Winterizing Your Food Truck: A Guide From Experience
After 20+ years in the food truck business, both building and maintaining these mobile kitchens, I've seen firsthand what winter can do to a food truck that isn't properly prepared. Here in the northern states, winter isn't just a slow season – it's a serious challenge for your equipment. I'm going to share my personal insights on how to protect your investment during those cold months. The Reality of Winter Storage Let me be straight with you: storing a food truck for winter isn't as simple as parking it and walking away. I've had customers come to me in spring [...]
How to Start a Mobile BBQ Business: A Step-by-Step Guide
Richard Willis here from M&R Specialty Trailers and Trucks. After building custom BBQ units for over two decades, I've learned a lot about what makes these businesses run profitably. Let me walk you through the process step by step with some insider knowledge on building and marketing your mobile BBQ operation. Step 1: Planning Phase (6-12 Months) Initial Planning (Months 1-3) Before you even think about buying equipment, you need a rock-solid plan. Here's what needs to happen in your first three months: Are you in a region with a strong BBQ identity (like Kansas City or Texas)? What styles [...]
Food Truck Foundations: 5 Books Every Owner Needs to Read
The food truck industry continues to evolve, with the market reaching $1.2 billion in 2024 according to the National Restaurant Association. For new entrepreneurs entering this space, knowledge and preparation are crucial differentiators between success and failure. Through careful analysis of the industry's most influential literature, we've identified the key texts that offer practical insights for aspiring food truck operators. The Food Truck Handbook: Start, Grow, and Succeed in the Mobile Food Business David Weber, founder of the NYC Food Truck Association, has created what many consider the definitive guide to mobile food entrepreneurship. His experience as both an operator [...]
Should You Accept Cash Tips on Your Food Truck?
It feels like anywhere you eat now-a-days, you find a tip jar. Historically, people would tip their server a customary 10% at a sit-down restaurant or for services like a ride in a taxi. Today, you'll find find the tip jar front and center ever where from coffee shop chains like Starbucks to Subway restaurants. Which leads us to the question... With the continued acceptance and expectation of a tip jar, why not accept tips on your food truck too? According to TripAdvisor.com's Tipping Etiquette guide for the United States, a "good tip" should be 20% of the total bill [...]
Four-Stall Bathroom Trailer Designed for Any Event
Hey everyone, Richard Willis here from M&R Specialty Trailers and Trucks. I wanted to take a moment to share something I’m really proud of: our latest build, a Four-Stall Bathroom Trailer. This is a project we’ve poured a lot of thought and care into, and I think you’re going to see why it stands out. Whether you’re planning a wedding, music festival, corporate event, or just need a high-quality portable restroom solution this trailer is designed to meet the challenge. Let me walk you through it and show you what makes it special. Thoughtful Design Meets Practical Features When we [...]
What to Look for in a Qualified Food Truck Builder with 20+ Years Experience
After 20+ years of building coffee trucks, BBQ trailers, burger trucks, Thai food trucks, and more, I’ve learned a few things about what it takes to create a food truck that lasts. My job isn’t just to get a completed truck: it’s to set up a kitchen that works, day in and day out, in some of the toughest conditions out there. While finding a food truck builder might seem straightforward, finding the right one requires more than just choosing someone based on price or convenience. Before you settle on a builder, there are some key questions you should be [...]
Why Florida’s M Shack Restaurant Added a Mobile Concession Trailer
What happens when two brothers that grew up in the catering business decide to open a restaurant together? If you're the Medure brothers (Mathew and David), you join forces to create an vintage-inspired burger joint with a new-school twist serving up hormone-free burgers and fresh-cut fries called M Shack. M Shack also worked with M&R Specialty Trailers and Trucks to build a food trailer for their growing business. We recently had the opportunity to catch up with Mathew Medure to learn more about his business and why a mobile presence was the right choice for M Shack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgGn5Gb-wjA M&R: Tell [...]
Customer Payment Options for Food Trucks: Cash, Credit Or Cell Phone?
Giving customers the option to pay how they want is a simple way to improve the customer experience, ideally increasing loyalty and sales. But as many small businesses, including food trucks, have found — paperless forms of payment like mobile payments can pay off far beyond convenience. Increased payment options can boost overall revenue for a concession businesses too. This post explains why you should consider adding payment options beyond cash. How Multiple Payment Options Can Improve Your Bottom Line Utilize the equipment you use daily. Before mobile payments gave customers the option to pay using a credit or debit [...]
All-Aluminum Disaster Relief Vehicle Built to Serve
At M&R Specialty Trailers and Trucks, we take great pride in custom-building vehicles that serve communities in times of need. One of our latest projects was a fully aluminum disaster relief trailer designed and built for the Florida Baptist Convention. This trailer is built to provide efficient, mobile food service for disaster relief workers and the communities they serve. Let's take a look at what makes this build special. The Power of Aluminum: Durability and Efficiency One of the standout features of this disaster relief trailer is its all-aluminum construction. “Aluminum is an incredibly versatile material,” says Richard Willis, Owner [...]
Battery-Powered Medical Exam Trailer: Power Anywhere, Anytime
At M&R Speciality Trailers and Trucks, innovation meets practicality with our latest build—a 24-foot battery-powered medical exam trailer. This impressive mobile unit is designed for ultimate convenience and efficiency, making it possible to bring healthcare services to any location without being dependent on external power sources. “We wanted to build something that could operate anywhere, and this trailer does just that,” says Richard Willis, highlighting the trailer’s ability to function without a generator. Get a full tour of this unit in the video below. https://youtu.be/SwmXTc_tuSM?si=-afDQ2p85wktwNJk Key Features: 2 Roof AC Units 2 Exam Rooms: Fully equipped with sinks, exam tables, [...]