Laying out the welcome mat

I have seen that a number of folks roll out the welcome mat/carpet behind their CI. Lots of variety of styles in the photos but for those who do this can you answer a couple of questions?

What are you using? How and where do you store it while traveling?

 

We use a Cgear mat/rug … 10x10 folds to 22x16x5-1/2http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/product/cgear-sand-free-mat/11313 Not sure where it will end up for traveling, fits almost everywhere. Probably keep it with the tent(s) which are being moved from the TV to the galley, since the Dometic will now have a spot in the Flex.

 

We use an outdoor mat. Got it at QVC but I've see them all over.
We have 2 sizes - 8 X 11 and 6 X 9. They fold up to about 1 X 3. We store it in a Big Foot bag. The bag is great. If the rug is wet, not a problem. If we had a wet tent, it would fit in the bag, too.

http://www.bigfootbag.com/

 

I use an RV mat. Most RV dealers carry them and they probably come in a few different sizes. The benefit of these mats is they offer good drainage during wet weather.

If I am parking on top of grass cover or gravel, I usually back the trailer over top of the mat just far enough so that I can enter/exit the cabin and have the mat at my feet. This serves two purposes: it prevents the RV mat from growing legs and it is also great for wet ground conditions. This arrangement gives me about 3 feet of mat area behind the galley.

Most RV mats either fold flat or can be rolled and stored in a canvas bag (much like the bags for lawn chairs). I usually keep mine in the cabin so that it is packed and ready to go for the next trip, but it often ends up in the SUV after I have been at a campground.

Kelly

 

We have a very large one made of woven plastic. It is comprised of 3 sections joined together that fold on top of one another, Then it accordion folds into a rectangle, about 1'x 3'. I don't know what store it came from or the brand, as it was a birthday gift for me from several of our close teardrop friends, all of whom will be at the Camp-Outt.

I purchased a nylon duffel bag that fits it quite nicely & it is stored in the back of the car. Don't use it all the time - more depending on the ground conditions, if there will be rain or if we will be staying in one spot for several days.

It is handy to have, especially if you like walking barefoot (which I do!)

 

We also have a plastic woven RV mat. I found it on amazon.com. It came with a bag, so sand/rock/gravel/grass doesn't travel while we do. I either keep it in my roof top box or on the bed (I am not a minimalist with keeping the bed clear...I have a few things that always travel on the bed). I think mine is 6x9, and definitely keeps things a bit cleaner. If we are on a paved spot, I tend not to use it though (or if we are making an overnight stop...if I am staying a few days, it comes out).

 

Benn, I just checked out the Big Foot site and it looks like a perfect solution for those wet breaking camp days. BTW, did you use it when you left Lake Griffin!

Also I thought the exchange Meribeth and Carol had regarding the food saver was worth passing along to others on the forum:

"Meribeth's suggestion of using the food saver for the refrigerator was a great idea. I hadn't used mine in a long time because I didn't think it was working correctly but found out it was fine. So I packed our steAks, etc for the trip. I always keep some French baquettes in the freezer because we dont eat much bread these days and if we are in the mood I can take those out and they are great. So I thought I'll put those in a food saver bag too. Well as you might guess they turned out like pancakes. It was really funny. Well instead of throwing them out I cut open the bag and in about two hours they were back to normal shape and tasted fine. So I went and bought some more and sealed them up. Saves a lot of space. Carol"

Then this reply from Meribeth: Carol,

Once I put shredded cheese in the food saver. It didn't bounce back like your bread. I had to re-shred it!

Meribeth

Mike

 

Mike,
Benn loves the Big Foot. He keeps trying to buy a second one but I keep stopping him. We got the large bag. It's big enough to hold the rug and the northern breeze if we have really rainy weather.

We didn't put the rug down at Lake Griffin. The bugs were so bad we weren't outside much. But we did need the bag today when we packed up. We were on the Swanee River. The rug is wet and sandy. It might get cleaned tomorrow!

Meribeth