Ever thought of starting your own coffee van, or dreamt of building a food truck and hopping between markets like some travelling food magician? What about taking your gourmet butter business… mobile, eliminating the expense of leasing a commercial kitchen?
That’s exactly what Devoted Artisans wanted to do; take their gourmet butter business fully mobile and be able to operate from their home in a fit-for purpose, commercial kitchen-on-wheels that adheres to all government regulations and food safety standards! Not only would this allow them to discontinue their expensive commercial kitchen lease, but will let them take their world-class butter to food festivals, shows and events all over the state.
To do this, they needed a special kind of food trailer. The kind of food van that’s not only robust and well-built, but also fitted out with all the amenities that THEY need; something really built for their specific requirements.
Which is where we come in! We’ve been building some of Australia’s best mobile kitchens and food trucks—we call them ToastaVans!— for a little while now, but more on that later.
Building a custom, industrial food van that not only serves you well and makes making food (whether it be street tacos or gourmet butter!) easy, isn’t easy. There’s a lot that has to be taken into consideration to get it just right—regulations that need to be met and things that need to be thought of well before construction begins (think building materials, layout for efficiency, appliances required and how they’ll be powered).
Our process for building bespoke food vans takes all of this into account, and we work closely with our customers to ensure they’re getting the perfect solution to help them achieve their business goals. The end result is something they’re stoked with, and still meets all relevant regulations and standards. Happy cooking!
Steel chassis construction for long-lasting durability
With a steel chassis and steel, ladder-frame base, our Toastavans are built tough. They won’t fall apart after a year or two of towing them around, and the floor won’t sag and shift, causing unsafe footing for staff and an industrial kitchen that no longer meets regulations.
When you’re working in a kitchen, under pressure, the last thing you want to be thinking about is an uneven floor, and with a ToastaVan you don’t have to. Firm footing, guaranteed.
Devoted Artisan Butter wanted a BIG ToastaVan—6.5 metres long—but because everything’s built custom, in house, it really wasn’t a big deal to meet this requirement. A few more sections, material cut a little longer than normal and it was all business as usual.
All of our ToastaVans are built to be towed safely and comfortably when fully loaded. Part of making this happen is attention to the suspension. As experts in all things offroad suspension, getting it right for a commercial van is a piece of the cake. For this specific build size, we opted for a double axle to better distribute the weight of such a large van.
There’s no need to go crazy with independent coil suspension on a food truck, but if you’re interested in a food van that can reach the most remote parts of Australia… give us a call.
Building the entire van out of steel would get heavy quickly, so we use a balance of mild steel and aluminium framing. This mix doesn’t compromise on structural strength, but does reduce the overall weight of the van and saves a little on cost. We also save cost on both raw materials and build time, while also ending up with an incredibly well insulated trailer by using 50mm EPS insulated cool room panels. The beauty of building vans that are designed from the ground up, in-house, is that we can use optimal materials in great ways.
Why ToastaVan?
When we first got started, way back when, we spent 12 months repairing, restoring and renovating food vans built by others. During that period, we noticed that most of these vans were of relatively poor quality, built cheaply overseas and prone to failure. After hearing from many customers that they would have happily paid a little extra for quality, built in Australia vans, our proprietary ToastaVan brand was born. The idea was simple—to manufacture high quality food vans that were up to the task, with a style that captured the nostalgia of the post-war vintage era.
The retro ToastaVan design is based on the post-WW2 design by Carapark Caravans, formerly Australia’s biggest manufacturer, and is a genuine vintage design exclusive to us. We’ve retained their heirloom shape, ensuring ToastaVan has deep roots in Australian caravan culture.
To date, we’ve built ToastaVans for many different purposes including food trucks, photobooths, school libraries, therapy clinics, mobile bars and recreational uses! There’s really no limit on what a ToastaVan can be outfitted to do. Looking to take your screenprinting business mobile? How about a tattoo-parlour on wheels? Anything is possible.
Why ToastaVan, specifically? Simply put, because they look like a classic Sunbeam toaster when finished in polished aluminium. It’s a fun, tongue-in-cheek name that really captures the essence of the brand!
Custom fit outs to suit every need, and meet every spec.
When it comes to mobile power, water, waste water and ventilation, it pays to do things properly. Attention to detail is super important here, because it can be the difference between a van that lasts a long time and works great, or one that develops electrical niggles, gremlins and issues that you just can’t seem to fix.
As you can see, all the electrical work is done properly, with no shortcuts even considered. The Devoted Artisan van has cable that’s appropriately insulated, routed and sized.
This van needs continuous air conditioning to ensure inside temps don’t get high and threaten the butter, which means it needs a quality 240v electrical system. Compliant fixtures outside the van make connecting to generator or mains power easy, simple and safe.
The Devoted Artisan van includes a complete plumbing package consisting of a hot water system, fresh water and wastewater. 100% self contained, and nothing missing from an industrial kitchen in a fixed building!
From a bare canvas to a world class fit out!
Inside, the ToastaVan has food grade stainless steel countertops, fridges and butter churns. This layout is simple, clean and efficient, but we’ve built ToastaVans to all different requirements. From burger bars to deep fried deliciousness, mobile bars and mobile offices, the beauty of building them right here in Australia means you won’t have to compromise on the fitout, or the quality—every one we build will meet shire regulations and health and safety standards!
Just how you want it
Most servery openings are cut on the left side of the food truck, but with a bespoke unit it can be as wide or as tall as needed. Left, right or even one on each side—we’ve even built serveries into the front and back of ToastaVans!
Ready to get serious with your own mobile food business?
One of the biggest challenges for anyone looking to run a food and drink business is the initial investment of leasing a place, fitting it out and then actually getting people through the door! A mobile business takes a lot of that stress and heartache out of the equation. No lease, generally a smaller investment in fit out, and you can go straight to where the people are!
Take your culinary skills, pack them into the trailer and book a spot at a market, festival, event or turn up at the local break’s car park and offer steaming coffee to surfers and beach goers alike. Whatever your dreams, an RV Solutions ToastaVan is the ultimate way to get serious. Choose from one of our pre-designed layouts or go for a totally custom fitout. Whether you know exactly how you want it, or need a little help figuring it out, call us today to get started, or check out our ToastaVans page (and super cool brochure!) for more information.
Read More: Food trucks & Toastavans
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