Here, we’ll be discussing food truck rental costs and other related stuff.

Are you planning on organizing an event or seeking to start your own food-selling business? One of the things you might need is a food truck. You’re probably reading this right now because you plan on getting one.

Instead of buying one which could increase your overhead costs significantly, why not rent?

Food truck rental services are common these days and eliminate the need to have to buy a truck or convert one which can be quite costly. So, how much does it cost to rent one?

Cheaper than owning one!

How Much Does Food Truck Rental Cost?

One of the actions you’ll need to take in preparation for renting a food truck is assessing your needs.

Here, you want to know just exactly what’s needed in terms of the number of people to serve and how many trucks will need to be rented to fulfill such.

By assessing your needs, you have a clear idea of what best serves your needs even before renting your first truck. This way, you’re able to cut down on unnecessary expenses that could arise.

SEE: Government Grants For Food Trucks

This article gives you an edge as it gives clarity to the pricing structure, thus helping you with budgeting.

You May Have to Pay a Fixed Amount to the Event Organizer

Before we delve into our main discussion, it’s important to state that a fixed cost may need to be paid to an event organizer. This could be about 10 percent of projected sales or revenue.

It’s common to find food trucks around major events such as parties, sports venues, weddings, and the likes.

This will impact your overall budget and needs to be factored in from the onset. That way, you aren’t caught off-guard. It’s also important to state that payment of this fixed amount doesn’t apply to all event locations.

You may not be required to pay a dime at some other events.

Average Food Truck Rental Costs

Renting a food truck could attract a rental cost with a high of about $1,000 to $3,500. On the low end, expect to pay anywhere from $800 to $1,300. Rental cost captures the catering cost per guest.

On average this could range from $10 to $35.

Cuisine Type Could Determine Food Truck Rental Cost

What type of menu do you intend to have or prepare? This could impact rental costs.

There are trucks specially designed for such services such as the pizza truck, taco truck, lobster food truck, burger food truck, ice cream truck, and BBQ food truck.

Let’s take a look at the cost of each.

  • Pizza Food Truck

Renting a pizza food truck attracts an average catering cost of about $12 to $20 per person. The minimum rental fee for such a truck will amount to around $1,000 to $1,300.

Note that this is an average and prices could be impacted based on many other factors which will be discussed shortly.

  • Taco Truck

For a Taco truck, expect an average catering cost of $10 to $18 per person. A rental minimum fee for such a truck will cost an average of $900 to $1,200.

Rental costs could be higher or lower than this amount.

  • Lobster Food Truck

If your food truck preference is for a lobster truck, this could attract a rental fee minimum of about $1,200 to $1,500. On average, the catering fee per person is about $18 to $25.

  • Burger Food Truck

Persons interested in selling burgers will find the burger food truck more useful as it aligns with their needs. To rent such a truck, expect a minimum rental fee of about $1,000 to $1,300.

The catering fee per individual averages $12 to $20.

  • Ice Cream Truck

Ice cream food truck rentals will attract a catering fee of $5 to $10 per person. As such, the rental minimum will be around $400 to $800. Actual costs may slightly differ based on your location

  • BBQ Food Truck

With a catering fee of $10 to $20 per individual, a BBQ rental food truck charges around $1,000 to $1,300 on average.

Food Truck Rental Minimums

Moving on without touching on this point won’t do justice to our discussion. The food truck rental minimum is set to cover basic operational expenses.

First off, the food truck will need to be driven to your party location.

This involves a lot of expenses such as food costs, time spent on the road, fuel costs, and staffing among others. The food truck rental minimum mostly applies for small parties or events with guests or around 50 or less.

With the minimums in place, the food truck owner still gets to serve smaller events and remain profitable.

Factors Affecting Food Truck Rental Costs

As evident above, food truck rental costs aren’t uniform across all cuisines and service providers. This is due to several factors such as brand popularity, time of year, day of the week, and time spent.

Let’s further discuss each factor for more clarity.

  • Brand Popularity

In terms of brand popularity, certain food truck rental services are considered more popular than others. The more famous a food truck rental business is, the higher it’s likely to charge due to brand value.

If you’re more interested in cheaper services, you might want to go for a less popular rental brand.

  • Time of Year

Popular holidays are the busiest for food truck rental services.

This is a period where their calendars are fully booked. Major holidays like July 4th, Halloween, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day, etc have most food truck services fully booked.

Any last meeting bookings will see rental costs increasing.

  • Day of the Week

Saturdays tend to be the busiest days of the week for food truck rental services. This is due to the many events organized around such days.

You’re likely to find rental costs increasing for Saturdays compared to other days.

  • Time spent

Most food truck rental businesses will serve an event for an average of two hours. Any additional time spent counts towards the overall costs.

These are the cost implications of renting a food truck. Knowing these enables you to plan ahead of time and also do so strategically.