This just in from Rich:
Hello Steve,
I purchased your E-Z Built video almost a year ago. Every thing is going great. I have built two of your carts and they are out working every day.
I am getting ready to start doing Festivals and thought maybe I needed a grill. I was wondering if you knew of a grill that would fit comfortably on the cart that I have built. Propane.
I Hope you and your family are doing well during these times, starting this hot dog business has been a real life saver and we are going to take it up a notch this year so wish me luck. Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,
Richard Sacco
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First off, I want to congratulate Rich on having not one, but two E-Z Built Hot Dog Carts out on the street making money. That’s awesome!!!
One of the many advantages of building your own cart is the ability to modify it whenever you need to. You can add a new piece of equipment at the drop of a hot dog hat.
Mounting a grill on the E-Z Built Hot Dog Cart is…E-Z! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Seriously, there’s not much involved and it shouldn’t take you more than an hour.
How to mount a grill on your hot dog cart:
1. Get a table top style gas grill from Lowes, Home Depot, etc. Try to get one with a flat bottom as it will be easier to mount. See the photo at the top of this article.
2. While you’re there, pick up two heavy duty shelf brackets (the triangular kind).
3. Mount the brackets to the side of your cart through the frame members, not just the skin, using 2 1/2″ long bolts with washers and nuts.
4. Mount the grill to the brackets with machine screws, washers, and nuts. You’ll have to remove the legs and drill four holes in the bottom of the grill.
5. Most table top gas grills are designed to use the one pound “throwaway” propane cylinders.
These are the small cylinders commonly used for camping applications and they are a bit expensive. If you want to keep things as simple as possible, go ahead and use the one lb cylinders but be sure to unscrew it and stow it safely before towing your cart on the road.
6. If you want to get a bit fancier you can use an adapter hose that will connect the “throwaway” fitting on the stove to a 20 pound propane tank which will obviously last a lot longer.
These hoses are available at WalMart.
Super fancy-schmancy users may want to detach the black plastic nut and screw this hose into a tee fitting on your existing gas plumbing so everything can run off of one tank. As you may recall, I show you how to make a gas tee in the E-Z Built Videos.
That’s all there is to it – With a half hour of work you could be grillin’ and chillin’ like this happy guy…
Grilling tips:
Grilling will dry out your hot dogs in a hurry, so grill them for a few minutes to put the char marks on them, then put them in the steamer where they will keep much longer. When a customer orders a hot dog you can toss it on the grill again for a few seconds (just for show) then serve it up sizzling.
Keep a small stainless or cast iron pan (never teflon) on the grill for cooking onions and/or peppers. The smell of grilled onions wafting through the air will bring customers in from blocks away. This is REALLY effective.
As always, check with the county mounties to be sure all this delicious grilling complies with the health codes in your location.
Now take a moment to congratulate Rich on his rockin’ hot dog business in the comments. He deserves it!
-Steve
P.S. If you want to build your own hot dog cart and start making money like Rich and so many others have, you can find out more over at www.BuildAHotDogCart.com
Richard, I like the way that you incorporated the grill. It almost seems like a natural fit. Steve, as always, thanx fro the tips.
I just purchased a 12 x 12 heavy gauge stainless griddle for my one man trailer. I am hoping to be in business in Sept. & realized I had space & could add fried onions & burgers this way.
It has been a long road to get there & even a short season should be a great start!
BTW can anybody weigh in on the choice of setting up as a single member LLC or a sole proprietor?
Thanks & good luck Richard!
Hi Gregg my name is Robin I am in the process of getting my hotdog cart on the road as well. I did LLC because I was told this provides Limited Libility which mean God Forbid but if someone trys to sue you, they can only sue the company not you personally. If you dont mind me asking what state are you in and how is it going.
season is 12 month here in Indianapolis which is mainly because of being able to set up by the bars.
A grill on a cart, now that sounds yummy. Go Grill!
P.S. Steve is very right when he warns about cook times and holding the dog. not only will the dog dry out in the holding pan. It may also discolor and look less then attractive if cooked to long before putting in the steamer
Hey Richard,
Congrats! A second cart! Cool. Love the addition of a grill.
if you have an electrical hookup use a george foreman there fast and do the job
Gregg,
I recommend an LLC business structure. Sole proprietorship is OK but an LLC gives you more legal protection by separating your personal assets from your business assets. In other words, in an LLC your personal assets are sheltered in case of a lawsuit.
To learn more about business structures and which one is right for you, I highly recommend the last 80 pages of my book “Carts of Cash”.
There you will find everything you need to know about setting up the BUSINESS part of the business the right way.
Carts of Cash is now included with your HDP Premium Membership at http://www.HotDogProfitsPremium.com
Glad you’re off to a great start!
-Steve
Hi Steve.
I’m glad you started this thread because I have a couple of questions.
Can I boil the hot dogs first, keep them in the steamer, and grill them as needed?
Do I have to keep the grill turned on once used to keep it at temp.?
How do I clean the grill to satisfy the H.D.?
And to Gregg Peterson, once you start using raw meat you cross a line with the H.D. Anything out of a can (chili) or precooked is the key to less stress. At least it is where I live.
J.D.
Besides bob’s wonderful carts. If you will go to
Steve’s Hotdogprofits.com and check the back
issues. Sevearl of th people who have built E-Z built carts have picktures of their grills added
to the cart. Lee Vestal and Chris Booker are two of them. Lee has given me some insight into putting one on my future building of my cart. He
is open as far as I know to helping other hot doggers. My local health dept just lifted the restriction on having grills on a cart so I am tickled pink…
Hi Steve,
I have a question. I like to have some product cooked and available for customers, so they don’t have to wait. Most of them can’t wait because the smell of onions cooking reminded them that they haven’t eaten today. But I find I can be left with a couple of each, sausages, hamburgers and hotdogs and closing which have to be thrown out. What do others hotdogers do ? My buns I throw in the freezer over night.
And there good for another day.
Good luck, Rich! Good Grillin!
Okanagan,
It’s much better to throw out some product then to be caught empty handed at the end of a day. Customers remember it when they have to wait too long. I would get angry with my cart operator if I stopped by at the end of the day and there was nothing to throw away.
-Steve
WOW!! Two carts. I wish you luck and hope you send some pictures. I’ve been watching other people cart pics to get some new ideas.
Enjoy your carts!!
Hey fellow hotdoggers!
I just purchased a grill cart complete with the stainless steel hood and I couldn’t be happier! This cart has 3 sinks, a 3-way fridge and freezer and loads of fresh and gray water. I still have a steam cart but the water system failed and the rivets holding the cart to the frame gave way too. While I was repairing it, I was lucky enough to find an excellent replacement.
Now that the season is winding down up here in Canada, I’m taking the plunge and ordering Steve’s cart building course. My plan is to build a small fleet of custom carts over the winter. With the new standards coming in up here, Steve’s carts are the only way to go!
As for grills, I’m investing in Napolean Portable Grills. They’re ceramic, infrared grills that will go from 0 to 1400 degrees in 26 seconds. The high heat allows me to haul the dogs out of my steam trays, plop them on the grill and have them seared to perfection in less than a minute. The extreme heat keeps the juices in and produces those awesome grill lines that people love! Really cuts down on wait time too and moves the lines a lot faster. More speed, more money and less walk-aways.
Keep on doggin’ people and never give up!
If I have a few “leftovers”, I dress them as one of my specialty dogs and give them to anyone I see. I tell them it’s on me and let them know when I am open. This is a great way to make “regulars” out of someone that has never had my dogs.
I use a stainless steel grill on my cart and use the adapter for using the larger tanks The customers love it. As for the smell of onion I keep my onion peels in water and wrap them in tin foil, set them on the grill and the smell of onion is everywhere! Leftovers can be stored in plastic bags, add a little vinegar and refrigerate they should be fine the next day. Grilling is the way to go!
Ok, we talked about this a while back but here is what I think: I have a UniFlame on my cart that works great. Cooking issues: I do all three, first I give the dogs a hotbath in my direct heat pans, then on to the grill for some cooking in flavor. I then place them in my steam pan till I sell them. The trick is not to over cook or not to cook too much at one time. People love the grill, love the smell, will bring in customers. I some times cook a hotdog well, well, well done to keep the smoke in the air (ok I burn it). I have 3 Uniflame grills, one on my cart, one I use at home and take to big events and one backup thats still in the box. They are real, real, real cheap (at Walmart) if you can find them but from what I can tell only Walmart carries them. I run my on a 20# propane tank with the hose that steve recommended above. They will flame up with Hamburgers, Steaks etc.. but not with hotdogs and Sausage Dogs. Like everything be safe!!
Duggs Doggs
Good!! Good!!
Steve:
While in Northern part of Florida, I noticed someone driving by with a small pick-up truck and a “slide-in” hot dog cart.
Any comments? Any idea on who makes these things?
George Taylor
Fort Lauderdale
I am very interested in the slide in idea, as well. I have a chevy6 s-10, and would be more comfortable starting out without having to trailer anything.
Joy in Fl
What model uniflame do you reccommend?
Phil’s Big City Dogs
George and Angel,
You could build your own slide in truck bed hot dog cooker and it would be really cheap to do.
My E-Z Built plans and videos will show you how to make everything you need including steam tables, water tanks, plumbing, sinks, etc.
Just watch the videos and use the construction methods to build a box that fits your truck bed instead of the trailer.
I would love to see some pictures if any one tackles this interesting project.
And I would definitely feature it in HDCN.
-Steve
Hey Hotdoggers!
Here’s a few tips when it comes to cooking your dogs. In many parts, the steamed method is accepted and is a very good way to cook your dogs. Some places, like my city, are hooked on the grill idea and won’t eat dogs any other way.
I have my dogs on low heat in a steamer and have a few on the grill pumping out the flavor. I also have a mixture of sliced onions, garlic , soy sauce and butter in one pan on a slow slimmer giving off an aroma that brings in the crowds.
Steaming a dog too long will result in a wizzle-dog which is still edible but not salable. I usually give them out to passing teens or the homeless instead of chucking them.
Over-cooking dogs and having to toss some product is part of our business. It’s better to have dogs ready to go instead of losing customers because you were too cheap and expect them to wait for you to cook one from scratch. People are in a hurry and want their dogs as fast as possible and will get really annoyed if they are made to wait. Might as well just walk them down the street to the next dogger because that’s exactly where they’ll go next time.
Phillip, I use a HBT920W, Uniflame. Real happy with it.
Michael
Fascinated by all the comments I have read. Am a potential “dogger”, and Steve’s advice and comments are very helpful. Fall in arriving very fast and I hope to get started next season. How do you price your dogs/burgers for sale so public feels it’s a wholesome and delicious deal?Thanks
Don’t compete on price alone. You need to keep your margins high enough to make it worth your time. Sell a top quality product with a great customer experience. Make it fun! That is what makes it feel like a fair price to the customer. Good luck Patrick!
Would it be feasible for me to set up a small charcoal grill? I like the idea of that smell wafting through the air, but I don,t know how the health and fire departments would feel about it.
The codes are different everywhere. You would have to check with your city officials. It is a great way to draw in customers if you can get approval.