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**azflycaster** · 02-02-2006, 12:11 AM

Now that I have an patio awning on my Trade Wind, I need to get a mat for the ground under it. With my SOB popup we had a piece of Home Depot indoor / outdoor astro turf looking carpet. It worked, but we were not happy with the fact that it was always shedding and needed to be trimmed off at the ends. I looked at the mats at CW, but most of the reviews were negative. The owners said they faded and fell apart the first season. ZipDee sent me a new customer package the other day and they had an ad for their mat. It looks nice and is made from PVC. Has anyone bought the ZipDee mat? What do you use for a mat?

FiveGreers · 02-02-2006, 06:00 AM

Our local Walmart has plastic weave mats that are great. We've used one with our pop up-easy to sweep off, water runs right through them. I'll continue to use it with our A/S. Ours is quite large, which is combersome. I'd recommend a smaller one-say 6x9-I think ours is 9x12. Many people have gone to an animal cataglog that uses these mats for dog kennels...here's a link:
http://www.dog-training.com/groundmat.htm

myoung · 02-02-2006, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FiveGreers

Many people have gone to an animal cataglog that uses these mats for dog kennels...here's a link:
http://www.dog-training.com/groundmat.htm

Interesting. I certainly like the price and sizes, but not the floral pattern. The picture showing an RV has a check pattern, which still doesn't move me, but might there be other patterns or just a solid color?

myboyburt · 02-02-2006, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myoung

Interesting. I certainly like the price and sizes, but not the floral pattern. The picture showing an RV has a check pattern, which still doesn't move me, but might there be other patterns or just a solid color?

Check out: http://rvawningmats.com

I also am not in love with floral mats, a little too girlie for me. This company has a good selection, including simple designs or solid colors.

Here's what I purchased, still a bit girlie, but my husband felt the solid color ones were not interesting enough:

smily · 02-02-2006, 08:28 AM

I have had several mats and I have found that there is no better than this one. It is pricey but well worth the bucks.

Lightweight, durable and prevents sand and other stuff from getting into you RV.
I have recommended this to many others and they all agree it is the best rug they have owned.

See it here.

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...12842&src=SRQB

cammur · 02-02-2006, 04:26 PM

ZipDee sent me a sample of their mat material - it looks identicaly to that no-skid stuff you can buy to put on the bottom of shelves. I think they said it is some form of encapsulated sisal, and is being discontinued by their vendor. That is why you can get 20-25% discounts but are limited to blue, and only certain sizes.

Can't tell you how it works out - I went with the CW stuff on sale, but haven't tried even it yet.

**jcanavera** · 02-02-2006, 04:31 PM

Here is what I am using. It's on its 4 year and is going strong.

http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...12860&tab=spec

Jack

02-02-2006, 04:57 PM

Jack, that looks like a nice mat. Did you get the 6x15 0r 8x20? Can it be trimmed without the edges unraveling?

SilverRanger · 02-02-2006, 05:41 PM

Admittedly, I wasn't trying to make a fashion statement, but I bought a 6' X 9' piece of grey indoor/outdoor carpet from Lowe's on sale for about $8. It's absolutely perfect for what I wanted to accomplish, which was... something to cover the ground, in a solid color that would compliment my awning, light in weight (approx. 5 pounds), wouldn't take up too much space, that would dry quickly if it got wet, and something that would help keep dirt out of the AS. It worked so well for me, I went back and bought two more. One as a spare, and the other I cut to shape for the bed of my TV, and used the remainder to line the bottom of the rear bumper storage compartment. I have used and abused it for over six months, and it's still looking like new.

FiveGreers · 02-02-2006, 07:34 PM

There are also many mats on ebay. The size we first had, a 9x12, was too big and cumbersome to "fold" up, but I LOVE the mat itself. Ended up with another one, and it's more of a square-still too big, but all tan-no flowers. What I use now, aside from the big square one, is a "personal" mat I picked up at Wally World that rolls up and it's geared towards using it as a "towel" at the beach. It's small, good for quick trips. The bigger one will be used on longer trips. Personal Preference-what a great thing-

. I did see one somewhere that was black and white checked-pretty cool for either the Nascar fan or the VAC member-as it looks really retro!

**jcanavera** · 02-02-2006, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craftsman

Jack, that looks like a nice mat. Did you get the 6x15 0r 8x20? Can it be trimmed without the edges unraveling?

I'm pretty sure its the 8x20. It lays pretty much pole to pole under my awing. I haven't trimmed mine but the edges are bound. My feeling is that if you cut it, it will unravel. I fold it and carry it in a 30 gallon black plastic bag. I bought it on sale while visiting Camping World when we were staying in Nashville.

Jack

Cedars · 02-02-2006, 08:54 PM

Other folks at Manatee Hammock county park in Titusville, Fl, sent us to the local hardware store to buy something called silt guard, and two rolls of duct tape. We bound the edges of the black woven plastic with the tape on both sides. This is the stuff used by highway departments to keep silt under control. Cheap at a dollar a running foot, I think wither ix or eight foot wide. Lets water through to drain away, but keeps sand locked under! Not as fancy as some but sure effective! Very light weight and easy to roll.

Elizabeth in Iowa

Fenghuang · 02-12-2007, 10:11 AM

In San Diego, I found the light weight, tri-fold, 9'x12' woven mats, $24.99 each with other sizes available, at Vien Dong, a Vietnamese market. There are several Vien Dongs in town.

Larry

safari57 · 02-12-2007, 10:27 AM

I think it was Mel who had done a nice polish on their trailer and not yet had their awning installed and left a burn mark on their awning mat. I can't remember which type she had but just something to consider if you leave your trailer for any length of time and roll the awning up (in case of high winds or whatever while you are away, which is something we do) and the sun is out reflecting on your shiny trailer.

We have been using Home Despot Astro turf for several years and are pretty tired of it. It traps dirt and sand, is slow to dry if we have to depart in nasty wet weather, and isn't that easy to store if it's wet. We currently place it between the propane tanks and the front of the trailer but if it's wet and dirty it makes a mess there so are looking for the right kind of mat as well.

Barry

AZstreamin · 02-12-2007, 11:03 AM

Richard,
below is a picture of our outdoor rug...and the dog...
I purchased three rugs from Home Depot for about $20 each they hold up well and run the entire length of the trailer. The rugs are thin enough that when it rains or if you have heavy morning dew it does not take a long time to dry.

rickandsandi · 02-12-2007, 11:14 AM

We "borrowed" on of my parents oriental rugs while house-sitting!

InsideOut · 02-12-2007, 11:19 AM

We have used the same Presto-Fit Mat from Camping World that Jack linked to. We have the light teal/seafoam green color (not the astro-turf green) and really like it.

The only problem we have is our own doing...if your trailer is polished, your rug will melt by the hot-spot reflections. I know this happens with the nylon woven mats too and the "daisey" door mats - we had one. I posted a picture awhile back...in this thread.

So, I'm still looking for a better "no-melt" solution ~

Shari

AZstreamin · 02-12-2007, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickandsandi

We "borrowed" on of my parents oriental rugs while house-sitting!

That's a nice rug......

That's a Persian rug. It's from Persia
Hold up! Hey who's been putting out their Kools on my floor?
Who has been putting out their Kools on my floor?

Eddie Murphy...Trading Places..

GStephens · 02-12-2007, 11:36 AM

You will love the zip dee mats. We bought the 8 x 20'. It is EXTREMELY light weight. It doesn't get wet. Moisture goes right through. It doesn't hold dirt. Just shake it right off. Most dirt falls through. The best thing is that it folds to nothing making it easy to store and carry. We carry ours in the truck. At a campsite, you can deploy it as a full 8' wide rug, or you can fold it over and use it as a 4' rug. When folded, it lays flat on the folded edge. In some sites utilizing cement pads, there isn't room to put out a full 8' wide rug, but the 4' configuration works wonderfully. As another poster wrote, it is of the same material as that sold for keeping items from sliding around in cabinets. We've had ours for almost three years and have used it extensively for months at a time. It is durable. No problems at all so far and the blue matches the trim on the Airstream perfectly and the color of the awning.
GStephens

Al - K4GLU · 02-12-2007, 01:26 PM

I got one of the In the Shade ground cover mats and it is extremely lightweight, folds up very small and dirt and rain goes right though it. Very impressive for the money. They are made by Susan Littke of Rocky Mount, NC. She mainly makes mats, sunshades, step covers etc for Casita trailers but the ground mats can be used by anyone. She made custom step covers and a ground mat for my Airstream and they are very professional. You can contact her at Littke@hotmail.com for more information and pictures.