Patio rug? No patio rug? And why?

[Ridgmar]

I show dogs and most of us use mats for the dig pens but also on front of the door to keep from tracking in grass or dirt.
If you want to try a fold up version rather than the larger ones - I prefer as they are easier to carry and take up less room- Bass Pro has them in the camping dept.
We use then all the time and hose off with cleanser sprayed on when back home

[Kayjulia]

I was staying long term in Texas and went to Home Depot and bought some indoor/outdoor carpet and used it because my site was gravel and dirt. I thought the rug would cut down on the dirt getting into the rig, this was an 8'x12' rug. Well it didn't work as well as planned and the pine needles and leaves from the trees got caught in it and i had to sweep it every day to keep it looking nice and as far as I could tell it didn't do much in keeping the dirt out of the rig-I still had to use a welcome mat and unless I took my shoes off dirt still got inside. So when I finally left I trashed the rug and kept the welcome mat and then I took out the rug in the rig and used vinyl inside which is a whole lot easier to keep clean with a big dog, rambunctious cat and messy me. Now when the dog lays on the floor it is no big deal and if I or the cat spill something no big whoop just wipe it up. Of course YMMV.

[dsbike]

We use 2 of the Lowes indoor/outdoor carpeting. One is 3x20 & the other is12x8 I lay the 3' on along the side of the RV so I can access the basement compartments and stay clean or shoeless if I just need to get something then go back inside. Sometimes we also use it as a sidewalk to the car.

[Pepper2]

Easy to walk around bare foot. We also have a dog, and she treats it like indoor carpet and won't "go" on it. Keeps the area urine free.

[menoble]

Originally Posted by Pepper2

Easy to walk around bare foot. We also have a dog, and she treats it like indoor carpet and won't "go" on it. Keeps the area urine free.

Got the lightweight recycled fiber type type, usually if it's gravel and dirt we'll throw it down, grass we don't. Except now the grass around here is so dry it's ready to burst into flames, so I put it down to catch stray sparks.

[Kayjulia]

Originally Posted by Dunner

I have a 1'x2' piece of expanded metal nailed to three 2x4s at the base of my steps for cleaning shoes. Some people make a box, with expanded metal on top of it.

How come I didn't think of that ?
Perfect solution I'm going to make one or have one made for me ...great idea!
Thanks

[Horizonchase]

Originally Posted by fiddleddd

WOW!!! I woke up this morning to all of these answers, which amazed me! This was my first post to iRV2, and if this is any indication of what the site offers, then I'm going to love it!

Your answers give great reasons for the pros and cons. It does seem to be a pretty subjective issue. I guess it's because our RV is new, but we are pretty extreme about keeping it clean. We've adopted a 'no shoes' in the RV policy so we don't track in dirt and debris. We've bought some clogs that are easy to slide on and off, and we wear them when we're around the campsite.

I guess the consensus is.....if it's good weather, they're nice to have, and if it rains it can be a pain when you're striking camp to leave. Maybe we'll compromise and buy a small-ish rug to give it a try....maybe a 5 x 9. We had been looking at the 20' long ones. Then we could only use it when we know the weather conditions are good.

We looked at the rugs at Camping World and didn't particularly like them.....there wasn't one that would look good with our particular RV, and that's important to me (not to my husband). :-) So as suggested above, we'll look at Target and Walmart and see what else we can find.

Thanks again for your generous responses!

You will get a lot of useful responses to your inquiries here as I have found out. It is a great place to come for information resources.
Being new to RVing my wife and I soon discoverd that we were tracking in a lot of dirt into our TT. So we went out and bought one of those small stowaway broom dustpan combos that are made for RV's. Then, like yourself, we thought that if we removed our shoes upon entering and put on some clogs we would eliminate any tracking in of dirt into out MH. Clogs are easy on/easy off which makes us more inclined to keep up that practice.
I don't think we will try the patio rug routine because of the hassle of drying, folding, stowing, etc., but that's just my opinion.

[Loozycat]

We have been camping in Texas State Parks for a month. If we did not have a mat "The Girls" would not be able to sit outside at all because of the grass burrs. Both have long coats and burrs are a big issue for them (and me). The mat allows them lazy time outside of the MH which they enjoy.
Grass burrs are not fun, but they are part of nature. We know that when we come to Texas. A mat work for us.

[wa8yxm]

Originally Posted by AFChap

We have a patio mat we bought about 7 years ago ...we've used it maybe 3 or 4 times ...some places don't want them used as they believe they damage grass, and we never felt a need to use a mat on concrete.

I have used mine more often than that but fully agree with you.

Smooth concrete, No mat
"Pebble Beach" type surface (That is pebbly usually a "built up" surface) Mat
Sand/Dirt/Rocky: Mat

Grass: no mat, it does damage the grass in my opinion.

[JimM68]

Did i answer this yet?

I have 2. I uswd them last uyear, when it rained.
I haven't used them this year, it hasn't rained since it snowed...

[Larry Young]

I often use and outside rug like many others it depends on the lenght of the stay what type of surface its covering etc. Many site are dirt or gravel and the rug makes for a much nicer sitting area, also we have dogs and they seem to prefer laying on the mat as opposed to bare ground or gravel. Also it does help keep dirt out of the coach.

[pawnotes]

Try the dog show sites like petedge.com or cherrybrook.com JBPets Drs Foster and Smith....etc. They are called x-pen mats. Sometimes less expensive and nicer than the RV store stuff. Also, more selection as far as colors, size and patterns. We use them in the wire exercise pens to keep the white paws nice and clean for the show ring Works too!

We buy construction size plastic bags at HD or Lowes to store in transit. Hose them down when we get home, dry and store in a clean, dry bag. Works just fine!

And you are sooo right. The folks on this site are awesome. They just answered a newbie question for me and the input was wonderful! Thanks again IRV2 members

pawnotes aka Dave n Carla
The English Springer Spaniels "Kelly" and "Jack"
00 Monaco Diplomat 38A

[Wolfpack Fan]

How interesting and cool that so many have chimed in about something as simple as a mat. Love it!!!!

[Kathryn]

Originally Posted by danf7

I have one and use it when needed. If I am camping with a concrete patio then no not needed. If it's dirt then yes help keeps the dirt out of the rig. If it's going to rain I might put it away the night before we leave. As for storage, I made a shelf out of wire just above my propane tank. If it goes away wet it will dry there with no problem.
Dan

GREAT suggestion! Thx!

Kathryn