Planning guide
Planning a Kitchen Trailer Rental Before Delivery: A Five-Step Guide
A mobile kitchen trailer rental goes smoothly when the site is ready before the truck arrives, and the same is true for dishwashing trailers and refrigeration trailers. Use this guide for an emergency closure or a planned renovation, whether you need a short-term rental or a long-term lease. Hospitals, schools, correctional facilities, and hotels use the same five steps. We coordinate delivery and setup once the plan is set, and our 24/7 line can help at any step. Read on, then request a quote.
Five decisions
The five decisions that make a rental work
- 1
Define the need
Write down meals per day, meal periods, menu style, and staff. Decide whether you need a kitchen, a dish room, cold storage, or all three. That decides the trailer more than anything else.
- 2
Choose the spot
Find a level, firm area with a clear route for a long trailer and room to open doors and set stairs. Keep it close to your serving area and receiving door.
- 3
Connect utilities
Compare your electrical service with the trailer's listed requirement. Find the nearest potable water connection. Decide how wastewater leaves: sewer connection, or holding tanks and pump-out.
- 4
Plan daily routines
Map how food, staff, and dirty ware move between the trailer and the building. Plan deliveries, trash, grease, and cleaning so the trailer works like a kitchen, not a detour.
- 5
Review the proposal
Check the quote line by line: equipment, term, delivery, setup, pickup, and what's excluded. Confirm approvals with your local health, building, and fire officials.
Terms
Short-term rental or long-term lease?
Short-term rental
Best for emergencies: a failed hood, a flood, a walk-in that quit. Rent by the week, keep serving, and return the trailer when the repair is done. Speed and a simple setup matter most.
Long-term lease
Best for renovations and rebuilds measured in months. Lease by the month for as long as the project runs, and extend if the schedule slips. Plan utilities and placement carefully, because the trailer becomes your kitchen for a season.
Checklist
Brief to send with your inquiry
- Site address and a contact for delivery day
- Meals per day, meal periods, and menu style
- Equipment wanted: kitchen, dishwashing, refrigeration
- Start date and expected end date
- Electrical service: voltage, phase, amps, and distance to the parking spot
- Water connection and wastewater plan
- Photos of the parking area and delivery route
- Stairs or ramp needed
Sources
Official guidance for temporary kitchens
- FDA Food Code(external site)
FDA's model food code. Local, state, tribal, and federal regulators use it as the basis for their own food safety rules.
- Ready.gov: power outages(external site)
Federal guidance on preparing for and handling outages, including keeping refrigerated food safe.
Rental terms at a glance
The terms are the same in every state we serve. A quote covers the equipment, delivery, setup, and pickup for your location. An inquiry doesn't reserve equipment; we confirm availability for each project.
Rental terms
Rent by the week or by the month: 1 week or monthly, short-term or long-term lease.
Hours
Calls answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including emergencies.
Setup time
Overall about 5 hours for kitchen and dishwashing trailers, about 1 hour for other units. With stairs, 5 to 15 minutes when stairs are needed; with a ramp, 4 to 6 hours when a ramp is needed.
Delivery and GPS
Delivery is scheduled for your site and confirmed in the quote. GPS tracking possible on request.
Why choose us
Why food service teams choose Family Entertainment Group USA
Food service is the part of a facility people notice first when it stops. Reliable cooking, warewashing, and refrigeration trailers, planned before delivery, let a facility anywhere in the country keep serving through construction or a breakdown.
Accelerated Deployment
We plan the trailer, route, and placement up front, which shortens the time from call to first meal.
24/7 Emergency Service
Our line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so a failed walk-in at 2 a.m. gets a real answer.
End-to-End Project Support
One team handles sizing, utilities planning, delivery, setup, and pickup.
Flexible Rental Solutions
Short-term rentals for emergencies and long-term leases for rebuilds, on the same terms.
Heavy-Duty Commercial Equipment
Equipment lists are published for each trailer, so you know what's inside before it arrives.
Experienced Logistics Coordination
Delivery windows, stairs or ramps, and utility hookups are agreed in advance.
Why clients trust us
What you see is what we quote: a named trailer, its listed equipment, a starting monthly price, and a person on the phone any hour. We serve hospitals, nursing homes, schools and universities, correctional facilities, government and military sites, hotels, resorts, and caterers.
Across the country
When kitchens go offline: five situations we plan for
Read these as what-if planning notes. They describe common situations, not customer stories.
1. After a storm, flood, or outage
A long power outage can spoil a walk-in's contents and damage compressors. For a school district in Tombstone, an emergency refrigeration trailer rental could hold product while the permanent unit is repaired.
2. Major construction
New construction on a campus often closes the old kitchen before the new one opens. A university in Helen building a new dining hall could bridge the gap with a kitchen trailer rental and a dishwashing trailer.
3. Kitchen renovation
Replacing a dish room is a renovation too. A hospital near Helen could keep trays moving with a dishwashing trailer while the new machine is installed.
4. Emergency equipment access
In a declared disaster, public emergency logistics run through state and county emergency management agencies and their staging areas. Our deliveries are arranged separately with you: we agree the route, the gate, and the placement for your site before the truck leaves.
5. What a rental costs
In every state, mobile kitchen trailers start from $4,995 a month, dishwashing trailers from $4,995, and refrigeration from $1,895, with weekly terms on request. These starting rates apply in every location we serve. Delivery, setup, pickup, utilities, and permits are quoted for your address. Compare every unit's price or build an estimate in the rental calculator.
24/7 emergency line
Emergency kitchen rentals nationwide
A fire, flood, or failed hood can close a kitchen overnight. Call any hour and have ready: your address, meals per day, the date the kitchen went down, and the power and water available on site.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What size kitchen trailer do I need?
It depends on meals per day, menu, and staff. A 24 or 28 ft standard kitchen suits conventional meal service; a 38 or 40 ft kitchen adds fryers, double-stack ovens, and tilting skillets; a 40 ft bulk kitchen is built for institutional volume. Tell us your meal count and menu and we'll recommend a size.
What utilities does a kitchen trailer need?
Electrical service, potable water, and a wastewater plan. Our kitchen trailers list 220V single-phase service at 200 to 220 amps; each trailer's page shows its own requirement. Wastewater can go to a sewer connection or to holding and pump-out, depending on the site.
How long does setup take?
Overall setup is about 5 hours for kitchen and dishwashing trailers and about 1 hour for other units. Stairs take 5 to 15 minutes to place; a ramp, when needed, takes 4 to 6 hours.
Do temporary kitchen trailers need permits?
Often, yes, but it varies. Health, building, fire, and temporary-use approvals depend on your city or county, your facility, and how the kitchen will be used. Check with your local authorities early; we can share equipment details they ask for.
Can multiple trailers be set up at one site?
Yes. A common setup pairs a kitchen trailer with a dishwashing trailer and a refrigerated trailer, placed so staff can move between them. We plan the layout, power, and water for all of them together.
Request a quote
Request a kitchen rental quote
What to send for an accurate quote
- Project address, city, state, and ZIP code
- Equipment: kitchen, dishwashing, refrigeration, or a mix
- Meals per day and number of meal periods
- Start date and how long the kitchen will be offline
- Electrical service available (voltage, phase, amps)
- Potable water and wastewater or sewer access
- Parking space, ground conditions, and delivery access
- Whether you need stairs or a ramp
- Emergency or planned project
Prefer to talk it through? Call (888) 385-5513, 24 hours a day.