Have a new car, interested to hear what others do to reduce the amount of sand transferred from beach to car and any tips on reducing the spread of sand inside the car, like do you use tubs for your gear and that stops the sand falling down behind the seats etc.
Just a big plastic tub. Everything goes in the tub, everything comes out of the tub for a clean when required.
If you're really good you can keep your wetsuit in the tub for weeks at a time and it never dries out. Makes it really really really nice to put on when its cold and windy and actually pickles it slightly... like an artichoke. mmm..
Yea I do the same as this^^ Chuck it all in the box and wash when I get home. Also we have a heavy duty rubber covering in the back of our car...
^^ Where did you get your rubber lining from? Is it standard for that car or from somewhere like Clark Rubber? Subaru have one, but we often put the back seats down, so a mat that would cover the whole lot would be good???
10 Dollar tarp from Bunnings, lay in back pile stuff in and if you buy a big enough one you can use it to cover you gear as well.
We just have a small hand brush that we use to brush the boards off and the standard Subie trunk mat. The big rubber tubs with the handles are great for the wet gear adn harnesses though.
I completely took the mdf holding the carpet out and replaced it with new 1ply wood with rubber glued to it. I kept an extra 6cm of rubber dangling around the sides to hold any water. Nothing beats a rubber floor, particularly with raised sides (stops ya car from rusting underneath). When you go to sell the car simply take your 'custom' made floor out and put the old 'new looking' one in that has hardly been used.
The 3 or so hours it took to make this easily makes up for the hours cleaning, although as my mates can attest I never clean my car anyway.
The secret is kids......
make them vacuum the car out every Sunday arvo!! After they finish the lawns and gerni the drive.
I keep a small length of hose with all the fittings in the back. I use somebodys tap, wash all the gear off and dry the rest.
Hi DaChopper,
Ozone make a wetbag which is a 1m diameter waterproof circle with a heavy duty drawstring aound the circumference that you stand on as you peel off your gear.
Simply step off the bag and pull the draw strings and the bag draws closed on all your wetty, boardies and other wet stuff. PLace it in the boot of your car and your done. No leakage, no wet carpet smell in your car and NO sand!
We have some in stock and they retail at about $65. Typical high quality Ozone materials and construction.
Good winds,
a set of 4x4 tub style floor mats for the front floor works a treat.
no ground in sand down there, my gear goes in a plastic tub in the back, and oh my friggin god don't forget to take out the booties, urrrgghh
dachopper what's happened to the beast?
Anyway for the new car:
Rip the carpet out and drill some holes in the floor then just remember to hose it out every couple of weeks or so. If you don't you could attract sand flies and crabs. Also don't let any cats get into the car as they like to dig little holes and Sh%t in the sand.
Hope this helps.
Next week we will look into taking care of the outside of the vehicle.
Regards
Glen
I actually encourage my kiddies to bring sand in my car,a couple more seasons and i can lock the kids in the car while i go kiting and they will be able to make sand castles in the boot
I just get sand and **** everywhere and completely trash my upholstry, and have to completely strip down the car and vaccuum it every week or less -even though I've got a plastic tub. Having a sedan with stupid work stuff in the boot and baby seats in the back means all the sandy ****e goes in the car. Can't say I'm really happy with the situation but dont know what I can do other than get a more suitable vehicle one day.....when I had a ute it was good though.
At most 4wd shops you can get rubber mats with sides to help keep all the mud and Sh!t in.
THey come in different sizes for the front and rear cargo areas.
Not sure if they would fit cars though, but worth a try.
I've had a bit of success using one of those tarten looking rubber backed picnic rugs, I found even when I have a plastic tub to put wet gear in it does't always end up in the tub or fit in and the rug has helped to protect the new car from getting satched.
Cheers Chopper
the cheapet and most effective method I have found is to first pack up your gear, then soak it all in the surf, then rub it aroun in the dry sand, then throw various pieces of equipment all through the car and leave them there for a week. by the end of that you will never worry about getting sand in your car ever again.
It's gonna happen at some point, embrace it I say.
before i started kiting i went to the local motor trimmers and got him to make this thing up for me for the comm. wagon i had ,to keep the sand and water contained because i had 2 big doggies who were wet and sandy a lot of the time, it really saved my car and me from having to constantly clean it out,had one made up for new car and worx a treat for kiting,no matter how careful you are putting the wet+sandy gear in the bucket it still gets everywhere,there is a flap that rolls out over the rear bumper so sand doesnt get down all the nook and crannys,did a great job and cost less than a mat that only covers the rear section of the car,great if you have wet sandy dogs.occassionally i give it a vac but mainly just a sweep with a hand brush.
Wow thats neat. Should see the back of my car. Melted wax/sunblock, footpads, hats, sunnies, and thats when im not going kiting. Then its a mission to squish as much gear as possible in, and still be able to close the boot.
There is sand everywhere, there is rubbish everywhere.
I dont worry, because if i do worry, ill be constantly cleaning the car. Just let the circle of life happen. Go to the beach, car gets sandy.
michel, W-O-W.... You put me to shame. I'm not going to show what my boot looks like, but mine sounds exactly like DPs. For a girl... its pretty terrible; but when the winds up, I'm outta here! Neatness isn't a concern.
Michel, full credit to your car and your organization! =] It looks amazing, and any female would be impressed! The guys must be secretly jealous! [}:)]
My gear lives in my car 24/7, but I am contemplating removing it Mon-> Friday with teaching and work after giving me no time to kite mid-week.
I like to think of my car (and room) as 'organised chaos'
organised chaos is good,but plain messy chaos is to hard,anyway i thought this post was about containng sand,sorry for being to neat and disrupting the thread