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May 30, 2020 18:48:40 GMT
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Hey all, with a fair bit of time on my hands lately i had the romantic vision of picking up an old american step van and building a taco truck like what you see in LA on yer holidays. anyway, yeah, i went ahead and bought a little GMC P10 value van. not quite the vision i had of building a P30 or an MT45 like the real OG's use but you got to start somewhere right?  after a bit of inspiration, most of the food trucks built are built by non car guys who probably have more passion for cooking and making money than they do the vessel in which facilitates these activities and i've always found them a bit bland, cheap vinyl wraps, h vans, split screens with coffee bars built into them. not bad per se, but not really stirring my emotions. so, i put it over to you guys, is there anything that bucks this trend of mediocrity? |
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merryck
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 477
Club RR Member Number: 9
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Food vans merryck
@merryck
Club Retro Rides Member 9
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May 30, 2020 19:15:20 GMT
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Awesome van, love it! I really want to build one for the restaurant - it might actually be the time for it what with the 'Rona looking like it might be around for a while.
I don't know what type of rear door it has, but if you're worried about space then you could always fit a fold down ramp that doesn't quite extend to the floor but has legs that can support it as a working platform. I saw an H Van with it once and it almost doubled the size of their kitchen. They had an Argentinian grill on it, but you might make best use of it as a bar or prep area.
Really plan what you're going to do in the van. Where will you cook? What will you cook in each location, how will people move around each other? I did a few summers working for a company that had a few different food vans and they were all set up slightly differently depending on what they sold. Each one had three or four people working in there and if things went wrong and you were having to move past each other it really got messy quick.
So if you're frying, shove that up one end (away from the access and with the best extraction). If you're taking money then you'll want that person to also be giving out the food, so you'll probably want them up the other end. Chef in the middle cooking off the burgers (I run a burger place) and passing the plated up meals to the cashier as they require them. Cashier also does drinks but doesn't handle food (less hand washing as they'll be handling money)
Speaking of hand washing, you need two sinks minimum. One for washing up equipment and one for washing hands. I actually have a spare hand wash sink but it's meant for mains. You're welcome to it if you can make it work. It's one designs to be activated by your leg/hip so it's great for that type of thing.
You might be able to get away with using gloves and only having one sink, but some events have their own inspections so it could lead you to into issues. You can put a sheet of stainless over the equipment was sink if you're not using it, so you can use it as counter space.
Plan your electrics well and give yourself ample sockets. Gas (if you're using it) can be placed outside the van as long as it's safe. I was going to build a folding cage/container with a lid that padlocks to the side of the van. If you're doing a 3 day event you won't want to be loading up the van again every night to keep your bits safe. Having a little lean to you can set up will be a godsend and will allow you to keep spare oil and gas cylinders away from thieving little hands.
If I remember anything else I'll give you a shout.
Oh, try to set the kitchen space up to use standard measurements, and try to build it using stainless steel kitchen tables. They're cheap to buy second hand so if you need to reconfigure you'll be able to pick up the bits cheaper rather than having to re-fabricate everything to fit. People often have everything fitted in these things and I don't see the benefit over just bolting standard bits in place. The other advantage is if you don't like doing it and want to sell up you can sell the gear separately to the van if you have to, which further protects your investment.
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merryck
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 477
Club RR Member Number: 9
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Food vans merryck
@merryck
Club Retro Rides Member 9
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May 30, 2020 19:17:38 GMT
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Oh, make sure the van is in perfect running order, you don't want to find you break down on the way to a wedding and have to cancel last minute because your van isn't up to scratch. Might be worth getting a towing frame made up if you can just in case. That way you can rent/borrow a pickup to make sure you're where you'll say you'll be.
I've been leaning towards an Airstream trailer for this reason. The old vans are great, but I know I won't maintain it to the standard it needs to be reliable enough for the business. I'm currently thinking about trying to build my own from scratch, but that might just be a pipe dream!
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,829
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Food vans stealthstylz
@stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member 174
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May 30, 2020 19:25:47 GMT
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Do some measuring and work out practicalities first. A local guy built a VW food van on air. Looked great but aired out the hatch flap was about 5'9 high so people either bashed their head or had to stoop to get served. I'd go super garish and lairy style personally like a Maltese coach, if the foods good 98.4% of people won't care either way it'll just attract attention.
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May 30, 2020 20:30:31 GMT
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thanks for the info chaps! the step van does sit quite high and i'd love to put it on air eventually but the budget doesn't extend to it currently. although it does sit on a C10 chassis and the kits are remarkably cheap! my E23 is on air ride and i think at the minute it would be an uneccessary complication. i have several friends with food vans that i've had a good nose around and have a menu planned out and an equipment list. not finalised the layout yet but have a good idea of where stuff needs to go, so thankyou for the tips. i started this thread as a bit of an end of the day daydream on what i'd like the end product to look like and what was out there in retro-land. would love something that sat like this, with the same sort of window hatch that almost looks invisible when closed. but with the current patina (minus barnacles) and some nice sign writing  |
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Might be worth getting a towing frame made up if you can just in case. That way you can rent/borrow a pickup to make sure you're where you'll say you'll be. Be aware that towing it would open up a whole new can of worms regards trailers and tachographs etc. Saying that, if the van itself comes in at over 3,500kg (and indeed if you're using it to tow a trailer with equipment on board) then you'll also have different licence and tachograph rules to consider. Worth researching to know you're right to start off rather than arguing it after being pulled and fined. |
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merryck
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 477
Club RR Member Number: 9
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Food vans merryck
@merryck
Club Retro Rides Member 9
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I see, so less business advice and more style advice.
I would say that image is important. You want to set yourself apart from the traditional roadside food van that many people still have in their mind when you mention street food.
Definitely want that bad boy lowered, not sure how you’d do it without air as air would also help with the extra weight you’ll be dealing with. Keep the patina as much as you can, that looks awesome, maybe lean into it with menu boards that look like you’ve had them for 30 years? Make it look like you’ve been doing it longer than anyone.
Also a name that is a double entendre is the real key to success. Our restaurant is called Big Boys, which lends itself well to dick jokes.
Which we all know are the best kind of jokes after fart jokes.
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May 31, 2020 11:21:54 GMT
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Hi, Be careful about the patina! Some will like the look but a lot will be put off buying food from a scruffy old van. The food may well be good but first impressions.
Colin
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Last Edit: May 31, 2020 11:23:06 GMT by colnerov
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May 31, 2020 12:50:17 GMT
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Look for "Trev's blog" on YouTube, he did a lovely job on his Bedford CA for use as a coffee van. Talented guy too
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Club Retro Rides Member
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May 31, 2020 14:41:21 GMT
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Hi, Be careful about the patina! Some will like the look but a lot will be put off buying food from a scruffy old van. The food may well be good but first impressions. Colin very much the first thought, but i think if i get the inside mint, bits of trim, bumpers, wheels etc all fully restored then it should work alright. there's a few vans with fake patina about, which if you apply car guy logic is a bit curse word vs having the real thing!  worst case happens it won't be too hard to paint it once the rest is done so if i'm not feeling it then i can always throw some paint at it, i'd be unhappy about that though  anyone have any pics of anything cool? i'm really struggling. i absolutely love the badly signwritten LA vans but i don't think i'd get away with it here. although i've already got a tattooist friend on standby to paint a guadalupe on my door  |
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May 31, 2020 14:53:18 GMT
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My first thought was Dreamworks film “Turbo”  I do like this inspired version though! I’m hungry now.  |
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May 31, 2020 15:14:06 GMT
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brilliant. i would love a 5 foot high neon taco for the roof |
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May 31, 2020 15:18:57 GMT
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Might be worth getting a towing frame made up if you can just in case. That way you can rent/borrow a pickup to make sure you're where you'll say you'll be. Be aware that towing it would open up a whole new can of worms regards trailers and tachographs etc. Saying that, if the van itself comes in at over 3,500kg (and indeed if you're using it to tow a trailer with equipment on board) then you'll also have different licence and tachograph rules to consider. Worth researching to know you're right to start off rather than arguing it after being pulled and fined. sure, i didn't just buy blindly, there's a reason i didn't go for the larger version. i actually went to look at 2 P30's before this that were plated a lot higher, my friend has an old RV he's using and they've required an operators license and tacho to use it, not to mention had to get his license up to C1, all started spiralling once you got over 3.5T. the P10 is plated fine and currently weighs 4500lbs according to the shipping documents. also being a '71 it doesn't even need tax or MOT. |
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May 31, 2020 15:23:35 GMT
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Look for "Trev's blog" on YouTube, he did a lovely job on his Bedford CA for use as a coffee van. Talented guy too will do! thanks |
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May 31, 2020 17:54:13 GMT
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You could get it wrapped. Love Mexican food. Mmm
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mk2cossie
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,946 
Club RR Member Number: 77
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Food vans mk2cossie
@mk2cossie
Club Retro Rides Member 77
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May 31, 2020 19:06:59 GMT
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Be aware that towing it would open up a whole new can of worms regards trailers and tachographs etc. Saying that, if the van itself comes in at over 3,500kg (and indeed if you're using it to tow a trailer with equipment on board) then you'll also have different licence and tachograph rules to consider. Worth researching to know you're right to start off rather than arguing it after being pulled and fined. sure, i didn't just buy blindly, there's a reason i didn't go for the larger version. i actually went to look at 2 P30's before this that were plated a lot higher, my friend has an old RV he's using and they've required an operators license and tacho to use it, not to mention had to get his license up to C1, all started spiralling once you got over 3.5T. the P10 is plated fine and currently weighs 4500lbs according to the shipping documents. also being a '71 it doesn't even need tax or MOT. I'd double check on the last bit about MOT and tax if it is for a business venture  |
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sure, i didn't just buy blindly, there's a reason i didn't go for the larger version. i actually went to look at 2 P30's before this that were plated a lot higher, my friend has an old RV he's using and they've required an operators license and tacho to use it, not to mention had to get his license up to C1, all started spiralling once you got over 3.5T. the P10 is plated fine and currently weighs 4500lbs according to the shipping documents. also being a '71 it doesn't even need tax or MOT. I'd double check on the last bit about MOT and tax if it is for a business venture Already have  Still on the hunt for inspiration 😅 |
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Take a look at Derek Drinkwater's fleet - drinkwaters.co/node/68 he's a real petrol head (built the Le Monstre Cadillac replica) link |
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Old Fords never die they just go sideways
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Oct 14, 2021 21:42:00 GMT
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That is a great result.
Love the rear door artwork.
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