Thread: A Pallet Coffee Cart Dream

My thinking is that you are basically going to build a box. It would need to be strong enough to hold the weight of the fridge and coffee machine.

The exterior will be clad with the pallet wood.

When you design this you would need to know the overall weight and ensure the wheels will handle the weight.

And welcome to the forum.

Step one - decide on softwood (pine) or hardwood pallets
Step two - collect pallets
Step three - denail pallets
Step four - surface timber as appropriate (sanding, planer-thicknesser, bandsaw)
Step five - decide on what you can build with the timber you have.

Repeat steps 1, 2 and 3 until you have enough material to build what you want, as opposed to what you have decent material for.

For inspiration, see:
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f11/wip-create-crate-project-179093
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f254/pallet-challenge-2013-announcements-winners-174828
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f254/results-available-entries-2011-pallet-challenge-mk-ii-133780

This guy on YouTube also has a lot of pallet projects (and he's Australian so there won't be unobtanium type products in his projects) - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...jRfj9Pa9fv60xX

Oh, with a lot of those pics, you'll find that the timber on the outside is purely decorative cladding, and has nothing to do with the structure.

If I was doing it, I'd just buy a kitchen cabinet base or two from Bunnings, add a 25mm thick plywood base (if using more than one cabinet unit) and make the facings from whatever timber! (old fence palings spring to mind).

Good wheels (don't skimp on the wheels!) will cost you about $30-40 each - http://castorsolutions.com.au/indust...r-e21tprh.html

You'll also need to factor in the cost of the trailer (say $1,200), ramps ($300ish), winch (ain't no way you'll be able to push it up a ramp to a trailer, $300-ish). That's $2k just getting something to cart it around with!

As you can buy a ready to be fitted out, lockable, waterproof coffeeshop trailer for around $7-10k, I'd suggest that would be a wise investment if you don't have the tools and skills on hand to build the sort of unit you are after.

Thanks a lot for the replies guys!

Do you think a cabinet base would be strong enough not only to hold all the equipment and supplies, but strong enough to be moved around with everything on/inside it? I'm guessing the total weight of appliances plus supplies will be around 200kg maybe? The coffee machine alone weighs almost 80kg. That and the grinder are the only 2 things I have already decided on so the total weight including all the other appliances is just an estimate. I'm probably way off.

What about if I used a stainless steel trolley/bench instead of a kitchen cabinet?

It has to be waterproof also as I want to be able to stay open for business even in light rain.

I was thinking hardwood pallets rather than pine. They're stronger and water proof aren't they? But if I will just be using them as decorative cladding then I guess it depends on which I prefer the look of.

Plenty of people here make wooden cabinet rolling machine bases that carry considerable weight - a cabinet full of tools with a 'portable' table saw on top can happily hit a few hundred kilos. (and a granite countertop weighs about 60 kilos per meter, and plenty of standard kitchen cabinets have that resting on them)

Another quick and dirty option would be the galvanised Rack-it shelving from Bunnings (castors available) as a framework to then install a decent top on, put fridge/shelving in and clad in your desired finish.

If you're looking at storing water as well, remember it weighs one kilo per litre! Probably better to work on having a few 20 litre containers that you mostly carry empty, filling them when you set up on site.

Gday Annette. Don`t know your locale but.......food for thought or ....pause for coffee....... have a look in our metalwork forum under Trailers & Other Fabricated Stuff & the thread : 2002 Toyota Hilux Ute. I show in one of my replies an old baine marie sitting in my trailer. As you see it in the last picture is as it sits currently. The trailer is 7` long so that will give you an indication of the length of the b/marie which is all stainles steel bolted to that cabinetry base. I was going to do things with it but i have other stuff going on.The tub as i call it still has provision for cold stuff one end/hot other end which still has elements connected & the middle section which is divided in two seperate areas for whatever. It is totally sealed in regards to containing liquids. Other pics show what it used to look like. I`m in Sydney. cheers

Hi Annette, not sure where you are, but the Victorian Woodworkers Association is running Create from a Crate again, do a search on these forums for details. Also, NSW WWA members are entering and arranging transport of pallets, and I think Qld. are doing the same, so worth checking. These pallets are good quality, American oak plus various other timbers.

Hi Annette , a Motorbike for riding in the bush, 450cc KTM weighs in around 110 kg , they come with nice big wheels of course . Im a heavy almost six foot guy and getting that on and off a trailer is not to hard but if it were double that Id be thinking you need a trailer with ramps and a hand winch .
As for your cart construction , I would be drawing up a scale plan , Of a steel square hollow section frame for the cart and the recycled pallet material I would be keeping the worn outside faces and getting the back of them machined off so you end up with 4mm thickness , I would press that onto plywood sheets that make up the covers for the cart , so it looks like you want it but its as light as possible. You would have to plan the cart around the size of the sink or fridge , whatever is the largest. It sounds like a good fun project . with steel almost anything can be dreamed up .

Rob

Originally Posted by OldGrain

Gday Annette. Don`t know your locale but.......food for thought or ....pause for coffee....... have a look in our metalwork forum under Trailers & Other Fabricated Stuff & the thread : 2002 Toyota Hilux Ute. I show in one of my replies an old baine marie sitting in my trailer. As you see it in the last picture is as it sits currently. The trailer is 7` long so that will give you an indication of the length of the b/marie which is all stainles steel bolted to that cabinetry base. I was going to do things with it but i have other stuff going on.The tub as i call it still has provision for cold stuff one end/hot other end which still has elements connected & the middle section which is divided in two seperate areas for whatever. It is totally sealed in regards to containing liquids. Other pics show what it used to look like. I`m in Sydney. cheers

Thanks OldGrain. Since you installed a bain marie in your trailer, I wonder if you know how to create something similar but for cold food like sandwich fillings. I've been contemplating making fresh sandwich rolls and if I did I would ideally like to integrate some sort of cold tray system for sandwich fillings.

Originally Posted by AlexS

Hi Annette, not sure where you are, but the Victorian Woodworkers Association is running Create from a Crate again, do a search on these forums for details. Also, NSW WWA members are entering and arranging transport of pallets, and I think Qld. are doing the same, so worth checking. These pallets are good quality, American oak plus various other timbers.

Hi AlexS, I'm in the Blue Mountains, NSW. I looked up Create from a Crate and it looks like fun, lots of awesome creations too! Where would I go to source the hardwood pallets you mention? I've seen some on gumtree as well.

Originally Posted by auscab

Hi Annette , a Motorbike for riding in the bush, 450cc KTM weighs in around 110 kg , they come with nice big wheels of course . Im a heavy almost six foot guy and getting that on and off a trailer is not to hard but if it were double that Id be thinking you need a trailer with ramps and a hand winch .
As for your cart construction , I would be drawing up a scale plan , Of a steel square hollow section frame for the cart and the recycled pallet material I would be keeping the worn outside faces and getting the back of them machined off so you end up with 4mm thickness , I would press that onto plywood sheets that make up the covers for the cart , so it looks like you want it but its as light as possible. You would have to plan the cart around the size of the sink or fridge , whatever is the largest. It sounds like a good fun project . with steel almost anything can be dreamed up .

Rob

Thanks Rob! I was thinking of using a stainless steel bench as a frame. What are your thoughts on that? I think my uncle or dad might have kept my grandfathers welding equipment so might be able to get one of them to construct the frame for me. I assume some kind of welding thing is required for that? I didn't quite think through how I was going to get the cart on and off the trailer lol... but now that I am thinking about it, seems like its going to be a bit of a PITA. But you gotta do what you gotta do! Yeah I'm having fun just coming up with the design of the cart. I can't wait for the construction stage! Though I'll definitely have to recruit a family member or 2 with the tools and a little know how to help me.

Hi Annette

is your preference for salvaged materials related to perceived cost or aesthetics?

If the latter I strongly suggest you aim to just clad the cart in the wood salvaged from pallets.

If it's for lowest cost, then please take care.

From reading the above I get that you want
• the LOOK of recycled wood
• water proof
• a mobile cart -- what sort of surface will the cart run on? finished concrete (like a shopping centre), or paved car parks or gravel and grass. Gravel and/or grass will need something like 12 or 16" bike wheels
• power -- how will you heat the water for the coffee and pump water from the storage bottles into the machine, plus run the fridges -- i.e will your cart also need to carry a generator or firebox?
• are there any "food safe" requirements for your cart -- stainless steel surfaces, etc
• where will the waste water from the sink drain to? -- will your cart also need a grey water tank?

If it were me, building at home, I'd be inclined to
• use pallet racking for the cart frame
• clad the inside and outside of the frame and each compartment with aluminium panel -- screwed or riveted to the frame and sealed with silicon
• glue strips of recycled wood to the outside cladding
• have a stainless bench top made to fit the cart -- that way your cart will be the size (height, length, depth) it needs to be and not a compromise driven by the size of the available stainless bench.

Hi Annette. The baine marie is only sitting in my trailer purely for removal from workshop to home as i was going to do weird & wonderful things with it like keep the chiller end for ice & cold drinks, remove the elements & install custom bbq other end,remove the central divider & fit a foose ball game. That area from memory is around 5` x 3`. I removed the eight doors for tool shelving so it is just sitting on the bare cabinet frame as you see in that last pic. It has an overhead copper lighting module of about 7`6"L x 10" W x 3 1/2" D which mounted on two copper tube uprights which hid all the wiring for twin fluros & 4 downlights. Fitted on top of that was a heavy 1/2" thick smoked perspex shade possibly a bit hard to see in first pic at my workshop. So to your query of cold food sandwiches - the central part of this baine marie was exactly for that purpose - trays of cold fillings sitting on crushed ice were placed within on one side. The other side was for warm/hot fillings heated by an external gas line with temp control through to a row of pipes hidden within the s/steel tub & still in place at the moment.I got this commercial unit minus any motor/s.

Members of the NSW WWA who register for Create from a crate will be able to obtain their pallets through the WWA. If not a member, or if you join & register too late, they may be collected from Victoria. The pallets are not your ordinary old pine rubbish, they are a variety of American hardwoods, and are larger. Have a look at the C for a C website for full info.

Originally Posted by ian

Hi Annette

is your preference for salvaged materials related to perceived cost or aesthetics?

If the latter I strongly suggest you aim to just clad the cart in the wood salvaged from pallets.

If it's for lowest cost, then please take care.

From reading the above I get that you want
• the LOOK of recycled wood
• water proof
• a mobile cart -- what sort of surface will the cart run on? finished concrete (like a shopping centre), or paved car parks or gravel and grass. Gravel and/or grass will need something like 12 or 16" bike wheels
• power -- how will you heat the water for the coffee and pump water from the storage bottles into the machine, plus run the fridges -- i.e will your cart also need to carry a generator or firebox?
• are there any "food safe" requirements for your cart -- stainless steel surfaces, etc
• where will the waste water from the sink drain to? -- will your cart also need a grey water tank?

If it were me, building at home, I'd be inclined to
• use pallet racking for the cart frame
• clad the inside and outside of the frame and each compartment with aluminium panel -- screwed or riveted to the frame and sealed with silicon
• glue strips of recycled wood to the outside cladding
• have a stainless bench top made to fit the cart -- that way your cart will be the size (height, length, depth) it needs to be and not a compromise driven by the size of the available stainless bench.

Hi Ian,

I just want the look of old wood.

Ideally it would be able to move on any surface but mainly on roads, gravel and concrete.

I was thinking some kind of generator, but I'd be looking for recommendation regarding power and plumbing as I really am clueless when it comes to that stuff as well. >.<

Yes there are regulations but I am not 100% sure about them yet, I have booked an appointment with my local council to figure all that stuff out.

The plan was to have bottles of water that would be pumped into the coffee machine and the sink and the grey water would run into an empty bottle.

Where would I go to get a custom sized stainless steel bench?

I would be getting a steel frame made up by a local engineering firm to which you can attach wood paneling, shelves, wheel and equipment. You want it to be light and strong and this is a good way. This will save you time and money.

If it was me, I would be looking at buying a second hand coffee cart and decorating it with recycled wood.
This will save you $1000s. They show up on Gumtree and eBay.

Originally Posted by luptuous

I just want the look of old wood.

good

Originally Posted by luptuous

Ideally it would be able to move on any surface but mainly on roads, gravel and concrete.

to me this implies 12" (probable) bicycle wheels

Originally Posted by luptuous

I was thinking some kind of generator, but I'd be looking for recommendation regarding power and plumbing as I really am clueless when it comes to that stuff as well. >.<

OK. So you will need power to run the coffee machine. Power to run at least one, if not two small fridges. I suggest you also plan on some task lighting -- so you can use the cart at night + a cover so you can work in the rain or sun. Depending on who you are trying to impress, you might want to investigate power sources other than a generator.

Originally Posted by luptuous

Yes there are regulations but I am not 100% sure about them yet, I have booked an appointment with my local council to figure all that stuff out.

Perhaps you need to investigate beyond your local council. The coffee cart will be a significant investment for you -- you don't want some detail to fall foul of a different council, which would restrict you to just one location.

Originally Posted by luptuous

The plan was to have bottles of water that would be pumped into the coffee machine and the sink and the grey water would run into an empty bottle.

You don't ever want to mix the fresh water and grey water bottles. I suggest a dedicated tank for the grey water is the best way to achieve this.

Originally Posted by luptuous

Where would I go to get a custom sized stainless steel bench?

https://www.yellowpages.com.au/searc...ring+Equipment
then refine by your state, town/suburb/postcode