Towable Catering Trailer – ST Trailer

The ST Trailer is a great fit if you want to trade at locations with a steady but constant flow of custom for your products. Typical examples would be local country fairs, private functions and roadside catering. It’s a high specification, high quality unit designed to help you maximise revenue.

You’ll also appreciate value for money, with a careful eye on return on investment. As you know, the key is to match your trailer budget to your expected revenue.

Let’s get very specific, this catering trailer might be right for you if you:

• Have a pitch or location that you attend daily – e.g. as a roadside caterer
• Want to cater at local country fairs, shows, events and weddings
• Want a constant and steady flow of customers buying from you throughout the day
• Are a sole trader or partnership with 1-10 trailers in a fleet
• Intend on doing roadshows or food demonstrations such as giving away food outside a supermarket
• Want to serve your food direct from the trailer to your customer
• Don’t want the expense of a new or used vehicle conversion which will only do low mileage over the life of the vehicle.

“Gary and Graham came in and done an amazingly good job and the customer service was great.”

Tye Huseyin, Events Director for Five Star Catering

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It can process high volumes, so if you have very niche products or just a steady trade you may want to consider a horsebox trailer (very stylish) or a container trailer (very versatile). If you expect very high volumes then the GT Trailer may be more suited to your business, If you need to process high output in a short space of time, we’d suggest a Supa Truck or Supa Van.

This is how we take you through our comprehensive design process:

• You explain how your business works, any plans for expansion, what food and what standard of food you sell, what types of events you go to, where will the unit be located, what’s the timing of what you serve generally like (are there heavy peak demand times), how many people will you employ?
• We agree on the required size of trailer and the design and layout of the kitchen to give the best possible flow and make sure you can achieve your expected outputs
• We’ll check you do want regulated temperature, hot and cold pumped water systems for regular hand washing, and where you want this located
• We agree your cleaning standards and requirements – we have several clever standard design features to make cleaning easy, including wipe clean surfaces and easy clean flooring
• We make sure we understand how you want to brand and sign write your trailer so we can allow for that in the final design

We also check and agree and include in the design:

“…you ultimately get what you pay [for] and if you want things done properly, professionally and to a high exacting standard, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better company than 4Sure.”

Garry Young, Ops Director of Healthy Yummies Ltd

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You will be able to configure the layout of your new ST trailer so you can get the food and equipment right in the line of sight of your customers. This is because the floor height of our trailer is lower when compared with other comparable units on the market.

It not only helps put more of the kitchen in view, it allows your serving counters to remain lower at the same time. That gets you closer to the customer, you don’t look down on them so much. They feel more comfortable, they see more, they buy more.

• We choose what you need from a wide range of suppliers, and we can balance your preference for budget against reliability and usability. We have extensive experience of different equipment and we only recommend what we know works. Breakdowns can mean loss of takings so they’re to be avoided wherever possible
• We choose equipment and suppliers who understand the mobile catering environment, it’s tougher on kit than a “bricks and mortar” café or restaurant. Bumpy roads can upset some equipment, so we’ve learned to avoid that
• We only use high quality materials and fixings and you’ll see we stand behind our work standards and give you strong guarantees
• The way we install equipment in your trailer means it can be removed easily and quickly for servicing, maintenance and cleaning when necessary. That means many potential problem issues can be solved on site
• We also know which equipment works best to give you the right flow in the kitchen and what volumes it can handle

You’ll quickly realise we’re always focused on getting you the best return for your investment. We can advise you on how to balance your budget against the need for reliability and length of life if that’s a concern for you.

The design of the ST trailer automatically lends itself to branding as well as showing what your product offerings are and why people should buy from you. You’ll see this clearly from the photos of a selection of the trailers we’ve built 

As you know, good branding draws the crowds in and can make a huge difference to your takings. Our design team take careful account of your plans for sign writing and we have a trusted local supplier who can sign write and brand you trailer before it leaves our depot. We have extensive experience bouncing branding ideas around with our clients and we’re happy to help you develop your own ideas if you would like that. Most or our clients do ask for our input.

Operating from a trailer, compared with other styles of trading, offers an abundance of benefits when compared like-for-like, Some of those benefits are:

• A trailer can hold far more catering equipment and refrigeration when compared to a vehicle conversion. Both options are restricted to an overall weight of 3,500 kg, but the trailer option does not have to take into account the weights of the engine, cabin, seats, fuel etc. so that extra capacity can be used for equipment (which will make you more money)
• For the same reasons you can carry more stock (and you may have more room in your tow vehicle)
• If for any reasons your vehicle breaks down, you can replace it. With a vehicle conversion if you’re off the road you lose income
• It’s quick and easy to set up and quick and easy to close down, a big advantage over a gazebo style of catering
• Again compared to a gazebo, the electrical and gas installation and pipework is fixed, that makes it much safer
• It will be less expensive than a vehicle conversion, giving you a faster return on your investment
• You can use the vehicle for leisure and other business activities, that’s not practical with a vehicle conversion
• There is more space for branding and sign writing generally on a trailer, so you can attract more buying customers

“…we had a unit tip over whilst on the way to an event … we were able to open and trade without doing ANY work. That NEEDS to be talked about. Literally the next weekend we traded at an event.”

Jazza Smith, owner of S&J Catering, Andover

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Excuse us if you already know this. Large-scale events and festivals etc. charge pitch fees based on the length or frontage of your pitch, That automatically makes a vehicle conversion less attractive when it comes to pitch fees.

The clever design of the ST Trailer, based on our experience deep cleaning units for customers and their regular feedback on their cleaning experience, means the clean down process at the end of the day can be quick and still be thorough.  Here’s how we do that:

• There are no dirt traps around the wiring or gas installations We position wiring away from potential sources of grease and dirt, (hidden wiring wherever possible) to give you smooth, wipeable surfaces everywhere. That’s one example
• Everything else is installed with the same thought – make cleaning and hygiene easy
• Your catering equipment is positioned to separate hot products and appliances from fridges and freezers, that keeps grease and fats in one area.

We make daily cleaning simple and easy – to save you and your team time and make sure you can maintain the highest hygiene standards.

• Taking payment at bigger events can be a challenge as network access can be restricted. That will slow down your ability to process people at the tills There are other network and satellite options available that will get over this issue
• Our systems give you your own line of communication ahead of the network providers to stop you struggling, unlike some of your competitors
• This is a great piece of equipment if you’re likely to attend any of the big events

We believe we are leaders in understanding how to make sure you stay safe and legal so you can sleep soundly at night, knowing that all your testing and certification is taken care of.

Here’s how we cover this in our design process:

• We know the ventilation and extraction you will need get rid of all the gases, grease and fumes
• We specify your capacity to connect enough gas bottles and we’ll calculate the electrical power needed for your kitchen
• We look after you, your staff and clients by thorough and careful safe electrical installation (we have NICEIC electrical certification) and supply and install the appropriate gas equipment (your trailer comes with a Gas Safe mobile catering safety certificate)
• Your trailer will have been type approved by the Vehicle Certification Agency

Our aim is to make sure we plan for every aspect of safety and legislation (of course Health & Safety risk assessments are down to you). Your vehicle comes with every certification you would expect.

Our ST trailers are designed so they can be towed by most 4×4’s, you may want to check or consider the tow vehicle that you intend on using. We can advise you how to stay safe (and legal).

You may need to check the driving license you currently hold, you or one of your team may need to get your towing license (category E). If you passed your test before January 1997 this was an automatic entitlement.

We may be teaching you to suck eggs here, but this is important when you consider the space you need (so size of unit) and the equipment you require.

One of the biggest differences we see between those clients that wish to do large event catering, compared to those who have a steady five days a week semi-permanent pitch, is the range of food offering available. Festival and event caterers normally have a small/select menu offering (and they cook them in volume) whereas our smaller event or roadside caterer tends to offer everything from a burger, to a jacket potato with fillings, to a chocolate bar or muffin.

That decision about the range of food is driven mainly by the type of event organiser you deal with. At a festival or large event, the organisers often restrict what you are allowed to sell for that event. At a smaller event, you are normally in control of what you offer.

That will affect the space you need to produce food and the right size and specification of your cooking equipment.

If you already know what equipment you need to cater for all those different food offerings, well done, we’ll help you secure it at the best prices. If the answer was no, that’s great too as we will help you plan your kitchen and guide you to the products and appliances that best suit your business.

When you read the technical specification below, you’ll understand just how much work, quality and love we put into all our trailers. From the detailed design plans and specification, how we build your trailer, and finally how we make sure it meets all our standards, everything is important to us.

So here’s just some of what we do to make 100% certain you’ll be delighted with a 4Sure Trailer:

• The designs combine your need for output levels, efficiency, team comfort and food quality, but never compromise on quality of build or materials
• We use the right materials for longevity and appearance, and we don’t cut corners – so for example the fibreglass panels are 22 mm thick to give long-term rigidity and the chassis is very heavy-duty
• The trailer is constructed for both rigidity and appearance.
• The standard equipment is extensive and focuses on safety as well as functionality. It includes a fire extinguisher, secure locks and the heavy-duty jockey wheel
• We have ISO 9001:2015 so we have great systems, and we use them
• We assess our team regularly to make sure they can meet and do adhere to our high craftmanship standards
• There is a three stage quality control system for every unit we produce, and your trailer has to pass before it can leave the workshop

We love what we do and we’re proud of our products and standards. We hope that comes across.

• The trailer walls and roof are all made from 22 mm thick insulated fibreglass composite construction. This keeps the trailer sturdy and durable. Most similar trailers use panels ranging from 14mm timber panels (we think they can get water in them and then rot) through to 20 mm thick. That extra 2 mm gives a surprising amount of rigidity
• The carrying capacity ranges up to 2,600 kg dependent on the size of trailer you choose and the equipment you require
• The ST Trailer is available from 3.1 m (10’2″) to 4.9 m (16′) in length (internal body measurements) with a standard width of 1.98 m (6’6”) (internal measurements).
• The ST trailers are on twin axles – so the trailers are very stable on the roads and in the event of a tyre blowout, the other tyres will allow you to reach a controlled stop. The chassis is heavy duty painted steel, designed for heavy loads – there’s no such thing as overengineered when it comes to your safety
• The jockey wheel is heavy duty to stop the trailer landing on your foot (an all too common occurrence)
• Your gas bottle housing is constructed from a fire-resistant fibreglass mould that rates in accordance with CoP 24:part3 regulations. It’s then clipped onto the A-frame of the trailer and will suit 2 x 19 kg gas bottles
• You have a folding hatch signboard for signwriting
• The floor is made from an 18mm phenolic chemical resistant special flooring material that has a non-slip food safe vinyl floor covering bonded on top (in a colour of your choice)
• The 230 volt electrical mains pack comes as standard with 2 x 4′ water resistant lights, 2 x 13 amp twin socket outlets, a 10 metre extension cable and full protective devices. It’s upgradeable to any of your required configuration – e.g. 400 volt three phase
• The water system is regulated hot + cold water to get the temperature right for hand washing. At the same time it will be hot enough to kill potential bacteria in the system
• There are two round sinks which can be configured to suit your layout
• The stainless steel worktops are all heavy duty & wipe clean, to make sure you can keep a clean and hygienic food safe working environment
• There is a fold down customer shelf
• The electrical installation is fully NICEIC certificated, valid for 12 months
• You will have a ‘Gas Safe’ ‘Mobile Catering Vehicle Safety Inspection’ certificate that’s valid for 12 months

If you have an equipment failure, just give us a call at our office we’ll either look after the repair process if it’s within the warranty period or we’ll tell you the best people to call. You need to be aware that some equipment manufacturers will only speak to the dealer, others will only speak to you.