New Mobile Coffee Adventure!
- Thread starter PQlliar
- Start date
JerryB
Member
PQlliar,
It looks really nice! Do you think you saved much money building it yourself compaired to buying one already made? Can you tell us what you would do differently? Do you use it year round?
Cheers,
Jerry
It looks really nice! Do you think you saved much money building it yourself compaired to buying one already made? Can you tell us what you would do differently? Do you use it year round?
Cheers,
Jerry
PQlliar
New member
- Thread starter
- #18
Thanks for the kind words!
We saved quite a bit. I did take a bit of time off work to really immerse myself in the learning process. So there was the opportunity cost of not working those hours. So much research! If I build another one, it'll take a mere fraction of the time this one took.
We had a coffee trailer build quoted that was far less personal and custom in design that would have ended up being nearly a third more than our final cost. So there's that.
Most of what I would do differently is design and work-flow related. Placement of things and such. If I did another trailer (versus a truck) and wanted it to be as mobile as possible, I would get a smaller trailer. I would do the water system different as well.
The wife and I both have full time jobs during the week, so it's been mostly a weekend endeavor. We did a farmers market through the summer and attempted a christmas tree farm this year in the winter. Also had a number of one-time events through the year.
TheGreenJoe
New member
If I could chime in. I also built my truck. Its a 1974 Scamp converted to a espresso/coffee truck. And I have to say, any money I saved in DIY, I lost in mistakes...lol! But I learned as I went and I gained a lot of knowledge and to be cheezy, a sense of pride. But things I would do differently:
1. Plumbing: Go bigger on water and make access to input easier. I don't have a filter so I pick up water every morning in 7 gallon tanks and use it to pour into my fresh water tank. Its a royal pain in the ass. If I could change things, I would make it easier to get water into my tank.
2. Electric: My electric sucks right now and I'll need to have an electrician work on adding some circuit breakers in. For right now, I'm using extention cords with a power strip. Its not pretty but it works. Also, I've never heard of espresso running on 120 v but I'd be interested in researching it. It would make hooking up to outside power soooo much easier. No one has 220v, everyone has 120 v.
3. Espresso
I'd love to know more about propane powered espresso machines. I have an Astoria 2 group. Its a Beast! I can pull from it all day and never worry. However, I don't pull from it all day. In fact, I get 2 rushes per day. I look back and wonder if those 2 rushes justify the machine. $2,500 machine that requires a $1,000 generator, equals $3,500. So, lets say that I went with propane espresso machine and it wasn't fast. People would walk away from my line, but at $3,500 expense, thats got to be a lot of people walking away before it justifies the expense...Does that make sense??? Its just food for thought....
4. Coffeemaker
My Grindmaster Pourover Airpot Coffee maker and in my opinion, it sucks a lot of wattage for poor performance and I could probably just make Americanos just as fast... I spent $200 on it and $40 an airpot. Roughly a $300 expense. And it soaks up a whooping 1400 watts.
5. Floor
I also made a few mistakes on the floor. I'll post a video for you on my blog www.greenjoecoffeetruck.com
6. Weight Considerations
I have a 1974 Scamp, with one axle. The water, the equipment and two people adds weight. If that axle ever breaks, I'm out of a job. Should of considered it before building out...
Hope it helps!!!
