Everything but the Truck: Your Guide to Mobile Food Truck Tools and Extras
Mobile food trucks are usually pretty small, but that just means their owners have carefully packed their kitchens with only the essential tools. Before you take your new food truck out for the first day of business, make sure you have these extras on hand.
1. A Complete Automotive Tool Kit
You can’t make money with a disabled truck. That’s why you need a complete tool kit that will get you back on the road in minutes.
Some necessary items for your kit include:
- A tire gauge
- Electrical tape
- A small flashlight
- Jumper cables
- A brass wire brush
- A socket wrench with as many socket sizes as possible
2. A Mobile Credit Card Reader
Image via Flickr by cogdogblog
Small businesses should encourage their customers to use cash instead of credit cards (it will help you avoid inflated swipe fees so you can keep your prices down). When someone only has a card, though, you want a way to accept that payment.
Smartphones and tablet computers have made it easier for mobile food trucks to accept credit card payments. Devices like Square for the iPhone can accept credit cards from practically any location. You don’t even have to mess with those old school carbon copies. Just have your customers swipe and sign to buy.
3. A Refrigerator
Most food trucks need refrigerators that will keep ingredients fresh throughout the day. Look for a design that fits into your truck and doesn’t use too much power. But also make sure it’s big enough for everything you need to keep cool.
4. A Grill
Other than your truck, a grill or oven is one of the biggest expenses when starting a new mobile food business. In addition to a mobile grill, you’ll need proper ventilation that whisks fumes outside. Depending on where you work and the type of grill that you have, you might also need a small sprinkler system.
5. A Fire Extinguisher
It doesn’t matter whether you made fresh pizza or cold sandwiches, every food truck needs a fire extinguisher. Considering that your truck has electrical outlets in it, you’ll probably want a dry chemical fire extinguisher. Many dry chemical extinguishers can also put out grease fires. That’s something you definitely want if you have a grill or deep fryer on board.
6. Gorilla Tape
When you need to fix a piece of broken equipment on the fly, you can count on Gorilla Tape more than any other adhesive (unless you have access to 100 MPH tape that’s often used to patch small holes in aircraft).
Gorilla Tape comes in handy when:
- Your window’s hydraulic arm breaks
- Your sandwich board menu gets thrown (and broken) against your truck
- You need a way to hold a tent to the ground during a storm
- Somehow, your only spatula in half breaks during the lunch rush
Each food truck from Russell Concession & Mobile Kitchens, has unique rewards, but you might want to consider other items to compliment it. As you think about your new business, what tools and extras do you think will come in handy? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
