Groundsheets

Zonks · Member

Groundsheets

Mike Harding · Guru

Good question.

I can't help because all my camping to date is rough tent camping deep in the bush and I simply use small tarps for weather protection but I'm sure others will have good knowledge of caravan use.

What exactly do you wish to use the tarp for? And how will you fasten/attach it?

Edit: Sorry you specified "groundsheet" so I guess you want something on the ground? :)

-- Edited by Mike Harding on Sunday 7th of October 2018 02:46:28 PM

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Welcome to the gang Zonks, enjoy here and out in the playground.

I have tried a couple of different types and now use and very happy with a 'C Gear' outdoor ground cover. Not cheap but worth every cent. They have D rings around perimeter that I use roofing nails to hold down. They are double layer, green on bottom and grey on top. Sand etc just falls through and comfy to walk on in bare feet. They are very light in weight too so not adding much weight to your set up. Very strong as well and easy to sweep and keep clean.

Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

Meredith · Senior Member

We also have a C Gear mat, had it for 8 years with it used several months a year, and it still looks basically new. Dirt and sand drop through, its not slippery unlike shadecloth, and its very easy to clean if mud or something does get on it.

Dickodownunder · Guru

Hi Zonks,

I agree with the others with the C Gear mat....they are very durable and work well in most situations.
One warning if I may offer some advice is, Iwas using a mosquito coil in one of those tins and it worked fine until I had a bright idea one night and decided to put 2 coils in the tin and light both of them.
Doing this managed to repel every insect and spider within a kilometre radius of my camp but the extra heat generated by burning the two coils at once actually heated the base of the tin container and actually burnt a partial hole in the matting.
The mat was not ruined but I have lost the green side where I placed the tin in an area about half the diameter of the mozzie tin.

If you are placing a mozzie burner on the mat then only use one coil at a time....

In the same breath I would imagine that if I was using just shade cloth I may have had a lot more damage or even a fire.

Zonks · Member

Thanks everyone. Seems the C Gear is the best option. Another example of 'you get what you pay for'. Will invest in this recommended product

LLD · Guru

I dropped a not greasy sausage straight off the BBQ onto my C Gear. It melted a spot the mat where it landed.

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

If your inclined . Doubled up shade cloth . I used sikoflex to join. A got pocker for holes . It melts the two cloths together too . We recently tried tarp under tent . It doesnt work . Hold water under tent floor and a if anything acts like a funnel. Shade cloth or similar helps keep sand from entering your abode . Filters through cloth .,

Dickodownunder · Guru

While in many van parks tarps are not permitted on the ground as the tarps are not eco friendly.
The approved ground sheets such as the ones mentioned above are approved by most managers because they actually do not kill the grass.
The same applies to free camps but unfortunately there is a lot less policing on what is used.
Kill the grass..the grass is dead.

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Yea a tent in this case would kill Grass if we stayed longer than a week . Pfft some places your lucky to have grass anyway with no rain out west . Some have artificial grass now . Found that nice . Hard to kit ., lol Big 4 Bathurst.

PeterD · Guru

Alan, there is a chorus that sings the praises of CGear every time the subject comes up. However, there are some other excellent annex mats available that may suit. I use the Camec mesh mat, it has been in constant use for 20 years and is still in good condition. It has not suffered from any dropped hot substances like LLD's CGear mat has. There is a range of available mats here. Near the top of the page there is a link to Camping Mats? Which one is Right for you. I suggest you read through that and consider your selection carefully.

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

We have CGear and rubber type . The CGear is better in sandy areas . We use the rubber type closer to door step entrance. We are ultra fassy about dirt etc entering abode .

the rocket · Guru

PeterD wrote:
Alan, there is a chorus that sings the praises of CGear every time the subject comes up. However, there are some other excellent annex mats available that may suit. I use the Camec mesh mat, it has been in constant use for 20 years and is still in good condition. It has not suffered from any dropped hot substances like LLD's CGear mat has. There is a range of available mats here. Near the top of the page there is a link to Camping Mats? Which one is Right for you. I suggest you read through that and consider your selection carefully.

Thankyou. That is informative. We have been travelling 4 yrs. now and only use the aldi one. Did not know about the others. But still, it only very rarely gets used so it does us.

PeterD · Guru

the rocket wrote:
That is informative. We have been travelling 4 yrs. now and only use the aldi one.

The ones I have seen in Aldi have looked like the Camec ones.

Cupie · Guru

I got a bit of shade cloth in 1999 & have used it ever since. It's a bit tatty from all of the pegging down holes. The edges are starting to curl under because I never got round to sewing a stiff border around the edges.

About 5 years ago I got the bright idea that it would be a good addition to go over the silver tarp that I use instead of a caravan cover when at home. Unfortunately that seems to have accelerated its deterioration.

So I have pulled out the two ALDI floor mats that I got on one of their 'sales' a few years ago (can't help myself when it comes to bargains!). I need two to cover the whole of the under awning area.

They feel better than the shade mesh & are not as slippery, but retain the moisture (from seeping rain) longer when put over concrete slabs in CPs .. which we often do. But then it rarely rains these days so that's not a great problem, is it?

Worse than both of these options are the interlocking floor matting 'tiles'. (I've got lots of them on "sale" too) I just use a few of them to make a pathway to the door to help in wiping off soil, pebbles, mud or grass before entering the van.

Dickodownunder · Guru

Cupie wrote:
I got a bit of shade cloth in 1999 & have used it ever since. It's a bit tatty from all of the pegging down holes. The edges are starting to curl under because I never got round to sewing a stiff border around the edges.

About 5 years ago I got the bright idea that it would be a good addition to go over the silver tarp that I use instead of a caravan cover when at home. Unfortunately that seems to have accelerated its deterioration.
So I have pulled out the two ALDI floor mats that I got on one of their 'sales' a few years ago (can't help myself when it comes to bargains!). I need two to cover the whole of the under awning area.
They feel better than the shade mesh & are not as slippery, but retain the moisture (from seeping rain) longer when put over concrete slabs in CPs .. which we often do. But then it rarely rains these days so that's not a great problem, is it?

Worse than both of these options are the interlocking floor matting 'tiles'. (I've got lots of them on "sale" too) I just use a few of them to make a pathway to the door to help in wiping off soil, pebbles, mud or grass before entering the van.

I am with you on that one Cupie, I carry 6 of those interlocking tiles and they make for the best entrance walkway.

Mine arent the soft rubbery type ones that are common in BCF stores but are the harder plastic tiles that interlock together and are generally used on the floor in cold rooms and the like.

They are great because although they leave a cross type print in the grass they dont kill it as plenty of sunlight and water can get through and they are great if it is a bit muddy as well.

They stack flat when not in use, they are fairly light in weight and travel in the front boot of my van

Years ago I had a camper trailer and I had enough of these tiles to equal the square size of the floor that folded out.

By laying these down it prevented sticks and stones from piercing the sown in floor and when folded up they laid on top of the canvass with the fitted tarp covering the lot.

Many a camper were envious of those tiles.

Hylda&Jon · Guru

I'm another advocate form CGear. We have been using ours now for about 10 years and all it has to show for it is a small burn hole from a wayward candle.

They protect the grass under them and are good in sandy conditions, Well worth the money.