5yrs and 1st and goal... more new photos added

Hello to all
My name is Mike and I like to say that the wealth of information here is beyond the realm of my wallet... And thank you to all that keep this site up and running. I live here in Omaha,Ne and I'm close to opening up my barbeque concession van in the near future, actually in a week or less. This is a labour of love as most all of us do it to make yourself the american dream. I can tell you that I hope working for any employees, sence there the boss and I'm only the person that keeps the key to the ignition, that this is a dream for my family and not just for me. I'd just like to share what I've done in the 5yrs that I've worked to put this together. I bought the van only without the diesel engine in it for $600.00 #71 1983 Kurbside Ford chassic Old Home Bread truck,Then went to a city action and got a 1986 F150 with a 300 c.i.d straight 6 engine and did'nt use the automatic transmission,$300.00. Then went to U-pull it and go a T-15 4 speed out of a F250 with flywheel pressure plate clutch disk and throw out barring and all but the transmission was new that I got out of the wreaking yard,$100.00. Replaced all main seals front and rear gaskets and side pan on engine.
   This had a BT4 cummins in it but I couldn't afford another one but was blessed with what I got. A lot more blessings along the way as you will see. I was a long haul driver and was coming back from Chicago I stop for fuel and seen a glass case front to a cabinet that in the truck stop that they use to keep the radios and CB in,now this is just the front section the sliding windows and frame well they were throwing this away and I asked the manager if I could have this and said yes. Cut the frame down and had welded and order new glass,$150.00. Now before I was going to build this concession van I was going to use this van as a rolling smokehouse but thinking back now about the window cleaning..lol,I had bought some stainless steel sheet to make smokers out of but it was my wife idea to build the concession van instead. all know who to point the finger at if this goes south...lol. anyways I took a side panel and cut it in half and my son had a pickup truck with a top rack made out of 3/4 square tubing and he cut it off his truck bed and I made a retaining wall out of it and covered it with the stainless and went to the restore building supply and got a 36" glass front screen door for $40.00 and  added a wall between my driver and kitchen. Sidewalls are stainless steel sheets over 1/8" ply that was already up in the back of the van,just clean wood and used PL400 contractors glue and stuck to sides, It would ripe the van apart before coming off. all the stainless steel sheets about $2200.00. I have a hood system and roof vent that I put in myself. that took some doing all tell you! Small block and tackel from Harbor feight and a 9" 2x4, Raised by myself and screwed in place with one hand tied behined my back or so it seemed. I put this in the rear of the van, and the van is 7' wide. When I got this hood it was 10'6" and had to cut it with a air cut off wheel grinder 3" and the hood is stainless using and 5hp air compressour,cfm of about 8,took about 3hrs to cut in half and weld together. Now I was leaving work after parking the semi and look in the next door nabours trash and found a small pancake air compressour that need the contacts cleaned and used my wifes nail file shhhh.... dont tell her, and traded that for the welding of the hood. Hood cost $200.00 welding $000.00 priceless. Now be a driver I was driving for a company and we us to change drivers in Southbend,IN and I would hold over there till the driver got back in 24hrs and he would let me use his truck to use. And it so happens that Indaina is the trailer building capital of the world and also that thier is wholesale dealers there and that where I got my clean and dirty tanks and hot water heater from and all piping. This has been God sent every step and I was givin the knowledge from God to complete this to the last bolt. I had to wire the complete under the hood and dash, lights and blinkers from scatch. I can not say that I did this alone as I had help from my two sons when they could help me on there days off and my wife for all the times I messed up her side of the garage. This is going to change lifes in Omaha,Ne,Spokane,Wa,Quarztsite,Az,Portland,Or,Dallas,Tx as this is where my family is and I cant wait to help all of them.

What are you going to serve?

It will very from brisket,pulled pork,and chicken smoked with apple,hickory or oak. Have a trailer type propane fired barbeque with a four rack rotissierie. Use  it for are church events. Had done 900 hotdogs in a 2hr time, have served 75 people at a company dinner. I can do about 120lbs of brisket,or 50 whole chickens, or32 babyback ribs. I have pictures of my grill and truck on my facebook page @ mike trickler / facebook and as soon as I'm able to I will post here. Thank you KMAN160 for asking. Mike



photos at bottom of page link 

Welcome to Roadfood. Sounds like it WAS a labor of love along with Persistence & Perseverance. With those qualities, you'll have a successful business. Good luck!

Barbeque barn

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf#!/profile.php?id=100000431140276

copy and paste to see photos of van and barbeque

 
I don't see any pictures there?

 to see pictures go to botttom of page.

Foodbme


Welcome to Roadfood. Sounds like it WAS a labor of love along with Persistence & Perseverance. With those qualities, you'll have a successful business. Good luck!

thank you

photos at bottom post by me, 

Hey,
 
Worked great!
That is a sick smoker/grill!  Love it.  That's the kind of show piece to set you apart from any competition and bring in customers.
 
Truck look great too.  What's the inside look like?
 
Cheers,
 
G

     the cow

    truck after paint

  truck before paint with cow

welcome and thats one sick cooker! i love the smoke coming out the horns!! will request friend on facebook. buck
you think that ford 300 will be enough for that truck and cooker? whats the truck weigh? sorry i'm and old driver too lol

300 six is a strong industrial engine and  the gearing in it is low at about 50mph. It would be better if I didn't get the transmission out of a 4x4 f250. I should have gone with a 2  wheel drive trans. The van had a Bt4 cummins in it when it was a bread truck but I only bought the chassie.

My son and I spent all day in the van to get the sinks and water  leaks solved. about 11-12hrs total, It's those drip,dripand drip ones that nag at you till you want to..... have your brains tak'in out and washed. I went and met the commissary owner and sign a lease.  tomorrow is the first HD inspection for which the commissary is in a different county then the one am setting up in and will have my second inspection on tuesday or wednesday. I'm hoping to start and open for business on the 25th of this month. Just have a ton of stuff to have go according to plan. Ha! There already something wrong with this plan. Like my son said, Dad we shouldn't have waited till the day before the inspection to see if the water work. Just thought that all that water on the floor would help clean it faster then I could. The last of the leaks was the supply line to the water heater and what a pain,3hrs. Tight space,under counter and copper lines already soldiered. It just wasn't an easy day. That it's my wife's birthday and she wasn't happy,you know the saying. When she not happy, duck... Just got to get through this next week. 1st and goal! Mike

Thank you Localnet and I already like it better than winter time driving on I-70 Colorado over Eisenhower pass with a oversize load and tak'in the oversize route. So anything this inspection throw at me is a brezees compared to that. Amen

Ok the inspection was'nt as easy as I-70 but I passed, touchdown still have the fieldgoal to set up for!

tell me about it .. we had a "routine" inspection the other day brother was I nervous ! it was a new guy sitting in for the reg. guy that was out sick.. he asked me the inspectors name and i couldnt even remember that !! we did okay but he rememned me we had to have the last inspection posted... I didnt know that ????but then a guy came to the window and orderd a cheese steak and I had to cook in frt. of him!! now that was different !! you talk about a nervous pup...

I had one yesterday too..... 100%!

The inspector was real nice and help explain a lot of the procedures and at the critial point of showing how my sink works after working on it Sunday at all hour of the night and IT WORK THEN!!!! BUT NOT WHEN I SHOWED THE INSPECTOR... OH NO NO NO... He wrote it up and sayed that I will have it fixed and that he seen the work that I had done inside the van and trust that I'd  have it operational before I start serving and that he said it's an honor system that I fix. I told him that I have a second HD inspection in my county and that it would be fixed before I open for business and the serving window. I defiinitely will have it fix today as I know he watching around the corner with his super powers. LOL He was just a nice inspector and the owner of the commissary was there and helped me as well so it went well not great but well. gosh darn sink! It's just the power supply to the pump had a 12vdc battery charger and it went out just at the most op time possable. thank you MR. Murphy. I got to say that if nothing happen and all went as planed what funny stories could a person tell?

good deal I see your in Washington state I was born and rasied in Spokane and moved here to Omaha,Ne back in 1999 with a company that hualed mail. That what got me here and what kept me here is the great people of the midwest. But I miss the mountains and the blue cold lake of home.

Well then you most likley drove right by or stopped for gas
 where I live if you were heading West in I-90 to Seattle.

chefbuba


Well then you most likley drove right by or stopped for gas
where I live if you were heading West in I-90 to Seattle.

What town are you located in? chefbuba.

Have got the leaks all stopped and the new plug in in place for the warming cabnet and warming station. Just waiting for the permit from the first inspection to come in the mail as the county will not use the receipt as a form of inspection from my first. It should be here any day and then I go downtown and fill out the paperwork and pay the fee, give HD copys of my commissary and agreement of where were setting up at and HD inspection and were set to start serving. O yea there is a 75 dollar peddlers fee to sell pop in Omaha. I have to have the permit from my county in hand before the issue the peddlers permit. In the five years of the build, the most trouble I've had was the leak out of the water heater cold water line in and that took 4 days. If there's a hole, water will show it's ugly face in plumming. I tried to seal the joint 7 differnt times and the last time it had a spray across the other side of the van. I could have left it and would have never had to wash that wall again. I have to bless my wife for her help this last week for watching me run around like a chicken with it's butt in a frying pan and keeping it soaked with oil so not to stick in one spot... In front of the TV. Thank Hon! She's got a great motivational speech. As Forest Gump would say! That's all I got to say about that!!!!! LOL and keep laughing.

brisket still has two hrs to cook at 160 looking for 185+

Barbeque barn

chefbuba


Well then you most likley drove right by or stopped for gas
where I live if you were heading West in I-90 to Seattle.

What town are you located in? chefbuba.

Ellensburg

I use to deliver there when Sapp Bro was there and the last time I was there out at the pilot about 1 1/2 yrs ago. I also del at the flying hook (J).  My younger brother lived in Yakima for about 5 yrs and now lives in Spokane as well as my oldest brother. Mike

I can see the Pilot sign from my kitchen window at night...about 4 miles away.....
Good move for your brother...Yakima is quite the **** Hole these days. Lots of crime for such a small city.