What does a food truck or catering trailer cost in the UK?
Real asking prices for trailers, van conversions and ice cream vans — which turn out to be a different business entirely, at ten times the price.
A ready-built catering trailer starts around £7,800. A used van conversion runs £20,000 to £32,295. An ice cream van runs £17,500 for a 1990s one to £129,950 for a 2024 Mercedes.
That last gap is the thing to take away: ice cream is not a cheaper version of street food. It is a fifteen times more expensive asset to buy into.
Read the VAT line on every listing
On most equipment you can assume a UK trade price excludes VAT. Not here. Mobile catering listings are frequently marked "VAT free" — margin-scheme stock or private sales — while some are explicitly inclusive of VAT. On the ice cream side, 17 of the 18 listings we looked at said nothing at all.
So the usual rule of thumb does not work on this asset. Every figure below reproduces whatever the listing actually said, and where it said nothing, we say so. On a £30,000 unit the difference is £6,000, and on a finance deal the VAT normally falls due separately and up front alongside your deposit.
Catering trailers and van conversions
From 20 live UK listings plus two builders’ published price lists, October 2026.
| Unit | Rough price | VAT basis | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| New pod trailer, 2.8 – 4m, ready built | £7,800 – £9,000 | VAT free | 4 |
| New box trailer, 3.5 – 7m | about £12,000 | list price | 1 |
| New Airstream-style, 3.5 – 7m | £16,250 – £16,700 | VAT free | 4 |
| Used trailer, basic or small | £4,500 – £10,000 | mixed | 3 |
| Used trailer, fully fitted 12 – 18ft | £15,850 – £28,000 | mixed | 4 |
| Used van or truck conversion | £20,000 – £32,295 | mixed | 4 |
| Vintage or specialist conversion | £20,000 – £35,000 | VAT free | 4 |
Examples from that stock: a new 2.8m trailer including fridge and freezer at £7,800; a used Bushman Deluxe Compact at £6,999, reduced from £8,999; an 18ft Katercraft burger and fries unit at £22,500; a 6m Airstream at £28,000, reduced from £35,000; and a seafood catering truck at £32,295, down from £49,995.
Sources: Secondhand Catering Equipment, Trailer Kings and American Caravans Ltd, retrieved 10 October 2026. Asking prices, not sold prices. The discounts above are the sellers’ own — this is a market where units sit and prices move.
Trailer or van? It is the cost decision that matters most
A ready-built trailer starts at about £7,800. A used van conversion starts at about £20,000. The reason is simple: with a conversion you are buying a vehicle as well as a kitchen.
Do you already have something that can tow, and somewhere to keep a trailer? If yes, a trailer is far the cheaper way in and the money saved can go into better equipment. If no, add a tow vehicle to the trailer price before you compare — at which point a van conversion may well be the cheaper option after all.
Ice cream vans are a different business entirely
This is where the numbers surprise people. Eighteen live UK listings, October 2026:
| Age | Rough range | Listings | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Used, 1996 – 2012 (Ford / Mercedes) | £17,500 – £70,000 | 8 | Most sit £45,000–£70,000. |
| Used, 2013 – 2018 | £82,000 – £100,000 | 3 | |
| Used, 2020 – 2024 Mercedes | £120,000 – £160,000 | 5 | Whitby Morrison bodies. |
| Van | Year | Mileage | Asking price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford, Cummins conversion | 1996 | — | £17,500 |
| Ford Transit LWB, Carpigiani | 2005 | 106,000 mi | £45,000 |
| Ford, Whitby Morrison | 2011 | 121,000 mi | £50,000 |
| Ford, Whitby Morrison SWB | 2012 | 35,000 mi | £59,995 |
| Mercedes, Whitby Morrison | 2017 | 38,000 mi | £69,950 |
| Mercedes, Whitby Morrison MWB | 2018 | 43,000 mi | £100,000 |
| Mercedes, Whitby Morrison SWB | 2023 | 22,000 mi | £120,000 |
| Mercedes, Whitby Morrison MWB | 2024 | 10,000 mi | £129,950 |
That ladder is remarkably orderly for a used market, and it climbs hard: £17,500 for a 1996 van, £59,995 for a 2012, £100,000 for a 2018, £129,950 for a 2024. A 2005 Transit with 106,000 miles on it still asks £45,000.
These are coachbuilt specialist vehicles from a small number of makers, with soft-serve equipment, refrigeration and a power system engineered around them. That is why the second-hand market holds up the way it does — and why finance is the norm rather than the exception at this end.
Whitby Morrison and the other UK coachbuilders quote on specification and publish nothing. The closest grounded new figure we found was £12,995 from a converter building small vehicles and carts — a genuinely different product, not a comparison. For a nearly-new van, the £120,000 to £129,950 used listings are the honest reference point. A new one will be above them.
Source: Ice Cream Van Trader, retrieved 10 October 2026. VAT basis is stated on only one of the eighteen listings, where the seller marked it NO VAT. Treat every figure here as "as advertised" and confirm the VAT position before budgeting.
The costs after the unit
- CP44 gas safety certificate. About £150 + VAT base plus roughly £40 + VAT per appliance, or a flat £255 + VAT per unit from another provider; the range across providers is roughly £120 to £350. Annual. It is not the domestic CP12 — do not price it from a household quote.
- Livery or wrap. Roughly £1,500 to £2,200 ex VAT for a small van, or from about £750 for a half wrap.
- Soft-serve machine, if that is your route. New countertop models from about £4,800 ex VAT, up to about £16,380 for a larger unit.
- A generator — which we could not price. No reliable UK figure was found, so budget for it as an unknown rather than assuming it is small.
CP44 pricing from Union Plumbing and Direct PHS; wrap pricing from Complete Graphics; machine pricing from Nisbets. All retrieved 10 October 2026.
What would it cost a month?
Check whether your unit is priced VAT free or plus VAT first — on this asset it genuinely varies.
Prime is an established, profitable business with clean credit. Specialist covers newer businesses and credit that needs explaining — the asset itself carries part of the risk, which is why finance is often available where an unsecured loan is not.
Representative example: on Hire Purchase, borrowing £25,000 over 48 months at a 5.15% flat rate (equivalent to 9.9% APR representative), you would repay around £628 a month; total amount repayable approximately £30,150, of which £5,150 is the cost of finance. This calculator is for illustration only — it is not a quote or an offer of finance, and the rate and repayments you are offered will depend on the asset, term, deposit and your circumstances. CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and will receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
Rates shown are indicative flat rates with the equivalent APR alongside — the two are not the same number. Indicative only and does not constitute a quote or an offer of finance. Subject to status and lender approval.
Common questions
How much does a food truck cost in the UK?
Less than most people expect at the entry end. A new ready-built pod trailer of 2.8 to 4 metres runs about £7,800 to £9,000, with one UK builder listing from £8,000. A new box trailer is around £12,000 and an Airstream-style unit £16,250 to £16,700. Used trailers start around £4,500 for something basic and run to about £28,000 fully fitted. A used van or truck conversion — a vehicle with a kitchen in it rather than something you tow — runs about £20,000 to £32,295. Many of these listings are marked VAT free, so check each one.
Is a trailer or a van conversion cheaper?
A trailer, substantially, and that is the main decision at the start. A ready-built catering trailer begins around £7,800 while a used van conversion starts around £20,000, because with a conversion you are buying a vehicle as well as a kitchen. The trade-off is practical rather than financial: a trailer needs something capable of towing it and somewhere to park it, while a van drives to the pitch and away again. If you already have a suitable tow vehicle, a trailer is the far cheaper route in.
Why do ice cream vans cost so much more?
Because they are a different kind of asset. A recent Mercedes with a Whitby Morrison body runs £120,000 to £160,000, against £7,800 for a ready-built catering trailer — more than fifteen times the price. The van is a coachbuilt specialist vehicle with soft-serve equipment, refrigeration and a power system engineered around it, built by a small number of makers, and the second-hand market holds up strongly as a result. Even a 2005 Ford Transit with 106,000 miles was listed at £45,000. If you are budgeting for ice cream on the basis of food truck prices, the gap will be a shock.
What does a new ice cream van cost?
We cannot give you a figure, and would rather say so than guess. Whitby Morrison, the dominant UK builder, quotes on specification and publishes no prices, as do the other coachbuilders we checked. The nearest grounded new figure we found was £12,995 from a converter doing small vehicles and carts such as the Piaggio Ape — a genuinely different product, not a comparison. The useful reference points for a nearly-new van are the used listings: a 2024 Mercedes at £129,950 and a 2023 at £120,000. A new one will be north of that.
What is a CP44 and what does it cost?
It is the gas safety certificate a mobile catering unit needs if it uses LPG, and it is not the same as the CP12 used for domestic properties, so do not price it from a domestic quote. UK providers quote a base of around £150 plus VAT with roughly £40 plus VAT for each appliance, or a flat fee of about £255 plus VAT per unit; across providers the range runs roughly £120 to £350. It is an annual cost, and you will need it before you can trade at most events and markets.
What else should I budget for?
Three things, two of which we can price. A vehicle wrap or livery runs roughly £1,500 to £2,200 plus VAT for a small van, or from about £750 for a half wrap. A new soft-serve machine — if you are going the ice cream route — runs from about £4,800 plus VAT for a countertop model up to £16,380 for a larger one. The third is a generator, and we could not find a reliable UK price for one, so budget for it as an unknown rather than assuming it is minor. Fit-out is generally not separable: UK builders quote a finished unit rather than a shell plus a kitchen.
Where to next
- Catering trailer finance — how these agreements are structured.
- Mobile bar finance — the same model, different trade.
- Catering and hospitality finance — the main page, with the lender panel.
- New business asset finance — most mobile catering starts are new ventures, which changes who will lend.
CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and will receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. Prices on this page are third-party published asking prices, attributed to their sources and correct at the date of retrieval; they are indicative, are not sold prices, and are not a quote or an offer of finance. VAT treatment varies by listing on this asset and is reproduced as advertised. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.