What is The RV Awning Mat^TM?

Quite simply, the RV Awning Mat^TM is a popular brand name of a camping mat that is used by many RVers to increase their outdoor space.  Typically, when an RVer arrives at his or her destination, he or she will roll out the awning that is attached to the RV.  Underneath that awning is a great place to hang out and share a drink with a friend or chit chat while watching the sunset.  The awning protects you from the blazing sun.  The problem is that at most RV parks and campgrounds, there is grass or mud or gravel under that space.  Customers buy our mats to lay out under that awning space to "finish" the look and feel of their camping space.  RV awning mats feel great on your feet and protect you and your RV from mud, leaves, dirt, etc.  Think about how many times you go in and out of your RV while camping.  Now think how much mud you track into the RV if every time you stepped outside to get some fresh air you dragged some leaves or mud in with you.  RV Awning Mats protect your rig from getting muddy and dirty and allow you to walk around your patio area comfortably.

RVAwningMats.com specializes in the sale and distribution of reversible camping mats that have become very popular with RV and camping enthusiasts across the United States and Canada. Our RV mats come in three sizes; 6' x 9', 9' x 12' and 9' x 18'.  When laid out like a beach mat our RV mats are very large but due to their woven design, are foldable to a very small compact size which makes carrying them from place to place very easy. Our main customers include RV enthusiasts, camping enthusiasts, auto-racing fans, beach goers, patio loungers, tailgate partiers, daycare workers, horse show managers and a host of others. Our mats are very versatile.

Customers have been using our RV patio mats for all different purposes lately. Some customers place them on their patio as an indoor/outdoor patio mat. Others use them in their tack room at horse shows. Some have purchased our new Racing Checks^TM brand black and white checkered flag mats for photo shoots of antique cars and Hot Rods or to just use as a camping mat while hanging out at the races for the weekend.  Others actually place their Hot Rods on top of our mats at car shows.

What are the mats made from and how is The RV Awning Mat^TM made?

This is a question we get often. Our mats are made from 100% extruded Polypropylene (plastic) that is combined with a strong UV stabilizer to protect the mats' color from sun damage.  The plastic is blown into straw-like threads and then lots and lots of these plastic tubes are woven together with a special machine.
 

If you can imagine a cocktail straw, like the kind you would get in a tropical drink on the beach in Maui.  Take that very thin straw and stretch it out to a 12 foot length. Now take a whole bunch of those straws and weave them tightly together to form a mat - that is a very simple and very primitive explanation of the mat-making process.

 

Above is a very close up shot of our Burgundy Wine 9' x 12' RV awning mat. You can see how tight this weave is which makes the mats very strong yet it allows air and water to pass through so our mats do not kill the grass at campgrounds. The weave is tight enough to allow you to sit on the grass without getting "buggy" or wet but it is still a weave so it allows our mats to be very lightweight.  Our mats don't ruin the grass like many standard solid-backed camping mats do - like the "fake turf stuff".

The "campground friendly" feature of our mats is particularly useful at campgrounds that normally do not let you use mats within the facility.  Nearly every campground in the US and Canada will allow our brand of mats to be placed on the property (call before going just to be sure).  Many campgrounds disallow competitor mats because of the damage it can do to the campground grass. When a mat has a backing of any sort or it is solid and thick, air and water cannot get through to the grass.  A week goes by and its time to leave the campground and you will find a large yellow patch of dead grass where your thick mat once rested - not very appealing to the next folks who will use the space.  Our mats alleviate this problem because air and water still circulates, leaving the grass as it was before you arrived.

Water, mud, dirt, debris can sift through our mats which makes cleaning them really easy. When you get home from the campground you simply rinse off your mat with a garden hose, give it a few shakes and let it air dry a few minutes.  This same woven design feature that makes our RV mats so easy to clean also makes them very lightweight. Our large, 9' x 12' mat weighs less than 10 pounds, which is very convenient for travel and storage purposes.

Each of our mats has a strong Nylon loop at the end of each corner so you can stake the RV mat to the ground on windy days. The loops come in handy at times because our RV awning mats are very lightweight.

In addition, each of our 9' x 12' mats has 2 seams running across the length, so it is in essence made of 3 3-foot strips of material and each 3 foot panel is sewn together to make a large 9' wide and 12' mat. It is these seams that make carrying the mats very easy. You just fold each mat along its seams and fold it in half and in half again like you would fold a large blanket. Once properly folded, our mats are very compact. Our large 9' x 12' mats fold nice and neatly to a compact size of around 13" W x 5" thick x 36" tall - small enough to fit anywhere and light enough to carry around. Quite compact for a mat that is 9 feet by 12 feet wide.

Our RV awning mats are made to be lightweight and rugged. There are a lot of cheaply made imitations out there, but those mats do not tend to hold up under the stresses of a weekend camping trip. Our mats are designed with use in mind - its truly an outdoor sportsman's mat but is good looking enough to place inside the home or around your patio.

Lightweight & Easy to Carry

Our mats are made of a 100% Polypropylene (plastic) tubing weave so it allows air to pass through them making them very lightweight and portable - perfect for taking to the beach or for camping. In addition, our mats are made of foldable panels that allow you to fold your mat neatly along the seams as you would fold a blanket or comforter.

Really Easy to Clean

The RV Awning Mat^TM is extremely easy to clean after an outdoor adventure. Between the lightweight plastic weave design and the UV stabilizer we add to protect the mat's color, clean up is a breeze. In most cases, you can sweep off most debris. For stubborn dirt, use a garden hose and squirt it down - it's that simple. Although our mats are made to not mold or mildew, we always recommend you allow your mat to dry before folding it back up and storing it away. The way our mats are designed, they will dry within minutes if properly hung, gently shaken out or allowed to sit in the sun a few minutes after gently shaking the excess water off.

"Campground Friendly" - Doesn't Ruin The Grass

Our mats are made of a very tight plastic weave. This weave is nice and airy making our mats lightweight. Also, because these mats are made from a weave, they are "Campground Friendly" - they will not kill the grass at state parks or in your backyard under normal circumstances.

Reversible Design

Our RV Awning Mats^TM are reversible - you get two designs for one low price! For instance, our blue mat is mostly blue on one side and when that same mat is flipped over on its opposite side, you expose a mat that is now mostly white with a blue border - the colors are complimentary of it's opposite side. This neat feature allows you to change the entire look and feel of your campsite with just a simple flip of the mat.

UV Stabilized for Increased Sun Exposure

In order to assure you our mats won't fall apart or fade in the sun, we add expensive UV stabilizer to the plastic during the manufacturing process. These are some of the same chemicals the large auto makers use to keep your automobile's paint from fading, cracking and blistering in the sun. Many of the less expensive brands of mats you can find online and at some of the largest RV accessory stores do not include this very important addition because the chemicals are very expensive and it increases the cost of production. We designed our mats to last.

A Leader in the Industry

There are not many companies out there that do what we do.  There are some who try.  Others who simply copy our patterns and still yet more who are here one day and gone the next.  RV Awning Mats is all we do.  We literally create the patterns you see in-house and work with RV manufacturers to try to closely match our mats with new RVs that roll off the production line.  From start to finish we control the entire process.  When you buy from RVAwningMats.com you are buying direct from the source and not three tiers down the line which is why we can bring these mats directly to you so affordably compared to other resellers.  We stand behind our products and will continue to bring you the best looking RV mats found anywhere.

We wanted to bring our fellow campers high quality mats in many styles, colors and designs and we wanted to do it at an affordable price. We promise you will be happy with your mat purchase. We take great pride in the production process and we are sure you will find our customer service is second to none. We are a small company and producing high quality mats is all we do. We have thousands of satisfied RV owner customers and camping enthusiasts that keep coming back for additional mats because they know we offer a truly fair deal and a quality product.

 

RV Awning & Camping Mat Buying Guide

You are gearing up for your next big RV adventure and the family is packed and ready to go. While at the campground, you've noticed friends with these bright colored mats that seem to be so popular today, particularly with RV'ers and camping enthusiasts. If you have not noticed them before, these mats, in addition to looking pretty cool are actually serving several purposes, which we will explain here.

Ohhh, that's what those things are called!

Call them RV Mats, RV Awning Camping Mats, Patio Mats or just plain Camping Mats but regardless of the name, the purpose is the same - to keep your backside dry, to keep your RV clean and to not kill the grass at the campground. As a pioneer of this niche, our popular brand is "RV Awning Mat" brand reversible mats.

How are they made?

RV camping mats are typically colorful, reversible Polypropylene (plastic) mats that are made from blown and colored straw that is then weaved using a special machine into the colorful designs you see around the campground. In most cases, the mats are made in 3 or 5-foot panels and each panel is sewn together to get the final dimensions in increments of 3 feet: 6' x 9', 9' x 12' and 9' x 18' are some of the most popular sizes. The seam that is created in each mat by adjoining panels is what makes the mats so easy to fold and store, which is perfect for RV'ing and camping when space is tight and packing must be light.

Purpose of RV Camping Mats

In the "old days" these mats were used in Europe and Asia as prayer mats. People would kneel on the mats and pray. A few American companies and others, have beefed up the mats and changed the patterns to accommodate the rugged outdoorsy theme many campers enjoy. The mats are used mainly to keep people from tracking dirt and debris into your RV.

If you own an RV you know first-hand that every time someone walks in or out of the RV they always leave a little something behind, be it mud, leaves, dirt, etc. RV camping mats keep debris inside your RV to a minimum. Additionally, the mats act as a barrier between you and the elements. Ever go camping after it has rained 3 or 4 days straight? You go to "pop a squat" only to find your backside soaked in mud. Although most RV camping mats are porous due to their weaved design, they do act as a barrier between you and the elements. No more muddy messes, no more damp clothes!

Most of the mats made from this type of weaved design are "Campground Friendly" meaning they will not kill the grass. Being "Campground Friendly" is an especially nice feature of these mats because any true outdoorsman's goal is to leave the campsite as it was when you first got there and the last thing you want to do is leave a 9-foot by 12-foot yellow patch of grass or bald spot where you once had your campsite. Besides, most campgrounds will not even let you use your nice new mat unless it is of the weaved design because repairs to the campsite grass are costly and avoidable.

Grommets or loops?

You can hit all kinds of weather when you are on an extended stay camping trip. Once the wind starts howling and the rain is pouring you want to make sure you don't have to carry your wet, dirty mat back into your RV or tent to avoid it blowing away. The answer? A few properly placed tent stakes in each corner seems to hold these specially designed mats just fine. Simply drive a stake into each corner (assuming a hole is provided) and you won't have to worry about your mat blowing away the entire trip. Some mats include grommets (a hole to place a stake through) in each corner of the mat. Some mats have Nylon loops at each corner. Grommets can be made of brass or plastic. Buyer beware! Not all mats are the same - we have found from experience that the brass grommets tend to rust and the corrosion ends up extending beyond the grommet itself and running into the boundaries of your mat, rotting the mat. Additionally, we've found grommets to fall out and due to the nature of the mat's construction, once you get a little hole in something that is weaved, you end up unraveling the entire mat. From our experience, Nylon loops at each corner seem to work best. Nylon does not rust and because you are not punching a hole at one of the most vulnerable points in the mat to place a grommet, the mats maintains its strength and integrity.

Match the RV or be a rebel?

With several thousand customers under our belts and being one of the largest distributors of these types of mats in the United States, we've found the term "different strokes for different folks" really applies with regard to mat color selection. With so many designs and colors to choose from, how do you pick which mat is for you? Some customers, more conservative in nature will try to match the color of the mat with their RV. Most of the companies selling these mats know this is a popular option, so they design mats around popular RV colors. Other customers prefer "Earthy" tones and like to blend into their surroundings - greens and browns are popular with these groups. Next we have our rebel campers - these are the folks who do not care what the camper next door thinks as long as they have a good time doing what they are doing. These are not your average "keep up with the Jones'" type of people. These are fun-loving road warriors looking for their next big adventure. These RV'ers usually opt for a more radical design, like patriotic themes, colored checks, purples and pinks.

RV Camping Mat vs. Fake Grass Stuff

We are always being asked how our mats compare to "the fake grass stuff" to which we usually reply as follows: If you want a very inexpensive mat-type product that will do an ok job for a season, maybe two, go to a local home building supply center and get yourself a nice sized rectangle of it.

The fake grass is inexpensive and works under the right conditions. Add rain and you have a mess however. The fake grass tends to hold lots of water and in the rain, it becomes a heavy, water-logged mess. Additionally, the fake grass is solid underneath so it will ruin the grass at the campground. If you plan on using the fake grass as a mat, please check with the campground before you set out - you might not be allowed to use it at all. Fake grass is also significantly more difficult to lug around in comparison. Its bulky and not made to be a mobile piece. The fake grass better serves the miniature golf market where it can be placed permanently on the ground and water can pool up on it in the rain. By contrast, the specialty RV camping mats are lightweight and foldable. Large 9' x 12' mats fold to a dimension small enough to fit into any remaining space in your rig, where space is very limited.

Not all mats are the same

Last to note, please make sure your mat is UV stabilized. UV stabilizer is a chemical that is added to the production process to allow your mat to stay under the sun for long periods of time. Reputable mat companies add enough of this very expensive product during production to keep your mat looking good for a long time. Mats without the UV stabilizer tend to fall apart very quickly - in as little as just a few uses out in the sun without the added ingredient. You truly get what you pay for when purchasing a mat. UV stabilizer can account for almost 25% of the production cost of the mat so less scrupulous companies skimp on this very important ingredient in order to offer really inexpensive mats to the public. Customer satisfaction for these companies is usually not a priority.

Enjoy your mat, hassle free!

When camping or RV'ing the last thing you want is equipment failure to ruin your good time. When purchasing a mat, understand what you are buying and make an informed decision for years of trouble-free camping bliss. At the end of your trip, simply shake any loose debris off your mat and fold it up. When you get home, open your mat and squirt it down with your garden hose to remove any stubborn dirt that would not shake off back at the campground.

Above and beyond all, camping is a really great family-friendly sport. The folks at RVAwningMats.com wish you and your family many happy and safe fun-filled adventures.