Ice Machines for Tampa Food Trucks, Commissaries, and Ghost Kitchens

Food trucks and ghost kitchens have ice machine constraints that brick-and-mortar restaurants don't. Power is limited, space is tighter, water comes from a tank or a single hookup, and mobility either matters daily (truck) or matters for the lease term (ghost kitchen pop-up).

The constraints, in order

• • Power. Most trucks are 30A or 50A service. A full-size ice machine starts at 15A continuous. Math first.
• • Space. Undercounter footprint or countertop only. No floor-standing modular in most trucks.
• • Water. Onboard tank or temporary hookup. Continuous-flow ice machines hate intermittent water.
• • Mobility. Vibration during transit, temperature swings, and inconsistent leveling.

In-truck options that actually work

For Tampa Bay food trucks we serve:

• • Countertop ice maker (50-100 lb/day) for low-volume cocktail or specialty service
• • Undercounter unit (150-250 lb/day) for mid-volume operations with a 30A circuit
• • Commissary-stationed full machine, with insulated transport bins for in-truck service

Most successful Tampa Bay food truck operators we work with use the third option — produce ice at a commissary, transport in insulated 50-100 lb bins. Cheaper, more reliable, fewer breakdowns from vibration.

Commissary-side staging

If you operate multiple trucks out of a Tampa Bay commissary, the right setup is a full-size 600-1,000 lb/day machine at the commissary with multiple insulated transport bins. One machine serves four to six trucks. Lease cost spreads across the fleet.

Ghost kitchen setups

Ghost kitchens have brick-and-mortar power and water but often a 6-12 month operating horizon and shared back-of-house. Two scenarios:

• • Shared facility ice: the host operator already has a machine. Negotiate ice as part of your lease.
• • Dedicated machine: month-to-month lease through Crystal Ice. When the concept moves or closes, the machine moves out with us — no equipment to liquidate.

The month-to-month structure exists specifically for this kind of operation. More on the model in our no-contract lease explainer.

Lease vs own for a single-truck operator

A single food truck operator buying a $1,500 countertop ice maker outright is sometimes the right call. Once you're at 250+ lb/day or multiple trucks, lease economics win — and you transfer the risk of vibration-induced compressor failure to us.

For sizing, see the restaurant sizing guide.