Football season is in full swing, and in Texas, the tailgate can be just as important as the game.
You don’t need a professional event planner or an elaborate setup to host a great one. With a little planning, the right rental equipment, and a few friends willing to help, you can build a comfortable DIY tailgate almost anywhere—from a stadium parking lot to your own backyard.
The secret is to think of your tailgate as an outdoor living space. You need shade, seating, a place to serve food, cold drinks, entertainment, and possibly a little help from a generator or fan.
Here’s how to put it all together yourself.
Step 1: Choose Your Tailgate Space
Before renting equipment, find out exactly how much room you’ll have.
If you’re tailgating at a stadium, school, or public venue, review its rules before making your plan. Some locations limit tent sizes, grills, generators, fuel, amplified sound, and the amount of space each vehicle can use.
Once you know the size of your area, sketch a simple layout. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Decide where you’ll place:
- Your tent or canopy
- Tables and chairs
- The grill or cooking area
- Coolers and drinks
- Games
- A TV or speaker
- Trash and cleanup supplies
Keep cooking equipment away from the tent, vehicles, and areas where people will be walking.
Step 2: Set Up Your Own Shade
A 10-by-10-foot easy pop-up tent is a good starting point for a DIY tailgate. It’s portable, provides 100 square feet of shade, and can be set up by two people.
Place the tent over your seating and serving area—not over the grill. Use venue-approved weights or anchors, and don’t assume you’ll be allowed to drive stakes into the ground or pavement.
If your group needs more room, Rental Stop has additional tent sizes. Tell us how many people you expect and how much space the venue allows, and we can help you choose an appropriate size.
Step 3: Add Tables and Chairs
Now that you have shade, give everyone somewhere to sit.
Rental Stop carries tailgate chairs and other seating options. Plan enough seating for guests who need it, especially children, older adults, and anyone who prefers to sit while eating. At most tailgates, people move between the food, games, and conversation.
You’ll also need at least one table. For a small DIY setup, use one table for food and supplies. If you have the room, add a second table for serving drinks, playing games, or holding the TV.
Put the tables along the edge of the tent instead of directly in the middle. That leaves more open space for people to sit and move around.
Step 4: Build a Simple Cooking Station
You don’t need a complicated menu. Burgers, hot dogs, sausage, fajitas, and breakfast tacos are popular because they’re easy to prepare and serve.
Choose your cooking equipment based on the food and number of guests. Rental Stop’s grills and griddles include charcoal grills, propane grills, dual-surface grills, and portable gas griddles.
Our 2-by-5-foot charcoal grill gives you enough cooking space to feed a larger group. If you’re serving pancakes, eggs, fajitas, or smash burgers, a portable griddle may be easier.
Set up a prep table near the cooking area, but leave enough space so guests aren’t reaching across a hot grill to get food.
Before leaving home, confirm:
- What fuel the equipment uses
- Whether fuel is included
- What cooking tools you need
- How you’ll transport uncooked food safely
- How you’ll keep prepared food hot
- Whether the venue allows your type of grill
Never place a grill under a tent, and keep a fire extinguisher nearby.
Step 5: Set Up a Drink Station
Keeping drinks separate from the cooking area helps prevent a traffic jam around the food table.
Rental Stop carries 52-quart, 70-quart, and 120-quart coolers. For a larger group, use one cooler for drinks and another for food. That keeps guests from repeatedly opening the cooler containing uncooked meat or prepared dishes.
Bring plenty of ice and more water than you think you’ll need. A five-gallon drink container can also create an easy self-serve water station.
Place the coolers in the shade so the ice lasts longer.
Step 6: Create a DIY Cooling Zone
A tent provides shade, but early-season football weather can still be uncomfortable.
Rental Stop’s heating and cooling equipment includes floor fans, pedestal fans, misting fans, air chillers, and portable cooling units.
Before renting cooling equipment, find out whether it requires electricity, water, or both. Add those requirements to your setup plan so you’re not trying to solve the problem in the parking lot.
Later in the season, you may need a patio heater instead. Always confirm that heaters are allowed at your location.
Step 7: Add a Few Tailgate Games
You don’t need to fill every minute with entertainment, but one or two games can keep the party going while everyone waits for kickoff.
Rental Stop’s game rentals include:
- Regular and giant cornhole
- Large and small Jenga
- Connect Four
- Horseshoes
- Bocce ball
- Plinko
- Mini golf
Cornhole is an easy DIY tailgate favorite because almost everyone knows how to play. Giant Jenga or Connect Four works well when your space is limited.
Set games up away from the grill, television, and parked vehicles. Make sure you have enough room for people to play without blocking walkways.
Step 8: Build Your Own Outdoor Watch Party
If you want to watch another game before yours starts—or the tailgate is the entire event—add a TV and sound.
Our audio, video, and lighting inventory includes a 43-inch tailgate TV, television stands, projectors, screens, speakers, and cables.
A TV and powered speaker can turn a driveway, backyard, or parking space into an outdoor sports room.
Make a list of every connection you’ll need:
- Television
- TV stand
- Streaming device or signal source
- HDMI cables
- Speaker and audio cable
- Extension cords
- Internet or mobile hotspot
- Power source
Connect and test everything before game day. Don’t wait until kickoff to find out you’re missing a cable or can’t access the game.
Step 9: Add Portable Power
If electricity isn’t available, you may need a generator.
A compact 2,000-watt inverter generator can power certain small appliances, electronics, fans, and televisions. Your total power requirement depends on everything you plan to connect.
Operate generators outdoors in a properly ventilated location, away from tents, vehicles, doors, and windows. Follow the equipment instructions and all venue rules concerning fuel, noise, and generator placement.
Step 10: Plan for Packing and Cleanup
A DIY tailgate is much easier when you load your vehicle in the right order.
Pack the items you need first—such as the tent and tables—last. That way, they’re the first things you can unload. Set up the large pieces before bringing out food, decorations, and games.
At the end of the tailgate, allow grills and cooking equipment to cool completely. Bring trash bags, food-storage containers, paper towels, and cleaning supplies. Leave the area as clean as you found it.
Your DIY Tailgate Checklist
Use this list before leaving home:
- Tent
- Approved tent weights or anchors
- Tables and chairs
- Grill or griddle
- Fuel and cooking tools
- Food and serving supplies
- Coolers and ice
- Water and other drinks
- Fan, mister, or heater
- Tailgate games
- TV, stand, speaker, and cables
- Streaming device or signal source
- Generator and approved extension cords
- Fire extinguisher
- Team decorations
- Trash bags and cleaning supplies
- Venue rules and parking information
Ask a few friends to take responsibility for different parts of the setup. One person can handle the food, another can bring drinks, and someone else can be in charge of the games or television.
Ready to put your game day plan together? Call Rental Stop for help choosing the tents, tables, chairs, grills, coolers, and games that fit your group and space. Whether you’re heading to the stadium or hosting in your backyard, we’ll help you get set for kickoff.
Call our Grand Prairie store at (972) 336-0059 or our Arlington store at (817) 336-0059 to check availability and reserve your tailgate rentals.
