Buying a Used Catering Van or Food Truck: What to Check Before You Pay
Buying a used catering van or food truck? Check the van, the weight, the gas and electrics, and the paperwork before you pay. A UK guide from CaterBids.uk
Weigh the van fully loaded at a public weighbridge before you buy. Water, gas bottles, stock and staff add up fast, and plenty of 3.5 tonne conversions are already near the limit empty.
Quick answer: a used catering van is two purchases in one: a vehicle and a kitchen. Check the van like any used van, check the kitchen like any commercial kitchen, and then check the bit most buyers miss, the weight. A tidy kitchen on an overloaded, rusty van is a bad buy.
What you're actually buying
| Part | What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The van | MOT history, service history, rust, mileage | A great conversion on a tired van is still a tired van |
| The weight | Plated gross weight against the real loaded weight | Overloading is illegal and dangerous, and a 3.5 tonne van fills up fast |
| The gas | Gas safety certificate, locker, pipework, CO alarm | Badly fitted LPG is the most dangerous fault a van can have |
| The electrics | Electrical certificate, generator or inverter setup | Home-made wiring is common and hard to spot |
| The paperwork | V5C, certificates, receipts for the conversion | No paperwork usually means no proof it was done properly |
Check the van first
Start before you travel. You can check a van's full MOT history free on the GOV.UK website: look for advisories that keep coming back, especially rust, brakes and suspension. A catering van carries a lot of weight, so suspension and brakes take a hammering.
When you view it, check the chassis and the sills for rust, and look underneath the serving hatch, where water runs off and sits. Ask for the service history and whether the van has ever been a write-off. Make sure the name on the V5C matches the person selling it.
The weight: the check most buyers miss
Every van has a plated gross vehicle weight: the most it can legally weigh, loaded. It's on a plate in the door shut and on the V5C. Most catering vans are 3.5 tonnes, which is the limit for a standard car licence. Above that you need a C1 licence.
Payload is what's left once you take off the empty weight. A catering conversion eats into it fast: counters, fridges, a griddle and fryer, a generator, gas bottles, then water (one litre weighs one kilo), stock and staff. Plenty of catering builds push a 3.5 tonne van close to its limit before you've loaded a thing.
Overloading is one of the most common offences DVSA stops van drivers for. Even a small overload can mean a fine, and a bigger one can mean the van is taken off the road on the spot. Ask the seller what the van weighs empty, or better still, take it to a weighbridge loaded the way you'd trade.
The gas: check it before anything else in the kitchen
I worked as a Gas Safe engineer on commercial kitchens and LPG mobile catering for years, and gas is where I'd look first on any catering van.
- Ask for a current gas safety certificate from a Gas Safe engineer qualified for LPG in mobile catering. Not every Gas Safe engineer holds that qualification, so check the card.
- Look at the gas locker. The bottles should sit upright in a sealed locker that's vented through the floor, because LPG is heavier than air and sinks.
- Check the pipework. It should be proper fixed pipe with a shut-off valve you can reach quickly, not rubber hose run across the floor.
- Check for a carbon monoxide alarm that works.
- Check the appliances are commercial kit. Camping cookers have no place in a catering van.
If the van has an extraction canopy over the cooking, ask whether there's a gas interlock that cuts the gas if the fan stops. Our guide to the commercial kitchen gas interlock explains what it should do.
The electrics and the power
A catering van runs on a generator, a battery and inverter setup, or a hook-up at the pitch. Ask for an electrical installation certificate for the conversion, and for PAT test records on the appliances. Check where the generator lives: it should be secured, well away from the gas locker, and vented so fumes can't get into the van. Ask what the setup can actually run at once. A coffee machine, fridge and lights may be fine on batteries. A fryer won't be.
Insurance and registration
Tell your insurer it's a converted catering van: a standard van policy won't cover the conversion or trading. Get a quote before you buy, as some conversions are hard to insure.
You'll also need to register your food business with your local council before you start trading. The van's old hygiene rating doesn't come with it. Our guide on buying a catering business covers what transfers and what doesn't.
Questions to ask the seller
- Who did the conversion, and when? Any receipts?
- Current gas safety certificate and electrical certificate?
- What does it weigh empty, and what's the plated gross weight?
- MOT, service history, and any write-off history?
- What does the power setup run at once?
- Can I see everything working before I pay?
A good seller will have most of this in a folder. If they don't, slow down.
Selling a catering van?
Put the base van, the year, the mileage and the main kit in your title, for example "2019 VW Crafter catering van, griddle and fryer, gas and electric certificates". Add photos of the certificates and the inside of the gas locker. A van with its paperwork in order sells faster than one without.
Your first listing is free while our launch offer lasts, then from £5 for 30 days. No commission and no final value fee.
Browse catering vans and trailers, or if you're weighing up a trailer instead, see our used catering trailer guide.
Sources
Ready to Sell Your Equipment?
Your first listing is free while our launch offer lasts, then from £5 for 30 days. No commission and no final value fee, so what a seller makes is what they keep.
Prepare Your Equipment
- Clean stainless surfaces
- Disconnect safely
- Photograph the data plate
- Box loose parts
- Measure and weigh