Mobile roastery

[ODanchez]

Hey Guys,
has anyone turned an enclosed trailer into a mobile roastery? My husband and I are working on one right now with the guidelines from our city's health department. I'm looking at building our mobile sink unit and lining the trailer in non-porous wall panels and flooring. Just wondered if anyone has done this yet and if anyone had recommendations for their favorite propane tankless water heater brand, water pump, or favorite place to buy the wall panels. I saw Home Depot sells These FRP wall panels 4 ft. x 8 ft. White .090 FRP Wall Board-MFTF12IXA480009600 - The Home Depot

Also thinking of getting this water heater http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rue&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_2&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

And this pump http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rue&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_3&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

But I'm still shopping around. I'm kind of frustrated with our city's health department. It seems like everyone there has a different opinion on what we need. I don't want to spend a ton of money and then find out it's all wrong. :decaf: I think I'm going to take them pictures of this sink http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/261165968367? And beg them for an answer. haha! If it's right I'll start building. Anyways, any ideas on good wall panels, water heaters, or pumps would be appreciated, as I'm pretty sure I'll at least need these three things.

 

[ellatas]

How big a roaster were you thinking? The larger it is, the more likely of a fire and more measures you should take.
Regarding the sink, are you intending to brew as well? If not, there are a few threads in this forum where fellow roasters are attempting to convince local authorities that a sink will not be utilized.

 

[ODanchez]

Hi Ellatas,
It's not a very big BBQ Roaster, The drum holds I think 5 lbs? But I just talked to the City and the Fire Marshal again today and talked to them about being able to roast from outside on a porch we are making off of the trailer and then carry the drum into the trailer to dump the beans into the cooling area. There are a lot of BBQ trailers in our area like this for meats. They said as long as we can find a way to keep the beans clean while moving them from the roaster to cooling area inside it should be fine. They also told us maybe we could put up some screen porches the ones with the magnetic flaps to keep bugs out. So The City and Fire Marshal seem to be ok with this from talking with them today. I think we must be the first roasters in our city as they all are unsure what to tell us. We probably won't be brewing at this time. Maybe in the future. But for now, mostly selling to different companies that are interested in buying beans from us weekly, and then since we have a trailer we thought we could also go to local events and farmers markets and sell bags of roasted coffee. I will have to go look for the threads you mentioned. Thank you for letting me know!

 

[ODanchez]

Thanks Mados! This forum has been so helpful to us! Looking forward to keep learning!

 

[NorthSouth]

Sorry to be late posting on this thread.
I am also considering a mobile coffee trailer. I was thinking of using a BBQ concession trailer - 20ft long comprising of 8ft "porch" and 12ft enclosed concession area.
The porch will house the roaster and the sides will have metal bug screen with buckle-down (sort-of) tarps on the outside when not in use or on the road.
The interior will have everything for serving baked good and coffee (espresso & brewed), along with sinks.
I am about to contact my local health department to check on viability.
The problem is that I will need approval from every county where I intend to set up.