Keeping out the foot / shoe dirt....

[Longbeard87]

Please share any tips / advice for keeping from tracking in so much dirt into the camper. Some of our campsites are less than foot friendly. Just wondering if others are leaving shoes outside, laying down carpets, ???? Seems I regularly need to duck inside to grab something else. I have gotten better about sitting down inside, trying to determine what I need and putting it all near the door so I can just reach in.... ;-) Thanks for any pointers

 

[Bosque Bill]

I use a large door mat outside - the kind with a "rubber" backing and carpet like top. If it's wet and/or muddy I keep an old towel on the floor just inside the door - this allows me to step inside and remove my shoes/boots. Later I can shake out or wash the towel.

 

[DanoT]

I have a couple of rubber mats inside the camper that have a perforated pattern with each "perforation" being the size of a quarter. Dirt and melted snow in winter accumulate in the perforation holes , while my feet remain clean and dry on the ridges between the holes, above the debris and/or melted snow. Every day or two or at the end of a trip I remove the mats and clean the floor.

 

[MarkBC]

I have a doormat on my steps. I find sand and dirt on it, so I guess it's keeping some of it out of my camper.

 

[hoyden]

I keep a 'door mat' size of astro turf snugged between my camper and truck, then put it down at my steps when I stop. It helps a ton.

 

[hoyden]

Oh, also, I keep a little dustpan and brush inside the camper and sweep it out when I'm traveling.
When I'm home, I Dustbuster it (yes, that's both a verb and a noun), "mop" the floor with a sponge, then dry it with a microfiber cloth. Gets the little bits of grit out.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

A piece of that "office" style mat ( the kind you see at Costco) on the floor and a small dust pan/brush.
Years ago I installed some "laminate"wood grain flooring over the original "white"
floor.Shows less dirt and IMO looks100% nicer.
Frank

 

[PackRat]

I went with some of that carpeting for industrial usage, the low nap darker grey stuff we used to use on drum and keyboard risers back in The Day. I cut a section for the AK floor which I can pull out and beat against a tree or sweep down when I was traveling and had enough crud on it. It is so cheap you can afford to toss it at the end of the season if you wish. Its warmer than the linoleum flooring also!

I also had a rubber-backed front door mat to put on the ground which could be hosed off if the campsite had a hose bib and would dry in the sun by the end of the day if laid out in the sun on a rock or on the hood of the truck.

I once left some muddy tennis shoes on the tail gate overnight and the danged ground squirrels chewed off most of the laces by morning. They tried to hijack them but they were too heavy that's why I ruled out larger animals but they did end up several feet from the truck the next morning.

 

[klahanie]

We also use a poly fibre mat outside (like astro turf) and usually remove shoes on it. As above post our camper has a fitted carpet over the vinyl floor which can be lifted and shaken out if need be. We also carry a small dust pan and I think a 12v vacuum somewhere but never use either.

The real solution for us is a small inexpensive hard plastic "boot tray" placed inside the door. This we put our shoes on at night (again reason as PackRat) but the best part is the tray is easy to reposition further inside (even slide it with your feel on it) so if you want to grab something from the camper you can step on it without removing your shoe(s).

 

[craig333]

I have a piece of indoor outdoor carpet I shake out but, I've never really figured out how to keep the camper clean. Kind of like home, vacuuming etc, is just part of the maintenance routine.

 

[Durango1]

Sioux and I have just sorta given up and live with "less than sanitary" conditions on the floor. It IS "camping", after all. (About once a week I yank out the indoor-outdoor carpet and sweep it off.)

 

[Longbeard87]

Found a start........ was elk hunting all week, this helped alot. From Bed, Bath and Beyond, $15.00.

https://s7d9.scene7.com/is/image/BedBathandBeyond/67439644258481p

 

[iowahiker]

We do not get any dirt in our camper: we keep a brush on either the rear bumper or just inside the door. During dry weather, we take off our shoes outside the camper while sitting on our step at the camper door. Our last camper entry at night, we brush off our shoes and take them off just inside the door inside the camper. During wet weather, we brush off our shoes outside and then take them off just inside door. We have a series of floor mats covering the camper floor and the shoes stay on the first floor mat. The first mat near the door gets taken out and shook out when needed (also true for all the mats).

 

[2tallDA]

Polyfiber 5x5 mat outside with an astroturf 3x3 mat on top of that. More mats inside.
It works pretty well but dirt still gets in. I use the broom I store and just sweep everything daily.

 

[Lighthawk]

I keep a 'door mat' size of astro turf snugged between my camper and truck, then put it down at my steps when I stop. It helps a ton.

Same here. The same mat works well with our shower system too.

Another improvement to the sheet vinyl floor is to add a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet.
You'll have warmer toes and it's easy to shake out after or during an extended trip.

 

[PaulT]

I got a Miracle Mat that needed very little trimming to fit my front dinette Hawk. Got mine at Costco but Amazon also carries them. Absorbant and easy to shake out. Toss them in washing machine and hang on line to dry after a trip.
http://www.miraclemat.com/

Brown color always looks dirty so it doesn't ever look dirty. . As someone else said, "we are camping."

Paul

 

[buckland]

I use an auto floor winter snow and slush/mud mat... holds 3/4" of water... great for scrapping muddy boots.

 

[Smokecreek1]

Over the years I found out that a "welcome" type heavy ribbed rubber mat at the camper front and a piece of thick carpet cut roughly to cover the rest of the floor works well. You can pull both out and shake/clean them when they get to dirty and they help to keep the camper warm (the dog likes on lay on it too!). In between trips I pull them out and mop/clean the floor. I also have one of those plastic dustpan/small brush combos. If things get real dirty when camping I have a small hand vacuum that plugs into the on board plug-in.

Smoke