(Editor’s note: This is the eighth installment in a series about opening a mobile pizzeria by Jason Cipriani, co-owner of Sips & Pies. You can read the other articles here.)

Once we had our trailer and our overall vision was more defined, it was time to start buying the rest of the equipment we’d need to set up for service.

At the time of writing this, we’ve set up on three different occasions and were still discovering random equipment and nice-to-have items we’d need to buy. I’m convinced the list will never stop growing.

Big-ticket Items

Each food truck or trailer is going to have a different approach, but I’ve made a list of some of the more expensive items we’ve had to purchase.

The first thing we purchased was a custom 10-foot-by-10-foot canopy/tent to go over our outdoor kitchen. You can get them for around $1,000 with your logo printed on it, but we found you can get a good deal on an E-Z UP shelter if you buy it through the Costco Next program. We spent $650, but frequently they’re on sale for as low as $450.

You’ll also need a way to keep your toppings and dough cold during service. Our trailer came with a $2,200 pizza prep station, so we didn’t have that added expense. It uses 1/3 and 1/6 size pans. Depending on your setup, you could get away with using a cooler full of ice and deli containers to keep your toppings cold – or get a refrigerated prep rail.

Of course, you’ll need a generator or power station to power your setup. From day one, I was dead-set against using a gas generator because they’re loud, make it hard to talk to customers, and they stink. These drawbacks are something weddings and private events won’t want to deal with. Some basic research into gas generator prices, meanwhile, had me budgeting roughly $1,000 for one advertised as being relatively quiet.

I already had a $1,200 portable power station on hand, and it’s completely silent, so that’s what we’re using. A single charge of the station will keep us running for about six hours without a secondary power source such as solar panels or a nearby power outlet.

You’ll need to check with your local fire department for fire extinguisher requirements, but I’d suggest budgeting $450 for a Class K and ABC extinguisher, just to be safe.

We’ll dive deeper into point of sale systems in a different column, but our Square Stand and iPad set us back $450.

We tried to get away with splitting wood for our oven using a Kindling Cracker, but that proved to be a lot of hard work – and somewhat dangerous for the knotty wood we’re currently using. So, after our second time setting up, I bought a 6.5-ton log splitter for $350.

Tables, Tools, Utensils and more!

After the big-ticket items, you still can expect to spend a decent amount of money on other necessary equipment. If your truck lacks a handwashing station, you’ll need one – complete with an instant hot-water heater, paper towels and soap.

We currently have one 6-foot and one 8-foot collapsible table we got from Walmart; we both both for around $150. We keep all of our utensils and cleaning items in Craftsman storage bins with lids. Each one has a purpose, holding things like cutting boards, food thermometers, pizza cutters, welding gloves (helpful for cleaning the pizza oven while it’s still hot), sauce ladles, cheese scoops and dough scrapers, cleaning supplies and a sanitizer bucket.

Then you’ll need space for items such as dough trays, launch peels, turning peels, bus tubs, dough trays and a menu board that don’t fit in storage bins.

This isn’t anywhere near a comprehensive list, but it covers most of it. As I said, we’re still buying more stuff as we realize we need it, but I’d venture to say we’ve spent around $2,000 on various utensils and necessary equipment.

Nice-to-have Equipment

Outside of the electric log splitter, any of the additional nice-to-have equipment we’ve purchased since we’ve opened has been rather small, quality-of-life improvements. After getting roasted in the sun one service, we purchased an E-Z UP sidewall with a window for our canopy, and that cost around $40.

We also bought a small, handheld vacuum for $35 to help clean up and a $120 10-foot-by-10-foot piece of turf marketed for RV campers to provide limited cushioning to our feet as we work on blacktop – plus a ticket spike.

Eventually, we’d like to buy a fan to help keep us cool during hot summer days – I just haven’t had the time to look for one that attaches to our canopy yet. I should probably get on that.

JASON CIPRIANI is the owner of Sips & Pies, a mobile wood-fired pizzeria serving Neapolitan-inspired pizza, in Colorado.