Building the coffee truck from scratch gave me a unique perspective. Although somethings worked out great (see Top 5 Best Decisions), some didn't. Here's my Top 5 Mistakes I made when building my Coffee Truck.
1. I would have gotten a propane powered espresso machine. Although they are slower, it's a lot easier to travel with. You don't have to worry about generators, circuits or extention cords. I would try to attach an inline tankless water heater to it, so that my recovery time is shorter.
2. I don't think I would have purchased my airpot and commercial brewer and would probably just served Americanos. It would cut my cost by 300 buck initially and I would have more room in the truck.
3. I would have hired a plumber to do all my plumbing. My plumber did my drain system and I did my inlet system and I'm still going back to work on mine. Same goes for my electric...
4. I would have relied stronger on 12v than I have. More 12v lighting. Using inverters to help run my tankless water heater. More 12v in general. It makes the truck much more self relient.
5. The last thing, isn't a change in material, but one in mindset. I didn't realize how important foot traffic is. And I mean foot traffic, not car traffic. People out of their cars, walking from A to B. I didn't realize just how important that is. I currently set up at a local college ,where I am between the parking lot and classes and I do pretty good here. I can't say it enough, plan to be right in front of your customer. Even 10 yards can make a difference. Foot traffic. Foot traffic. Foot traffic
