Zion Foodtrucks builds custom food trailers from 10 to 32 feet in Woodland Park, Colorado, for operators across the Mountain West and beyond. Custom food trailers start at $40,000, and the same shop has delivered around 500 trucks, trailers, buses and vans. This page covers what a trailer build includes, which sizes suit which menus, what it costs and how to decide between a trailer and a truck.
Why a trailer
A food trailer puts more kitchen on the road for less money than a truck, because there is no engine, no cab and no chassis to buy. It can be dropped at a brewery patio, a farmers market or a fairground and left there while you drive home, and it does not need the oil changes and brake jobs a step van does. It does need a tow vehicle, a place to park it, and a county that will license it, all of which we help you work out before you order.
The trade off is movement. A truck moves itself several times a day; a trailer is better at arriving once and staying. If your plan is a daily lunch route through office parks, read the custom food trucks page as well. If it is markets, festivals, a brewery slot and catering, you are in the right place.
What a Zion trailer includes
We start with a new enclosed trailer shell on a tandem axle, sized to the kitchen, with the axles and tyres rated for the finished trailer loaded with equipment and water rather than for the empty box. Inside, the cook wall is stainless steel and the remaining walls and ceiling are FRP, over plywood and insulation; for trailers headed somewhere with a real winter we fit a heavier wall with thicker insulation and plywood backing. The floor is aluminum diamond plate.
The cook line sits under a Type I exhaust hood with a wet chemical fire suppression system installed by a licensed fire protection company, with Class K and ABC extinguishers on board. Water is a fresh tank and a larger waste tank, a water heater and a pump, feeding a three compartment sink with drainboards and a separate hand sink. Power is a 100 or 125 amp panel with labelled breakers and the wiring in conduit, fed by a generator in a built in box rather than out on the tongue, where it gets soaked and stolen. Propane lives in a ventilated cage with the lines run under the floor. The service window is a concession window with an awning door, self closing doors and a bug screen, usually with an outdoor shelf under it, and the lighting is LED inside and out.
Then the choices: a second window, a 20 gallon water heater for a menu that washes a lot, air conditioning with heat, a ramp door, a restroom, a wrap, shore power, or an open porch for a smoker. The trailers in the recent deliveries below show most of those.
Sizes and menus
A 10 or 12ft trailer is a coffee, dessert or single item kitchen for one or two people; we delivered a 12ft taco and coffee trailer to El Paso County and a 12ft funnel cake trailer to Billings. A 14 or 16ft trailer is our most common build and carries a full cook line and a crew of two or three, like the Bozeman bagel trailer and the celiac safe trailer for Aurora. From 18 to 22 feet you get a second window, more holding and more refrigeration, which is what the 18ft tempura trailer for Lander and the 20ft donut trailer for Casper needed. Beyond that we build commissary trailers, like the Boulder trailer approved to operate as its own commissary, and large mobile kitchens with restrooms for remote sites.
Weight, towing and the road
Almost every trailer repair we do traces back to weight. A trailer leaves a builder with a certain axle rating and then gains a second fryer, a bigger fridge, a larger tank and a generator. We spec the running gear for the finished, loaded trailer and position the tanks so the tongue weight stays right, and we tell you what tow vehicle it needs before you order. Plan on a three quarter ton pickup for anything over 14 feet. Our trailer repair page explains what fails on trailers that were not built that way.
What it costs
Custom food trailers start at $40,000 and custom food trucks start at $55,000. A typical 16ft build comes in around $72,000 and a 22ft around $110,000. On a trailer the hood and suppression system, the fryers and refrigeration, and the generator are the lines that move the number; the shell, the stainless cook wall, the electrical, the tanks and the sinks are the standard package. The truck or trailer guide and the cost calculator help you narrow it before we talk, and financing is available.
Licensing a trailer
A trailer is licensed by your county or state health department like any mobile food unit, and the questions are the same: tank sizes, the hand sink, the hood, the commissary or servicing location. Where it differs is the fire inspection, because a trailer carries its propane in an external cage rather than under a chassis, and the city vending rules, which sometimes limit where a trailer can be unhitched. We photograph every stage and send a spec sheet with the plans, and the service area pages carry the fees and the offices for each state and city we deliver to.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a custom food trailer cost?
Custom food trailers start at $40,000. A typical 16ft trailer comes in around $72,000 with a full equipment package, and a 22ft around $110,000. The hood and suppression system, the fryers and refrigeration, and the generator are the lines that move the number most; the shell, the stainless cook wall, the electrical, the tanks and the sinks are the standard package.
Food trailer or food truck?
A trailer costs less for the same kitchen, can be dropped at a brewery, a market or a festival and left, and does not need an engine serviced. A truck parks in one space, moves several times a day and suits catering routes and cities whose rules favour trucks. Many operators end up with one of each. We build both, so we will tell you honestly which suits the way you plan to work.
What size food trailer do I need?
We build from 10 feet to 32 feet. A 10 or 12ft trailer runs a coffee, dessert or single item menu with one or two people. A 16ft trailer, our most common, carries a full cook line and a crew of two or three. An 18 to 22ft trailer adds a second window, more holding and more refrigeration for events. Beyond that we build commissary trailers and large mobile kitchens with their own restrooms.
Do I need a commissary with a food trailer?
It depends on the county. A self contained trailer with its own fresh and waste tanks, water heater, three compartment sink and hand sink can be licensed on its own in most of the states we deliver to, and we built one trailer that Boulder County approved to operate as its own commissary. Some counties still require a base kitchen agreement, and the service area pages explain which.
Who pulls the trailer?
You do, or a delivery driver does. A 16ft trailer loaded with equipment and water is well over 7,000 pounds, so plan on a three quarter ton pickup for anything over 14 feet. We spec the axles and tyres for the finished, loaded trailer, not the empty shell, and we position the tanks so the tongue weight stays where it should.
How long does a trailer build take?
About six weeks of build time, and most trailers are delivered 8 to 12 weeks after design approval. A plain shell with no wrap keeps the finish stage short; a wrap, a custom window layout or owner supplied equipment that arrives late are what stretch it.
Call or text 719-722-2537 with your menu and the city you plan to work in, and we will tell you what length you need and what it will cost. If you already own a trailer shell, send photos and we will quote the systems on their own.
Recent food trailer deliveries
A proofing cabinet, a flat donut fryer and a twenty gallon water heater, because a donut shop washes more than it fries.
Three fryers, none of them the same, under one eight foot hood.
A twelve foot seamless trailer with a griddle, two burners and a coffee station for the Colorado Springs area.
Approved by Boulder County to operate as its own commissary, with 75 gallons of fresh water and 90 of grey.
A gluten free operation is a cross contamination problem before it is a menu problem, so the layout was built around that.
A conveyor oven, a 48 inch griddle and a diesel heater for Bozeman winters.
A dessert trailer built for Montana fairs and events.
Every one of these started with a phone call and a menu. Call or text 719-722-2537.