couple of Months back a couple of Lady friends ask if I would help them get a small food trailer up and running. Their Idea was to buy a new box trailer and me to custom build it for them. Then they got the prices of new trailers and even the 10' ones are up there in price now.

So I had the Old All American sitting in a fence row that was screaming at me to replace the bent axle and put it to work again. It served as my frozen meats market trailer for a lot of years 2004ish to 2015 and I overloaded it too often and abused it like any good trailer should be abused.

So I pulled it out of the fence row and put a new axle and set of springs on it. I called the ladies and ask to come over and take a look at it and see if it would work for them. They liked the idea but had given it up after pricing insurance and all of the equipment they would need and came up with a price tag of $8,000 for everything they would need. So I checked with my insurance and as long it was my trailer and they were independent contractors or employees working for me as a DBA or Subsidiary of the T5R Inc. My fleet insurance and product liability insurance would cover the rig.

So I pulled the old Ford f150 out of the fence row and fixed everything wrong with it, to pull the old All American. Took it and got a tow package put on it since this pic was taken. Not a fan of pulling anything with bumper hitches


Then I went to work on the trailer. I have a bunch of STUFF like sinks and counter tops that somehow accumulate in my shop and barns. Even had a new 6 gallon hot water heater floating around still in its unopened box. Took a while to dig out a 3 well and 2 well sink that would fit in the space available. But finally dug one of each out of a barn corner.



Several years back I picked up a stack of 50 3'x3' stainless diamond plate sheets at a auction for $150 and a Stack of Smooth stainless sheets at the same time for $50. So donated the sheets to the project.
The plumbing was a real trick and it got real tight down there real fast.




It came down to 1/8th inches to make the sinks fit and have room to get the faucet lines hooked up. And the hammer helped A LOT




I gave up trying to fit a grey water tank under the sink and decided to just build a floor drain that went out to a portable tank. And use U brackets and self tappers to screw the pipe down on to the cross members. I put the ball valve on mostly to keep the mud dobbers and wasp from building nest inside the pipe and bugs from coming up through the sinks.



I think we have established I am a huge fan of BlackStone and seem to collect them as well. I had two still in the box table top models in the warehouse one with just the griddle and the other with a griddle and side burner. Having trouble finding the right fitting for the small ones gas line..... but when I do that gas regulator set up is getting cut out and a line built with the regulator at the tank end!



For the gas lines I just used 12 foot lines and had a old electric disconnect box I gutted and turned into the outside gas line storage. The lines run through a soft grommet and extend out 8 feet from the box. The box is secures with 8 bolts as tight as I could get them and full tube of liquid nails between box and trailer wall..... I don't think it will fall off! I welded together a cage and bolted it to the tongue with 6 U bolts and 4 more U bolts through the trailer wall and around the supports cage will hold up to two 60# propane tanks. Will eventually put T with a tank switcher valve on but for now each grill will work off its own tank.


Turned out pretty good on the inside

Then we came to the business end of it. The Ladies wanted something unique and different with the order and serving window down low and easy for customers and them. And this is what I came up with. Used Plexi glass for the windows framed inbetween the wood and then a bead of clear caulk around each inside and out. They also wanted a fold up outside counter. Just used 2 barn hinges to let it go up and down and 2 more barn hinges with blocks bolted on that swing out to the side to hold the counter up solid and level. Still need to cut the blocks down and take the sharp corner off so some little yard ape doesn't poke their head on them Used lumber from a old pine tree I milled for under counter boards



Looking out and the beauty of shop for a back drop LOL. Just used a thick rigid piece of Plexi Glass for the slide window that rides in two pieces of stainless U channel. I screwed the channel down with round headed screws every 2 inches on the bottom that the plexi glass sits on and hit the channel with graphite spray lube. It slides open and closed like it is riding on ball bearings. Pic was before I finished covering things up and making it look nice and finished.


I finished up this evening and couldn't get a pic of the finished product as it started pouring down some much needed rain I take it in Friday to the Health Department for them to inspect and approve and issue the operating permit. Then drop it off at the graphics outfit to strip the All American and Flag off and put on what ever the Ladies want on the sides. LOL I have no idea what they are even going to call it or what their menu will be. Only restriction I put on the graphic was lettering and logo only NO FULL WRAPS!

So my total cost out of pocket to build this was less than $1,000 and a 17 year old box trailer. I guess I could tally up what all the stainless, plumbing, sinks etc would cost that I had hoarded in the shop and barns and would guess around $3500-$4,000 if I had went out and bought all of the parts and pieces, if they had to pay someone to put it all together I figure that would have been another at least $5,000 and a new 10' box trailer in the $5000 range for a decent one. So just call the finished trailer worth $14,000.

On the business end of it, the Ladies are going to run it and manage it like it is their own. I still own the Truck Trailer and Equipment and it will run as a DBA of the T5R Inc. In return I get 20% of their Net profit and they keep 80% to split. Pretty good deal for all of us the way I see it. I am just letting them use my commercial kitchen as their Commissary. They can work out those details with Mrs T5R about who uses the kitchen when July 1st 2022 they have the option to buy the trailer for $10,000. Figure it gives them the chance to start up and run with minimal risk, they also get to figure out if this is what they want to do without investing a good size chunk of money. On my end I get some passive income from a refurbed retired trailer that probably would have just kept sitting in the fence row with a bent axle and some broken springs. It is not the Chuck Wagon by any stretch but it is a trailer that could pull $500-$600 per day if it is worked hard and $300-$400 in net profit. LOL they did ask if they could run the Chuck Wagon and that was a flat out NO! The Chuck Wagon is mine and mine alone and it is a really expensive trailer custom built for ME Same with the mid size trailer, it is a $35,000 trailer and there are only 2 people other than myself that I will let pull it down the road. The two smaller trailer if they get banged up or wrecked I am just not out much and they are much better for small 4-5 hour set ups than the other two trailers that are more geared for 2 day to 2 week set ups. The Chuck Wagons Record sales day was $10,000 and some change and it travels with the Box truck full of freezers and refrigerators and 12 foot cargo trailer with the dry storage so basically a whole warehouse of product to sell. The small trailers run with a 6cuft freezer and a 8cuft refrigerator, they just don't have the capacity for more than short shows. Like comparing a carrier group to a PT Boat Worst case is it does not work out and I have a 4th food trailer to run or to just sell off. But it would not be a bad thing to have a second small trailer to work small events and set ups with..... Much Easier to roll a little one in open the back doors that double as Menu boards fire up and start cooking. Chuck wagons small set up takes 1.5 hours and tear down takes another hour and at a 3-5 hour set up that doesn't make much sense. The full big set up for the Chuck Wagon takes 6.5 hours and about the same time to tear down and pack up. Full set up also requires a minimum of 12 hired hands to run it and ideally 15. LOL the little trailers I can run by myself and have a lot less headaches

After doing a test burn of the grills today with the screen door on, the side vent sucking heat off the back of the grills out and the roof vent and fan on it pulling air out and a fan blowing air in through the screen door........... It was still 105 degrees inside in the shade. So after the Gals get the Graphics done I am going to run it up to the trailer shop I use for things I can't or don't want to do.......... and dump the $1600 into a big roof mount Air Conditioner and add a second generator to the truck just to power it I figure that will be $2500 between AC and Gen well spent to get it down into the mid 70s or low 80s inside. I was not expecting those little blackstones to put off quite that much heat.

Anyway if you are looking for a good way to make some income from a small farm or homestead or even from a suburban home. A small food truck might be a good fit for you.

One piece of advice that is IMPORTANT If you build your own and don't know the health inspectors well. WORK WITH THEM and build it to their specs. I know all of the Health Inspectors in the jurisdictions I operate in and know exactly what each one expects and looks for. They all look at the base things but every one of them has their own personal pet thing to look at That can cause you some real headaches at the last minute! I have yet to meet a health inspector that is not more than happy to help and advise with a build. Well there is that one in jurisdiction I refuse to operate in because he wants a $200 bonus when he randomly inspects you. Does no good to report him either as the entire County is pay to play and kick back central and the next random inspection he finds 500 non existent problems and pulls your operating permit. Then you get a call a few days later from a City Councilman that explains how things work and how he can get your operating permit reinstated....... for a small consideration of course. Jurisdictions like that it is better to just walk away from and not look back.

 

Very good post. Love it and proves that there are many ways to skin the cat. Love the effect of showing how things can be done in the real world if you are really willing to try and the concept that it is sometimes better to talk things out and try to work with people rather than having the attitude that only my thoughts count.

It fits in with my pet peave of the tiny house, TM by somebody, of taking a trailer bed, building a few hundred sq ft cramped artistic piece of garbage, and selling it to some idiot for $35,000 and parking it on a piece of land you own and charging them $1,000 a month for the right to park it there. Rinse and repeat, sit in bar and brag of how much your company is making and how you are helping solve the "housing crisis"..

Can't do it today, but 120 years ago my grand parents, about 20 years old, went to Dakota, homesteaded some land, their parents had given them some lumber, old windows, doors, some animals and tools, etc. They rented a rail road box car, which could be done in 1890's, loaded everything in it, had it hauled to a siding on the railroad as close as they could get to their land and parked. Cut the sod up, built a house, empty out the rail car, send it back to the people who owned it, and moved into "their" house. Never looked back and lead a very full life blessed by the Lord with gifts that I can not even imagine happening today.

 

GREAT post. Love the detail and photos. Took a bunch of time for the post alone, I hope others appreciate what you're giving away.

 

I've thought of trying something like that. Just haven't researched all the food prep laws. Did talk to a guy one time that said there was a local kitchen in town that people used to do their food prep , to meet local codes ,, dont remember what the cost of that was .
I can put out a pretty good BBQ ,, grandpa's recipe,, and throw in grandma's beans, slaw and Brunswick stew,,,
Who knows ,, I might put my hammers and saws up ,, and open up a little food cart.
Thanks for the post and and all of your expertise ,,,

 

Basics of the laws is that every State has its own code that are generally the same and then each County follows the States code but has its own additions and every City follows the State and County but makes its own additions. They also have their own Operating Permits and Fees that range from $25-$500 per year and A lot of Cities/Towns have some brutal daily mobile vending fees. A lot of small towns are glad to have you and don't have any daily set up fees. You have to take the 16 hour food managers course and have the certificate, almost all States now require the course, test and Certificate be from the Feds and it cost $150-$300 for course And I believe $50 to get the actual Certificate, It is good for 6 years and then you have to take the course and test all over again. Some states allow trucks and trailers to operate without working out of a commissary (Commercial Kitchen) others require that you work out of one. Very few commercial kitchens will rent out their kitchen to anyone. BUT A LOT of churches have a inspected Commercial kitchen in them and have been known to let them be used. I used a local VFWs kitchen for several years until I decided it was worthwhile to build my own small kitchen. Just took a repo 12x32 portable building and built a commercial kitchen inside of it total cost of it including the building was $22,000 and some change. Then my home health department inspected it and issued the Certification and yearly permit. My home health department cost is $0 for the inspection and operating permits. If I were one County North the cost for the same thing would be $550 per year.

A lot of people struggle with pricing. I have a real basic formula that works for me. I figure out exactly what the cost of say ...... A pulled pork sandwich is Pork, bun, sauce, fuel, equipment and labor and all of the other expenses that go into making it. look at what 7-8 other places are selling their for and average them IE regionally the average is $7.80. My cost to make the sandwich is .98cents so I price mine at $5.50 and piss everyone else off I sell A LOT of pulled pork.

The only thing I sell more of than pulled pork are the Messy Mike's. Whatever you do have that ONE item that sets you apart and above everyone else!


Whole Hog T5R Ground Pork, Bell Peppers, Onions and Garlic (Grown here) and I like Sweet Baby Rays sauce


It is my unique signature menu item. LOL people will say "Oh so its like a Sloppy Joe?" I always say "NO! A sloppy joe is kind of like a Messy Mike " Very important have that one unique menu item that people love and competitors can't duplicate. LOL No one else has T5R Pasture and Woodlot raised whole hog ground pork We sold 14,000 pounds of Messy Mike's in 2020 on buns and in 1 and 2 pound deli containers.

 

And well don't be afraid to get stupid and have fun showing people what you do

 

Excellent post. Gonna have to try the Messy Mike's.
lots of good info here, love it.

 

We are all going thru a very difficult time now, kind of looks like the Lord is checking things out in this "free will" concept. Interesting to see how different folks are handling it. Some are going home to mommy and daddy, or big government, some are having one last party before they ride into the sunset, others are returning to the security of family or the belief in the Lord. All are answers and I am not qualified to say which is right, but then you have Thunder5Ranch, the world gives him lemons, he has the greatest food truck sale in history on lemonaide.

With his wise views and abilities to sneak thru the swamp, there may well be a chance that if enough of us follow his example, we might make it thru this rough patch with the help of the Lord. With his attitude, I do think that he would try to make a buck selling pulled pork sandwiches to the crowd at his own hanging.

The older I get, the more that I find that only a few things count, good friends, the comfort of the Lord, attending funerals of rich and famous people and waking up the next morn to take a walk with my 14 year old dog at sunrise and watch the geese trying to herd the youngsters around the lake, getting up at 3 am to go to the toilet and have both the wife of 40 plus years and the old dog check up on me and make double sure everything is OK.

Should remember that one of God's greatest gifts is the ability to bit**. You have to be alive and have some of your mind left in order to complain, and while it may well be ignored by all, having both the right to complain and the will to complain, means that there is both hope for better life and you have some hope of things improving, in either this world or the next. Enough of the sermons, don't mean to hijack the thread, but the posts on the food truck adventure have in some senses been one of the best and most fulfilling posts in the last year and I wish to give the man all the credit I can. If the world is going to he**, he is just going to take all of his marbles and find a new and better game.

 

I like the BBQ Messy Mike's but I LOVE the ones without the BBQ Sauce. Make a version with no sauce and just add some garlic salt and Lemon Pepper and another version with a cheese sauce (Milk, Butter and Block of the velveeta type cheese and slow melt it in in the milk and butter) LOL tripped over something one day making the mac n cheese for a show and half the pan of cheese went into the bowl with the messy mike meat...... so I stirred it up threw some on a bun and loved it! The other half pan of cheese sauce went all over the kitchen floor..... didn't love that so much

 

Since you mentioned lemons.......... I got a real good deal on 100 pounds of lemons that had a bout a week of life left in them. And made lots of lemonade and had all of blenders full of ice and lemonade churning out Lemonade Freezes non stop for a week solid last summer. Selling it for $1 per 20oz cup and .25cent refills and tripled my money on the lemons and as a bonus only wasted 5-6 pounds of them.

Think yer giving me way to much credit on the wisdom part..... I just adapt and survive and with a little luck and foresight pick the right path to head down. Been dirt floor poor and hungry too many times in the past and that is strong motivator to try and make the best choices to not end up back there. Raw determination makes up for a lot of other shortfalls

 

This was a very interesting and informative post. Thank you.

Where I live, there are quite a few new restaurants opening up as well as several new food trucks. One of the biggies here is making food at your home and selling it via social media until the sales get to be enough to approach stores about handling your food. Salsa, tacos, tamales, all kinds of foods. Also, we now have 2 commercial kitchens opened specifically for the "ghost restaurants" with delivery only. And finally, there are 2 or 3 places that are known as one restaurant during the morning and afternoon, then change over all the personnel and are known as a second restaurant during the evening, as well as some of the chains selling online food cooked at their place and labeled as a different name.

Kind of amusing story: My BIL is a retired Canadian Mountie living up north. He found a great food truck at a good price, went down and bought it and started the 4 hour trip back to his home. Halfway there, in the middle of nowhere, a huge gust of wind hit the trailer sideways and tipped it over, off on the side of the road and pretty much demolished it! My BIL unhooked it and just drove off since he hadn't insured it yet. He's still talking food truck, but has other gigs going on now.

 

Great Thread and info.
So glad to be part of this forum with great Folks like TR5 and the rest of the poster's on this thread.
Thanks my Bro's and Sisters .
Sloth

 

Great thread, this.

A small food truck that could make $600.00 a day could save many a family from complete financial ruin in these (ahem!) interesting times.

A person doesn't necessarily have to make ginourmous amounts of money--mostly they just need to keep the wolf away from their door.

It's a good rule, indeed, to never ever loan or rent out the goose that lays your golden eggs.

If you ever do, in's almost a sure thing that someone will eventually set that goose on fire, or try to beat a train thru a railroad crossing with it.

(I have seen the horror...)

 

Yep way back in the early days of getting the farm up and running money was tight. I bought a cotton candy and snow cone set up from a friend that was retiring for $1500 Sugar, Ice and flavoring were cheap and I worked the farm until about 4:30pm grabbed a shower and headed to a street corner in town for 3 hours and pulled in $150-$200 in the evenings. And that was not bad money back in the late 90s for 3 hour 6 days per week side gig. Kept the bills paid and bought the feed for a those first few years. Sold that little rig to a kid that tried taking under a 7' clearance bridge the 3rd day he owned it 8' tall trailer didn't fit well.

I am so adamant about me being the only one that will ever pull the Chuck Wagon that I will probably make it my crypt when I die The mid size 14' joint I do lend out to a couple of friends that are good drivers with a lot of City and OTR miles under their belts. MRS T5R claimed the little trailer as her own and is almost as funny about it as I am with the Chuck Wagon.

Truth is the Chuck Wagon equates to security for me. As long as I have it, I can always hook it up and find something to burn and sell from it. Very well may be a day come again when 5 pounds of possum in the headlights will be worth its weight in silver

 

It's snowball stands here that make decent coins on the side, It helps having cute lil gals working the place too

 

Low overhead model that make great profit margins. I carry 6 blenders and make Virgin Pina Coladas, Lemonade Freezes, Virgin Strawberry Daqs, Black Berry Freezes, Mango Freezes, and whatever fruit is in season freezes. Ice, Powder Sugar, a dab of salt and whatever your making the flavor from. See have around .25 cents into making 16 ouncers including the cup and can sell them all day long at $5.00 per cup. Sadly need another hand just to keep the blenders spinning and the pitchers full.

If I were still just a one or two trick pony it would be the frozen slushy drinks and cotton candy!

 

I am FINISHED with my end of the work on the All American!!! Well one last detail of screwing the dry erase boards or chalk boards on to the insides of the back doors for menu boards........ but they are debating Chalk or Marker........... And Sinks that didn't make the cut that need to go back to the barn laying around



Had a last minute add on. Needed Eyebolts inside to strap the refrigerator and freezer doors shut during transit and the ladies want a fold bar on the side. So I killed two birds with one stone and slapped a 1x6 on with the eye bolts holding it on. Ran out of Eye bolts and need to grab 8 more and 4 hinges for the bar. Just going to use chains and hooks on the outside eye bolts to hold the fold up bar on hinges up. So Another 1x4 or 1x6 below this will get bolted on and everything either painted or stained and sealed. And probably some hook screws added to the top one to hand deco crap from.


Figured up the power pull from everything that does not need to be plugged in direct to the Gen or a outlet and decided to just use a heavy duty power strip. LED Lights, Little Fridge/Freezer, Cash Register.......... Yeah I just can't see the point of wiring in a 30amp breaker box or bigger for 18amps of peak power draw.


The Grills ain't going anywhere during transit






Used a Menards or Harbor Freight tool Chest for the Cash Register stand and drawer storage. Donated one of the little fridge freezer units I use in the Chuck Wagon to the cause. Not huge but will hold 11 half pans of stuff in the fridge and another 3 in the freezer.


Inside looking out at the drive down to the West Barn


And a pic looking in through the slid window. Kind of wish I had gone with the diamond plate all the way around but the smooth stainless will be a whole lot easier to keep clean. And I see I still need to mount the fire extinguishers as well LOL always one more thing Do wish I could have fit a 22 gallon grey water tank under the sink instead of having to use the portable tank but that just was not going to work



Welp all I have left to do are some little thinks like the fire extinguishers and menu boards and my job here is done. Errr and take all my tools, hardware and left over trim pieces out. Then the Ladies can clean it up and it can head to town for its health inspection on Monday morning

Gotta admit I have enjoyed this project and breathing new life into the Old All American Trailer. And I think it turned out pretty good and definitely unique on the business end. The Ladies approve as well and say it looks as good or better than most of the pro built ones they looked at. LOL will look better when the graphics outfit strips all that old vinyl off and puts new on the outside
Lots of storage under the counter 10' long, 24" wide and 30" tall space. Also has a 10' long 24" wide overhead wire rack above the counter just took it down to put the stainless skin on....... and need to put it up...... Always one more thing and a 60" x14" wire rack in the nose over the sinks...... yep one more thing.... LOL I guess I should head back out and finish all of those one more things before it gets dark!

 

And maybe one more? I'd suggest some props or latches, the keep the back doors out of the way of clumsy customers leaning or falling into them.

 

4 foot folding tables go in front of them with condiments and stuff on them and they open all the way out with a pair of 10' tents over the end. Then 2 ball bungies around the tent legs and through eye bolts top and bottom of the doors. That worked well the years I ran it as the Meat n Produce Wagon Also keeps the tents from blowing away!!!

 

Finished all the ONE MORE things just before dark. Would never guess there was a fully operational kitchen in there until the back doors open and the lights come on.