You don't need a restaurant lease or a quarter of a million dollars to sell food. You need a menu people want, a trailer or truck built to code, and the permits for the place you'll actually park. Here's the whole path, from our side of the build shop.
The order below matters more than it looks. Most people who stall out do it because they bought a trailer before they knew what they were cooking, or booked a launch date before they'd talked to a health inspector.
1. Start with the menu, not the trailer
The menu decides everything downstream: the equipment, the trailer size, the power you need, and which permits apply to you. Three brisket sandwiches and two sides need a smoker, cold storage and a serving line. Snow cones need ice, syrup and a freezer. Coffee needs water and a lot of amps.
Write the menu first, then count the equipment it takes to serve it fast on your busiest hour. That list is what a builder works backwards from, and it's the difference between a kitchen you can move in and one you fight for five years.
2. What a food truck needs to operate
Whatever you're cooking and wherever you are, an inspector is going to look for most of this:
- A three compartment sink for wash, rinse and sanitize, plus a separate hand wash sink
- Fresh and waste water tanks — the waste tank normally has to be larger than the fresh tank, and many health departments set a minimum capacity
- A ventilation hood with fire suppression over any cooking surface that produces grease-laden vapour
- Mechanical refrigeration holding cold food at or below 41°F, with a thermometer
- Smooth, cleanable surfaces — stainless steel and coved flooring rather than anything porous
- A water heater capable of hot water at the sinks
- Fire extinguishers, including a Class K near the fryer
- Power — typically a 50 amp service, a generator, or both
Exact numbers vary by jurisdiction, which is the single most important thing to understand about this business: there is no national food truck code. Your county or city health department writes the rules you'll actually be inspected against, and two counties an hour apart can want different things.
3. Write the real numbers
A fully equipped 14 FT cooking trailer starts at $42,000 from our shop, and ready-made units on our Trailers for Sale lot run from about $23,900 to $155,000. On top of the trailer, budget for:
- Permits, plan review and inspection fees
- Business registration and an EIN
- Insurance — general liability, and auto liability for towing
- A commissary agreement, if your jurisdiction requires one
- Propane and generator fuel
- Opening inventory and smallwares
- A point of sale system and card processing
- Working capital for the first slow months, which are slower than anyone expects
If you don't have the cash up front, financing covers most builds, and rent-to-own starts at $4,400 down with no credit check.
4. Trailer or truck?
A trailer costs less per square foot of kitchen, and you can drop it at a long-term spot and leave it. A truck moves itself, which matters if you chase office parks at lunch and breweries at night — but you're also maintaining an engine and a transmission, and when it's in the shop your kitchen is in the shop with it.
Most first-time operators start with a trailer, and the money saved goes into equipment and into surviving the first slow months. If you already know you'll move twice a day, a truck earns its keep.
5. Get legal where you'll operate
Requirements come from three levels, and you'll deal with all three. The specifics differ by state and county, but the shape is the same almost everywhere.
Federal. An EIN from the IRS, which is free and takes about ten minutes online.
State. Register the business, and in most states a sales tax permit — a handful of states have no sales tax at all. Most states also require a certified food manager on the business, and food handler cards for staff; ServSafe is the most widely accepted certification.
County or city. This is where the real work is. Expect a mobile food unit permit from the local health department, a plan review of the unit before or shortly after it's built, a fire inspection of the hood and suppression system, and in many jurisdictions a commissary agreement covering potable water, waste disposal and overnight parking. Some cities add their own vending permit on top, and some restrict where you can park and for how long.
A worked example — Texas. A sales and use tax permit from the Comptroller, food manager certification, then a mobile food unit permit from the county or city health department, a fire inspection, and in many counties a commissary agreement. That's the pattern; your state will have its own version of each step.
Two pieces of advice worth more than any checklist. Call your health department before you order the build, not after — ask what they require for a mobile unit and whether they do plan review. And get it in writing, because verbal guidance changes when the inspector does.
This is why we ask where you'll operate before we build anything: the venthood, the sinks and the water package get specced to pass your inspection, not a generic one.
6. Lock your spots before you launch
Revenue is location times menu. Before the trailer is finished, talk to breweries, gas stations, office parks, event organisers and property managers about regular slots. A trailer with three steady weekly spots beats one great festival a month, and it beats driving around hoping.
This is also when to set up your Instagram and your Google Business Profile, so people can find where you'll be. A schedule people can rely on is most of the marketing.
7. Order the build
By this point you know the menu, the equipment, the budget and the jurisdiction. That's everything a builder needs. Send us the build form and we'll call you back with real numbers and a timeline, or come by the shop at 2020 S IH 35 Service Rd in Belton, Texas, Monday to Friday, 11am to 7pm. If you'd rather skip the wait, the in-stock trailers are built, wired, plumbed and ready to tow home.
We deliver nationwide, so the state you're operating in doesn't have to be the state we're building in.
Family-owned in Belton, Texas. We've put trailers on the road for Cassidy's Grill, Becky's Burger Wagon, Summer Moon, Heroes Rise, Can-Do Pizza, and a lot of first-timers who are still rolling.
Permit requirements change and vary by jurisdiction. Treat this as a starting point and confirm the details with the health department where you'll operate.