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    What equipment do you need for a food truck?

    You've got the food truck. You've got your business plan and concept. And you know what you want on your menu. Now you need to pick the restaurant equipment to put on your truck or trailer. Use our start-up guide and planning and layout guides below to help you figure out what equipment can fit in your mobile kitchen, and use this checklist to help you finalize your equipment purchases.

    The kitchens on most food trucks are 14, 16, or 22 feet long and seven feet wide. Download one of our templates to help you sketch out what you can fit in your truck. You can find the dimensions of all of the equipment Restaurant Equippers sells on our website.

    Successful Food Truck Man and Woman Employees in Brown Caps are Using a Tablet Computer. They Discuss Their Profits and Future Business Plans. Successful Food Truck Man and Woman Employees in Brown Caps are Using a Tablet Computer. They Discuss Their Profits and Future Business Plans.

    FOOD TRUCK TEMPLATES

    A black outline of a food truck with a 14 foot by 7 foot kitchen. A grid is overlayed on the kitchen showing one foot squares.A black outline of a food truck with a 14 foot by 7 foot kitchen. A grid is overlayed on the kitchen showing one foot squares.

    14 ft. kitchen

    A black outline of a food truck with a 16 foot by 7 foot kitchen. A grid is overlayed on the kitchen showing one foot squares.A black outline of a food truck with a 16 foot by 7 foot kitchen. A grid is overlayed on the kitchen showing one foot squares.

    16 ft. kitchen

    A black outline of a food truck with a 22 foot by 7 foot kitchen. A grid is overlayed on the kitchen showing one foot squares.A black outline of a food truck with a 22 foot by 7 foot kitchen. A grid is overlayed on the kitchen showing one foot squares.

    22 ft. kitchen

    Unless you're taking over an existing food truck business and keeping the menu the same, you'll need to invest in new equipment. There's no room for backup equipment, and with the limited menu most food trucks have, one broken piece of equipment can put you out of commission until it's fixed or replaced. Having quality equipment in your food truck is essential.

    Food Prep Equipment

    Your menu will always dictate what restaurant-grade equipment you have in your food truck, and that's especially true with the food prep equipment you buy.

    Explore our food prep and smallwares category to find exactly what you need, but the following are items that will get you started:

    • Knives and knife rack - Quality knives are a great investment for anyone working in a kitchen. Correctly cared-for professional quality knives don't need to be replaced often, saving you money in the long term. Knife racks and rolls will keep your new knives organized and safely stored.
    • Work tables - Depending on how you set up your food truck, you may want a work table for more prep space. Open base prep tables are great if you want to squeeze more equipment like an undercounter refrigerator or bar sink into your truck. Undershelf work tables give you extra storage space off your kitchen floor.
    • Cutting Boards - Prepping vegetables, bread, meat, and fruit on a cutting board instead of a worktop is more sanitary and will make your knives last longer.
    • Cookware - Standard cookware like skillets, frying pans, and sauce pans will keep making the menu items your customers crave. You'll also find more specialized cookware like pasta pots, woks, saute pans, and stock pots. If you have an induction range or hot plate in your food truck, make sure you have induction-ready cookware to make the most of it. Cookware racks give you a place to store your pans while they're not in use.
    Two people cooking and serving some oriental food inside a food truck kitchenTwo people cooking and serving some oriental food inside a food truck kitchen
    • Blender or Food Processor - If you make sauces, smoothies, salsas, or soups, a food processor or blender will make the process easier and faster.
    • Turners - Turners are a must-have utensil to use with your griddle or charbroiler.
    • Thermometers and timers - When you're cooking, you need to make sure your food has cooked long enough. Thermometers will ensure your food has reached a safe temperature, and a timer will tell you if a baked good or fried item has cooked long enough.
    • French fry cutter - One of the most popular items for food trucks is french fries. A dedicated french fry cutter can help slice potatoes easier. If you have room, consider other fruit and vegetable cutters like onion and tomato slicers.

    Cooking Equipment

    When selecting cooking equipment for your food truck or food trailer, using both countertop and full-sized equipment will help you make the most of your limited space. Save the full-sized models for items you'll use the most. Countertop models can be reserved for less popular menu items or that require smaller portions of food. Consult your floor plan to ensure you're using every square inch efficiently.

    • Fryer - Some of the most popular items on food truck menus, like french fries, onion rings, and other breaded and battered items need to be fried in a deep fryer.
    • Griddle - Flat-top grills, another common name for griddles, are perfect for food trucks. They're versatile and can cook everything from burgers and eggs to vegetables and grilled sandwiches. They're also common as countertop equipment, saving you valuable room.
    • Charbroiler - If you want to make an impression on your customers, a charbroiler is a great way to do it. The grates leave grill marks on vegetables and proteins like fish, steak, and chicken and can impart a smoky flavor to whatever you're cooking.
    • Range - A range doesn't have to be the classic stovetop and oven combination. If you don't need an oven in your mobile kitchen, stick with a countertop range. They can be multi-burner liquid propane models or induction hot plates. If you want an oven but don't need the burners or can make do with a single hot plate, consider a griddle or charbroiler top range with an oven.
    • Microwave - If you need to reheat food or ingredients quickly, a microwave could be a great addition to your food truck.
    • Toaster - If you need crisp-up buns or bread for your food truck. a pop-up or conveyor toaster is an excellent addition to your mobile kitchen.
    A close up meat on the grill for cooking burgers inside the food truck van.A close up meat on the grill for cooking burgers inside the food truck van.

    Refrigeration Equipment

    You need refrigeration equipment no matter what you're serving from your food truck. Before you buy, you'll want to think about how your mobile kitchen is set up: how many people work in it and what each station does. For example, having drinks for customers in the front corner next to the flat-top grill isn't an efficient use of space. Keeping them in a small refrigerator near the window where the person handing out orders can easily reach them is a better use of space. Having a mix of refrigeration equipment can help you maximize your space.

    • Prep tables - Refrigerated Prep Tables come in three main types: sandwich or salad, megatop, and pizza. All three give you easy-to-reach refrigerated spaces to store ingredients and a cutting board surface to prepare food. Sandwich and megatop tables generally have narrower cutting boards, but models with extra deep cutting boards exist. Megatop tables can hold more food pans. Pizza prep tables have smaller ingredient wells but deeper cutting boards and are, overall, deeper. All three have refrigerated storage space below the work surface.
    • Glassdoor countertop refrigerator or merchandiser - Skip a step and let your customers grab bottled or canned drinks from a small glass door refrigerator on your ordering window, a table with condiments, or its own small equipment stand.
    • Worktop and Undercounter Refrigerator - Saving and using space wisely is critical in a food truck. Buying a worktop or undercounter refrigerator does both. An undercounter fridge allows you to slide your cooler under your open base work table, while a worktop refrigerator lets you 86 the work table altogether.
    • Worktop and Undercounter Freezers - Just like undercounter and worktop refrigerators, the freezer models of these units can give you the freezer space you need in your mobile kitchen.

    Warming and Holding Equipment

    You need to keep the food you prepare warm, delicious, and safe for your customers before you give it to them. Warming and holding equipment can help.

    • Warming trays, heat strips, and heat lamps  - Keep pans of fried food and other assembled food warm with heat strips, heat lamps, and warming trays.
    • Countertop Food Warmers - Countertop food warmers keep pans of food warm over water baths. Use different sizes of hotel pans to configure the warmer however you need it.
    • Soup Kettles - If you serve soups or need to keep large amounts of sauces or other liquids warm before serving, a soup kettle is a great countertop solution for your food truck.

    Janitorial Supplies

    Keep your customers and employees safe and your health inspectors happy with janitorial equipment and supplies. You'll need to use these daily to keep your food truck clean, sanitary, and safe.

    • Floor mats - Anti-fatigue and grease-resistant mats will keep your employees safe and comfortable while they work.
    • Trash containers - You'll want to have at least two trash cans for your food truck, one inside for your employees and another outside for your customers. Don't forget the trash can liners.
    • Three-compartment sink - Given their size, a three-compartment sink can be a luxury in a food truck but incredibly useful. A good space saver is an underbar three-compartment sink that can fit under a stainless steel worktable.
    • Hand sink - A standalone hand sink gives your employees a quick and easy place to wash their hands while they're working.
    • Broom and dustpan - Keep the floor of your food truck clean with a broom and dustpan. You'll also be able to use it to clean up messes outside the truck to keep the area looking appealing to customers.
    • Cleaning Brushes and Cloths - When you clean, you'll need brushes and cloths to scrub, wipe down, and dry.
    • Sanitizing pails and spray bottles - As you clean, you'll need dedicated pails and spray bottles to hold the cleaning and sanitizing solutions you use.

    Food Truck Serving Supplies

    Serving food from a food truck or trailer differs from a traditional restaurant. You're running a 100% take-out menu, and your supplies need to reflect that. Having room to store all the supplies in your truck is also very important because running out of some things could mean closing until you can restock.

    • Take-out containers - Packaging your food in a take-out container makes it easier for your customers to walk away with, even if it's just to a nearby picnic table.
    • Disposable plates and bowls - If you want to go a different route from take-out containers, disposable plates and bowls are a good fit. Remember that it'll be more difficult for your customers to travel with your food, and you might have to stock both.
    • Plastic forks and spoons - Even if you only serve hand-held foods, having plastic utensils on hand is a good idea.
    • Portion cup - Your customers can fill portion cups with the condiments they want, or you can serve sauces on the side.
    • Disposable gloves - Food service gloves help keep food sanitary. Choose from powder-free latex, vinyl, and nitrile gloves.
    • Napkin dispenser - Keep a napkin dispenser on your service window or a table outside your food trailer so your customers can easily access them.
    Smiling food vendor hands food to waiting customer from food truck serving window.Smiling food vendor hands food to waiting customer from food truck serving window.
    • Condiment holders and dispensers - Condiment holder bins with racks and condiment bins with lids are great ways to hold packets of ketchup, mustard, mayo, and other condiments for your customers.
    • Squeeze Bottles - You'll probably need squeeze bottles for you and your customers.
    • Condiment pump dispenser - If you decide against squeeze bottles for your customers, a pump dispenser is a great alternative. If you go this route, you'll need portion cups.
    • Folding table - You'll need a place to put all your customer-facing supplies. If you don't want to clutter up your serving window, a small folding table can help keep everything organized and within your customer's reach.
    • Guest checks - Guest checks keep your orders organized and make sure your customers always get what they ordered.
    • Serving utensils - When you plate up your creations, you'll need something to it with: serving spoons, spoodles, ladles, tongs; it's your choice, but always have a clean one ready.