Tailgater Tire Table Review & Overview for Camping & Overlanding

Tailgater Tire Table Install Overview & Initial Impressions For Camping and General Overlanding

I came across this table last year while on a camping trip in Crested Butte Colorado, a camping neighbor down the hill seemed to be doing all his cooking on a table attached to the rear tire of his Tacoma.

Later on, I was looking for a lightweight, small, packable table for solo trips and remembered his tire table thing that I only really saw from a distance.

After a little bit of searching, I came across the TailGater table by Tire Table and picked one up on Amazon.

Find it online:

Simple and Lightweight Table by Tire Table

• Tailgater Steel Table: Check Price
• Tailgater Aluminum Table: Check Price
• Small level for leveling table: Check Price

Tailgater Aluminum Table Overview

I purchased the aluminum version to save on some weight.

Here are the specs:

• Made of Aircraft Grade 6061 Aluminum
• Silver Powdercoat Finish
• 23” Wide, 29” Long, 1.5” Thick
• Weighs 6 lbs
• Holds 50 lbs
• Fits Most Tire Sizes 14” and up
• No Tools Required for Install/Use
• Installs to Tire, no Hitch required
• When not in use, all parts store/affix onto the unit itself

Steel Table Option

Tailgater does offer a steel table option.  The steel is identical in spec, however, it comes in a black powder coat, weighs 12lbs, and can support up to 50 lbs.

How to Set It Up

Set up and installation are pretty intuitive and all the parts are affixed onto the table when not in use. An optional storage bag is available for purchase, however, it seems a bit pricey at $44.95 for what you get.  Level ground is not required since you situate the table on your tire in the position you prefer

Set up is pretty easy and takes about 5 minutes:

1. Undo the legs via pop-pin and affix them to the edge of the table. Grip tape side should be facing inwards towards your tire
2. Undo the jam nuts and extend the arched bar.
3. Set the table (legs facing down towards ground and arch following the curvature of your tire) onto your tire.
4. Once leveled, retighten the jam nuts on the sliders in a position that creates a decent amount of clamping tension between the legs and the arch onto your tire.
5. Loosen the telescopic support bar via jam nut and create a triangular support by jamming the telescopic support at the base of your tire.

Once assembled and attached to the tire, along with the triangular telescopic support, the table should be able to support 50-60 lbs.

Disclaimer: Their website says it “easily supports 50lbs.” At the beginning of our last trip, I tested the table support rating with a full 7-gallon water jug and dual burner camp stove with pot/pan on top.  The total weight was right around 60 lbs with the 7-gallon jug full.  The table seemed to do fine under the weight and we did not have any problem through the trip with repeated use.

Initial Impressions

Pros: 

• Straightforward intuitive setup
• Lightweight at 6 lbs (aluminum version)
• Flatpack and pretty foolproof storage
• No bag necessary
• All moving parts attach/affix to the table when collapsed
• Supports up to 60 lbs!

Cons:

• The welding seems minimal and leaves me questioning how much use and abuse this product can take long-term.
• The aluminum version should come with a black powder coat option as well…the silver powder coat on the aluminum version makes the product look/feel a little bit cheaper.

Final Thoughts

If you want a flat packing, lightweight table for solo trips, or a smaller supplementary table for your other camping table set up, this is a pretty great product!  I definitely recommend the Tailgater Tire Table and look forward to using this for years to come!