Well, its all coming together nicely. the ice cream music box is pretty awesome, makes all sorts of animal noises, has a ton of tunes, and a microphone for yelling at the kids to stay off the street. the freezer should be in after the storm. got new signs from sign-a-rama coming soon. got autoenginuity enhanced to make sure I didn't over power the electrical with too big of a resistor, mont-blanc roof rack, ice cream cone. power inverter, lightinsight, made some new under the bonnet eyes with ice in eyes. putting some side stripes on, and have a template for the surfboard-making my own. still need a fire extinguisher, headlight eyes, back seat water cooler, and gps (either the magellan 3250 or nuvi 650), and... oh yeah-ice cream. hopefully all this should be in after the storm passes. will post some pics when it looks better.

 

Um....storm passed? pictures?

 

It's been raining all day the past two days here in Orlando and doesn't show signs of letting up. It's gonna be a wet weekend

 

can't wait to see pics!

 

This is the mod of all mods can't wait to see some pics and good luck on your business.

 

Your post kind of annoyed me. Caused me to walk to the corner market and get a Drumstick ice cream cone. Thanks a lot.

 

Of course, me being Mr. Pee on Everyone's Parade, I gotta give you some free lawyer's advice.

1. What licenses and permits are required? Make sure you have everything in order because if you do well your competition will be the first to rat you out to the government should you not be properly licensed. Do you need a health permit? The Health Department usually inspects your setup to make sure dairy products are being maintained at safe temperatures.

2. Are there any motor vehicle driver's license requirements, if this is considered driving a commercial vehicle?

3. Make sure you have adequate auto insurance and that it covers this vehicle. You may have to get a business policy if your personal auto insurance excludes commercial or business operations.

4. You also want to insure your entire setup, the equipment, etc. You don't want to suffer a loss and not have it covered.

5. Also get a general liability policy. Need to be careful should someone go after you for selling their kid a "defective" cone [e.g., something with a foreign object in it, such as glass.]

6. You also need insurance to cover your entire operation since you will be driving around little kids, who are difficult to see. And the MINI will be a dangerous magnet to little kids excitedly running out to it.

7. Make sure you have plenty of mirrors [convex and otherwise] to see from all angles. Maybe want to install one of those rear view cameras that some MINI members have posted in here, showing how to install, etc.

8. Also take security precautions. These type of businesses are always a target for stoplight robberies. [That's why you see courier trucks and delivery vehicles that say "driver does not carry cash." Also, I am sure you have heard of food delivery drivers getting robbed. Happens here in the City all the time.]

I would have two money boxes. One for transactions [small amounts of money, only for change] and a drop box hidden somewhere in the vehicle. Should you get held up, give the robber the transaction box [that contains lots of ones to make it look like that is all the money there is.]

If they do rob you they usually ask for your wallet too. So carry a dummy wallet. One containing maybe $10 in cash, some business cards and maybe some old EXPIRED credit cards that have dead account numbers. [The wallet has to look real or the robber will know you are giving a dummy wallet. Credit cards make the wallet look real.]

9. If you are driving in neighborhoods be damn careful. Little kids are a real hazard and there are no defenses if you hit one. Make sure to do a walk-around and look under the MINI just before you take off after each stop. Pretend you are leaving a prison and you have to look all around to make sure no convicts are hitching a ride.

And to not attract the police or garner complaints from concerned mothers, keep your speed down to 5 MPH when in neighborhoods. You have to do that anyway so to give time for the kids to get their money and bolt out to the MINI.

Sorry for all the bad sheet, but you asked [kind of.]

 

Thanks MichaelSF,
Yes, getting the proper licensing has been something I've been working on..
In florida, I need an official health inspection for a mobile food vendor from the food department of the department of agriculture. State government is complicated but they do respond to emails quickly and have answered most all of my needs. Has an annual fee. No county or township regs. Of the other 5 concession driving business I've talked to, only 2 had licenses, permits, or insurance, I figure I am being safe to get proper forms and licenses squared away. One lady was making stuff at home, selling to cops and didn't even have a food permit or anything, the cops just never asked to see paperwork.
As ice cream, sandwiches, chips, and water aren't taxed here, I do get to avoid additional tax regulations-cash only business. it did take a few tries to find a good insurance company that handles ice cream trucks, final policy isn't so costly. had thought of a general liability policy, but it wasn't required, maybe I should re-examine that. We did decide not to put up the bubble blower until we find a good machine that won't squirt so much soap into the street and sidewalks. Wife also had a vision of little kids running in the streets chasing bubbles, not a pretty thought.

 

Hit some more snags, but all is still progressing. Gave a 500 pound man a ride in my car and he broke the passenger side window (put all his weight on it getting out), I am attempting to fix it myself (pics shown have door insert removed). signs/stripes are still in south florida-shop got delayed with last weeks storm. couldn't find 18" wide wood to make surfboard-used 12" ceder-nice shape and smell but way too small----plan to make a wider/longer board or find a boogie board; either get another cone to go side by side with amber rotating lights inside (legel if inside the cones), or an ice cream bar plastic prop (store is currently out). Car computer mac mini hard drive crashed, need to get a new one if i want to use that for gps, calculating, constant monitoring with the enginuity, ect..
side note, the scan tool noted a small decrease in air intake, i popped the air filter out to find a dead nest of yellow jackets.

health inspector is a good person, we will be able to keep storage/shop in the garage/workshop with some minor modifications. freezer is awesome, keeps sub zero with little power/heat output (smells though), perfect color match with dash, perfect fit-as it requires just enough space around for circulation. music maker fits perfectly on top of the cup holders with some 3M tape. Trying to find a safety exhaut tip. got our suppliers lined up. Hopefully before all of the fishing tournaments begin, we'll be rolling.

 

Oh my gosh. I love it! Great idea with the surfboard on top.

 

BEAVR, something ironic to share with you. When I went to the dealer to get an order for my Clubman placed, it was scorching hot, probably almost 100. We were waiting for the MA to show up as he was showing another couple the Clubman. The dealer felt the customers would feel better with some ice cream so they called the closest ice cream truck they could find and I was thinking the SAME thing: why not drive a converted Mini Clubman with a fridge on the back to keep the prices down? BTW, the ice cream truck was big Ford Econoline van. Anyone know the gas mileage on those with those fridges adding so much weight?

 

A mini cooper clubman ice cream machine would be a pretty special ride. they already have the woody-beach car retro look to them. As I recall from days of driving my big gmc 3500 vandura high-top, i got about 9 mpg. Figure, most trucks/vans use either the industrial freezers running off of a generator or home appliance freezers with an inverter, makes them hot and high polluting. there are alot of these star electric ice cream trucks now, but they can't drive on roads rated over 35 or 45 mph and can't last more then 4 hours on a charge. maybe small ice cream trucks have a green future. have a smart car on reservation, that might be a possibility if this takes off well.

 

Another thing: remember that hilarious picture of a Mini converted to a rickshaw in China? Maybe they could find a wrecked one and cut the back off. That would have a million uses:
extra freezer with battery pack
backup fuel supply for the engine
free up room for a cash register up front
install a small sturdy safe in a FAKE freezer since you won't always have time to drop by the bank

 

ehh... isnt a smart car way to small to haul anything.. neverless a fridge? lol

Being able to fit all of this in the MINI is awsome enough!

 

slight screw up with the signs-they changed vendors from what I'd ordered last, making the signs less durable. They also forgot to send the vinyl side stripes and menu signage.
had a vision the other day about getting a 1:6 scale RC mini cooper hauling a trailor mounting the ice cream cone, bolting it all onto a larger sized boogie board which would bolt onto the roof rack. Right now, the ice cream is too lonely on top.

 

Beavr, a guy after my own heart. I had a fleet of ice cream trucks in the 60's as well as a classic Mini. A couple of things to consider, though. First, are you planning on just doing special events, or are you going to run a regular route? If you're running a route, you'll be able to play off on kids' love of MINIs to build repeat business. That's the secret of route vending. Think about recording custom music that even further sets you apart. Most of my experience (with the exception of a couple of Woodstock-like festivals) is with route sales, so a lot of what I say won't apply to special events.

I wouldn't depend too much on the plug-in freezer. You'll have reliability problems for every gizmo you add into the vehicle. Your 120-piece limit will hurt you. I don't know what your competitive status will be with regard to other vendors. If you have active competition on your route, you'll find that you'll get nailed if you have to go back home to restock while you're working competition with another truck in the neighborhood. While you're gone to restock, he'll clean up on your streets.

Consider a couple of styrofoam ice chests in the back seat cooled by dry ice. You need to have a pretty good mix of novelties, and some of them, especially sherberts such as Dreamsicles or Push-Ups need to be kept very cold. Most of these portable freezers are designed for storage and not for opening and closing every few minutes. You'll probably need to supplement your freezer with dry ice, also.

Ice cream vending is very hard on vehicles since most of your route time will be at very low speeds. Forget about the gizmos such as the computer. It's just flash, it gives you more points of failure, and takes up a surprising amount of room which will be better devoted to product. Make up a little cloth coin apron with three big pockets and hang it somewhere in the cabin for making change. Remember that you'll have to concentrate on making the whole process fast. You make your money in this business by keeping your time per sale as low as possible, especially if you're running in competition with other vendors. Calculate your success in dollars per hour and try to do everything possible to maximize that rate. Finally, check everything out with your local health department or other licensing agencies before you begin the project. If you're in an area that requires sanitary features such as a sink, you'll find your usable space going down very quickly. Good luck..

 

WOW, only about 50 posts in three years and you happen to be able to give this member valuable insider secrets.

I am not going into the ice cream business, but even I found your tips most interesting.

Great post.

 

Oops... wrong thread. This is being deleted. Sorry, kind of.

 

Hee Hee...Wrong thread, Michael!!

 

MichaelSF..think you meant to post this on your other thread... *cough**cough*

anyhow...I think this ice cream mini is an awesome idea! I wish you luck with the whole process, and though I don't have any experience or knowledge to share, I hope you do well! It sounds like you have a passion for this project and that's awesome.

 

No, those were pics of a failed ice cream MINI venture here in San Francisco.

 

Thanks for all of the help from NAM.
Thanks for the awesome headlight eyes from AutoXCooper.com.
Its starting to come together now. had to remodel the workshop for health inspection, but now its been back to modding the mini.

most recent install were these headlight covers from Auto X Cooper
http://www.autoxcooper.com/eyes_head...protector.html

picture doesn't do them justice, but they are definitely a nice finishing touch.
also added a roof rack fairing. got a skim board to replace the homemade surfboard. added side stripes with edging. made some more magnetic signage. installed some 6" chrome backed hella driving lights to roof rack. installed a mac mini under the seat. re-mounted the ice cream music controls to freezer. mounted a lilliput 7" to the AC vent. images shown without full graphics and ice cream cone, just made the mounts for that last night.

 

Nice! It's all coming together! I like the front license plate too..Good touch. I can't wait to see the "finished" product!

 

That is going to be awesome. I may need to road trip for this one.

 

so with all of the signage and ice cream mounted, tested at 75 mph with no malfunctions.
the hellas are the best add-on, the chrome backing allows for ice cream cone monitoring through sunroof

using the rubber washers from the hellas between the cone and board to provide wider base stability, have thick washers and bolts at 4 points of each cone bolt joint.

very eye catching.
after test drive, took a break for lunch. passed a jeep who slammed on his brakes to follow me to the subway. came in asking for an ice cream.
having to re-do the front license plate. also will be covering the thule fairing in vinyl.