Bob CollinsThe case of the Duluth man who drove his motorized La Z Boy drunk is getting plenty of attention today. Let’s face it: Most of the buzz — no pun intended — is because he slapped a motor on some furniture.
He’s not the first Minnesotan to do this.
A couple of other Minnesotans gained some fame in aviation circles years ago for a motorized couch. It was profiled in a 2006 article:
The couch is powered by a six-horsepower Tecumseh engine. Mounted on a custom steel frame, it runs up to 45 mph. A motorcycle throttle and brake lever control the speed; the same bar moves up and down to control the turns. Just like a 747 tiller, I’m told.
It has off-road tires, replaced after breaking the originals from too-fast cornering, and they’ve been driving the heck out of it.
Clay Adams owns it. Clay is better known as owner of a gorgeous Travel Aire in the American Barnstormers Tour. Clay lent the couch to his friend, Stein Bruch, president of SteinAir, an avionics dealer and instrument panel manufacturer near Minneapolis.
Besides being the proud owner of the Travel Aire and the sofa, he also owns a motorized Lazy Boy, and a Weedwacker Margarita Maker, said Bruch. “Plus a whole lot of other crazy stuff,” he added.
Looking like something out of a cartoon, the davenport gets a lot of attention as it motors through the grass. People smile and wave.
I am trying to get an update status on the couch today. I’d heard it met an untimely demise when it crashed into the side of a hangar. The driver was sober at the time.
Want to build a motorized couch? Here’s how. Inspiration can be found here.
