Thinking of starting your own food truck business but don’t have a refrigerated van setup? First and foremost, don’t try to do it yourself. It’s a job for the professionals and one that you shouldn’t try to do alone.
Instead of going through all that hassle on your own, you can rent freezer vans or an insulated van to transport your goods. But if you need something a little bigger and more permanent, you can always hire a refrigerated van installation company to help you out.
Why Should I Hire a Professional?
We get it. Van refrigeration is necessary for your business. But it’s likely you don’t have the proper tools or skills to do it yourself. You especially want to make sure your van is properly refrigerated if you’re carrying food that could spoil easily should something go wrong with the refrigeration system. After all, your customers aren’t going to want to purchase mouldy food.
There are several systems in play that make a successful refrigerated van, such as the following:
- Insulation system
- Refrigeration mechanism
These are complex systems you’ll have to get put in place from a professional and not something you can take on by yourself, no matter how determined you are.
Refrigerated vans are made with a sophisticated pipe system that allows for them to absorb as much heat from the van as possible. They then expel the heat once it’s caught. This can be a complicated system to install and would require extensive mechanical knowledge. If you don’t already have those skills, it’ll only take you more time to learn them – time you could be using to build up your business.
The refrigeration system is pretty basic, but you would still need someone who knows what they’re doing to come and install it for you.
What Else Does My Van Need?
A properly refrigerated van will also need to have insulation in it, which is typically made out of polymer foam. Just like the piping system we mentioned before, the foam stops heat from coming into the van. It’s important to cover every single inch of the van with insulation because if you end up missing a spot, it could cause heat to come in and spoil everything inside.
You’re still not done. Once the insulation is installed, you still need to add another layer of protection for your van. Professionals typically use what is called wet lay and dry lay.
- Dry lay: plastic tiles that line the foam to make it more durable
- Wet lay: a special type of spray-on coating that dries hard and also creates a second layer of insulation for the van
It’s important to install all of these things properly because one small mistake could cause anything from spoiled food to mould inside of the van. If you’re looking to start your own business, why risk it all in trying to refrigerate your van on your own? Simply reach out to a professional to save yourself some trouble and focus on other, more important things.
