Starting A Catering Trailer - What To Tow With?

Trailblaze

Thanks guys for all the info. I think you are correct to point me towards obtaining the B+E, I have looked into training courses and will cost around 500 GBP. I am a firm believer that it is best to do something correct from the start especially as I will be investing most of my money into this business.

For those of you that have concerns about my research. I am very aware of the certificates and regulations that need to be considered and obtained before being able to open for business. Research will be ongoing.

Thanks again for all of the quick responses.

AdrianC

Trailblaze wrote: »

Thanks guys for all the info. I think you are correct to point me towards obtaining the B+E, I have looked into training courses and will cost around 500 GBP. I am a firm believer that it is best to do something correct from the start especially as I will be investing most of my money into this business.

Bear in mind that, since you need to do the training and test solely for business purposes, it's a business expense - so goes through your books, effectively meaning it's pre-tax money.

patman99

Might be better to go for a class C test for 7.5 Tonne vehicles, then getting a proper catering van. A lot more stable than a trailer.

forgotmyname

Before you spend all the money on a towing course, Find out if you can actually pitch the trailer somewhere.

Mate bought one and couldnt find anywhere to site it. Contacting all the markets and carboots etc. Got the feeling that mostly the vans are owned by one person/company.

So at a market there maybe 10 vans but all run by the same firm. And you wont get it.

He had to resell it.

And those catering trailers are damn heavy for their little size, Even a 10ft one with stainless steel fittings wont be lightweight.

AdrianC

Van or 4x4 plus trailer doesn't need an operator's licence. A 7.5t would.

bluesnake

What about a vw camper, or a hi-cab van?

We have a person selling sandwiches near my work place. Think two people work in his camper, but not sure as once one start changing £7,95 for a sandwich (baguette really), I am scared away. Locally for that price I get a got meal, some drink, and some change.

The pitches where the camper sits have a fixed size of about 2 meters

Trailblaze

I have thought and researched about vans but have read that many of the festivals only take trailers. Is this true or bad advice? Vans are also considerably more expensive than trailers and may not fit into my budget. I have 8,000 GBP currently to start this project.

In regards to finding it hard to find pitches at markets, festivals, shows etc. I understand that we would need to confirm a pitch at these events 6 months + in advance. This is not a problem as I have time for a soft launch to get a handle on the business before going all out for next years events. We are based in Devon and have researched that markets and shows are first come first served for spaces. Also because we are going to be serving South East Asian cuisine, we have far less competition than a burger van.

As I understand it if I get my B+E license a tacho only needs to be fitted if the actually weight of the Train is over 3,500kg and not the maximum Gross weight??? Also a tacho only needs to be fitted if I was towing a trailer and getting paid to do so. Because I would be travelling to and from events with my own equipment, car/van and trailer I have actually not been paid to tow. Is this also correct or have I misinterpreted important laws?

Joe_Horner

Unfortunately, the exemption from tacho regs for carrying tools / equipment only applies to vehicles used within 50km of your operating base. So, unless you're planning to cover a very small area, you couldn't use it.

worried_jim

My neighbour tows his with a transit van. Must be doing okay as he has a half £mil bungalow, not bad for flogging burgers in Homebase car park. Good luck with your start up!

Nodding_Donkey

If it was me I would definitely sort sites out before committing to buy the trailer. Your best bet would be 'new' events. I help out at a local bootsale which is run by a company that organises quite a large number of them and we get asked every week about pitches for flogging food. The answer is always the same, one guy has the concession for any type of food and he pays a lot for it. We also turn people away every week who turn up on spec thinking they can just pay the bootsale pitch fee and crack on. One guy was in tears because he had spent his redundancy money on a burger van and kept getting turned away from places.

You need to sort the pitches out first, buying a van/trailer is the easy bit.