Today was glorious - 81 and sunny. Definitely a top down day.

The store we buy our pet food at had an anniversary celebration last weekend and had some prize drawings and we won a really nice dog bed and a rotating laser beam cat toy!

We headed down with the MINI to pick our prizes up and it got me thinking....how heavy does something need to be to not fly out of the back seats? We didn't know how big this dog bed would be, or if it would fit in the boot (turns out it did), but I was wondering if anyone has done research on things like this.

I would have attempted to belt it in if we were force to place it in the backseat (or put the top up for the drive home ) but what about things like a clothing filled duffle bag or luggage? Do those stay put?

Does anyone have stories of things that have flown out of their back seats, or stories of things that stayed put?

 

I put my wife in the back seat once with the top down. Long story short - she was still there when I got home.

 

^^LOL
I have had dogs & kids in the back seat...non of them have flown out...yet.
Everytime I drop my daughter off at daycare, I put all her toys in the boot before heading to work just incase.

Back on subject...I have no idea how heavy something needs to be to stay in the car with the top down...lightest things in the boot & if in doubt...belt it down.

Luckily I haven't had anything decide it didn't want to keep motoring with me.

 

Never lost anything out of the BACK seat of my cabrio. Lost a pair of glasses that I had on top of the sun visor in the front.

Also once lost a piece of a sectional sofa out of the back of a pickup truck. So it's not only the weight you have to worry about, it's the shape of the object and if the wind can get up under it.

 

i have not lose anything yet...

 

Wind dynamics are a little different, but I've yet to lose anything out the back of our Jag convertible. Oh, I take that back - papers and such once in a while, you find people leave them everywhere and only when you're down the road a block farther than they are. We go grocery shopping and get lots of stuff and toss it in the back, though. No problems. Just keep an eye on it if it's sort of light or a shape that might take flight. Things tend to flutter a little before they take off.
The dog is the one thing that tries to take off - she likes to ride on top of the boot. Even with her seatbelt on she manages to get up there and scare everyone driving behind you.

 

I was thinking about that this morning, since I picked up a bunch of (folded flat) cardboard boxes at wallyworld for my wife. I have a cargo net made of shock-cord with plastic hooks all over it that I bought when I had a pick-up. I never thought about using it in my Mini until the 1st time I drove into Fontana on the Dragon with the top down and the car piled full. I was grabbing at stuff and swore the next year I'd be ready. The only problem is finding enough places to hook to. I'm looking for some kind of anchoring points that I could add that wouldn't be ugly.

 

Let me know if you figure something out.

Part of the reason I asked is because I love taking road trips, but I'm poor and more often than not, I need to tent camp. Luckily I enjoy camping, but I am a woman who likes her luxuries (coffee in the AM, a cushy sleeping spot, warmth, dry feet, showers), and that necessitates bringing stuff like sleeping pads, warm sleeping bag, extra clothing layers, dry shoes, coffee making stuff, toiletries, camp chair...etc. Plus clothes and jackets!

I didn't think about fitting camping gear in the boot when I bought the cabrio. I want to go this summer, but I know I'll need to use the back seats for storage.

Here is how my MCS looked last summer for one person (but I had stuff like extra food/water because I was in the middle of nowhere part of this trip). This was with the tent (seen in background) and sleeping gear already out of the car!:

 

At the last MOTD, I had all that AND a folding cot. It did have to go in first. I had stuff piled up about as high I could still see over and 2 bikes on a hitch-mount rack. The cargo net thing worked great, but I didn't like hooking it to the net bags on the back of the front seats. I don't think they are made for that.

 

Nice... nothing like wide open space!

I too like camping and don't necessarily think of it as poor. It's different to wake up to the sound of birds chirping, the rising sun... and sometimes waves crashing.

My latest weekend trip (Central Coast, California)



I'm thinking of taking my MCSc all the way up the California coast to Oregon and camping along the way. Driving with the top down along Big Sur, on the Golden Gate Bridge and through the Redwood Forest is something I'm very excited about.

The rear bench has plenty of space if you use lightweight, backpacking gear. Organize your stuff in compressor bags to make the best use of space. Be creative and use all the available space... ie. door pockets, glove box, cubby holes in the trunk and under the hood. The trunk can fit fold-away chairs, tents, hiking poles. Today's lightweight gear doesn't mean skimping on comfort and safety. Heck, if I can pack everything you mentioned (less the camp chairs and cooler) in a 90-liter backpack (40 lbs) for a 5-day backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada, you shouldn't have any problem with a car.

Samples of lightweight gear....

3.5 oz stove



4.5 oz lantern (excluding canister)



20 oz breathable, wind-resistant, water-proof jacket



2-person tent (pack size: 20" x 7" / pack weight: 4 lbs, 3 oz )



Outdoor gear can be expensive but you can get high quality stuff at a decent price by keeping an eye on seasonal clearances.

Happy trails...

 

Nice gear!

I do camp for the enjoyment of it, and in my book a $10 campsite is usually the way to go over a $80 hotel room. The 'campsite' I pictured above is really a cattle pasture in Montana. The good news was - it was free camping! The bad news was there was nothing to pee behind for a long ways. I was the only female after the first night and I hiked a long ways to find a secluded hill.

But I really am poor and I know the lighter the gear is, the more it costs!

 

Montana... one of those many locations on my list to see.

There's always excess inventory at the end of each Winter and Summer season. I also bought stuff (non clothing) off eBay from folks who thought they'd love the outdoors but learned they can't after the first trip. For example, the lantern, stove (pix) plus 2 Aluminum non-stick pots altogether as a set ($48) came from from a guy who had a very bad experience on his 1st backpacking trip. The most expensive piece of gear I've paid for is a 3-1/2 season, water-resistant Mountain Hardwear sleeping bag (0*F, down feather). Retail was $390; I got it for $185 + S/H.