Your choice of size
Choose 10ft, 12ft, 14ft, 16ft, 18ft or 20ft, rather than designing your kitchen around the dimensions of an existing freight container.
KIO POD LTD · BUILT IN THE UK
Container-Style Catering Trailers
The industrial look of a shipping container, purpose-built as a catering trailer. Available from 10ft to 20ft, with a practical basic fit and bespoke options to suit your menu, layout and brand.
Discuss your build View basic-fit pricing ↓
A container look, designed for life on the road
Our container-style catering trailers are built from the chassis up. A steel box frame and formed aluminium cladding create the familiar shipping-container appearance, while the construction, serving area and kitchen layout are designed specifically for a mobile catering business.
You get a distinctive street-food unit with the freedom to choose the size and fit-out that work for you, whether you trade at markets, festivals, private events or regular pitches.
WHY PURPOSE-BUILD?
The weight advantage
A standard 20ft shipping container can weigh around 2.3 tonnes before conversion. Hapag-Lloyd lists a tare weight of 2,350kg for one standard 20ft model; the exact weight varies by manufacturer.
A conversion then needs a suitable trailer chassis and running gear, plus the kitchen fittings and equipment. Some container material may be removed during conversion, but the original heavy steel shell is still a significant starting weight.
Our approach uses a purpose-built steel frame with aluminium cladding, avoiding the need to carry a complete freight-container shell. This helps us manage the finished trailer’s weight and preserve capacity for the equipment, stock and supplies your business needs.
Finished weight and available payload depend on the trailer size, chassis rating and chosen fit-out. We plan these around your build rather than promise a single weight for every model.
Container weight reference: Hapag-Lloyd 20ft standard container specifications.
Built around your business
A layout that works
Serving hatches, counters, sinks and equipment positions can be planned around food preparation, cooking and service from the start.
A strong visual identity
Container-profile cladding creates an industrial finish with space for your colours, signage and branding.
New construction
A new frame and cladding give us control over the build, without relying on the condition of a used shipping-container shell.
From aluminium cladding to the finished trailer
These photographs show the container-profile bodywork during construction and the finished Afromufasa trailer with its serving hatch closed. The raised signage and LED screen are bespoke additions.
Basic fit: a practical starting point
The basic fit follows the same approach as our standard catering trailers, with container-style body construction. It provides the working interior and services for a kitchen that can be equipped around your menu.
- Galvanised trailer chassis, corner steadies and road lighting.
- Steel box frame, formed aluminium container-style cladding and solid roof.
- Insulated, lined walls and non-slip Altro flooring.
- Serving hatch with a drop-down customer shelf.
- Stainless steel front and rear counters, with under-counter storage to suit the layout.
- Two sinks with mixer tap, water heater and pumped water system.
- 32A electrical hook-up, consumer unit, sockets and interior lighting.
- Gas provision to suit the agreed appliance layout, where required.
- Electrical certification and gas certification for the installations supplied, as applicable.
Cooking appliances, refrigeration, extraction, screens, branding and bespoke additions are priced separately. The final quotation confirms the specification, dimensions, axle configuration, weight rating and equipment installation requirements.
10FT TO 20FT
Container-style basic-fit prices
Our container-style catering trailers start at £22,500 plus VAT (£27,000 including VAT) for a 10ft twin-axle basic-fit trailer. Choose your body length and axle option below.
| Body length | Axles | Price ex. VAT | Price inc. VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10ft | Twin | £22,500 | £27,000 |
| 12ft | Twin | £24,200 | £29,040 |
| 14ft | Twin | £25,900 | £31,080 |
| 16ft | Twin | £27,600 | £33,120 |
| 18ft | Twin | £29,300 | £35,160 |
| 18ft | Tri | £30,300 | £36,360 |
| 20ft | Twin | £31,000 | £37,200 |
| 20ft | Tri | £32,000 | £38,400 |
Prices include the basic fit described above. Cooking appliances, refrigeration, extraction, screens, branding and bespoke additions are quoted separately.
VAT-inclusive prices include VAT at 20%. Prices are for collection; delivery is quoted separately. Lengths refer to the trailer body, excluding the A-frame.
Container-style construction adds £100 per foot plus VAT to our equivalent standard basic-fit trailer price. The prices in this table already include that supplement.
See what a bespoke build can look like
The Afromufasa trailer shows how this construction can be developed into a fully fitted catering unit. Its container-style exterior is paired with a stainless steel kitchen, cooking line, extraction and a prominent branded serving frontage.
The photographs show a bespoke customer build. Its appliances, extraction, LED screen, branding and roll-out counter are additional features and are not included in the basic-fit prices.
See the finished trailer in action
A short view of the Afromufasa trailer with its serving hatch open and LED screen running.
Frequently asked questions
Is this an actual shipping container on a trailer?
It is a new catering trailer built with a steel frame and aluminium cladding shaped to give it a shipping-container appearance. This allows us to design the body and fit-out around mobile catering.
Can I choose my own cooking equipment?
Yes. We can discuss equipment for your menu and incorporate it into the layout. Customer-supplied equipment can also be considered, with suitability and installation costs agreed in your quotation.
Can I add a screen, extraction or a roll-out counter?
These can be discussed as bespoke options, subject to the layout and weight allowance. They are quoted separately from the basic fit.
What will the finished trailer weigh?
This depends on the size, chassis, equipment and fit-out. We confirm the relevant weight rating and available payload for the agreed specification.
LET’S PLAN YOUR TRAILER
Tell us what you want to serve.
Send us your preferred size, menu and equipment list. We’ll help you plan the layout and provide a quotation for your container-style catering trailer.