Mats

Mike Rosania asked:


It’s Friday night in a small Oregon town. We are well into winter; currently trapped in the hellish purgatory of this month called February. The temperature has been in the single digits for longer than I can remember. Night comes before I leave work, my gas bill resembles a phone number, and an icy mix of snow and sleet continuously camouflage the landscape with a grayish white blanket. If I want to make it out of this season alive, I need to make my own fun. I rather enjoy skiing, but my days on the mountain usually end mid afternoon because that is when the lifts shut down. And as much as I like having an eggnog or two (or ten), I need something to satisfy my time besides tasty beverages. My friend and I ended up having a lot of fun the other night using nothing more than a set of floor mats.

“Tonight is going real to be fun,” I thought to myself as I arrived over at my friend Keane’s house. Great, even my simple thoughts are turning sarcastic. Keane is a bear of man; a robust beast lacking any sense for fashion and personal hygiene. I knock on his door and surprisingly he greets me in an unusually well put-together manner. His beard that normally runs rampant across is now trimmed with the skill of a 6th grade boy who got a hold of his father’s razor. Light glistens off his dark hair, illuminating the extreme amount of gel parting most of his hair to the left. “What’s the special occasion,” I ask as I enter into his humble abode. He had a grin pasted across his face that must have been super glued on because it wasn’t coming off. “Well, if you’re looking for a date you better give me a few drinks first” I joked. I mean, it wasn’t exactly Keane’s style to get all dressed up for a night at the local tavern. This is the guy who didn’t cut his hair for two year to win a $10 bet. “We’re meeting Sonya at the pub,” Keane managed to get past his grinning jaw. Ohhh. Now it all makes sense. Sonya is a girl we went to high school with, the cute girl who would have gotten the attention she deserved if she could just move out of her sister’s shadow. Now Keane had liked Sonya for a while. He never made a move because chasing girls wasn’t his style. He’d rather be throwing darts and joking with the guys than sipping champagne with a dame by a fire. But Keane had started working with Sonya a few weeks ago and apparently they hit it off pretty well. Keane had set up a double-date, but without telling me. I couldn’t turn down that big ugly mug of his, so we hopped in my truck and headed over to the tavern. The ladies weren’t there when we arrived, so we had a few drinks. I guess we should have paced ourselves, but we were nervous. By the time they showed up we were three sheets to the wind. A mixture of booze and nerves took over Keane. I could tell he was putting her off with every syllable that fell out of his mouth. At least he was still grinning; slightly drooling, but grinning nonetheless. We excused ourselves and went to the bathroom and came back to two empty chairs. As I watched the grin fall from Keane’s face for the first time that night I said, “Hey man, let’s go outside I need to show you something.” Distractions tend to temporarily help. Straining for something to talk about, I noticed the steep hill behind the tavern and started reminiscing about all the good times we had sledding; staying out until our toes were numb and blue. Bingo. I pulled two floor mats out of my truck, tossed one to Keane, and started to climb that hill. I reached the top, parked my rear on my makeshift sled, picked up my feet, and hoped for the best. The freezing night created a thin layer of ice above the snow. My sled flew down the hill and I let out a yell as I cruised past Keane. His eyes opened like a kid on Christmas. Before I knew it he was at the top of the mountain and taking a running start. His weight helped him create a lot more momentum and he really started to pick up speed. “Wooooooo,” he yelled as he blasted past me in the parking lot. He wasn’t slowing down though. His speeding sled was headed right toward main street. I glanced one way. It was clear. I look the other way and see head lights. “Keane! Stop!” Their path’s are going to meet. As they near, the car slams on their brakes and stops just enough to barely miss my friend. The driver got out of the car and started screaming, “What is the matter with you?! I could have killed…” It was Sonya. “Keane?” she asked as he walked into the car’s light. “What are you doing? I would have hit you if I hadn’t seen the light reflecting off your glistening head”. Keane just looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry I left, I had to run home, but I was coming back,” Sonya explained. “Why don’t I give you a lift home?” she asked. From the parking lot I could see the two silhouettes in the headlights embracing. Good for Keane. He nearly died, but it looks like everything will work out fine for him. I’m sweaty, cold, and about to catch pneumonia. Finally, Oregon is getting exciting.

April Kerr asked:


Although many people buy trucks simply to run around the city and take their kids to school, many other people who do buy trucks really use them the way they were designed. Trucks are intended for carrying lots of things from boxes of equipment to bags full of rubble. Many of the items you will be carrying in your truck will unfortunately cause stains and muddy marks. This is why having truck floor mats in your truck is essential.

Buying a truck can be a pretty big investment and is ideal for the practicalities of everyday life. So it’s no wonder that your truck can be the focus of your business and also personal life. This is why people want to look after their truck and keep it looking good and functioning well. Often there can be dirty marks in the flooring caused by engine oil and muddy boots. There are so many different things you need to aware of when caring for your truck and there’s a lot more to it than the cleaning. Other maintenance jobs should include tire pressure and oil levels.

If you want to try and protect the appearance of your truck then having proper flooring is something that will help prevent stains and corrosion. Floor mats act as a protective barrier between the truck flooring and also potential stains. They also help your truck look much more presentable, especially when having guest passengers and you want to make a good impression.

The truck floor mats that you choose should be designed in such as way that it can withstand the normal every day stains and then be easily cleaned when you need to. For those who use their truck in a more professional means such as building work, then you’ll want floor mats that are more heavy duty. This way you’ll be able to keep them longer because they are more resistant to stains and can be cleaned well.

Quite often people who own trucks need to carry items that are more delicate and fragile. Having floor mats will help absorb shock. You will also notice when browsing the vast selection of truck floor mats out there that there are mats designed for a particular truck such as Ford, Chevrolt or Dodge. If you buy a specific floor mat then you’ll be able to ensure that the mat will fit.

If you are needing to buy a gift for someone who happens to own a truck then buying them a set of floor mats can be a really cool idea for a gift. There are so many gifts that end up being thrown away however you can be sure that these truck floor mats will actually be used and appreciated.

Tim Saunier asked:


A few weeks ago my wife and I decided to go on vacation to Colorado. We both wanted only to relax because the last few months at work were pretty hard. So we just took our clothes with us, although we have a very great selection of good skis at home and we are usually looking forward to use them. But this time we just wanted to spend the days in bed or explore the well known restaurants in Colorado.

We pulled out at five in the morning to get a good apartment in one of the Hiltons, which hopefully was not booked. We have never booked any rooms for vacation because our experience taught us that doing this is more spontaneous. And in many cases you get even better room prices after negotiating with the hotelier. Another advantage of those spontaneous vacations, where you have neither booked a room nor a real destination, is the fact that you can change the place and move instantly after your arrival. No hassle, no problems, just the chance to select your vacation place easily and without any stress.

But the reason why I want to tell you this story is not the great selections of possible destinations. It was the drive to Colorado itself, where I made a mistake I will hopefully never make again…

After three hours in our truck we wanted to have a little break in one of the good, but very expensive, restaurants on the highway. We ended up having lunch in a place called “Danni’s Lunch Celebration”, but the 23 year old waitress was the best part of this meal experience. So we hurried up to continue our drive so we could make it there in less than seven hours. But this plan failed instantly when we arrived at the truck. I suddenly recognized that my keys were locked inside. Since a few weeks ago, I had the habit of locking the doors manually without the key and it was just a question of time when I would forget the key in the truck. “But why did it have to happen here in the middle of the highway?” I asked my lovely wife who was at this moment not that lovely anymore. Besides this disaster, it started raining a few seconds later so we needed shelter to avoid getting wet. Of course we went back to the restaurant instantly but the owner of it had a habit that is weirder than mine. He decides spontaneously when he wants to open or close his restaurant. And unfortunately his free will makes him close the place after we left the first time.

So we had to find another way to protect ourselves from the rain but we didn’t have any options. So I had to be creative. And without showing off, I was. I went to my truck, took out my truck bed mat and used it as a kind of umbrella. And seriously it worked perfectly. After ten minutes with this romantic atmosphere and the smell of rubber in the air, my lovely wife recognized that she had a second key for the truck in her purse. I really love this woman but at this moment I really wanted to call her names that children should not hear. However, we continued our way to Colorado and had a great vacation afterwards. But I learned my lesson due to this experience: In bad and unknown situations you cannot count on your wife, you can not count on your pet; you just can trust your truck bed mat.

Mike Rosania asked:


My fascination with traveling all began two years ago. I was at a Barnes and Noble and came across Kerouac’s legendary novel, “On the Road.” I figured enough people have recommended it; I might as well see what all the hype is about. Sure enough, they were right—the book is awesome! The plot is based on Kerouac’s pickup-and-go attitude and everything he encounters while exploring all that America has to offer. I was fascinated and I wanted more. Next, I got my hands on a copy of “The Electric Cool-Aid Acid Test,” which is of the same flavor. These stories fascinate me, so I did what every other recent college grad does—traveled. While most people want to backpack through Europe, bouncing between hostels and drinking absinthe, I instead decided to take a deeper look at America the beautiful.

Hitch hiking is something of the past. With all the crazies and nut jobs out there today, you would have to be out of your mind to catch a ride with a complete stranger. Plus, I just got a new truck. And what better way to break in my new ride than by taking a nice long road trip. I didn’t want to plan my trip too much. You need to leave room for adventure and spontaneity.

I was starting in Northern Maine and all I knew was that I wanted to taste the salty water of the Pacific Ocean. So I packed some clothes, blankets and food into my Toyota Tacoma and hit the road. It was summer, so rather than staying in a hotel, I laid down a blanket in my truck’s bed to rest my bones at night.

I saw a lot of new things and really got to experience Middle America, because there is a lot of it. I would drive for days and the landscape always remained the same. I was starting to wonder if I would ever escape the flat, cornfield-lined highways; until I hit Colorado. I basked in nature’s beauty as my truck climbed through the Rockies. That John Denver knew what he was talking about. The mountains were gorgeous. I continued on to hit Utah, which has the bluest skies I have ever seen. From there I was on to Northern California.

After a few days of tasting my fair share of wines and relaxing in the vineyards of Sonoma, I continued on down to San Diego. Overall, I had a great trip. I met a lot of characters, heard a lot of accents, and ate a lot of different foods. And I encourage you to get to know your own country because each city has something to offer. I also recommend two products to anyone considering embarking on a journey of this magnitude.

First, for those who have trucks, a hard truck bed cover is really helpful. It covered all my gear so I didn’t have to worry about it falling out along the way or being left out in the rain. Personally, I recommend Undercover tonneau covers because they have hinges that allow you to prop up the back, turning your truck bed into a nice shaded hang out. Secondly, for those of you who don’t have trucks, I recommend a set of rubber floor mats. I was always getting out of the car and exploring—walking through fields, trails, dirt paths—and tracked a lot of mud and funk into my truck. My mats stopped the gunk from my shoes from staining my carpet. And I hosed them off easily when they got dirty.