Stable mats as ground protection mats?

[chrisg3103]

Anyone got any experience with thick Eva foam stable mats? Found somewhere localish I can get 2 inch thick mats for £20 each, damn site cheaper and lighter than proper rubber ground protection mats. Figure if they can withstand a horse a mini digger shouldn't make them fold in half? Not to dig on, just travel.
Or are they likely to get ripped to bits?

 

[qwakers]

got some for their intended use.

they are ****e.

wore through in 1 winter.

 

[Agrismith]

Absolutely no use whatsoever.
Track matts are rigid.
Stable mats are soft flexible.
I have had to pull more than enough stabble matts out of the mud for horsey clients that put them in gateways to know that not only do they do a rubbish job. They are also very heavy and difficult to retrieve without making even more mess.

If you want a cheaper option look at stokboard this is rigid and very tough but heavier than a proper track matt.

 

[addjunkie]

Eva mats are quite light and quite soft. Id not use them with mini digger regularly, but for a 1 off I might. I find stokbiard blooming expensive considering its just recycled bake wrap, but hard wearing stuff.

Converyor belts can often be had cheap too for such tasks too

 

[hotponyshoes]

Stable mats are normally more than £20 and always in demand so grab them and sell them on to fund some proper ones!

 

[500e]

Know anyone in a quarry conveyer belts break and wear there is usually a discarded one somewhere on site a donation to tea fund helps.
Or round us a box of hot mixed Chillies!! Don't ask

 

[chrisg3103]

Was worth a shot but I'm hearing a resounding no
Conveyor sounds interesting, don't know many folk in quarrys though

 

[Turbo]

Would cow mats not be a better option? They are normally thick rubber & will stand more abuse than foam.

 

[Agrismith]

Would cow mats not be a better option? They are normally thick rubber & will stand more abuse than foam.

Wouldn't work either and neither would conveyor belt not as trackmats.
They might work if the ground is solid and you want to stop scuffing but trackmats are designed to spread the weight over a larger area so need to be rigid. Using anything highly flexible won't increase the area the tracks bearing on and the machine will still rut the ground. If you just want to protect the ground from track marks or when tipping material down the side of a trench anything will do. But if you want to cross a wet area without making a mess only rigid boards will do

 

[sako243]

See if you can pop down to a local builders and get some damaged floor boards, ply or OSB. Being on tracks there's not going to be the point loading like a horse and they should survive for a one off. A mate uses 18mm ply on 24t diggers on soft ground to help spread things about.

I got a trailer load of damaged T&G floorboards free from my local so I could use them protection for windows when we were sandblasting.

 

[Turbo]

I was at the scrappy one day with a load & spotted a stack of 10mm thick road plates all in good nick & still level, ideal for a bench top. Enquired about them & they were quite cheap but funds were low (hence the scrappy run!) so I had to pass on them. Roll on a few weeks later when I had funds, went back to get some of the plate but it was all gone.