Alabama man buys a Chinese electric food truck from Alibaba and has to totally overhaul it for American roads

  • Doug bought a custom electric food truck from China on Alibaba
  • The truck needed major repairs to meet US safety standards
  • After a year of work, the food truck became street-legal

Published on Dec 05, 2024 at 1:53 PM (UTC+4)
by Daksh Chaudhary

Last updated on Dec 05, 2024 at 4:47 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Kate Bain

Imagine buying an electric food truck from China on Alibaba and getting it shipped all the way to Alabama, only to discover it can’t be used on the road.

Well, that’s exactly what happened to Doug.

The entrepreneur thought he was getting a unique food truck to drive around and serve coffee out of.

But he had to rethink things when the Alibaba order turned up at this door.

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Chinese electric food truck bought from China

Doug’s food truck, which he named ‘Wallie,’ was custom-built.

It was a three-wheeled vehicle, which is technically a motorcycle, so Doug planned to register it that way.

But when it arrived, it was clear that the truck needed a lot of work to be safe and legal on the roads of Alabama.

The customization of the truck started with Doug having to completely tear it down and rebuild it to meet safety and electrical standards.

The electrical and plumbing systems didn’t pass inspections, so he had to replace all of them too.

He also made sure the truck was powered by a portable battery generator to keep everything emissions-free.

It took Doug a full year to overhaul the truck and make it fit for purpose.

In the end, it was the perfect coffee truck.

It stood out too.

It had a cool orange paint job with ‘WALNUT NITRO COFFEE’ written on the top, and a hydraulic pop-top that could lift the roof to give baristas enough headroom to work.

The truck served its purpose perfectly

After a year of hard work, Doug finally got ‘Wallie’ inspected and street-legal.

As for the vehicle’s performance, it wasn’t impressive, with a top speed of 20 mph downhill and a range of just four to six miles.

But it served its purpose as a coffee shop with perfection.

Doug learned a lot from the experience, especially that everything you see online is not worth buying.

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Meet Daksh: Not your typical pro, but definitely a pro at being fascinated by supercars, tech, and all things futuristic. When he's not nose-deep in work, catch him glued to anime screens or lost in the pages of a good book.