BajaNomad - Keeping dirt/sand out of camper...

Keeping dirt/sand out of camper...

surfer jim - 10-4-2006 at 05:01 PM

Last trip we parked right on the sand at the beach and it seemed like I swept out sand /dirt 10 times a day and it still kept coming in....had a piece of old carpet on the ground in front of the entrance...helped some but not enough....how do you keep the floor clean when camping?

comitan - 10-4-2006 at 05:03 PM

Biggger carpet, indoor outdoor.

Neal Johns - 10-4-2006 at 05:19 PM

Re-adjust your thinking! It's not dirt, it getting closer to nature! You been hanging around girls again???? :lol:

BajaWarrior - 10-4-2006 at 05:20 PM

Better broom for the inevetable.

TMW - 10-4-2006 at 06:16 PM

Jim, I'm with Neal. Clean it out when you leave. A friend of mine was telling the story of when he went to a Baja 1000 race with his neighbor. His neighbor wanted to take his new 4x4 pickup. They went down early and were gone 7 days. The guy was alway cleaning and wiping on it. Any speck of dirt he would clean it. After a couple of days the guy finally slowed down until finally he said the heck with it and let it get dirty. He never cleaned on it until he got home. When asked why he stoped he said he got tired of cleaning and besides it really didn't look as bad after a while and it certainly didn't run any worse, so why bother.

The Sculpin - 10-4-2006 at 06:58 PM

Yes, a bigger indoor/outdoor carpet helps, along with a shade to go over it. No shoes allowed in the camper, and a pan or water next to the door helps too (dog like it too!), but then you also need a mat at the entrance inside the camper.

However, without fail, you do all that, and at the end of the day, you change out of your trunks and into your "evening attire", and a big old clump of sand that got caught in your trunks when you went over the falls on that ridiculous double suck up just plops right out and onto your clean sheets!!!

Damn!!

Al G - 10-4-2006 at 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TW
Jim, I'm with Neal. Clean it out when you leave. A friend of mine was telling the story of when he went to a Baja 1000 race with his neighbor. His neighbor wanted to take his new 4x4 pickup. They went down early and were gone 7 days. The guy was alway cleaning and wiping on it. Any speck of dirt he would clean it. After a couple of days the guy finally slowed down until finally he said the heck with it and let it get dirty. He never cleaned on it until he got home. When asked why he stoped he said he got tired of cleaning and besides it really didn't look as bad after a while and it certainly didn't run any worse, so why bother.

TW...
I think this may be a cure for compulsive behavior?
Darn my LoL is not working so use your imagination!!!

surfer jim - 10-4-2006 at 07:08 PM

Well...it is a new camper and I wanted it to stay that way....maybe I am being too sensitive...will be getting some wal-mart slip on shoes to leave at the door....

Al G - 10-4-2006 at 07:09 PM

" big old clump of sand that got caught in your trunks when you went over the falls on that ridiculous double suck up just plops right out and onto your clean sheets!!!"
Sculpin... you are a Baaad Boy

BillB - 10-5-2006 at 07:53 AM

Two suggestions. First you can glue some indoor/ourdoor carpet on the steps of the camper... Second, if you go to an RV store, you can buy long strips of carpet only a couple of feet wide. You can place that on the floor of your camper, and most of the sand just kinda soaks in keeping it off your feet, out of your bed, and prevents it from scratching your floor. Then all you have to do is drag it out the door and give it a good shake every couple of days.

Bruce R Leech - 10-5-2006 at 08:09 AM

just keep an inch of sand on the floor for Baja effect then you only need to worry about it getting tracked out .

surfer jim - 10-5-2006 at 08:11 AM

Guess everybody likes indoor/outdoor carpet....will try some....both inside and outside ...

One more suggestion...

bigzaggin - 10-5-2006 at 08:21 AM

my Baja secret: cardboard boxes.

Before I head down, I grab 5-6 cardboard boxes (old ones okay), fold 'em up and stuff 'em in the back of my shell. They serve the following purposes:

Slice off one side, place it on your table/tail gate, etc., and prepare all food on it. Works great for fish-cleaning and clean up is super easy: Proceed to your campfire and throw it in. Small shreds also work well as fire-starters.

And an added bonus, you can throw a square outside your camper. Leave your shoes on it, etc. Perhaps not QUITE as dust-absorbant as the favored carpet, but way way less likely to stink of molder terriers, far easier to dispose of and, anyway you slice it, the dirt/sand war is losing battle (see: Sisyphus & the rock), so you might as well do it with a worthless tool you've got stored in abundance in your garage.

Cardboard boxes people. Get into it.

Once upon a time.......

Hook - 10-5-2006 at 10:06 AM

.....I was camping around alot of other RVs and saw one guy that had the best outdoor rug I have ever seen. It was doormat sized and was about 1 inch high and was composed of some very stout and bristley synthetic grass; much more stout and wider "leafed" than what you normally see. What made this really unique is that the base was a strong grid with large openings in the bottom. The idea was, you scruff your shoes on this and all the dirt falls through the rug into the dirt below. It basically never fills up with material that you have to beat out of it.

Has anyone ever seen this stuff? I have looked on the Camping World website and didn't see it at Quartzite either. I've seen plenty of this stout leafed stuff that collects the dirt in the bottom of the rug.

pappy - 10-5-2006 at 10:37 AM

billb -just what i was going to suggest! works great. for outdoor i use a piece of that astro-turf fake grass stuff.it's inexpensive and really traps the sand and dirt, as witnessed when shaking it out for the ride home.i use it as an antry porch for my tent as well...

leaving shoes outside

lewm - 10-5-2006 at 10:46 AM

Make sure you bang your shoes together before you put them on in the morning. I've found that scorpions like dark hiding places. Also found them under mats I have laid down.

Debra - 10-5-2006 at 12:35 PM

This is the funniest thread I've read in a long, long time!

Come on, is this for real, or are you guys trying to bait us old Baja gals? YOU ARE CAMPING! LOL! Have fun.....deal with the sand and dirt when you get home.......my young son found a small pile of sand in my truck awhile back and said "look Mom, we brought some Baja back!" SHEESH!

surfer jim - 10-5-2006 at 01:26 PM

I've got a new girlfriend and trying not to show her what a slob I really am.... :lol:

bancoduo - 10-5-2006 at 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by surfer jim
Last trip we parked right on the sand at the beach and it seemed like I swept out sand /dirt 10 times a day and it still kept coming in....had a piece of old carpet on the ground in front of the entrance...helped some but not enough....how do you keep the floor clean when camping?

I thought Howard Hughes was dead, not hanging lefts in Baja. :wow:

TacoFeliz - 10-5-2006 at 02:36 PM

:light:

how about...

a gas powered leaf blower?

a scuba tank with an air hose?

tipping the truck waaaaaay up so it all falls out the back?

Halboo - 10-5-2006 at 03:42 PM

Quote:

a gas powered leaf blower?

I was driving down El Portal here in San Clemente about a week ago and saw a guy doing exactly that!!! :lol:

All 4 doors and the hatchback open and he's standing there blastin' away with the blower. I laughed all the way home....

He must have been beach camping :yes:

Neal Johns - 10-5-2006 at 05:15 PM

OK, time to get serious: Jim, since you have a new girlfriend, waste no time in training her to clean and clean and clean the camper.

Been nice knowing you. :lol:

bajarich - 10-5-2006 at 07:57 PM

I have some copy-cat Astro-Turf door mats that have holes through the bottom for outside the camper. When you pick them up the sand just poors through them so they are really easy to clean. Inside my camper, just inside the door, I use the real Astro-Turf mats that have a solid bottom. 90% of all sand that gets inside ends up in the Astroturf mat and it is really easy to pick up and take outside and shake off. It's an idea that really works. Astro-Turf mats are great!! The copy-cat Astro-Turf mats also work well to stand on when showering outside.

Hook - 10-6-2006 at 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajarich
I have some copy-cat Astro-Turf door mats that have holes through the bottom for outside the camper. When you pick them up the sand just poors through them so they are really easy to clean. Inside my camper, just inside the door, I use the real Astro-Turf mats that have a solid bottom. 90% of all sand that gets inside ends up in the Astroturf mat and it is really easy to pick up and take outside and shake off. It's an idea that really works. Astro-Turf mats are great!! The copy-cat Astro-Turf mats also work well to stand on when showering outside.

Rich, are your outside models commercially available or did you fabricate from the inside type?

pappy - 10-6-2006 at 08:53 AM

neal- that was best one yet .too funny!!!! :spingrin:

bajarich - 10-6-2006 at 09:02 AM

I bought one at Home Depot several years ago, the other I purchased in Baja, I believe in LaPaz. They are both different, but knock-offs of Astro-Turf.

jimgrms - 10-6-2006 at 12:36 PM

Jim not trying to be a wise ass but he only way to keep something clean on a camping trip is to leave it home ,just waittill you have a inch of sand and give it a clean sweep and clean it good when you get home and have acess to a shop vac

Anal in Baja?

Sharksbaja - 10-6-2006 at 12:53 PM

No way??? :lol:

chino - 10-6-2006 at 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sharksbaja
No way??? :lol:

Thank you, sharks baja, a daily cleaning is in order but beyond that??

FARASHA - 10-7-2006 at 12:04 AM

Just dealing with LOTS of sand myself - BUT in a house,living in the desert in a house makes you feel you live in a CAMPER.
YOU have to get used to it, that the sand is EVERYWHERE.
And yes SHARKS - it can be a pain in the .....neck, if you find it also there, believe me!! :lol: