New to the forums.. not new to street vending.

Hey everybody, i have been browsing these forums as a guest for quite some time now and i have now decided to become a member. I currently own a food truck (older grumman bread truck) and i have been in business for about 9 months now. The food truck was built by my father back in 2001. Once i get some more posts i will post some pictures of the old rig and the set-up i have.
     I have a question for you guys (specifically chefbuba, the wild dawg, and that's my dawg) about the white shiny paneling that was used in those rigs. I currently have pebbled FRP and it is a PITA to clean especially up top around the hood. Of course i have stainless steel behind the cooking equipment (griddle, fryer, wok).
     I found some white painted steel locally selling in sheets of 4x10 for about $45 each and was thinking about going that route. I would also much rather work with polished aluminum angle brackets rather than C-channels and I-strips used in FRP work.
Another option i brainstormed up was clear acrylic sheeting or polycarbonate sheeting (unsure of how well it would hold up in the heat). I have access to a vinyl cutting machine and i could do some really neat stuff on the opposite side of the clear sheets. I find acrylic sheets to cost a bit more than what i was looking for.
    Also, i wanted to know what HP hood motors you guys are using to run your exhaust? I currently run 1/4 HP and it does not seem sufficient enough, and i am thinking about upgrading. I have tons of more questions on what you guys are using, but i will save them if/as this post develops. Thank you for your feedback in advance!
RW

Rice Works,
Welcome to Roadfood except I guess you've been here incognito Glad you decided to come out of the pantry!

welcome to the forums!
what year is your Grumman ? im currently building a 77 model p20
what is it about the pebbled thats so hard to clean ? i was looking to use that instead of the smooth, just thought it would look better in the long run......
you can get smooth frp from home depot, though its a special order, they carry the pebbled in stock, its about 32 bucks a sheet.....
i would be wary of using anything mild steel inside, one scratch in the paint or over zealous cleaning and you have a rust stain forming, not to mention the edges would almost definitely start rusting in short order......
cant wait to see pics!...i love these old service vans, lol, im looking for a p10 to use as a daily driver, i found one, but it needs more work then im willing to put into it...... but it would make a pretty neat coffee truck i think 

I've worked in 2 or 3 kitchens in my life that had the pebbled frp walls (including the ceiling in my current rig) and I definitely agree that it is horrible (and sometimes downright impossible) to clean. Think about how hard it is to keep one of those no-finger-print refrigerator doors clean, and picture that on a much larger area with way more meals being cooked every day and airborne grease added to the mix.

For some reason every health inspector I've ever met loves the stuff (personally, I think they like it because its an easy way for them to gauge your cleaning practices at a glance - if its clean, everything will be clean), but if I were designing a kitchen I would use the smooth.

Thanks for the welcome guys! Before i start, is there a way of getting notifications via e-mail when people respond to my post here on road food?
    Back Alley-The pebbled stuff is real hard to clean especially when grease and soot build up on it. It's almost as if it 'dyes' the FRP and its so hard to get clean even with some good degreaser and a scuff pad. I find myself going through about a dozen towels before getting it clean enough to my standards. I am unsure of the model but i believe it is a 1978, It has the big block 350 in it. Is that smooth stuff shiny like the pictures in some of Chef Bubas previous posts? I like the look of clean smooth walls much better. I agree on your advice on the steel, it was just a thought that passed while i was putting up my first post.
    Stubby-If that pebbled stuff is on your current rig and you aren't happy with it either why don't you switch over to smooth? I am guessing cost? I might go to Lowes to see if they have any samples of the smooth stuff.To me it seemed like some of these other guys were using a laminated polycarbonate of some sort.
    Anyways, I currently run a 7' hood and i have a fryer, wok, and 3x3 griddle under it. Of course the basic sinks with laminated countertops and a 4' double door SS fridge. The only issue i have is that when my dad built the kitchen, he put all the cooking equipment on the serving side. I really wanted to put some nice open windows in but i currently have to deal with just having one serving window. It is difficult to deal with windows when they get dirty every minute being behind cooking equipment.
   On the flipside, i purchased a used retractable awning today for $125! These guys really needed the money so i guess i just answered to the right craigslist post at the right time. Well, hope to hear from more of you guys so i can get these posts rolling! Thanks for the warm welcome from the few of you so far.
 
P.S. I guess i never told you guys what i vend, i serve a mixture of Japanese, Vietnamese, and Chinese cuisine...as authentic as it gets.
 
RiceWorks

I bought my trailer already fully built out. I don't change the ceiling because, honestly, I don't have the building or construction skills to do it, and I don't have the money to pay someone to do it. I'm a cook and always have been... about the most I can do with power tools is hang pictures.

Awe i see. Well i tore apart what i started with and it really didn't require much more than some cutting of the FRP and drilling of the panel into the ceiling. When i change mine out i will put some pics showing how i did it so maybe you can do it when you become motivated. What do you serve exactly?

As my logo says, I serve hot dogs, burgers, subs, and salads. Plus a few other things. www.EatAtStubbys.com if you want the full workup.

Riceworks ,
Welcome aboard buddy , many lurkers out there before they decide to post , glad you did .  Have relatives in Sun  Valley , hear its beuatiful country
Benzee

aahhh i see what your saying about the pebbled stuff..... yeppers, smooth for me, lol
is your van a p20 or p30 ? mine will really scoot, i have the 350 also, but she tops out around 45 due to the 5:13 gears in the rear end.....
good deal on the awning!! i got a great deal on fridge/freezer/and fryer a couple of weeks back...... i love good deals!
i plan on doing roasted pork, cubans, burgers, and dogs(hopefully puka dogs)
 
i will be glad to post some pics for you if you like during the probation period, just lemme know

i might just do everything puka style.... would be different for sure

Sun Valley is really nice place. I've been there a few times. I actually am located in Boise, it is still real nice. I'm not sure if i have a p20 or p30, i know i top out at about 55. I'll see if i can find something under the hood of the truck to see what i have. Pictures of your smooth paneling would be great. I will more than likely have some questions too after i see how your set-up is. Thanks a lot guys!