Buying · 7 min read
How much does a catering trailer cost in the UK?
Real figures for new builds, second hand units and refits, and the four things that actually move the price.
Published
It is the first question everybody asks and the hardest one to answer in a sentence, because a catering trailer is not one product. A 2.4m coffee pod and a 4.2m twin axle kitchen with a pizza oven are both catering trailers, and there is a five figure gap between them.
So here is the honest version: the ranges the UK market actually sits in, and the four things that move a price within them.
What the UK market looks like
These are indicative ranges for the whole market, not our price list. Every build we quote is priced on its own drawing.
| What you are buying | Rough range | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Second hand, unknown history | £3,000 to £9,000 | Cheapest way in and the most common way to lose money. Budget for a gas certificate and remedial work on top. |
| Second hand, recent and certified | £9,000 to £18,000 | Sensible buy if the chassis is sound and the paperwork is current. Get both certificates before you pay. |
| New, small and simple | £14,000 to £22,000 | 2.4m to 3.0m, single axle, coffee or a tight single-operator menu. |
| New, bespoke, full fit-out | £22,000 to £45,000 | 3.0m to 4.2m with a real cook line, extraction, water and certified gas and electrics. |
| Refurbishment of a sound trailer | £4,000 to £15,000 | Often the best value on this table, provided the chassis is worth building on. |
The four things that actually move the price
1. Appliances, by a mile
The trailer is the cheap part. A six burner range, a twin fryer, a griddle, a bain marie and an extraction canopy sized to cope with all of it can be half the total. This is also where you have the most control: bring appliances you already own and the number drops immediately.
2. Length, and therefore the axle
Going from 3.0m to 3.5m is not just half a metre of panel. Past a certain weight you need a twin axle, which brings a second set of hubs, brakes and suspension, and it changes what can tow it. That is a step in the price, not a slope.
3. Water and hygiene provision
Hot and cold water, a twin sink, a separate wash hand basin and a water heater are not optional if you want to pass an inspection, and they are a meaningful chunk of the build. Anyone quoting you significantly under the market has usually left these out. Ask.
4. Whether certification is included
A quote with the Gas Safe certificate and the electrical certificate in it is not the same quote as one without, even when the number looks similar. Compare like for like, and be suspicious of the cheapest one until you have read what it includes.
The cost people forget
Traders budget for the trailer and forget the rest of the start-up. Before you take a penny you will also need public liability insurance, trailer insurance, a food hygiene qualification, registration with your local authority, a street trading licence if you are pitching on the highway, and in most cases a generator.
None of those are enormous individually. Together they are commonly a few thousand pounds, and running out of money at that stage, with a finished trailer sitting on the drive, is a genuinely miserable place to be. Build them into the plan from the start.
Is buying second hand a mistake?
No, but going in blind is. A used trailer with a sound galvanised chassis, current certificates and an honest seller is a good buy. A used trailer with surface rust on the rails, no gas certificate and a vague history is a project, and it should be priced like one.
Before you hand over money on a used unit, do three things. Get underneath it and look at the chassis rails. Ask for the gas certificate and check the date. And check the plated weight against what your vehicle can legally tow, because that one is not fixable afterwards.
The short answer. Most traders buying new and bespoke in 2026 land somewhere between £22,000 and £45,000 depending on the cook line. If your budget is under that, say so early. A smaller trailer built properly beats a bigger one built down to a price, and we would rather tell you that at the quote stage.
Related reading: what certificates you need and whether your car can tow it. Or go straight to a real quote.
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