Tailgater Tire Table – Review

Last year, I came across this table 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, I was looking for a lightweight, small, packable table for solo trips and remembered his tire table, which I only saw from a distance.

After some searching, I came across the TailGater table by Tire Table and purchased one on Amazon.

Find It Online

• 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.

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.

Set 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; 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 straightforward and takes about 5 minutes:

1. Undo the legs via pop-pin and affix them to the table’s edge. The 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 the ground and arch following the curvature of your tire) onto your tire.
4. Once leveled, retighten the jam nuts on the sliders to create a decent amount of clamping tension between the legs and the arch of your tire.
5. Loosen the telescopic support bar via the 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 support 50-60 lbs.

Disclaimer: Their website says it “easily supports 50 lbs.” 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 had no problems throughout the trip with repeated use.

Final Thoughts

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, which makes me wonder how much use and abuse this product can withstand in the long term.
• The aluminum version should also come with a black powder coat option. The silver powder coat on the aluminum version makes the product look/feel a little bit cheaper.

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 it for years to come!