Nissan Project Trailgater takes tailgating off road

Tailgating normally takes place in paved stadium parking lots, but Nissan’s latest one-off build takes it far away from crowds and post-game traffic.

Project Trailgater is a 2025 Nissan Frontier that combines expected tailgating touches with off-road capability that lets its driver throw a tailgate party in the woods. The build process will be shown across three episodes of “Music City Trucks” airing on PowerNation TV this month.

The modified pickup has a pair of 43-inch televisions and a sound bar mounted on a Nismo bed rack, with an onboard battery pack and inverters supplying power. An 18-amp DC-DC charger can be used to recharge the pack, with supplementary power supplied by a folding solar roof. A Starlink internet connection ensures content can be streamed in remote locations.

The truck also features a fold-out kitchen station and sink, propane grill, and a built-in cooler for food preparation. However, the back seats of this crew-cab Frontier were removed to make room for some of this equipment.

To ensure Project Trailgater can get to remote tailgating spots, Nissan provided a host of Nismo parts. The truck sports a lift kit, forged upper control arms, and remote-reservoir rear shocks from Nissan’s performance division, as well as 17-inch beadlock-capable wheels with Yokohama Geolander M/T G003 tires. The standard 3.8-liter V-6, which offers a peak 310 hp, also gets a Nismo exhaust system.

Project Trailgater helps draw attention to the updated 2025 Frontier, which arrived over the summer with a fresh new look, increased towing capacity, and new in-car technology. The updates help Nissan’s midsize pickup, last redesigned for the 2022 model year, stay fresh. That’s something Nissan failed to do with the previous-generation Frontier, which lingered in showrooms for over a decade with few changes.