Hot Dog Cart News

E-Z Built Hot Dog Cart builder Rod Walton told me about his trailer light tribulations and how he fixed the problem once and for all.

Rod writes…

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Hi Steve,

I received my plans last week and couldn’t be more pleased. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow. I purchased the trailer kit suggested, assembled it and hooked it up to my pre-wired car harness and that is where I ran into a significant problem.

The powder coat paint on the trailer kit is too good! It doesn’t allow for a ground through the trailer to either the tail lights or the side lights. The paint even covers the inside of the pre-drilled holes so well that even the self tapping screw on the white wire would not make a good connection.

There are two ways to solve this. One would be to grind away some paint to make connections at the points where the frame members meet and at the connection point of the white grounding wire and where the lights actually connect to the trailer. The easiest way to do this of course is before the trailer is assembled.

The other option (and in my view is far easier) is to run a 12 ga. ground wire from the white wire down both sides of the trailer and connect it at the side lights on the frame and to the bolts coming out of the taillights.

After figuring out why the lights weren’t working and researching online, this is the solution favored by other trailer bulders who had run into the same issue.
Other than this one problem, the trailer is an easy to assemble, inexpensive unit and seems the perfect base for the EZ Build Hot Dog Cart.
Have a great day,

Rod Walton
Canby Oregon

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Thanks Rod for once again proving that HDCN readers know their stuff!

-Steve

One of the services I offer here at Hot Dog Profits is a free used hot dog carts classified section. Larry Perrone took advantage of this service a few weeks ago and posted a really nice stand-in hot dog cart for sale.

Larry just told me that he really needs to move this cart and he just reduced the price by $2500. I thought I’d post it here on Hot Dog Cart News because it’s such a great deal, and with winter approaching the timing is perfect for someone who wants to upgrade to a warm, dry and cozy slingin’ machine.

$7500 takes it home.

Shoot Larry an email at pepper8@optonline.net to grab this awesome bargain. It won’t last long!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

-Steve

HDCN. Better than People Magazine…
Every so often I get a report of a major celebrity eating at one of our reader’s hot dog carts. I’m usually pretty skeptical, but this time we have a photo (see it below). Jack Mainwaring is one of the most honest, credible slingers I know so if he says its true, I’ll back him up 100 percent.

Jack writes,

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Hey Steve,
Just thought I’d share this photo.  Taylor Lautner hanging out incognito at the Wicked Weenie in New Hampshire.
Jack
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Thanks Jack! That must have been pretty exciting, serving a big celebrity like Mr. Laughtner.

-Steve
P.S. I’ve heard he’s pretty one-dimensional. How true is that?

Click the picture for a larger version.

Thank You Vets!

Sorry this is a day late. Been working on something really big. Some of you know what I’m talking about. Shhh…

Steve,  I live in Wisconsin and our winters here can be brutal both with cold and snow. I would like to continue selling dogs through winter and just wondering if any other Doggers precook their dogs on their cart, wrap in tin foil and keep in a warmer or their cart cooler. Maybe sell them that way rather than trying to keep moving dogs from boiling water to steam pan and maintaining a constant temperature when cold outside.

I see they do that a lot at ballgames and I am not sure if it diminishes from the quality or how long the dogs can last wrapped up like that.  I also plan on marketing myself in the winter more to businesses using the same method, maybe even delivering the product with a minimum dollar purchase.

Nobody likes to leave their warm office or workplace for lunch when it is -20 degrees.  I would include packets of ketchup, mustard, relish, etc. on the side and would have to work out some other packaging method for onions, tomatoes, etc.

If any of  the other Doggers have tried this or some other method please post on your website.  I don’t want to get into modifying my cart if possible and I don’t want to build one just for winter.

Thanks.  JohnnyDogg

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Hey Johnny,

I really like your idea. I’ve never done it that way, but it sounds like a great way to penetrate a new market while giving yourself some great exposure and building a bigger customer base for next spring.

Let’s see what our friends have to say in the comments…

-Steve

The following is a guest post by Tim Van Dusen of Get Grilled Foods…

Well the weather outside is frightful. Business expansion is delightful! For those of us that are in cold weather states, we have a choice in the winter. We can try and brave the cold or we can shut down for the winter. Some of us get winter time jobs and those of us that have good enough revenue, during the summer, can hibernate.

But as i found out if your business isn’t growing then it is shrinking. The winter is the perfect time to expand your footprint on the market next year. As all business is an investment, the hot dog business is a real money maker. My personal goal has always been to grow my business to the point that I can sell it for a nice fat profit. Then start a new hot dog business and do it all over again.

I expanded my business last year to include two carts. I fell on some hard times and was able to sell part of my business to bank some and still pay the bills. If I had not thought of expansion I would have been out of the business completely. As it was I had the assets to keep going, and the extra cart to continue my revenue stream.

Last year I looked at buying a cart or building a cart. I had a few thoughts on the cart I needed. One was indoor use during the winter. I found absolutely nothing on the market that fit my desires. So that left building, and that is where E-Z Built came into play. The plans for the cart are extremely adaptable to any plan you have.

While we have the down time building a cart is the perfect way to become a hot dog pro. Once I built my own cart the knowledge I gained about hot dog carts was invaluable. I can look at a cart and tell you more about it then I ever could before. I built the E-Z Built bigger to include an electric steam well so i won’t need to worry about the fire marshall. And I won’t need to worry about what the weather outside is doing. So while you have the extra time, now is the a perfect opportunity to prepare to make that extra dime.

Building a hot dog cart during the winter is a perfect way to grow your business. This winter I will be taking my cart inside, and still dogging. Indoor craft shows around here are big, flea markets have a few indoor spots and I can park my cart in a garage and still serve those winter birthday parties. And I use their electric and eliminate my propane cost.

So build it bigger and make more money. Here are a few shots of the process from last winter. And remember Keep Doggin!

– Tim

Click the picture for a larger version