Outdoor Room

[stephen99]

Never had a trailer so we are unfamiliar with the routine. I've noticed most people have some kind of rug that they put in the area that would be under the awning to serve as a clean floor for their outdoor room. Makes sense. Cleaner than sitting on dirt but it begs the question, what do you do with the rug while in transit? Roll it up and just put it on the floor of the trailer? How do you keep the bottom of the rug clean so it doesn't funkify the inside of the trailer?

[Jim Bennett]

Ours is a 12x7' Patty O'Mat. Most of these awning mats dry out real fast, as they breathe very well.

We folded ours up and put it in the access hatch under the bed in the 19. Not sure where we will put it in the 5.0TA. I like to keep anything to do with setting up the trailer on the trailer itself, so it is self contained. Plus, I do not like having much of anything ride on the floor inside, as it can be a pain when doing quick overnighters where you don't completely set up camp.

[JStelly]

We have a truck and the rug goes in the back of the truck. It also came with a storage bag so I can't comment on storage in the trailer.

As for cleaning. Sweep the top first. Fold the rug in half and sweep the bottom that now shows up. Keep folding in half and sweeping. This method will clean the bottom while keeping the top clean. (It's an old tent folding trick).

[stephen99]

Originally Posted by JStelly

We have a truck and the rug goes in the back of the truck. It also came with a storage bag so I can't comment on storage in the trailer.

As for cleaning. Sweep the top first. Fold the rug in half and sweep the bottom that now shows up. Keep folding in half and sweeping. This method will clean the bottom while keeping the top clean. (It's an old tent folding trick).

Excellent! Thanks.

[padlin]

Never thought of sweeping it as it was folded, will have to use that. Anyway, after folding it up we stuff it into the bag you can get for it. We just toss it either in the back of the truck or the floor of the trailer. Everything stays clean as long as it's in the bag. Use a 6x9 from https://www.rvawningmats.com/

[stephen99]

Originally Posted by padlin

Never thought of sweeping it as it was folded, will have to use that. Anyway, after folding it up we stuff it into the bag you can get for it. We just toss it either in the back of the truck or the floor of the trailer. Everything stays clean as long as it's in the bag. Use a 6x9 from https://www.rvawningmats.com/

Thanks for the link.

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by padlin

Never thought of sweeping it as it was folded, will have to use that. Anyway, after folding it up we stuff it into the bag you can get for it. We just toss it either in the back of the truck or the floor of the trailer. Everything stays clean as long as it's in the bag. Use a 6x9 from https://www.rvawningmats.com/

30% discount on their Facebook page.........

[CADreamin]

For those that have the Patty O'Mat or the RVAwning mat, are these mats lights and fairly flexible? Our daughters bought us a mat for our trailer and, while we appreciate their thoughtfulness, the mat is heavy, takes two of us to roll it up and must be stored in the back of our truck. Thus, we're looking for something a little less bulky and easier to handle.

[Sandra L]

I got some of varying sizes at IKEA. Depending on where I'm going, the destination dictates the size(s) I use. They are usually seasonal and reasonable (100% polysomething) . I fold, then roll them up and put them in plastic bags (garbage), and have them in my outdoor wastebasket which is tall and bungeed to the table leg in the small dinette area. I either sweep them first or just wrap them as the case may be.
Walmart usually has some in their rv section too , for less than Camping World.
I just looked at IKEA's website and did not see anything yet for this year.
I also have a final shoe cleaning spot: a small doormat that sits on the outdoor mat to keep the outside outside as much as possible.

[gbaglo]

Whatever you do, don't buy indoor/outdoor fake grass with the rubber backing. My buddy did and after a rain storm it took two of us to haul it up onto the picnic table so it would drain. It weighed a ton and took forever to dry.

I picked up this mat at Osoyoos Home Hardware for about $50. It has no backing so it doesn't trap dirt or moisture and it weighs little. We just each take an end and give it a shake.

I like it because it matches the dirt.

[santacruzer]

Ours is a woven polypropolene mat that folds fairly flat. It goes into a bag and sits right on top of the batteries in the front storage box.

[Fox hunt]

i use one of those plastic woven ones not heavy -I'm weak- i have a large one and a smaller one the large one has to travel in the trailer so if im taking trips with frequent stops / over nights i use the small one. cheep, light , easy to clean

[float5]

Originally Posted by stephen99

Never had a trailer so we are unfamiliar with the routine. I've noticed most people have some kind of rug that they put in the area that would be under the awning to serve as a clean floor for their outdoor room. Makes sense. Cleaner than sitting on dirt but it begs the question, what do you do with the rug while in transit? Roll it up and just put it on the floor of the trailer? How do you keep the bottom of the rug clean so it doesn't funkify the inside of the trailer?

The ones I referred to that we have are extremely light and small (about 5' x 6 1/2') and inexpensive (two with s&h about US$40) from etrailer and they fold up into next to nothing. So we each have our own to position where we want. Sweep as needed. There are at least three of them on their website, the ones with straps for carrying, however, you are not likely to want that design since outdoor mats come in so many designs. Adventurerv now has some (others) on sale. We also did not want big heavy dirt collectors and these meet that. I am sure that many other people would prefer one big one and you may, too. You could fit two chairs on one of ours though.

[padlin]

Originally Posted by CADreamin

For those that have the Patty O'Mat or the RVAwning mat, are these mats lights and fairly flexible? Our daughters bought us a mat for our trailer and, while we appreciate their thoughtfulness, the mat is heavy, takes two of us to roll it up and must be stored in the back of our truck. Thus, we're looking for something a little less bulky and easier to handle.

Light, folds back to the original size as opposed to rolling it up. Still in good shape, maybe a couple stretch marks where chair legs have left permanent marks, at 10 years old I won't complain. As I mentioned, we got the optional carry bag.

[CADreamin]

Thanks all. I can see a new mat in our future ...

[Jim Bennett]

As we pretty much only boondock, we really, really like having a mat the full size of the awning. It is an easy to clean buffer for dirt, and makes a great place to stay out of the rain, with the water running right through it, instead of making muck.

For us it is ideal, albeit a bit large, though stowed folded, it does not take up much room and allows other stuff to be stacked on till of it.

Or first Patty O'Mat, now being regularly used by my brother, is at least 15 years and still in great shape.

I have some friends who are happy with smaller ones though.

[CADreamin]

You bring up a very good point Jim. The mat/rug we currently have is so thickly woven that water takes a long time to seep through. A thinner mat with a looser weave would be much better in inclement weather.