One of the challenges of purchasing a custom-built food truck is that you might not have a reputable manufacturer in your local market.

Additionally, you might be able to find the ideal used food truck available for sale online, but you don’t want to drive the unit halfway across the United States to deliver it to your city.

Fortunately, you don’t need to make an investment in a food truck based primarily on the location of the vehicle. HeavyHaulers.com safely transports and delivers about 100 food trucks and concession trailers each year throughout the United States.

We reached out to the company to learn more about the process of shipping a food truck, the costs, and other considerations for transporting a food unit. Learn more about the process below.

Coffee truck transported from Texas to Wisconsin.

Tell Us About Your Business

HeavyHaulers.com has been an operating registered transportation provider since 2009. We currently have 7 offices throughout the country which provide full logistics services including auto transport, freight shipping, heavy equipment transport and specialized transportation services. 

We are fully licensed bonded and insured and we are A+ Rated with the BBB. We are on the INC 5000 list of fastest growing companies for 3 years straight.

The Food Truck Shipping Process

Shipping a food truck involves the following. First, you will speak with a shipping specialists that will collect all the pertinent information about your food truck or trailer.

Every transport is different and everyone has different scenarios and requirements.

  1. Determining the type of trailer you need to transport. Can either be a Hotshot Trailer, Step Deck Trailer with Ramps and in some cases for larger vehicles, an RGN trailer.
  2. Determine the most convenient time/date to make the vehicle available for the driver to pick up
  3. Exchange contact details with the driver so a line of communication is started to coordinate the pick up 
  4. Driver will do a full inspection of the exterior and mark off any scratches or dents and leave a copy of the inspection report with the origin.
  5. Driver will give an ETA for the delivery and stay in contact through the journey
  6. Driver will deliver and again do an inspection once he off loads the food truck to make sure it arrived in the same condition that it left.

Do You Have Tips for Shipping a Concession Unit?

  • Properly seal ANY loose vehicle wrapping, advertisement and outside vinyl taping.
  • Properly secure all loose items in the vehicle including kitchen ware, oven ware, 
  • Release all gas from cooking tanks and oven as well as unplug/secure all inside electrical ports and outlets. 

Before you ship a vehicle, the best thing to clean is the outside of the unit in order for the driver to perform and proper inspection report both on pickup and delivery.

Pizza Truck Shipped from Utah to California.

How much does it cost to ship across the country on average? 

Prices are based on the type of trailer used to transport the food truck as well as the size of the truck, and the distance being transported. Prices can range anywhere between $1 to $2 per mile depending factors that include

  • Time of year
  • Location of pickup/deliver (city vs. outskirts)
  • Mileage
  • Length X Width X Height X Weight 

What makes your service unique?

Our Motto “ We will do anything to make sure that it is a pleasant experience” truly represents our business properly, making us a rare and unique business that truly focuses on customer satisfaction.

Can you work with food truck builders and direct customers?

We work with anyone and everyone: one time shippers, builders, small and large businesses, manufacturers.

To view examples of food trucks that have been successfully shipped across state lines, click here. You’ll find examples of pizza to coffee trucks that were securely transported.

Want to start your own food business?

Hey! 👋I’m Brett Lindenberg, the founder of Food Truck Empire.

We interview successful founders and share the stories behind their food trucks, restaurants, food and beverage brands. By sharing these stories, I want to help others get started.

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