Locked out - Never again

Some of you read a post I put up two weeks ago when my dead bolt lock partially locked when we were moving stuff from the bus to the house.  The dead bolt closed just enough to actually lock but not to much that the door didn't close.  Because the lock was in between being locked and unlocked the locksmith could not pick it.  If we had our spare set of keys we could have simply fully locked the lock and then unlocked it, the extra set of keys was in the bus too.

We will NEVER get locked out again.  I installed this safe in one of my basement compartments.  It is very secure and because I mounted it so deep in the compartment it would be VERY difficult, if not impossible, to pry it open.  We have a full extra set of bus and toad keys in the safe.

I post this only as an idea for others whom haven't had to endure being locked out of their bus, it was NO fun.

Now all you need to do is remember to have the keys to the compartment and the combination to the safe.  I would have problems with both. But I am 72 YOA and can not put something new in my memory without something else falling out.

LOL - Maybe I will zip tie a compartment key somewhere in my LP gas compartment.  LOL - not really, if I am locked out of the bus and the compartment is also locked I know the locksmith can pick that, it only has three tumblers.  And most likely 3/4 of everybody parked wherever we are, their compartment keys will open it anyway.

Wrap a spare key in plastic wrap and duck tape it to a frame member underneath the RV.  Road dirt will make it blend in within a few hundred miles.  The plastic keeps the adhesive off of the key.

For an extra security step, hide your spare key inside a compartment and put the compartment key under the tape.  If someone finds the taped key, they still have to figure out which compartment has your spare keys.

We learned that lesson the hard way too. :

When we bought out TT 12 years ago, I put a set of keys in one of those magnetic key holders and placed in inside the frame rails. I wonder if it is still there?

I replaced one of the key locks on a cargo door with a combination lock. They are available with 3 or 4 dial combinations. I then keep a spare set of keys in the cargo area.

SOB - I never heard of this.  I wish I knew about this a few days ago, and it is only $10 bucks.

I have a basement key in the magnetic key box in my electric cord compartment, then the house key hidden in one of the basement compartments.  Good luck finding it as once a year I empty out everything and every container just to make sure it's still there.  It's always a head-scratcher of "now what container did I put it in?"

I have a spare set of motorhome keys in my pocket, always, along with a spare door key for the toad, on the same ring as my house keys. That's in addition to checking that I have the keys I normally use in hand before closing/locking doors. Thankfully I learned that lesson more years ago than I care to think about -- the hard way, of course.

That's what makes the push button combo. locks on the Fords nice. Just leave all the keys inside and lock everything up and forget about it. OR. Just don't ever lock anything.

I locked my keys inside my motorhome at the south visitor center at Joshua Tree National Park.  After waiting a while hoping someone would come by with a spare key to my locked basement bin where my spare key was hidden, the rangers had to radio the other visitor center because there was no phone or cell service at the south center.  Then the north visitor center had to call CoachNet for me.  Took well over an hour for them to come, so I ended up spending about four hours at visitor center.

I am too embarrassed to go back--at least until they switch rangers! 

I now carry an extra key in my purse and have one hidden in an outside bin that I don't lock. It will take a robber to completely empty the bin and maybe several other bins to find it.

My story is not really locking my keys in the camper...have never done that (knocking on wood).  But rather losing a set of keys.  Shortly after we bought our 5th wheel, and got a new(er) truck to pull it, we did our first "break in" camping trip.  It was an awesome weekend. Everything worked like it should, and it was a great success.  So we are getting ready to head out on our next adventure, and danged if I couldn't find my keys.  Luckily I had an entire spare set.  We typically keep one set in the truck, and we have one set at the house as a spare.  So for probably three years (could have been more), we thought we maybe set the keys on the back of the truck after securing everything and heading out from the campground, they flew off the back of the truck on the way home.  Then before one trip, for whatever reason, I decided to take out the spare coats we keep in the camper (we rarely camp when it gets too cold).  And what do you think I found in the coat pocket?  Uh huh.  Me and my wife still giggle about that every time we head out in the camper.

I have a "magic key" stowed in a magnetic key holder in the non-locking generator compartment. I call it a "magic key" because even if someone finds it, the odds that they can make it work are very slim. First they have to figure out which door it opens, the main entry door or the driver's door. Then they have to figure out that fully inserting the key in the lock as you normally would doesn't work, but inserting the key just right does. The key was accidentally mis-cut when I was having spares made, and I thought this would be an excellent use for it. We keep a full set of spares in the coach...

ClickHill said:

LOL - Maybe I will zip tie a compartment key somewhere in my LP gas compartment.  LOL - not really, if I am locked out of the bus and the compartment is also locked I know the locksmith can pick that, it only has three tumblers.  And most likely 3/4 of everybody parked wherever we are, their compartment keys will open it anyway.

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I keep a spare coach ignition key in the coach (since that will never be needed to open the door).  I keep a spare set of coach door and compartment keys and toad keys in a small magnetic box TAPED to a wall inside the LP compartment.  You cannot see the box - have to feel for it and  it is also covered by wood chocks and plastic blocks.  The LP compartment has two levels - one for blocks, etc and the LP tank on the lower level.  So far I have not had a need to use any of them.

Bill

edjunior said:

My story is not really locking my keys in the camper...have never done that (knocking on wood).  But rather losing a set of keys.  Shortly after we bought our 5th wheel, and got a new(er) truck to pull it, we did our first "break in" camping trip.  It was an awesome weekend. Everything worked like it should, and it was a great success.  So we are getting ready to head out on our next adventure, and danged if I couldn't find my keys.  Luckily I had an entire spare set.  We typically keep one set in the truck, and we have one set at the house as a spare.  So for probably three years (could have been more), we thought we maybe set the keys on the back of the truck after securing everything and heading out from the campground, they flew off the back of the truck on the way home.  Then before one trip, for whatever reason, I decided to take out the spare coats we keep in the camper (we rarely camp when it gets too cold).  And what do you think I found in the coat pocket?  Uh huh.  Me and my wife still giggle about that every time we head out in the camper.

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Ed, please forgive me but your story reminds me of something that happened to us.  It is off topic so skip on down if not interested.  We had a cat that loved to play with small chew toys but she never swallowed them; however, one day at church we were given a couple of little St Patrick thingies to put on our coats for St Patricks day.  They were made  out of the same material as pipe cleaners.  When we got home, I took mine off and placed it on a table beside the couch and promptly forgot it.  Well we saw the cat playing with it a while later and thought she would tire of it and then we would throw it away.  But the next day we could not find the thing anywhere in the house after a very thorough inspection. So we then figured out that she had ate it.  Off to the vet we go and an $80 Xray revealed-------------nothing inside her that resembled that St Patrick thingie.  So we were really stumped until one day about five or six months later when it magically appeared in the middle of the floor of the living room.  This time I personally escorted it out to the garbage can. We have never figured out how this happened but the cat must have hid the thing and then later retrieved it.

Bill

A combination response to Ed's original post re keys and to response #15 from Bill N Joan.  My Doberman has an entry key for our 5'er on her collar.  Not too many people will approach her even if they knew what it's for.  And they darn sure wouldn't be able to get it off her collar with out a "dog" fight from her!  I know that if she is out with us (usually the case) I'll never be locked out. 8)

I keep a compartment door key and a RV door access key hung on a hook inside the passenger side propane compartment. I use them all the time when at home. It saves time from going in the house to get my keys.

Lowell said:

When we bought out TT 12 years ago, I put a set of keys in one of those magnetic key holders and placed in inside the frame rails. I wonder if it is still there?

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I keep a spare set of keys for the trailer in my pickup and a spare set of keys for the pickup in the trailer. Even at my age, I think I am still sharp enough not to lock myself out of both at the same time!...I hope... ???

LP bays in motorhomes can not be locked.  At least that is true with our old Aerbus and the new Pace Arrow.  On our old Aerbus, I bolted a small combination key safe inside the bay.  Worked great.  Forgot about it until reading this post.  Now we need to find another key safe and bolt it into the Pace Arrow LP bay.