Loan Payment / SBA Calculator for Food Truck

Financing a food truck is one of the more accessible entry points in the food service industry, but the numbers still add up. A used truck that needs conversion runs $50,000–$100,000, while a fully built-out new truck can hit $150,000–$200,000. Add commissary deposit ($1,000–$3,000), initial permits ($1,000–$5,000), starting inventory ($2,000–$3,000), and working capital, and your total startup investment is typically $60,000–$220,000. SBA microloans (up to $50,000) are a popular option for food truck financing – they're designed for exactly this kind of small-scale startup and have more flexible qualification requirements than traditional SBA 7(a) loans. For a full truck purchase, equipment financing is often the best route: the truck itself serves as collateral, rates run 6–12%, and terms are typically 5–7 years. Some operators use a combination – an SBA microloan for working capital and equipment financing for the truck itself. Your monthly loan payment on a $100,000 truck financed at 8% over 6 years runs roughly $1,750/month. That's a significant fixed cost, so make sure your break-even analysis accounts for it. One advantage of food truck financing: if the business doesn't work out, you have a physical asset (the truck) with resale value – unlike a restaurant buildout, which has almost zero recovery value. Lenders know this, which makes food truck loans somewhat easier to qualify for than restaurant loans.