Stuff on my Miata

The BRG and Dustan's Miata stand in for the Beater

2009-06-09T09:17:00.001-04:00

The Beater may be gone, but the legacy lives on. Here's pictures of the two other Miatas (my new one and Dustan's red one) doing truck duty getting a king size bed home from IKEA.

... and the Miata is dead.

2009-05-14T09:37:00.000-04:00

At 290,000 miles, the engine finally gave out. No more Miata truck.

Hauling a Grill Home

2009-03-25T10:21:00.002-04:00

On Friday, I hauled a grill home on the Miata from Largo to Tampa. Thankfully, I don't have an interior. If I did, it'd be covered in charcoal and ash now!

Lumber for the Pantry

2009-02-15T11:22:00.002-05:00

This is almost tame by comparison to some of the things I've hauled. This was all of the 2x4s, drywalling supplies and other building materials I needed to build my pantry. Sadly, I could not get Drywall to work without cracking, so that had to be done by an actual truck.

Dining Room Set with Glass Top

2008-12-26T15:18:00.000-05:00

The trickiest parts of this were both the distance and the fragility of the glass top. This four piece set featured carved wood chairs, a carved wood base and a 1/2" thick glass top. The top had to go on first, and I secured it with a blanket to keep it from impacting the rollbar. Everything else stacked and was strapped down. I traveled 119 miles with this stuff strapped to the car. It was especially cold that day, so I froze the whole way home.

Full Size Black Leather Couch

2008-12-17T18:15:00.001-05:00

This was a freecycle find. Like new black leather couch, had to come get "right now", as this accounting firm was taking apart their office to move. I was on the way to a Miata Meeting at Ricks on the River here in Tampa, so I swung by to get it first and then went to the meeting. Pictures are taken from the meeting.

Complete outdoor patio set

2008-12-11T23:30:00.003-05:00

This was another rush job, prompted by a craigslist listing for "FREE PATIO FURNITURE". Four PVC Chairs plus a 5' round table, strapped down with a cargo net, a series of bungies and faith. I drove 27 miles over a long bridge in high winds without incident.

2500 pound pull behind smoker

2008-07-13T07:10:00.001-04:00

The 1990 Miata weighs about 2000 pounds. 2300ish with me in.

The 1.6L produces just under 100 horsepower.

How well did it pull this 2500 pound trailer with grill and a full load of wood? Surprisingly well. It took a bit to get to cruising speeds, the brakes were completely useless, the bottom end kept bouncing off the bumpstops, but it could be done! Thankfully, I never drove it on the freeway. It would have flipped the car the first headwind, no doubt.

Large Oil Drum

2008-05-14T11:07:00.001-04:00

Furthering my build of a smoker, someone gave me what used to be a fuel oil drum. The catch was that I had to come get it RIGHT THEN, and I was already out on the road. I didn't have any tie-down straps, so I ended up holding it down with a water hose. This was also before the rollbar, making it that much harder to secure.

Propane Tanks

2008-04-29T11:05:00.000-04:00

While I was building a trailer mounted grill and smoker, I had to get parts home somehow. Here's the Miata full of propane tanks. I ended up driving 125 miles like this without any incidents.

This is a blog about my use of my Miata as a truck.

2008-02-02T15:02:00.000-05:00

My wife and I both own Mazda Miatas. Mine, affectionately known as the "Beater" is used more often as a truck than a commuter car. This blog shows the creative and sometimes dangerous ways I use the Miata to haul furniture, supplies, building materials and a whole lot more.