Under the Awning - Outdoor Living

[dnrtheil]

Please explain to my why there is a need to put a large rug on the ground/dirt. I see it as just something else to clean and pack away, keep the rug on the shelf and buy more gasoline. Besides, your outside sitting in a chair, the chair is keeping you off the ground, are you afraid your chair might get dirty! Also, lights attract bugs, fire pits are for cooking, why bring a grill. Seems a lot of people pack too much stuff. Lower weight = better mpg. Happy camping.

Derek

[Isadora]

I put a rug on the ground outside the trailer to help keep the dirt from being tracked into the trailer, seems like enough dirt gets in there without inviting more. It is a small (about 5x5) piece of outdoor carpet, folds up nicely and travels under the dinette in the trailer out of the way until we stop. A fire pit is great for roasting marshmallows and hot dogs on sticks, and for ambiance, but if I want to cook fish or a steak, I want my grill. Too hard to bend over to cook those things on a fire pit, at least for my back any more. I like to stand up and cook.

[TBRich]

We love our little grey rug (6x9, made from recycled plastic bottles—very light) ...feels good under our bare feet, and the pups like to roll around on it (after they roll around in the dirt, of course!), and cuts down on dirt in the AS... Like lights, too...the ambiance is worth it, plus it keeps us from walking into things in the dark... We cook on both the grill and the fire pit, depending one what we're cooking... It's OK if you don't want to go to the trouble—stop on by and sit for a spell...we'll share! (We brought an extra chair for ya, too!)

[BillTex]

Originally Posted by jacarape

I wish I could help and I'm looking for a great thread, but I have a question, where do you stow the turf? Man, I'm stuffed for room in a 25 footer. Thanks in advance-michael

No man...get the new breathable kind. Folds up to the size of the Sunday paper.

Bill

[mandolindave]

All of my camping friends use the ( plastic? nylon ? ) RV mats. Water
goes right thru them. They dry in minutes. I have never HAD to wash mine. But it was real easy to wash when I do. They are easy to fold up. They don't weigh much. They don't bunch up. I have never had a smell or mold issue. Mine has a dark green pattern on one side and a light colored pattern on the other side.
BTW, I never eat or cook inside my trailer.

[sherrylynne]

I keep the "turf" (for me it is a fold up rug) in the truck... no room in the AS for it.

[Chuck]

Originally Posted by BillTex

No man...get the new breathable kind. Folds up to the size of the Sunday paper.

Bill

Link, please.

[rettoc625]

We create a fenced in yard under the awning for the goldens. My DH uses lengths of rebar to create posts that we then attach expens to with tiny cable cuffs. One of the expens has a latching gate door for easy egress. We also put down a light weight woven plastic rv mat, it keeps the dirt and mud out of the camper and the dogs have a clean surface to lay on. Since they do get on the beds it helps us all stay clean.

We strategicly place coolers, tote boxes, chairs, etc, in front of the trailer to reduce the likelihood of an under belly canine escape. So far it has worked perfectly. The dogs are content to watch the world go by from their fenced in yard. The space is plenty big for the two goldens, two chairs or lafumas, a table with grill.

Mary

[TankerIP]

Originally Posted by jacarape

......... but I have a question, where do you stow the turf? Man, I'm stuffed for room in a 25 footer. Thanks in advance-michael

Hi Jacarape


We tow with a Dodge 2500 truck with a camper cover. There's lots of room and weight allowance in the back of the truck. That's were we carry all our stuff. Once unloaded there's room in the back of the truck for other people (family) to sleep. Our 22', like other small trailers, has very little weight allowance. They are almost at gross weight from the factory.

[Excella3287]

ARE YOU KIDDING, first the rug.........we have white carpet and do not want to track in dirt. second lights add evening atmosphere and the tiki torches keep the bugs away...third fire pit.........who doesnt want to sit around a fire in the evening........are you sure you camp or just sit inside and watch the world go by?

[maxandgeorgia]

Sherrylynne, welcome to the forum! Your second post Hope to see you on the road somewhere sometime...~G

[maxandgeorgia]

Doesn't this thread show the diversity of this group...from carpets outdoors to green grass underfoot, from fish on the gas grill to steaks on the fire pit grill, from lights strung around the awnings for ambiance to the starshine of constellations overhead. You know what, we love it all and find ourselves camping one way or the other whenever we're on the road, depending on the time and destination of our travels, whether we're in a "luxury" site or boondocking. We hope we meet you 'round our campfires. ~G

[Minnie's Mate]

We may be the most illuminated one on the airforums!


What else would you expect on my awning?


We use some awning clips we got at Camping World. One end is clipped to the awning with the string of lights threaded through the clips and the hook from the large globes are hooked in the loop at the other end. To speed the set-up, we carefully measure the location for each of the large globe lights and then traced around the clip with a Sharpie pen. This way we just clip them on in the black square on the awning and they are perfectly spaced.


We even have the Mickey Mouse icon awning lights for each major holiday. Here are the ones we have for Halloween. We also have them in Christmas colors and Easter Pastels. I'm looking for a solid red sting for Valentine's Day, but haven't found them yet.

[Minnie's Mate]

Oh, we also put out a couple of zero gravity chairs and a small table between them. We carry a set of folding camp chairs for when we have company. If we are going to be somewhere more than a weekend, we will set up a 10X10 free-standing awning with the picnic table under it. We carry two of the gray AstroTurf rugs for full set up with the free-standing awning adjacent to the trailer awning. On this trip we didn't take time to set up everything, but it give a little of the idea, albeit a cluttered one.