On average, the price of a push cart will vary a bit. A brand new high quality pushcart without any refrigeration or cold-plates generally starts around $2900, with push carts increasing in price as you move onto larger models and models with more features. A new high quality pushcart with both refrigeration and built-in cold plates, which allow the cart to stay cold all day without the need for electricity, will start at around $4,500 for the smallest models. Ice cream push carts can cost as much as $16,000 for the largest size carts with all the bells and whistles, like cold plates, plug-in refrigeration and a hand-washing sink.

If you do some research, you will see that there are some push carts on the market that are under $1,000. The problem with these carts is most of the time they don't have any refrigeration or cold plates, and don't have insulation, which makes them bad at keeping your product cold. You may only get an hour of use before product begins to melt, which makes them hard to use in the best circumstance. At worst, they will not be NSF approved, and you wouldn't be able to use the cart anyways.

Nevertheless, we are going to go over a few of the ice cream push carts that I would recommend to anyone looking to get started selling product from a push cart. **Note: When buying a Push Cart with Cold Plates, its important to know what product you want to serve before purchasing (Italian Ice v.s Prepacked v.s Scooping. etc) This is because new push carts with cold plates are custom made; the push cart is set to the proper temperature for the product you want to serve at the time of its construction.

Types of Push Carts

Type 1: Non-refrigerated Push Cart

Type 2: Refrigerated Push Cart

Type 3: Cold Plate Push Cart

When looking at Ice Cream Push Carts, you'll notice there are three main types: Non-refrigerated, Refrigerated, and Cold Plates Ice Cream Push Carts. Lets quickly review each cart type, then we'll move on to the ice cream push cart recommendations!

Non-refrigerated Push Cart:

A Non-refrigerated push cart is going to have the lowest upfront cost. However, with non-refrigerated carts if you decide to use dry ice or ice, you will have to resupply your the cart often, which can start to add up if your planning on using the cart daily.

With that being said, we also offer COOL PACKS, which can be chilled the night before and used inside your non-refrigerated push cart to keep it cold! Its important to note that non-refrigerated push carts are usually used for Italian ice, and will not be cold enough for scooping hard ice cream or novelties. To get started with a Non-refrigerated cart, id recommend our CLT4 Push Cart package deal, which comes with an umbrella and cold-packs so you won't have to work with any dry ice from the box. The CLT4 PACKAGE DEAL is a small package for those looking for a budget push cart option without the need for dry ice or electricity.

Refrigerated Push Cart:

Refrigerated Push Carts are a solid option for those looking for a cart to use at events and for catering work. All you need is a regular outlet to power the cart, let it get cold, and you're good to go.

One of the benefits of the refrigerated carts is they often offer an adjustable thermostat that's built-in to the cart, allowing you to change the cart's temperature and serve a wider variety of products. If you’re looking for an exclusively plug-in style cart with adjustable thermostat,then the BDC6-NCP is a great, affordable option that I'd recommend to anyone looking for a lower cost but higher end investment on a cart. You can also add Cold Packs to this cart to allow some mobile serving.

Cold Plate Push Cart

Cold Plate Carts are able to maintain their temperature for 12+ hours, making them truly the best mobile option, with the ability to sell your product anywhere from outdoor venues to stadium events. One thing to keep in mind when considering a cold plate cart is that the cold plates are stuck with the temperature you request when the cart is being built. With that being said, these carts are really a fantastic option, with many offering a plug-in option where you can change the temperature to what you'd like.

A good choice if you're considering a cold plate cart is the BDC8 Cold Plate Ice Cream Cart.Our best selling ice cream push cart with cold plates. No need for electricity or dry ice. Just plug it in the night before you are going out and the following day you are good to go for 8 to 12 hours, no need to keep it plugged in. As of today, the 18th of November in 2021, we also have a 2017 Used Nelson BDC8 Novelty Push Cart available! There is only one of these used cold plate carts available as of today, but deals like this do show up weekly on our used equipment listings page!