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The 2003 White Ford Cargo van towing the 6x10 "B Unit". A peek inside.

During September of '05, I established a "B Unit" Pig Roast Platform.    The B Unit is an enclosed 6'x10" Cargo Trailer containing all of the equipment necessary to do a Basic Pig Roast.  The B Unit was initially intended to be towed and operated by EPPO staff, while Unit A (with Eddie) was on another, usually more complex job.      But buying equipment was the easy part.  Making a smooth operation out of turned out to be a far greater, multi-year challenge.    Here's a behind-the-scenes closer look at why I established it, it's capabilities, and it's status as of today.

Why I established it?   My calendar became booked rather quickly.    I could only do one pig roast at a time with my primary apparatus.    On prime summertime weekends, many other potential clients were turned away.   Rather than continue to turn down so much business, my thought was to establish the "B Unit" as a  "Best I Can Do" option.  

How?   The 6'x10' cargo trailer was purposely designed and selected because it was lightweight.    The initial plan was to use the borrowed towing vehicles of staffers.  By NOT outfitting the trailer with every imaginable piece of catering equipment, I had hoped staffers with smaller towing vehicles could transport it.   But as I learned, relying on others for trucks had a wide variety of limitations.   Professionalism and safety suffered.   I'd have to coordinate the availability of their trucks, and it would take weeks to get back to clients...who by the time I got back to them, had found another caterer.   The borrowed staffers vehicles were not always set up properly to tow, or clean/presentable for a job, or conveniently available to "load out".    In July '09, I added a Heavy Duty Ford E-350 Cargo van to the mix, to resolve these problems.   

Capabilities?      Somewhat Limited.   It doesn't have all the capabilities and options as my 2 larger trailers, but it's enough for (From my Pig Roast Pricing Page) The "Roasted Pig Only-Done Onsite", The "Small Job" and the "Typical Job".    Since the Ford Cargo van has a ton of cargo space, we can carry the additional equipment necessary to handle some sides:    Salad bar to support a spread of salads.   King Cooker to support corn.    Could even fit a Standard grill in there too. 

July '10 Update:      The addition of the 2003 Ford E-350 7.3L Turbo Diesel Cargo Van Changed *EVERYTHING*!!!   The van is now operational and frequently used to support "Concurrent"  jobs.    The frequency of jobs was such that my staff rapidly gained the necessary experience to run roasts without me, to my high standards.  There are at least 7 staffers who can "mix and match" to support B team events.   The result of that is my entire staff has become "more professional" and "more capable" whether they're on a B Team roast, or working with me on a Bigger job.      I'm VERY proud to say that the B Team project has *finally* matured to the point where I needed it to be all along.   It allowed the "next step" in professionalism on many levels.       In fact, the "B Team" has now become a misnomer, in that it suggests that they have lesser skills and abilities than the A team.  Not true at all.   These guys know what they're doing and I have the highest level of confidence in them.  Finally!!!!   

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