Patio Mats

[dimedance]

While camping last weekend I saw a bunch of sites that had black cloth under their patio mats. One of them told me it was landscape cloth, but I have been to Lowe's and Home Depot and can't find anything that looks wlike what they were using. Does anyone know exactly what it is?

[BichonLover]

Landscape cloth is typically used in landscaping as a weed barrier. If you search for "landscape cloth" in a site like Amazon, you'll see rolls of it for sale. Don't know why people had it under a patio mat, though, unless they were trying to avoid direct contact between their mat and the ground. Or maybe used as an added "cushion"? ..... don't know.

[JadedDancer]

It actually doesn't sound like a bad idea if one is on a site that isn't all grass or a concrete pad. Keeps the mat cleaner.

But also sounds like one more thing to pack up. I guess I'll pass on trying it. LOL

[GG1]

FYI most newer campgrounds with grass on the site do not want you to use solid mats but only let you use breatheable or mesh mats that allow the moisture to filter to the ground the solid mats will kill the grass.

[bertnspike]

That sounds like a pretty dumb thing to do to me.... landscape fabric is meant to block weed growth, it's not "carpet padding". Keeping the mat clean? Come on! Why are they outdoors at all if it's dirty out there? Do they make you take your shoes off BEFORE you step on the doormat? Plus, I could see that making more work for the campground owners, as it could very well damage any turf that is there. A big waste of money, time, and STORAGE SPACE!

I bought dark green HD shade cloth for my patio mat. Trimmed to size and "bound" with leopard print duct tape, it makes a great mat that doesn't harm the ground underneath and allows the sand & soil to fall through. I use a regular doormat and a boot brush at the door. The shade cloth mat is very light and easily rolled, folded, and stored. It's also easy to clean and it dries quickly.

[Tha_Rooster]

Remember the 11th commandment thou shall not be tacky. I have matching chairs and rug and you will remove shoes before entering. If they ground is muddy I'll put a tarp under the rug.

[bertnspike]

My mat is NOT tacky looking, TYVM, nor do I hang banners or flags or dopey signs proclaiming my tackiness.

[JadedDancer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertnspike That sounds like a pretty dumb thing to do to me.... landscape fabric is meant to block weed growth, it's not "carpet padding". Keeping the mat clean? Come on! Why are they outdoors at all if it's dirty out there? Do they make you take your shoes off BEFORE you step on the doormat? Plus, I could see that making more work for the campground owners, as it could very well damage any turf that is there. A big waste of money, time, and STORAGE SPACE! I bought dark green HD shade cloth for my patio mat. Trimmed to size and "bound" with leopard print duct tape, it makes a great mat that doesn't harm the ground underneath and allows the sand & soil to fall through. I use a regular doormat and a boot brush at the door. The shade cloth mat is very light and easily rolled, folded, and stored. It's also easy to clean and it dries quickly. .

I have no shame in my game in admitting that the area right in front of my TT i'd prefer not to track dirt into my camper. I don't feel it makes me love the outdoors more to have to sweep the inside of my rig five times as much.

If there is nothing but dirt on the site, what is the issue with not wanting to track it in? If we go the route of saying BUT YOU NEED TO ROUGH it if you want to be a REAL camper, then why are we not in tents?

We all camp in RV's. Lectures about someone using mats to keep dirt out of their RV seems a bit silly. And the second half of your post reveals that you are as anal about dirt in your TT as anyone else. Who cares if that person is rolling up something else. It's their storage.

And if the intent of that cloth is to kill weeds, methinks the staff at my CG wouldn't turn their nose up at less weed eating.

[bertnspike]

Sorry, I should have added: IMHO. You're right. I too do not want to track dirt into my RV and I think my way works well too. My personal feeling is weed cloth is overkill, but that's just me. I apologize.

[JadedDancer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertnspike Sorry, I should have added: IMHO. You're right. I too do not want to track dirt into my RV and I think my way works well too. My personal feeling is weed cloth is overkill, but that's just me. I apologize.

No worries. I wasn't sure what your rant meant. I just thought I needed to call you out on the 'too clean' camping post. lol Since we all basically are in RV's. We all have a picky bone somewhere, or we'd still be in tents.

Weed cloth might very well be overkill, i know I haven't gone that route yet. lol

[Diplomat Don]

To each his own......Some people are super clean/careful with their stuff. My sister sewed up some cloth covers to put on the footrest of her front passenger seat. To me it looked terrible, but she wanted to protect the foot rest. Some still cover their furniture with a solid cover to make it last longer, but you can't enjoy the look of the furniture.

I take VERY GOOD care of my stuff, but I also believe that if you have a piece of furniture, I would rather display it until it wears out and then replace it, rather than hide it. Just my preference.

My wife always wants me to put out our mat, but is nowhere to be found when its time to clean and store it away. I refuse to put it out in inclement weather and we argue over this. She still can't understand what happens to a WET mat in a bag, in a cave (storage bay). Personally, I think adding another mat under the first mat is just more work. Camping is suppose to be about making life easy.

The best one yet.....We had some friends that we camped with for years. Their parents had a Class C they bought new. The mother removed the shower curtain so that it wouldn't get ruined and stored it away. FOr about 15 years they showered VERY CAREFULLY so nothing would get wet. When they finally sold the coach, she was very proud of the new shower curtain even though everything else was worn out!

[steelheadbluesman]

That's a great illustration, Don. I use my stuff, but I try to keep it nice. I must add to this conversation that it is always a small disappointment to me when I pull into a site and find a large square of dead grass where my front door will be.

I used those big mats for a few years, but gave them up many years ago. So, I just put down a couple of old throw rugs around my steps. I can shake them out and store easily, and they are washable. And these lightweight rugs don't screw up the site for whoever is coming next. Also, a lot of campgrounds and parks work pretty hard to provide that nice grass at your door. Just my 2 cents.

[JadedDancer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diplomat Don . Camping is suppose to be about making life easy.

Seriously? LOL If I wanted easy, I sure wouldn't be camping, I'd stay in a hotel.

Camping is not the easiest route for vacationing, but one I enjoy the most.

Way more set up and take down when you camp vs hotel it, but many advantages outweight. But easy? NAH. lol

[codgerbill]

One should check with the campground either when making reservations or checking in with regards to patio mats. We have stayed at a few campgrounds where the "rules" state they do not allow patio mats. These places are usually places that have really nice grass and not that gravel and crab grass stuff.