5 Hacks for a Better Tailgating Experience

The Master List

Nothing’s worse than getting unpacked and ready for a great tailgate and realizing you forgot the spatula. If you love to tailgate, make a list of the items you need to bring each and every time. Make sure your list includes things like “plates,” “trash bag,” “spatula/tongs,” and of course “tickets.” Store this list in your favorite tailgate cooler or in the glove compartment of your best tailgating vehicle (we recommend the Dodge Ram 1500) so you’ll never forget a thing.

Plan Ahead

While there’s nothing quite like the smell of meat grilling on the Hibachi during a tailgate party, sometimes a portable grill just isn’t big enough to accommodate your entourage. We’re not suggesting you do away with the grill entirely (that would be blasphemy!) but you can save a lot of hungry bellies by preparing a large brisket, roast, or shoulder at home and bringing it along to the party. While some people are waiting for burgers and brats, others can make street tacos, burritos, and other carnivorous delicacies with your pre-made slab.

Prepare for Heat

There’s nothing like a heat wave to put a damper on a tailgate party. With the sun beating down on you from above and the parking lot surface radiating heat from below, a too-hot day can make any tailgate party drag. Bring a box fan and a few bungee cords and attach the fan to the upper canopy of your tent or prop it up in the bed of your Dodge Ram 1500 to create some nice airflow.

Outthink Dehydration

Tailgating is synonymous with beer, right? But while everyone else is enjoying their adult beverages, time ticks on and causes dehydration. The night before your tailgate party, freeze a 12-pack of small water bottles. Toss them in a cooler and use them as ice to pack your foot until you get there. Then, once the food has been consumed and the ice has melted, you have plenty of water to stave off a group sunstroke. Set up the perfect buffet line on the tailgate of your Dodge Ram and put the cooler full of water bottles at the end so everyone can grab one and stay hydrated.

Utensil Caddy, Anyone?

One of the first things you do when you arrive at a tailgate party is pop open a beer. After a few friends arrive, you should have an empty cardboard six-pack carrier. Use the empty carrier as a utensil caddy. Put plastic forks, knives, and spoons in each of the holes on one side. On the other side, put a folded stack of napkins, salt and pepper shaker, or your favorite hot sauce. The built-in handle makes it easy to pass around and you won’t have to worry about a haphazard stack of flatware clattering to the ground.

Tailgating is all about letting loose, enjoying friends, and getting pumped up for the big game. So don’t let the little things get in your way. Outsmart inevitable obstacles with these tailgate-hacks and don’t let the fun stop.

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