Food truck crews can face triple digit temperatures on summer days

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —

With the broiling sun beating down outside, Travis Holmes was flipping onions and peppers on a steaming griddle inside his Chicago-style food truck.

Just how hot does it get in here on a humid summer day?

“An average of 105 degrees on an average day. So, on a day like this, you're talking 110,” Holmes said.

Holmes claimed since their stove vent would just suck out the cold air, and air conditioning unit is out of the question.

So, they rely on good old-fashioned ventilation and hydration to find as much comfort as possible.

“Every 30 minutes, we're drinking, everybody in the truck drinking something. Staying hydrated, and it works,” Holmes said.

He recalled how the heat severely impacted his crew once in New Orleans.

“Went to Mardi Gras, and it got very hot there and they passed out, but they came right back,” Holmes said.

A few doors down outside Birmingham City Hall, Vickie Henderson said a trio of fans do not help much on a brutally hot day like this.

“We have a fan blowing, we got another fan blowing, we got a little fan over there and we got vents. And it's still hot,” Henderson said.

Despite the heat, the customer lines on Friday afternoon were long on National Food Truck Day.

Customers told us they appreciated the sacrifices made by food truck crews on a day like this and planned to tip accordingly.