Menu boards: printed, chalk or digital?
Four kinds of board, and three questions that pick one.
Guide
Food truck menu board: sign options and when a screen makes sense.
Most food trucks start with a sign, and that is often right. Here is how each sign works, and when a screen is worth the trouble.
Start with the sign you have today
Most food trucks begin with a sign, and a sign is often the right start. A food truck menu sign is low-cost, it has no cables, and it works in the rain. There are three common kinds. Each one fits a different kind of menu.
We know this world. Before Sweet Aloha Ice Cream, our owner ran Haole Boys Shave Ice, a food truck and catering business. He did not start with a screen. He started with a board, a marker and a line of hungry people. Here is how the common signs work, and when each one is a good fit.
Printed, chalk and magnetic signs
Printed and laminated
A printed sign is a poster you hang or clip to the truck window. It looks neat and it never needs power. It is a good fit for a short menu that rarely changes, like four sandwiches and three drinks. The catch comes with a price change. You have to reprint the whole sign, or cover the old number with a sticker.
Chalk and marker boards
A chalk or dry-erase board is easy to change in one minute, and it feels friendly. It is great for a daily special, like “Today: mango shave ice.” It needs a steady hand, and rain or a rough ride can smear it. Many trucks use chalk for the special and a printed sign for the main menu.
Magnetic and letter boards
A magnetic or letter board uses plastic letters and numbers. It is neat and you can change one price without redoing the board. The weakness is supply: you need enough of each letter and number, and loose pieces can fall off on the road. Keep a small box of spare pieces in the truck.
When a screen makes sense
A screen is not better for every truck. It earns its place when your menu changes often, when you park in the same spot most days, or when you want to show real photos of your food. Think of a truck at a weekly market that changes its flavors every few days. Reprinting that sign each time costs money and time. A screen costs one short message.
A TV also helps in a long line. People can read a big, bright picture from ten steps back, and a photo of your top item can sell it before the person reaches the window. If your truck has one fixed menu and no room inside, stay with the sign. A screen is a tool, not a badge.
Thinking about a screen for your truck or stand? We set up your first screen with you. Try it free for 14 days, no card.
Honest limits: a screen needs power and internet
Here is the part many pages skip. A TV needs power, and it needs a way to get your menu. On a truck, that means a generator or battery that can run it for the whole shift, or a plug at a market spot. Ask yourself: where does the power come from, and what happens when the truck is parked and shut off?
Then there is the internet. Our player loads your menu over Wi-Fi. On a truck that may be a phone hotspot or a mobile Wi-Fi unit. Once the menu is saved on the TV, it keeps playing when the signal drops, and it catches up when the signal returns. That is how our app works today. But we have not tested it on a moving truck. Our five screens hang in one shop with a wall plug. If your truck has no steady power, choose a sign.
Brightness and sun glare tips
Sun is the biggest enemy of a screen on a truck. A home TV is made for a living room, not for open air. We do not sell an outdoor screen, and we will not tell you that ours works in direct sun. If you try a screen, treat shade as part of the plan.
Three simple habits help. Put the screen inside the truck, behind the window, and angle it so the sun does not hit it head-on. Use big, plain letters, light on dark or dark on light, so glare hides less. Walk to the spot where the customer stands, at the busiest hour, and look for three seconds. If you cannot read it, move it or fix the sign. A board you can read is worth more than a bright one.
The story behind this page
Jimmy Anderson, our owner, ran Haole Boys Shave Ice as a food truck and catering business before he moved to Florida and opened Sweet Aloha Ice Cream in Davie. On the truck he used signs. Later, in the shop, he built a screen system for his own counter, because changing menus by hand got old.
That is why we write about both. Signs are real and good. A screen is a better fit for some jobs, and a worse fit for others. Today all 5 of our TVs run Wow Menu Boards every day inside one shop. To see how a screen is set up, read how to turn a TV into a menu board, see our features with Live and Coming soon marked, or learn more about us.
Keep reading
Menu board design tips
Six plain rules for a board people can read fast.
How to turn a TV into a menu board
Five steps, with examples from our shop.
Concession stand menu board
Simple ways to show your menu.
Run your shop's menu like we run ours.
We open free trials a few shops at a time, and we set up your first screen with you.
14 days free, no cardNo contract. Cancel anytime.