A 535-watt pellet grill and a 400-watt truck outlet don’t get along. Anyone hauling a Traeger to a lot this fall should do the math first. The College Football Playoff committee released its first rankings on Nov. 3, putting Miami (8-0) at No. 1, Georgia (7-1) second and Utah (8-0) third, and the season is at full volume. Buy the truck by its watts. Bed length can wait.
Start with the grill. Traeger’s support page on power use lists 535 watts for its Woodridge pellet grill, 1,560 watts with the side burner attached, and 1,410 watts for the induction cooktop alone. Its non-WiFIRE grills are listed at 300 watts and its D2 models at 110. Traeger says grills draw more while starting up and heating, then settle once they reach temperature.
Ford’s 2026 F-150 release says 400-watt outlets in the cab and bed are standard on the King Ranch and Platinum. That outlet will not start the 535-watt Woodridge. It will run a 300-watt grill with about 100 watts left for a phone charger and string lights.
Outlet ratings, truck by truck
Ford sells bigger systems. The 2026 F-150 order guide lists Pro Power Onboard at 2 kW with the 3.5L EcoBoost V6, 2.4 kW included with the 3.5L PowerBoost hybrid, and a 7.2 kW option that requires the hybrid. At 2.4 kW, the Woodridge with its side burner (1,560 watts) fits and leaves roughly 840 watts for lights and a TV. That subtraction is The Auto Wire’s math, not Ford’s. The guide ties each option to particular trims and packages in a dense table and lists no prices, so confirm the exact combination with a dealer before signing.
Honda’s Ridgeline specifications list a “150-Watt / 400-Watt Truck-Bed Power Outlet,” without making clear which trim gets which, so that is a question for the dealer too. The same page gives a 5,000-pound tow rating, a 64.0-inch bed with the tailgate up and 83.0 inches with it down, a 7.3-cubic-foot in-bed trunk and a dual-action tailgate on every trim.
Payload is where a midsize truck runs out first, because the rating covers the people in the cab as well as the cargo in the bed. Honda lists 1,509 pounds for the Black Edition and 1,583 for the Sport.
Toyota’s 2026 Tundra release lists a 12,000-pound maximum towing capacity and says every Tundra has a power release tailgate, with a power close tailgate and knee-lift assist available. It does not give a bed-outlet rating, so a buyer who plans to cook needs that number from the dealer or the owner’s manual.
The SUV route
Chevrolet’s 2026 Tahoe page lists 122.7 cubic feet of maximum cargo space and an 8,400-pound maximum tow rating. The page does not mention a 120-volt outlet, so an SUV tailgater who wants electricity should plan to bring it along.
One catch if you’re eyeing a Tahoe or Silverado with the 6.2-liter V8: NHTSA’s engineering analysis EA26005 covers 997,743 model year 2021 to 2026 vehicles with the L87 engine, as The Auto Wire reported.
Carbon monoxide at the tailgate
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 400 Americans die each year from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning not linked to fires. Its guidance says portable generators belong outdoors more than 20 feet from windows, doors and vents, and that “If only the tailgate is open, CO from the exhaust will be pulled into the car or SUV.” A truck idling to make power for a grill, with an open tailgate and people sitting on it, falls under that warning.
What to check before kickoff
Read the nameplate wattage on the grill and match it to the outlet rating on the exact trim in front of you. Then take the passengers out of the payload number. Whether the tailgate drops to a seat-height platform or hides behind a hatch decides where the food goes.
What’s the heaviest electrical load you’ve ever run off a truck at a tailgate, and what gave out first?