Food truck layout: floor plan, standards and cost
How to plan the inside of a food trailer: the working zones, the hygiene standards, water, power and gas, the cost, with our four layouts as examples.
Romain BarreauFounder of Food Truck Store · 5 min readThe body of an AIR 220 food trailer is 220 cm long and 203 cm wide. In that space, every piece of kit in the wrong place costs you extra steps, a sore back or a customer kept waiting: a good food truck layout is the difference between a smooth lunchtime rush and one that falls apart. Here is how to plan yours, zone by zone, with the standards that apply and our four layouts as examples.
Plan the workflow, then the kit.
List what you serve, then every step it takes to prepare it: a good plan puts everything within reach without you having to turn round. Every food trailer is organised into three zones.
- The cold zoneFridges, freezer and refrigerated worktop, as close as possible to where you prepare.
- The hot zoneGriddles, fryers and grill, under the hood, with the shortest possible run for gas or power.
- The service zoneCounter, till and pass. It is the only zone the customer sees, so keep it clean and clear.
Everything within reach.
In 220 cm, every step counts: cold storage next to the prep area, cooking under the hood, the pass facing the customer. Decide where each person stands during the rush, and keep the floor clear between the zones.
Prepping at the cold station, with the pass within reach.
Our four layouts, drawn from experience.
All four share the same base: fibreglass shell, non-slip chequer plate floor, stainless steel worktops, automatic sink and electrical panel. The fit-out is included in the trailer price, shown here excl. VAT for the AIR 220 format, and the model comparison lists each model’s equipment with its dimensions.
- €11,500Essentiel: two 186 cm worktops, a wall shelf and two spaces for your own fridges ›
- €13,495Chef+: hood, lowered cooking top, double-door fridge and drawers ›
- €13,300Frost: 7-tub display at the counter, scoop rinser and double sink ›
- €13,300Barista: three-door bottle fridge, with room for a coffee machine or a beer tap ›
Water, power and gas.
Plan water, power and gas along with the layout, not as an afterthought. The gas bottle box is an option on every model, and the gas installation is fitted and inspected by a qualified professional in your country, because EU rules leave gas installations to each country (Regulation (EU) 2016/426, art. 3(3)).
- Water
Fresh water tank, waste water tank and an automatic sink. A hot-water hand basin is an option on every model.
- Power
An electrical panel with circuit breakers, 230 V for the equipment and two inlets for two separate circuits: plug in both.
- Gas
Gas bottles in a ventilated box, with the installation fitted and inspected by a qualified professional in your country.
Layout standards, country by country.
Under EU hygiene rules, a food truck counts as a mobile sales vehicle, which means smooth, washable surfaces, somewhere to wash your hands, enough drinking water, separate waste handling and temperature control (Regulation (EC) 852/2004, annex II, chapter III). Ireland’s food safety authority spells out what a trailer needs (FSAI guidance note 16, section 5.2), and other countries set out who may install gas and electrics, as in Finland and Sweden.
- Ireland: the trailerPurpose built or properly converted, smooth and easy to clean inside, with a hard, preferably non-slip floor.
- Ireland: the hoodA canopy over appliances that give off heat and steam. Mechanical extraction with grease filters may be needed.
- Ireland: waste waterAll waste water from the sinks drains into a covered container marked “waste water”.
- Finland and SwedenIn Finland, fixed gas installations are a job for an approved gas installation company. In Sweden, electrical installation work is for authorised electricians.
The mistakes we see every day.
Choose the format first.
At 750 kg, the AIR 220 can be towed on a category B licence, provided your car is allowed to tow it. The BOLD 270 gives you 50 cm more inside, for two people and bigger volumes. Read what a 750 kg food truck trailer means for your licence, and find your layout and format with the free FTS Academy quiz.
- 220 cmbody length of the AIR 220: one person, or two at a squeeze
- 270 cmbody length of the BOLD 270: two people and bigger volumes
- + 50 cmextra, for cold storage and worktops
The customer only sees the counter.
Keep the service zone clean and clear: it is the only part people see from outside. See our food truck trailers and their layouts, or find out what a food truck costs in total.
The pass, seen from the customer’s side.
Your questions answered.
Got another question? Just ask us ›You can, but the fit-out accounts for a large share of the cost and the time, and it has to meet the hygiene rules. If you use gas, the installation is fitted and inspected by a qualified professional in your country. Our trailers are delivered fitted out, with their European Certificate of Conformity.
EU hygiene rules expect a mobile sales vehicle to have smooth, washable surfaces, handwashing facilities, enough drinking water, proper waste handling and temperature control. In Ireland, the FSAI also expects a canopy over appliances that give off heat and steam, and waste water drained into a covered container.
A made-to-measure fit-out is quoted item by item. In a Food Truck Store trailer, it is included in the price: from €11,500 to €17,500 excl. VAT, depending on the layout and the format.
The Chef+: a hood, a lowered cooking top for the griddle and grill, a double-door fridge for meat and toppings, and drawers for the buns.
Your appliances sit on the worktops and can change whenever your menu does. The base layout is designed so that you do not have to redo it; talk to us or your distributor before making any changes.
The body is 220 cm long and 203 cm wide. In the Essentiel, two 186 cm worktops face each other, with a wall shelf above.
By Romain, founder 
