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In the process of starting a food truck business, learning how to rent a food and beverage truck is critical. When you’re deciding which type of food truck you want to own, you also have to decide between buying or renting a truck. It won’t have a monumental effect on customer satisfaction or customer experience, but it will affect your business plans.
A lot of the conversation around how to rent a food and beverage truck is focused on cost. You already have a lot of costs to start a food truck business and keep it running. From investing in restaurant tech to factoring in costs around the importance of sustainability to the cost of labor, there’s plenty for your budget.
Renting a food and beverage truck will come up before many of those other costs. It’s a basic need for getting your business started and running smoothly. In this BinWise blog, we’ll walk you through the process of how to rent a food and beverage truck. We’ll also take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of using a rental.
How to Rent a Food and Beverage Truck: Advantages and Disadvantages
The process of how to rent a food and beverage truck isn’t for every food and beverage truck business owner. Food truck regulations don’t say whether you have to rent or own. It’s all about what will work best for you. Owning a beverage food truck or standard food truck could also be the right choice. This dive into the advantages and disadvantages will help you decide.
Advantages of Renting a Food and Beverage Truck
First, we’ll start with the advantages of renting a food and beverage truck. These key advantages are what it all boils down to. Within them are different angles of these benefits that will mean more or less for you depending on your business plans and current setup. The three advantages are:
- Certain aspects of customization: you’ll be able to customize your truck within the confines of the rental agreement
- Higher accessibility: there are more rental trucks available with ease than there are new trucks to purchase
- Decreased cost: renting a truck is more cost-effective if you don’t have the immediate funds to buy a new or used truck
Disadvantages of Renting a Food and Beverage Truck
Now it’s time for the disadvantages of renting a food and beverage truck. In some ways, these disadvantages mirror the advantages. These two disadvantages are things you can’t change, but you likely can live with them in your business. Whether or not they’re worth it is what will make the difference in your decision. The two disadvantages are:
- Truck return headaches: the ease of renting a truck is combatted by the headaches of working around lease timeframes. You also might have to switch trucks from time to time
- Lack of ownership: the lack of ownership can be a headache in the long run. You have a limited amount of control over the truck and your finances in relation to the vehicle
4 Key Steps of Renting a Food and Beverage Truck
If you’ve decided to rent a food and beverage truck, there’s no time to waste getting started. Of course, if you decide to buy, many of these steps will still apply to your business order of tasks. For renting, these four steps will get you to the point of having a truck ready to go.
4. Create an All-Inclusive Food and Beverage Truck Business Plan
A business plan is helpful for every business. When it comes to your food and beverage truck, however, it’s especially important for the rental process. Your business plan is the place to show how you’ll move your business forward. The people renting trucks need to see it to know you’ve got plans for success.
3. Prepare Your Financial Information
Preparing your financial information will include showcasing your budget, as well as any investing you have in place or your other plans for funding. This may be part of your business plan already. If not, get it set up to show to potential truck suppliers.
2. Negotiate and Finalize Your Lease or Rental Agreement
Negotiating and finalizing your truck rental agreement will likely take some time. If you have your finances in order, however, it can be fairly smooth sailing once you find the truck that’s right for you.
1. Get Insurance For Your Food and Beverage Truck
Insurance will help you make sure you can operate your business after you’ve rented the truck. You’ll want to check your local government for rules on the insurance you need, and the department of motor vehicles as well.
Next Steps After Renting a Food and Beverage Truck
After you’ve rented your food and beverage truck and gotten it set up legally, it’s time for the next steps. These three steps will come immediately after getting your truck ready to go.
They are all part of different aspects of starting a food and beverage truck business. The one thing they have in common is that they are vital to getting your business off paper and onto the road.
3. Deck Out Your Food and Beverage Truck
Once you have your truck all squared away, it’s time to decorate! From a specialty wrap to internal decor and supplies, decking out your truck will get you ready to open for business. If you're working on catering, decorating for types of catering events will come in handy.
2. Start Up Your Marketing Campaigns
Your food truck and beverage food truck marketing plans are something you can plan for once you decide to start a business. After you’ve acquired the truck, however, is the time to kick those plans into action.
1. Find Locations
Picking your locations is a lot of work, but also a lot of fun! It’s something you should decide on at least a month before
"Key Takeaway: Renting a food and beverage truck comes with a lot of effort right off the bat. The tasks and planning you’ll complete give you a start on the work of owning and operating a successful food and beverage truck business."
Frequently Asked Questions About Renting Food and Beverage Trucks
The process of how to rent a food and beverage truck can be arduous. It’s also of vital importance to getting started with your business. Those two factors come together to make it a process that involves a lot of information and questions along the way. Our answers to these frequently asked questions help you keep learning.
These questions range from ones you would expect to some you might not have thought of. They’re all tied to renting food and beverage trucks. They’ll give you some good basic information, and lead you to keep exploring.
How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Food Truck?
The cost to rent a food truck can range from $3,000 to $5,000 a month. Of course, this is a wide range, and it’s entirely location-dependent. If you’re in one of the best places to start a food truck business, you may spend more because of the robust market.
Do Food Trucks Pay For Locations?
Yes, food trucks do pay for their locations in different ways and for different reasons. Sometimes it’s as simple as getting a permit to sell in one general area. Other times, it gets more particular. You may have to pay for specific events, unique locations, and ongoing food truck venues. It all depends on your specific location and goals.
How Much Does It Cost to Buy a Food Truck?
Buying a food truck outright can range from $100,000 to $175,000 for a new truck. The range is between $50,000 to $100,000 for a used truck. If you have the funds for a new food truck it can save you money down the road in rental and repair costs. It is, however, quite the financial investment right off the bat.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Food Truck For Your Event?
Hiring a food truck for a private event often costs between $500 and $2,500, depending on many internal factors. It can depend on the size of your event, the complexity of the menu, and the food truck business and how established they are.
This question is different from the others in this section. We included it because it’s important to see what you can make from a food truck business. Getting bogged down in the costs to rent, buy, and operate can be exhausting. Seeing some of the potential food and beverage truck profits will give you positive numbers to balance the process as you plan.
Renting Food and Beverage Trucks: Rent to Own Your Business with Financial Savviness
Renting a food and beverage truck comes with a lot of effort right off the bat. The tasks and planning you’ll complete give you a start on the work of owning and operating a successful food and beverage truck business. Come on back to the BinWise blog to keep learning about joining the best food trucks and food and beverage trucks in the industry.