18' Series Best Floor for Annex

Lozza T

Active Member
Aug 13, 2016
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Melbourne
I am looking at getting a premium floor to go under the awning or in the annex if erected.
It seems that the 2 best products are the Cgear Multimat and the Go Mats from Sunbuster. Both these mats are however at a premium price.

Is it worth spending the dollars on this type of floor?
Is there a more economical product available that will do the job?
Is one of the above better than the other?
 

dagree

Well-Known Member
Mar 3, 2012
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Perth. WA
Can't help with a comparison between the two you have listed @Lozza T but we use a cgear mat and find it to work great.
We had a camec one for the previous van and found that sand, grit etc did not settle and stayed on top of the mat. Of course anything larger will not sink through the holes but an 18V garden blower does the trick ;)
 

Dobbie

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Jun 18, 2014
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Some options:

  • Cgear....good but relatively expensive ...needs to to pegged down which drives me to a drink
  • Go mat..I've only seen them, I've not used it but similar to go mat
  • Rubberised mat from bcf etc...can be bought from the roll at length required or by the precut packaged size...it works well, lasts forever but can be a bit heavy ...no pegs needed!
  • Cheaper stuff from 4wdsupercentre....no idea of quality but it looks like a lighter option to me
  • Shade cloth versions.....avoid like the plague....slippery and dangerous
We bought some of the rubberised stuff over 20 years ago...it was all that was available....and it's still going. Just hose it off regularly but have cut it in half to make it easier to handle.

We've used the cgear as well but sold it with the last van. It was very good but not as good as I expected for the extra $$.

I'm now going to check out the 4wd super centre version, advertised sizes 3x2.5 and 5x 2.5. It looks to be a lighter option for us as we now only use the older heavier stuff for longer beach camping. Advertised for around the $40 mark. If it's relatively light, not slippery, doesn't have to be pegged down...it's got me.
 
Sep 5, 2016
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Sydney
Hey @Lozza T, we use this at the moment : http://www.campsmart.net.au/6.0m-blue-annexe-matting.

We found on our last trip that we had a site that had quite a bit of dirt, which luck would have it was directly where our annex would go. With the matting I've linked to above, we found that it got dirty, quickly. It's all good to wash down at the end, but while it's down there isn't much you can do.

We're checking out alternatives, but unless you're throwing that bad boy down on grass, I'd go with something other than http://www.campsmart.net.au/6.0m-blue-annexe-matting
 

Dobbie

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Jun 18, 2014
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I forgot to mention that we now use a smallish surplus piece of artificial grass next to the steps.

Easy to shake out and easy to carry and really grabs the dirt.

Since using that, we tend not to bother with the matting but that doesn't help with your annexe matting requirement.

(I've since checked the cheap 4wd super centre offering as best I can and it could be ok....my concern would be if it's slippery but can't tell unless I actually see it....online availability but none in stock at the outlet close to us)
 
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Bellbirdweb

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Jan 24, 2014
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We had been using an ALDI special mat for a year or so, but found it still got really dirty and didnt really serve the purpose.

Got a CGear before our trip at Christmas, and it was fantastic. Even on fine dust and sand, nothing came through the mat. Would not go back to the standard type.
 

NoWorries

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Sep 28, 2015
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www.expandasdownunder.com
I have a CGear mat and I love it for 95% of uses
Do not use it on gritty sand beaches (Ningaloo station) as the sand will fall through the top part of the mat but not the bottom.
When packing up you have a huge bag of sand that took us over a hour to shake out (we are still getting the last bits of it out 3 trips later)
For all other uses though it is the ducks nuts.
 

Drover

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Nov 7, 2013
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Have a couple of Aldi jobs and over the last few years found them to be great, be it sand, gravel, dirt or grass, a shake or broom job done, especially good on gravel as you can still walk on it in bare feet, easy to wash if muddy, chook poo can take a bit of scrubbing though and for about $30 each good value. I folded over a bit of each corner and whacked an eyelet in, perfect......
 

Tuppy

Member
Oct 22, 2016
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Adelaide
I just saw the price of that C Gear stuff, hell it's all flamin expensive really......................
Buddy, after trying a few others, we went with the 7.5m Cgear mat and now wouldn't use anything else. I must admit though, I am bemused as to why the grey side goes up, rather than the green side? But, that's just a comment rather than a criticism.