Mobile Business Owners / In shop only
Food Truck Repair and Build Out
Food truck work splits into three areas: body and collision repair on a vehicle that is usually older than it looks, graphics that carry the brand, and kitchen build out. The kitchen is normally worth several times the truck and is the part most often uninsured.
Most food trucks are older commercial chassis carrying a very expensive kitchen. That combination produces a specific set of problems, and the most expensive one is an insurance problem rather than a mechanical one.
Everything else about food truck repair is straightforward body and fabrication work.
What typically needs doing on a food truck?
Body and corrosion work, because these vehicles live outdoors and get pressure washed constantly. Serving window and door hardware, which cycles hundreds of times a week. Graphics, which are the brand and degrade fast under UV and washing. And equipment mounting, which takes load every time the truck moves.
Corrosion is the one owners underestimate. Constant washing plus a humid interior plus an older chassis is close to a worst case for rust, and it usually starts at equipment mounting penetrations.
- Body and corrosion repair, especially at equipment penetrations
- Serving window and door hardware from high cycle use
- Graphics and wrap replacement, $1,500 to $9,500
- Equipment mounting and securing for transit loads
- Roof and vent sealing around extraction penetrations
- Collision repair, $1,500 to $50,000 and up depending on extent
How do I protect the kitchen value on a claim?
Schedule it. Get an itemised equipment list with values onto the policy, and keep receipts. A twenty thousand dollar van with a hundred and forty thousand kitchen pays out on the van if the kitchen is not listed.
We photograph and itemise at intake, which helps, but it is a fallback. Getting it onto the policy in advance is the real answer and it takes an afternoon.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does food truck body repair cost?
Collision repair on a step van or box chassis runs $1,500 to $50,000 and up at 10 to 250 labor hours. Corrosion work runs $400 to $3,500. Graphics run $1,500 to $9,500.
Can you build out a food truck from an empty vehicle?
Yes. Interior build out and conversion runs $2,500 to $50,000 and up at 20 to 250 hours. We build to your specification and equipment list.
How long will my truck be off the road?
Cosmetic and corrosion work five to twelve business days. Build out weeks to months. Collision depends entirely on whether structure is involved.
Will insurance replace my kitchen equipment?
Only if it is scheduled on the policy with values. This is the single most common and most expensive gap on food truck claims.
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Bring the vehicle to our Yorba Linda facility and we will document the damage properly, work directly with your carrier, and give you a written figure built from published rates and real labor hours.
All work is performed at our Yorba Linda facility. We do not offer mobile, roadside or fleet route service.