Vintage Step Van Food Truck Conversions
Why should the vintage food truck market be dominated by those Frenchies when they built the coolest of trucks right in the USA back in the day, right? Right. One obvious elephant in the room to address is that new step vans really do not look all that different from some of most of the older step vans – an efficient, blocky delivery box on wheels.
Sourcing Classic Step Vans for Vintage Food Truck Conversions
If you go as far back as at least the 70’s, you’ll find an ever more interesting aesthetic. A Chevy P10 is so short you can’t help but fall in love with the cuteness of it all and they don’t make them like that anymore. And what about the sleek 50’s icon, the International Harvester Metro van?
Take a trip down memory lane and imagine yourself being the one stand-out star in the local food truck park with your Dodge Routevan, Dodge Duravan, IH Metro Mite, Chevy Grumman, Chevy P10, Chevy P20, Dodge P200, Ford Vanette and many more classic options.
We do not have any vintage step vans in stock.
Each project is custom sourced for each individual customer and their needs. Go and Google the options, browse classic car sites, and get back to us with which one you’d like to convert to a food truck – take your time and we’re happy to help.
Karpatia's Vintage Step Van Food Truck: Classic Step Van, Business-Ready Build
Daily food truck operations don’t need to be held hostage to keeping every original nut and bolt. We focus your build where it counts, giving you the classic look you fell for, built out for the realities of running a business, not a museum piece.
Much better to lean on the antique step van for its look and structure, not its original mechanicals, so daily operations aren’t put at risk by decades-old parts.
Every vintage step van comes with its own history, so we’ll walk you through what’s realistic for your specific vehicle once we’ve had a proper look.
VINTAGE STEP VAN LIMITATIONS
Although a vintage step van is a great added value to your brand and pure marketing on wheels, there are drawbacks to classic step vans other than the mechanical.
Many local health departments require a triple sink system, a certain size of water tank, both clean- and waste water, a minimum aisle width, and a mandated minimum overhead clearance. Fitting all of that into your classic Chevy P10 is something you can forget about.
Additionally, a common practice in larger, new step van food trucks is making a soundproof compartment for the generator inside of the truck where you can easily slide out the generator. This is usually not possible on the vintage step van.
In a practical sense that means unless you are doing ice cream or coffee, you may have to make some choices and hard decisions on which appliances and what parts of your menu to keep, and which have to be axed if you decide to stick to the antique step van.
Restoring classic works of automotive art is also a long process. If you decide to get a vintage truck in May and need it before summer it will either be impossible as we are out of stock, or you’ll have to pay a premium for us to source something pre-restored from a classic car dealership and build that out to a food truck, rather than us having the time to do the restoration ourselves.
VINTAGE STEP VAN RESTORATION COSTS
Quoting out a vintage car restoration project is a challenge as it has usually been a few decades since these models came off the production line.
They all have accumulated their own set of flaws and defects with their own set of causes for said flaws and defects. Many of them have hidden surprises just waiting to be found by us when up on the car bridge like a perverse treasure hunt only mechanics can truly enjoy.
That is not a convoluted way of saying “we can’t do it”. Uniquely for this business we can and do offer project pricing and fixed quotes where any discoveries that add costs are at Karpatia Trucks’ risk.
However, this kind of quote will be made only after the unit has been inspected by us in person or if you purchase a van from us and not bring/source it yourself.
Most of our vintage step van projects range from $130-170k, with the occasional ice cream or coffee truck dipping under that range, and full kitchens and bbq trucks where the vans had to have their roof raised and be extended to fit all the appliances being near the top end or a little outside that range.
There are literally hundreds of food truck builders.
so why karpatia?
Karpatia provides one of the best quality-to-value ratios in the industry.
From 100% made in the USA, to high end European replicas and authentic conversions, we can do it all.With Karpatia, you have an endless amount of possibilities. We will provide you with the best kitchen equipment and customizations such as full body wrap or painting. Working with us is fast and easy!
Our custom food trucks, trailers, and experiential vehicles are all made with passion but built for business. To keep your mobile business moving, we also offer a range of supporting services that aren’t limited to existing clients’ builds. These include food truck repairs, maintenance, winterization, and storage.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT VINTAGE STEP VANS
Learn more in our knowledge center ►It is state-dependent and you should check with your local DMV to verify and doublecheck before committing to any purchase. However, in general:
If the food truck’s GVWR exceeds 26,000 pounds, you are generally required to have a CDL. You can find the GVWR listed on the label inside the driver’s door.
If your truck is towing a trailer and the combined GVWR of the truck and trailer exceeds 26,000 pounds, and the trailer alone exceeds 10,000 pounds, a CDL is required.
The best source of classic and vintage step vans we have found are Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and Ebay and just patiently negotiating with individual buyers.
IS A VINTAGE STEP VAN THE RIGHT FOOD TRUCK FOR YOU?
Click below to get a free quote and officially begin the process.