Food truck cost in Ireland — full 2026 startup budget
Food truck cost in Ireland ranges from €20,000 (used food trailer with a basic griddle + fryer setup) to €80,000+ (custom-built food truck with full commercial kitchen for festival operation). This guide breaks down every line item — vehicle/trailer, kitchen equipment, gas + electrical, refrigeration, insurance, licences, opening inventory, and working capital — with realistic Irish prices in 2026.
Vehicle or trailer: €8,000–€45,000
Used food trailer in Ireland: €5,000–€15,000 (typically older horsebox conversions or 8–12 ft purpose-built trailers). Custom-built new from Irish builders (Reward Catering, Trailer Kings, Butlers, Custom Trailers Ireland): €18,000–€40,000 depending on size, fit-out spec, and finish. Mercedes Sprinter conversion: €25,000–€45,000. Citroen H-van or other vintage: €20,000–€45,000 turnkey.
Kitchen equipment: €5,000–€20,000
Core kit varies by menu. A burger / chip operation needs: a 600mm fryer (€1,200–€2,500), a 600mm griddle (€800–€1,800), a salamander/grill (€600–€1,500), a chip warmer (€300–€700), prep counters + chopping boards (€800–€1,500). Pizza ovens (Roccbox, Ooni Pro 16, commercial Italian deck oven) add €1,200–€5,000. Asian street-food (wok burners + steamers + rice cookers): €2,000–€4,000. Coffee accessory setup if you sell drinks alongside food: €4,500+.
Refrigeration: €1,500–€5,000
Bain marie + chilled prep counter (Polar G-series €800–€1,500), under-counter fridge (€500–€1,000), freezer (€500–€1,000), and a temperature logger (€100–€200) for FSAI compliance. Refrigeration must hold below 5°C for chilled and below -18°C for frozen — EHO logs check this. Add €200–€400 for a backup battery on the freezer so a generator outage at a festival doesn't spoil stock.
Generator: €800–€3,500
Most Irish food trucks need 3.5–6kVA of continuous power for fryers + griddle + refrigeration + lights. Pramac P6500i (5.5kVA, €1,800), Honda EU65is (6.5kVA, €3,000–€3,500), or LiFePO4 battery system with solar top-up (€2,500–€4,500). Smaller setups can run a 3.5kVA inverter genset (€800–€1,200) but power-balance carefully — a fryer + chest freezer cycle can spike to 4kW.
Gas system + RGI cert: €1,000–€2,500
LPG bottle bank (2 × 47kg + auto-changeover), regulators, isolation valves, copper pipe runs, leak-detection: €800–€1,800 installed. RGI certificate: €200–€500. Annual recertification mandatory. Larger food trucks running 4 burners + fryer + grill need bigger gas storage — the bottle bank often determines whether you can run a full Saturday at Electric Picnic without a bottle change.
Insurance: €1,200–€3,500/year
Public liability €6.5M+ for festival work: €600–€1,500/year. Equipment cover for €15k–€25k of kitchen gear: €250–€500. Motor / transit cover: €350–€1,000. Employers' liability if you hire seasonal staff: €200–€500.
Licences + permits: first-year total €600–€2,000
Casual trading licence per council: €100–€500/year. FSAI registration: free. RGI cert: €200–€500 + annual. HACCP Level 2 for owner + 2 staff: €240–€480. Festival vendor fees (3–5 events typical year 1): €2,000–€10,000 — operating cost, not startup.
Opening inventory: €1,500–€4,000
First-week ingredients (chips, burger patties, buns, sauces, packaging) + cooking oil + cleaning chemicals + branded napkins/packaging. Set up at least two food-grade suppliers before opening — a single supplier outage on weekend 1 is the most common preventable disaster.
Working capital cushion: €4,000–€10,000
Three months of operating burn — site fees, ingredient restocking, fuel, your own draw, and a buffer for slow weeks at the start. Most Irish food trucks that fail in year 1 ran out of working capital before they ran out of customers.
Total realistic startup cost
Budget setup (used trailer + secondhand fryer/griddle + small genset): €20,000–€30,000. Mid (new 14-ft trailer + full kitchen + diesel genset + insurance): €40,000–€55,000. Premium (full Mercedes Sprinter build + multi-zone kitchen + LiFePO4 battery system + festival-grade extraction): €65,000–€80,000+. Browse /category/used-food-trailers or current /listings to benchmark live Irish-supplier prices.
Related on Food Trailers Marketplace
Browse Irish suppliers
Find verified Irish suppliers across all 32 counties. Free to browse, contact direct via WhatsApp, email or phone. No commissions, no fees.