I’ve got two problems. First: sometimes, I don’t have a car to test. Second, sometimes I’ve got to go somewhere when I don’t have a car to test. This means I need a car despite driving all the new ones for a living. Financially and logistically, this might be annoying, were my car not a car that could make anyone happy: a Miata. My 2004 is the perfect “second” car (even though it’s my only car).
It does, though, suffer from a few of the usual Miata drawbacks. First, you could roast a pig off the transmission tunnel of the car thanks to the hot exhaust manifold running inches from your leg. Second, it sucks on the highway, and third, it can’t fit much. “Much” in this case is my dog. We use him for testing all the time, but when he’s not providing valuable feedback (and a handy tax deduction), he needs to fit in my Miata, which, at 85 pounds, might be a struggle for him. So, I went out and bought a hammer, some nails, and set about a solution.
Can You Fit A Person-Sized Dog In A Miata?
Chase Bierenkoven
The problem here is a pretty simple one. Beorn actually fits in the car upright, even with the roof up. However, his big ol’ fat ass doesn’t quite fit in the seat, though he still thinks he can. He fit just fine as a puppy, but he’s not one anymore. I figured the best way to fix this was to give him some more real estate. That means doing one of two things: pulling out the passenger seat or extending it. Seeing as I do have a few friends (somehow), I opted to keep the passenger seat.
I figured I could extend it, making the seat mostly flat and giving the dog somewhere to put his front legs and torso when lying down. Otherwise, he’s liable to try to lie across the console. Not ideal for shifting gears.
How I Made My Mazda’s Wooden Seat Extension For Pets
Chase Bierenkoven
Chase Bierenkoven
The idea’s pretty simple. First, I measured the height of the seat’s leading edge closest to the dash, then picked out some plywood and measured its thickness, subtracting the two to give me the length of the legs I’d need. Here’s the best part: I did all this for free. Home Depot locations will let you scavenge some scrap wood, and as I only needed about eight inches of wood, they were happy to let me have at some 2×4 scraps, which I also had cut to size.
For the plywood base, I got lucky, having found a piece that just needed some trimming up at my dad’s. We used his sawhorse, saws, and power sander to speed things up, but I could’ve probably done all this with a cheap hand saw and some sandpaper. Admittedly, I overbuilt the thing. With the 2x4s mocked up, I was able to stand on the extension. It held 165 pounds and could easily hold the dog. Finally, I attached the legs with some huge 3-inch wood screws and a few rounds with a nail gun. I could’ve upholstered it, but I had a spare blanket lying around.
Chase Bierenkoven
With the blanket and the extension in, there’s just enough room for some shorter journeys. My only concern is the front airbag location, so I turn it off, which Mazda lets you control manually with the ignition key in the center console. All told, I think I might have spent $80 on the supplies and tools had I done it all from scratch, but I was able to get it done for $Free.99.
Chase Bierenkoven
About the author
Chase Bierenkoven
Senior Editor, Autoblog