This is MY Crazy Food Truck Journey

For ME, the journey… is where it all happens

If I have learned anything about myself, it’s that I enjoy the journey most of all.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the destination. And all the things that happen when you reach the destination.
But the STORY is in all that bring you there.

I would rather DRIVE 3000 miles to Vegas than take a 3 hour flight. ( and I have done both )

For some odd reason, I really do like all the stress and unknowns involved in starting something new.
I prefer to jump in head first and learn as I go.

I’m a big believer in – if you can dream it, you can do it.

Don’t ever let not knowing how to do something stop you.

This all began ….. mmmm… let’s just say a little unexpectedly.

It seemed, that one minute, this was just kind of a fleeting thought, and the next minute i was ass deep in it and searching for a paddle.

You can read the story below if you want to know HOW the heck this all got started.
Or just skip past it to get to the real meat.

Go here if you want to read the FIRST ATTEMPT.

Or just keep scrolling down for the updated story.

Part 1 - How the heck did this happen??

It all started when I lost my long time job.

I was feeling a little down, trying to figure out my next move.
Looking through Kijiji ads at jobs, and businesses and what ever else I could find.

Suddenly I laughed and passed my wife my phone…. HEY, maybe I should go buy THIS.

There was an ad for an old food truck for sale ….CHEAP!!

Her eyes kinda lit up, and she said YEAH, go for it.
And she proceeded to tell me all of her ideas about what I should do with it.

At the time, we both kinda laughed about it, because really, I think I have done crazier things in the past.
Its not like this would be TOTALLY foreign to me.

You can click below to open up My Background if you have nothing else to do, and lots of time to read all the boring crap.

Anyway, this is the truck.

Not pretty, but I LOVED the fact that it’s an old 60’s truck.
I had visions of flat black paint. Chalkboard styled lettering. Whitewall tires. Kind of a ratrod look.

Needless to say, when I went to see it …… well lets just say it was in need of some TLC.
There was nowhere to start. Total ground up restoration.
Way more than I wanted to do.

But at least it got me started, researching all the requirements, looking into equipment costs, etc.
Mostly though, it sparked an idea.

Click below to read Part 2.

Part 2 - Le Spark !

The seed was planted, but still not SERIOUSLY, but still …. a spark.

And as things often do….. the stars aligned and things came together in their usual – unusual way.

Just a few short days later, browsing Kijiji again ( yes, I do this alot ) I came across another ad for a food truck.

It was in the wrong section, so I was not even searching for it.
But there it was. Still old, but not as old as the first one.
Sounded like it had most of the stuff. Yes it need some work and money put into it.

I called, and was able to see the truck right away.
Grabbed a wad of cash and headed out.

We met at the old warehouse where it was stored.
An SUV pulls up, 3 guys ( Italians ) get out…
“how YOU doin” With a big smile!
I replied with ” I see you brought reinforcements ”
The guy in the back seat pulls out a nice aluminum bat
“We are the negotiation department” Big smile again.
We all laughed, cracked a few Italian jokes, and proceeded to check out the truck.

It was UGLY.
It was old. Not old enough to have that cool 60’s vibe.
One side was ok in color, but the drivers side had and the hood had been done in spray paint. Kinda like they were goin for a GRAFFITI type of look.
And I’m ok with that, but it was done POORLY. Nice try tho.
Whatever, it’s just paint.

I’m not going to write the story that the guy gave me, because I don’t know how much of it is true.

But the truck seemed solid…. in and out.
It was Fully equipped, with equipment that was older, but top quality.
It was a nice size, not some 60 foot monster.
It had a current road safety, ( so it can be driven ).
Driving it, was fairly easy for a 70’s delivery van with thousands of pound of equipment installed.
He seemed up front about what WAS needed.
And the price was right.

I handed the guy the money, we made a B line for the nearest insurance broker ( which was closed in about 7 minutes ).
Got the truck insured ( I was the last person they served, because they were closing ) and the guys drove it home for me.

I love the way things just fall into place sometimes.
You never really see it until AFTER the fact.

Click here to see how it all unfolded.

My Backgorund

This is where I will put my background story

Master Plan, Part Deux ....

So was the First Attempt a failure??

I’m going to go with no.

I learned an awful lot.

I will use all the parts that I can from that truck and transplant them in the new truck that I just bought.

In many ways this was still a part of the overall plan. – ish

I had been trying to buy a truck that I assumed was still up for sale that was already finished. – even if it was not perfect.
But I had not come up with the funding.
And I cannot track down the owner because he is out of the country.

So like everything else I just keep moving forward.

I figured I would just keep building the old truck and run it for a year or two. In the meantime, I would look for a another ( better ) base truck to buy, and later just transfer everything over.

2017 hit and I lucked out and found the truck I wanted at a great price and had to jump on it.

Better to start fresh with a better base.

Hopefully I can sell off the old truck for a few bucks.
I should still be able to stay within my projected budget – ish.

So I am starting a new section on the site for the new truck.

From What I see so far.
It’s not going to be the hellish fiasco that the first one was.

You can find it here.