Dog locked inside trailer with the keys!

[Kristi Foster]

Our 80 pound chocolate lab was locked inside the trailer along with the trailer keys. My husband and I both tried to fit through the outside storage access door which opens into the hallway.We were able to knock open the inside cabinet front and see the dog, but neither of us could wiggle through.We called our 8 year old grand-daughter on her way to school to come to the rescue.She has a large yellow lab,so was not afraid of ours.She was small enough and brave enough to get inside and open the door.We were out of State at a family funeral, parked in my in-laws driveway. When my husband went into their house he didn't take his keys or cell phone with him (big mistake). When I joined him later, I shut the door and it locked! It could have been a huge problem if we were at a campground, with no phone numbers, no keys, and in our PJs.We will have another set of keys made, and now we know that if we ever get locked inside the trailer that we can get outside by lifting the mattress and bedboard then push out the storage access door.Sometimes it takes a scare to learn a lesson or two.I hope others can learn from our mistake and prepare ahead for a similar mishap!

[kennethowens]

3 Sets of keys.

1 for regular usage
2 to be kept in the TV
3 to be kept in the trailer

[Whirlaway]

I put a "realtors" lockbox on my AS. So if I did lock myself out there is another set with easy access. Seems to work well at taking that worry away.

[RLS]

Originally Posted by Whirlaway

I put a "realtors" lockbox on my AS. So if I did lock myself out there is another set with easy access. Seems to work well at taking that worry away.

I did the same thing, someone from here gave me the idea

Bob

[markdoane]

With most Realtors® switching over to electronic lockboxes, there are lots of old mechanical lockboxes available. Talk to your friendly neighborhood Realtor® and maybe she will give you one.

Thanks for a great solution!

[Kristi Foster]

Where did you buy the Lock Box and approximately how much do they cost? Also, on our way home from our trip,our tow vehicle quit working at a gas station about 20 minutes from home.We had to have AAA come get me, the Dog, and the truck. The poor old dog had to ride in our truck and be pulled up and down the tow truck ramp. The driver wasn't afraid of him, thank goodness, otherwise we would have had another dog crisis to deal with. My nephew, who lives nearby and also has a trailer, was able to come pull our camper home with his truck. Another lesson learned, add RV coverage to your AAA and they will put your truck on the towtruck bed and pull your trailer behind.What a week!!

[MrRivet]

We had the same thing happen to us. Glad I had the spare set in the TV with keyless entry. Only opening for us to gain access if we did not have the spare set was through the trunk and cut through the bed frame. I found the spare key keeper in the attached pictures at a local hardware store. When closed it looks like an electrical component complete with a GE marking. It comes with a metal plate with and adheasive backing so it can be placed on any surface (aluminum).

[kennethowens]

Desperate measures - I wonder which way
to get in by force does the least damage?

[RLS]

The Master lock box is around $20 at Amazon.com

[mimiandrews]

Until you can get a lockbox, you might consider this idea.

Back when I was just out of college and living a long way from family and close friends, I realized that getting locked out could be really bad.

I formed a habit of never locking a door unless the key to that door was in my hand--not my purse, not my pocket, not in the car, and not in someone else's possession. It has served me well in the more than 40 years since.

[kposey]

Originally Posted by mimiandrews

Until you can get a lockbox, you might consider this idea.

Back when I was just out of college and living a long way from family and close friends, I realized that getting locked out could be really bad.

I formed a habit of never locking a door unless the key to that door was in my hand--not my purse, not my pocket, not in the car, and not in someone else's possession. It has served me well in the more than 40 years since.

Just make sure the "right" key is in your hand and not one that goes to something else. Don't ask me how I know this.

[Steve & Susan]

Our mishap like that cost me a new screen for the galley window - we were lucky that the windows weren't locked that day.

Ditto on the three sets of keys. I see that the AS store now carries blanks for the newer locks. We got ours from the manufacturer.

I still cringe when we close the door!

[ROBERT CROSS]

Where's Andy?, he know.

[warbler5]

I am lost here.....how do you lock your trailers (especially the newer ones) without using keys from the outside? Perhaps I shouldn't know this, as this has so far prevented us from locking our keys inside our 2004 Classic!

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by warbler5

I am lost here.....how do you lock your trailers (especially the newer ones) without using keys from the outside? Perhaps I shouldn't know this, as this has so far prevented us from locking our keys inside our 2004 Classic!

That feature is designed in, it locks on it's own when closed, InlandAndy splain please.

[warbler5]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

That feature is designed in, it locks on it's own when closed, InlandAndy splain please.

Ours must be defective, then....and, has been since brand new! We frequently close the door, leaving it unlocked, and I have never found it locked when I tried to re-open it! In fact, it sits right now with the door closed and unlocked in out backyard... It's a mechanical lock, so how can this happen?

[briboy]

We found out on our inaugural trip. Slam the door of the 2006 international ccd and lots of times the handle slides into locked position. We had only one set of keys when that first happened, and luckily we were outside the trailer with the keys. Next stop on the itinerary: Home Depot. We now have the three sets of keys, one stays in the TV (with keyless entry) at all times. Love the lockbox idea. Airstreamers are an ingenious bunch

[warbler5]

I find this interesting.... Here are 3 of us with fairly new Airstreams. One person says the lock was designed that way; one says it happens accidentally, when the door is slammed; and, one (me!) who slams the door, leaving it unlocked, who has never had this happen! I also leave pets inside our trailer, so I will likely hide a spare key somewhere....just in case!

[RLS]

Sometimes when opening the door from the inside to go out, my fingers slide down on the lock lever and that's how we get locked out! The wife has also been know to do the same thing. The lock box has 3 keys in it, the 2 trailer keys and the tv key.

Bob

[c177tx]

It is easy to lock yourself out of the new ones, I should know as I have done it once and I am sure glad I had a second set of keys in my TV that was unlocked at the time. My 2008 Bambi has two locks on the door, one is the dead bolt that can only be thrown with a key from the outside or the handle from the inside that one take a dileberate effort to lock and if it was thrown as you leave the trailer the door would not close, the other is the little lever that is spring loaded, a good bump, or a slam of the door will cause this lever to jump over and lock the door. This is the lock that locks the door handle, and the one that got me locked out. I placed a small piece of foam in the slot that keeps this lever from being moved by accident. It is appears that there are two groups, those that have already been locked out and those that have yet to be locked out.