Preparing a catering trailer for an LPG inspection
Arrange the inspection, access and paperwork together
To get a catering trailer gas safety record, send the installation details and the paperwork request, agree the inspection scope with a suitably qualified engineer, prepare the trailer for the visit and receive a record of the findings. Give the address where it will be inspected as well as your trading deadline. Availability and a satisfactory result must be checked separately.
The booking route
Four steps to arrange the correct mobile catering inspection
Who needs the record?
Ask the event organiser, venue or other requester for the exact document name, trailer identification and accepted inspection date. Keep its written requirements with your enquiry.
Equipment and inspection address
List the LPG supply, every appliance, previous alterations and known faults. Give the postcode where the trailer will stand for inspection, even if your regular trading pitch is elsewhere.
Scope, competence and access
Confirm suitable engineer categories, the work and report included, the total quotation and current appointment availability. Agree who will unlock the unit and which equipment may need to stop operating.
Findings and next actions
Make the agreed installation available for physical checks. Afterwards, obtain the record of completed work and any limitations, restrictions or further work. Confirm its delivery arrangements and pass it to the requester.
Clarify the document before attendance
Match the requested record to your actual trailer
Ask the requester what they need
CORGI describes CP44 as a safety-check record for a mobile catering vehicle or trailer. If a market or venue requests it, send that wording before booking. A freestanding stall, gazebo or fixed kitchen needs its own installation and required record assessed; the trailer route should not be assumed to cover it.
The obligation to keep gas equipment safe and a venue’s paperwork conditions are different matters. A named form is not permission to trade with unsafe equipment, and requester acceptance cannot be promised. Tell the engineer about changes to appliances, regulators, cylinders or pipework so any necessary installation work and further checks can be identified.
What the visit may need to cover
Agree the checks for the trailer and its equipment
The inspection must address the checks needed for the declared installation. The list below helps you describe what is fitted and what must be accessible; it is not a promise that every trailer needs the same procedure. Ask the quotation to identify the safety inspection, relevant equipment and the record supplied.
Supply arrangement
Cylinder position and restraint, locker or compartment, ventilation, changeover equipment, regulator and safe isolation.
Condition and routing
Accessible connections, suitability, support, protection from damage, leakage checks and the effect of trailer movement.
Every listed item
Make, model, data plate, correct gas, installation condition, flame safeguards and safe operation within the agreed inspection scope.
Air and products of combustion
Permanent ventilation, appliance requirements, flues where fitted and any extraction or interlock arrangement relevant to safe use.
Emergency shut-off
Accessible isolation, valves, operating instructions and the safe sequence for closing the unit and transporting cylinders.
Condition found on the day
Required operational, tightness and safety checks, recorded appliances and any defect, restriction or remedial action identified.
Servicing, fault investigation, repairs, parts, commissioning, separate tightness testing or purging beyond the inspection scope, and extraction maintenance or specialist assessment need their own scope and charging terms. Necessary inspection checks must not be omitted to fit a headline price.
Check the individual attending
Check LPG, mobile catering and appliance categories
LPG
The registration must cover the LPG work involved, rather than natural gas only.
Commercial mobile catering
A trailer or food truck is not the same registration scope as a domestic kitchen.
Equipment-specific categories
Range cookers, fryers, grills, water heaters and other equipment must match the work categories held.
Before work starts, check the attending person’s current Gas Safe ID card and register entry for the fuel, commercial mobile catering setting and relevant appliances. Send unusual equipment details when enquiring. Upkeepone must confirm that it can support the declared work and that a suitably qualified engineer is available.
Make the first reply useful
Send the complete setup before asking for a date
Photographs and documents help identify the inspection scope and engineer category. They do not replace attendance and should not be obtained by disturbing damaged or unsafe equipment.
Arrange a handover at the inspection site
Name the person who will meet the engineer and can explain the trailer’s normal setup. If the unit is kept at a storage yard, confirm permission to attend and the access window. Ask which supplies and operating conditions are needed for the agreed checks; do not assume a parked, disconnected trailer is ready to inspect.
Tell us if the trailer will move between enquiry and attendance. A different inspection postcode, restricted pitch or change to the equipment may affect the arrangements.
Agree any interruption before the visit
Explain your trading hours, hot equipment, extraction arrangements and any access or shutdown restrictions. Ask which appliances must be out of use, what operating conditions are needed for testing and how the visit can be planned around staff and customers. An inspection during trading, a set duration or a same-day appointment is not guaranteed.
Use the agreed normal setup for the visit. Do not dismantle, reconnect or alter gas equipment simply to prepare it for inspection. Discuss unavailable supplies, locked compartments or missing appliance information beforehand.
Plan for findings—not only the appointment
Do not book the first inspection on the eve of trading
Leave time for evidence, parts and remedial work
HSE says inspection intervals for catering gas equipment should reflect the equipment, its use, industry practice and manufacturer recommendations; annual inspection is a reasonable general minimum. That does not mean every document has one universal legal expiry date.
Work backwards from the requester’s deadline and allow time for incomplete checks, replacement parts or a return visit. Tell Upkeepone if a new event date, inspection address or equipment change affects the booking. Confirm any additional attendance charges before relying on the first appointment as the final step.
Possible inspection outcomes
A quotation cannot promise a satisfactory result
Keep the inspection findings
Ask for a record identifying the trailer, equipment checked, date, findings and limitations. Agree its format and delivery arrangements; documentation should describe the outcome rather than imply that a satisfactory result was guaranteed.
Scope cannot be completed
Ask which checks could not be completed, why and what information or access is needed next. Confirm whether further attendance and any revised documentation are separately charged; an incomplete visit does not establish that the trailer is safe.
Repair or restriction
The engineer should explain the defect and any restriction on equipment use. Keep unsafe items out of use and agree the remedial work, testing and return arrangements separately. Do not assume that paying for an inspection includes repairs or clearance to resume trading.
Postcode-qualified enquiries
Where Upkeepone can consider mobile catering LPG work
Priority areas: London, Essex and Kent.
Other covered locations: Hertfordshire, Surrey, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Sussex.
Other UK areas: considered by request.
For suitable LPG trailer enquiries, attendance depends on the full postcode, installation, access, travel and appropriately qualified engineer availability. The location where the inspection takes place is checked before attendance is agreed. This wording does not establish the same availability for another fuel or installation type.
If LPG may be escaping
Report a suspected LPG escape from a safe place
Keep people away and do not create an ignition source
If there is fire, immediate danger, an uncontrolled release or doubt about safety, leave and call 999 from a safe place. A suspected LPG escape needs the LPG supplier’s emergency route. Avoid ignition sources and do not approach unsafe equipment to investigate, obtain photographs or operate a valve.
Keep the affected installation out of use until a competent person deals with the leak and confirms the safe next steps. A normal quotation form is not an emergency reporting route. Read the LPG emergency actions guide for the relevant contacts and precautions.
Continue with the exact requirement
Mobile catering LPG inspection and planning routes
Primary UK safety sources
Check mobile catering gas duties and competence at source
Paperwork, timing and booking questions
Mobile catering trailer gas certificate FAQs
How do I arrange a catering trailer LPG inspection?
Is CP44 appropriate for my catering trailer?
Which Gas Safe categories should I check?
What should I send before requesting an appointment?
Can the inspection take place at a storage yard?
How often should a mobile catering trailer be inspected?
Do alterations need to be checked before the next planned inspection?
Can I keep trading while the inspection takes place?
What documentation should I receive after the visit?
What should I do if I smell LPG around the trailer?
Ready to scope the inspection?
Send the unit, appliance list, LPG supply, postcode and deadline
Upkeepone can check the enquiry against coverage, the relevant mobile catering LPG and appliance categories, the requested paperwork and current availability before a visit is agreed.
An enquiry does not confirm availability, price, scope, a satisfactory inspection result or acceptance by an event, insurer, council or other requester.
