I can hear an Ice Cream truck coming from blocks away and it’s instantly recognizable.

Why aren’t there Taco Trucks cruising around the neighborhood with an instantly recognizable sound and menu? All the grownups would come running outside waving to the Taco Truck.

The Taco Truck was invented in 1974 so it’s been 50 years now. I’ve known the sound of the Ice Cream Truck since I was like 3 years old, but I barely even know where the Taco Truck is. You’ve got to follow them around on social media…

  • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮
    link
    fedilink
    English
    142 months ago

    Because they don’t drive around looking for customers the way an ice cream truck does. They need to actually park so they can hook up to gas/electric lines and actually cook.

    • Beacon
      link
      fedilink
      32 months ago

      In nyc they’re all free standing trucks that work off of generators and stored fuel

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        82 months ago

        I think running a gas stove while driving is wrong for so many reasons.

        An ice cream truck is … Freezers. You stop, scoop, score, move on. Taco trucks need to stop, heat the ovens, and in like an hour can start taking orders.

        It’s not the same.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        1
        edit-2
        2 months ago

        Native Rhode Islander here.

        Food trucks are a staple of life. They are a quintessential part of RI culture. We have events at Roger Williams Park like every week in the summer and there’s lines of food trucks that each have like a 30 minute queue.

        When I was in highschool (over 20 years ago now…), there were two big hangout spots: the coffee shop, and the hot weiner truck.

        You all haven’t lived till you’ve choked down 4 all-the-way, lovingly crafted on some old Mediterranean guys hairy forearm, and washed it down with 24oz of iced cold coffee milk (milk with coffee-flavored syrup) at 2am.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          12 months ago

          It’s definitely become more of a thing in the past 10-15 years. When I was a kid, outside of ice cream there was just Del’s. The hot wiener trucks did not come our way I guess… or they didn’t want to compete with the brick and mortar ny systems.

          I’m thrilled with the food culture we have now though. We punch way above our weight when it comes to food.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    42 months ago

    The music is because those trucks drive around.

    You can’t make tacos on the move, or any other kind of hot food really.

    Which is why food trucks park in locations and operate

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      12 months ago

      Business idea, solve the moving hot food issue and find a way to cook and sling tacos on the move. I don’t go out for ice cream trucks but I would for tacos.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        2
        edit-2
        2 months ago

        Easy, precook and keep heated meat and bread at around 160F in a box with controlled temp and humidity.

        Scoop veggie toppings on as needed, wrap and deliver on the spot.

        Problem in the USA is if you make more than 11k as a sole proprietor you pay 12% federal taxes and also some state taxes, if you make more than 47k you pay 22%, and you can decrease your total taxable income with the costs of doing business and the depreciation of your vehicle or business building (you pay depreciation recapture if you sell but would have payed tax on the income of the sale regardless so it cancels out) so for example:

        A person hypothetically sold an average of 25 tacos every day without break for a year they’d have $56,000
        If it costs $3 to make each taco then $28,000
        Assume the vehicle and equipment together is $100,000, on a 10 year loan at 6% apr then you’ll pay $13,322.52 for the year, that leaves $14,677.48
        We’re gonna say the vehicle depreciation is an amount of $13,000 lost for tax purposes, you’d have to calculate that based on the vehicle specs.

        With all that you might owe like $236.95 to the IRS and more to state, so that brings us down to $14,440.53

        Congratulations you’ve accomplished poverty without any employees AS LONG AS THE VEHICLE NEVER DRIVES ANYWHERE thanks to accruing a debt that would absolutely shatter you if anything went wrong.

    • Lemminary
      link
      fedilink
      12 months ago

      Not with that attitude you won’t, partner!

      *sloshing oil sounds, car slamming the accelerator, pedestrian yells in the distance*

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      22 months ago

      Well, there’s food trucks and many of those sell tacos. But no songs, usually, and are only moving when going to or from their setup location.

  • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️
    link
    fedilink
    02 months ago

    I am really much more interested in why all the food trucks seem to be taco trucks. It’s like it’s some kind of national conspiracy.

    Where is the pasta truck, the stir fry wok truck, the BLT truck, the foie gras truck, etc.?

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      12 months ago

      We have food trucks where I am that serve cuisines other than Mexican food, even though Mexican is by and large the dominant food truck type I encounter.

      I’ve seen vegan food, macaroni, southern United States cuisine, pizza, and African cuisine. In larger cities, I’ve heard of stuff like a grilled cheese truck. They are out there! But now I would be happy to see a Chinese food truck or a Vietnamese food truck.

  • Rhynoplaz
    link
    fedilink
    12 months ago

    Because no matter what you come up with, it’s going to be at least a little bit racist.

  • @[email protected]OP
    link
    fedilink
    02 months ago

    Just to be clear I don’t want to own and run a Taco Truck, I just heard the Ice Cream Truck and wished it was a Taco Truck.

    Seems like missed opportunity to me, though.

  • Chris L
    link
    fedilink
    English
    52 months ago

    I would buy lots of tacos from a truck playing “Lowrider”.