When yous're preparing to get a new food truck build, it's natural to invest fourth dimension planning the kitchen layout or exterior wrap. Don't get me wrong, these are critical aspects of the food truck build process. But there are less "exciting" aspects of the build process that are equally important, such as the electrical requirements and plumbing.
The plumbing of your food truck is a crucial office of the operations. Vendors will need a reliable water source for cooking as well as maintaining health standards. You'll need hot and common cold h2o on demand to wash dishes, spoons, or pans. Y'all'll likewise need a split up manus washing sink for employees and yourself.

Refuge Coffee Co. Truck built by M&R Specialty Trailers and Trucks.


Beyond being able to operate a truck and serve customers at a basic level, you'll need to ensure the plumbing of your unit is setup correctly to pass a health inspection. Many cities have extremely specific requirements for the size and capacity of waste water tanks as an case. If you don't become a truck congenital with the right specifications the first fourth dimension, your anticipated startup cost can balloon chop-chop.
In today'south blog post, we examine nine specific plumbing considerations y'all should be aware before investing in a nutrient truck or trailer. These are specific things nosotros take into account before starting any build at K&R Specialty Trailers and Trucks. These insights come from over 15 years manufacturing custom built nutrient trucks and concession trailers.

Food Truck Plumbing is a Disquisitional Component in the Build Process.

Food Truck Plumbing Guidelines

Hither are some best practices to keep in listen that relate to the plumbing system in a nutrient truck.

  1. Most areas require 15% larger waste tank than fresh water tank to pass a health inspection. This ensures that you tin can dump more than waste water than fresh water carried onboard. Brand sure you sympathise your local areas laws around this requirement before investing in a vehicle. We ever compile this information earlier starting on a custom build out.
  2. In most situations, it makes sense to install a water tank under the sink. Some builders install tanks on summit of the truck. This is not advised because you lot could be dealing with long-term weather bug that tin habiliment out the tank.
  3. Sink wells must be large enough to put whatever piece of cooking equipment into the well. Later all if the sink well isn't large enough, y'all won't be able to effectively sanitize the equipment. This is a common requirement for wellness inspectors across the U.s.a.. We always confirm with our client in advance the cooking equipment listing they await to use on the truck to ensure this won't exist a problem.
  4. Nosotros recommend installing two drain boards to assistance water bleed into your sinks. This is a standard feature in our builds. Some city or county health departments actually require 2 bleed boards.
  5. Drip boards should be installed higher up the sink to drip dry out. These are oft called rack boards or baste trays likewise. The requirement for these is sporadic from county to county, but is a user-friendly slice to have installed into your unit regardless of the rules.
  6. Near every city / county has the requirement of a 3-compartment sink with a separate hand-washing sink. In many areas, all compartments need to be the same size (with the exception of the mitt washing sink).
  7. Nosotros do non recommend 12-bolt water pumps for nutrient vendors. They can be a large hassle and are designed for RVs, not mobile kitchens. We recommend 110 pumps recommended so y'all don't need to catechumen.
  8. Nosotros recommend the installation of propane water heaters considering they volition senses when heat falls below a certain temperature. In a food truck, yous will demand to have on-demand hot water that is at least 180 degrees Fahrenheit. This hot water exam is one of the fundamental aspects of passing a health inspection in many areas. Propane too doesn't add more amps to generator, which is very important on a food truck. Heating water consumes effectually 12.5 amps typically for generator. With propane it won't take your electrical from your generator. If you're interested in learning more about the basics on how water heaters work this is a helpful guide.
  9. Lockable water fills are recommended. You should be able to utilize a hose or bucket to fill your water tank. Brand sure there is a lock in place so no one tin can tamper with water. This is an excellent prophylactic precaution likewise since the fresh water is much less likely to popular open, which can happen while commuting to vending locations.

By post-obit the pointers in this mail service, you lot'll avert many of the plumbing pitfalls we've seen people make. If y'all're thinking well-nigh a custom food truck or concession trailer build out, contact us to discuss your project. We welcome questions nigh the build process and wait forrard to serving you!