So I did the unthinkable

[polarlyse]

Yesterday I did the unthinkable. I drove off with my stashed set of keys sitting on top of the propane tank. And yes they are somewhere along the road. I only went around a several mile loop to test drive the new Anderson hitch I had installed. I took 2 trips around looking but no luck. Fortunately I have an extra set and today I took them to a nearby full service locksmith expecting them to, maybe, have a couple of the blanks. But I was pleasantly surprised when they had all of them. Even the water access. And yes the door key and deadbolt also. So with my wallet a little lighter ( but not too much) I'm still upset with my dumbness but less than disgusted with myself. I still have to try them out to be sure but I do feel better.

See ya on the road sometime

[monkeypants]

Haven't gone that far yet, but I can't tell you how many times I've looked in the rear view mirror to see them sitting atop the tank.

[moosetags]

That sounds a lot like one of my tricks. I've never done exactly that, but I have done very similar.

Brian

[Gene]

Roger, you are not alone. I left the trailer keys somewhere, most probably on top of the propane cover, or maybe on the tongue near the coupler, in Alaska a couple of years ago.

I don't like to keep putting them in my pocket and taking them out every time I need to use them when we are unhitching or hitching, so I'll put them there. I realized I didn't have them in my pocket a few miles away and we went back. We looked all over the site and the exit road, but probably they were on the highway somewhere. We told the CG owner and asked them to contact us if they found them, but never heard anything. A couple of days later, in Homer, we found a locksmith who had every blank except one. I got that one later. Of course, my wife had her set so he could make more. I probably should have had a 3rd set made, but never thought of it.

I continue to leave them on the cover or tongue when locking or unlocking the coupler lever, the coupler itself and other things. Since I wear gloves to keep the grease off my hands, it is difficult to use my pocket for the keys between uses. Sometimes I leave them on the truck bumper. But I do have a heightened awareness of keys now.

The first time it happens you only made a mistake. The 2nd time you are dumb. The 3rd time they lock you up for your own safety and they lose the key. We both have 2 strikes left.

Gene

[ventport]

That's why you never put your name or address on the key ring. Even putting Airstream on it is not good. If a bad person found the keys they would know what they were for and where it was.

[idroba]

Just wait until you leave one of the new "proximity" keys somewhere. Pure panic not only because you can't drive the rig but the cost to replace and re program one is in the $300 + range. I absolutely love the system, but am scared to death of the loss of a key. At least, if you don't have the key in your pocket, the TV won't run, so you may know you have left them close by. Keep them on the same ring with the AS keys when you travel.

At $300 or more, a spare key becomes a big luxury. No more hidden keys.

Ah, the price of convenience. I still love it, walk up to the car and grab the handle and it opens. A tap on the handle and it locks. No keys to put in the ignition. No keys to open the back liftgate or trunk. No fishing with greasy hands for the keys in your pocket.

Now, if the same electronic proximity key could be used across different brands of cars and trucks, and it it could operate the electronic locks on my house, I think I would just have one implanted in my body... LOL. But probably in a few years it will happen.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by idroba

~~
Now, if the same electronic proximity key could be used across different brands of cars and trucks, and it it could operate the electronic locks on my house, I think I would just have one implanted in my body... LOL. But probably in a few years it will happen.

The NFC chips in the newest smartphones are a possibility for that... though of course auto manufacturers won't want it to be that "open" and you'll have to buy an iPhone for BMWs, a Samsung Android phone for Mercedes, or an HTC Android phone for GM.

re: leaving the keys on the propane tanks: I think I'll stop cursing my OCD that has me putting them back in my pocket even though I know I'll need them again in 2 minutes.

[richinny]

i have one of these on my key rings:
Bolt Snap, Swivel Snap, Snap Hook, Handbag Hardware, Purse Hardware
they're available in many places.

they come in other types but i like this style the best. the brass ones operate smoothly even if they've gotten wet. at least when you forget where you put them they're usually clipped somewhere. i clip them to a belt loop on my pants and it keeps me from putting key holes in my leg :-)

[bredlo]

Time to get one of those retractable janitor keychains!
Just don't load it up with 200 keys. ; )

[Bill M.]

My wife and I did manage to do a tag team stooges act that resulted in the loss of one of the smart keys for our Dodge. And yes, it was in the ball park of $300 to replace.

[nilesrob]

Hardly unthinkable! Losing a set of keys is bad. But worse would be the door lock or deadbolt locking on you accidentally while you are outside and the keys are inside.

I keep an extra set of keys in the TV, just in case.

[polarlyse]

I rarely lock the trailer when we're on the road. Only if in a " shady" type of campsite. I do keep the spare set in the truck and I have a hidden key for that. I keep it locked when parked at my sons house but it's been open lately since I've been working on it. Since it's usually locked I would use the keys to open the door but since I've been leaving it open they were in their resting place. Thus the loss. Hopefully lesson learned. Glad it was not as traumatic as it could have been. The 3rd. and hidden key for my Dodge truck will open the doors but will not start it. So it at least gets me in. It sometimes has a mind of it's own and the doors lock unexpectedly so I've needed it a couple of times.

[MrUKToad]

Yes, the sight of the keys sitting atop the propane cover through the rear view mirror is not new to me. Not lost 'em yet but it's surely only a matter of time.

The deadlock dropped on me for the first time this last weekend. Fortunately Mrs Toad was in residence so no harm done, but she did wonder why I was banging on the window. Spares in the Toadmobile but that was locked - might have to rethink that plan!

[mimiandrews]

I have an ID badge lanyard that holds the keys around my neck when I'm working around or hitching up the Airstream. It hangs on a cup hook on the kitchen cabinet next to the door in the trailer when it's not in use.

[vswingfield]

Aw that's nothing. I thought from the thread title that you were going to say you covered the entire Airstream with silicone seal.

Glad you were able to get copies of everything.

[Friday]

Originally Posted by ventport

That's why you never put your name or address on the key ring. Even putting Airstream on it is not good. If a bad person found the keys they would know what they were for and where it was.

We have a national key-tag service in Canada run by the War-Amps... it is a numbered tag you register online, if they are found they can be put in any mailbox free of charge and they come back to you.

If you want to be a cheap-skate, it is even free to use the tags... it is by donation. But, they have returned over 1 million sets of keys since they started, and the War Amps is 100% funded by the key-tag service.

Cool.

[Gene]

I have decided to have the butler hold the keys.

Barb hangs her keys (trailer and truck) on the hooks on the side of the upper cabinets over the kitchen sink. If the deadbolt locks itself and I'm not around (or have left my keys on the propane tank again), she'll be locked out. It did self lock once. I wish she wouldn't do that, but women seem to either not have pockets, forget they do or are trained to put keys in a pocketbook or hooks. I guess I have to hire a lady-in-waiting (what do they wait for?) to hold keys.

I think the truck won't start without the key nearby, but you do have to turn it to start the engine. I'm not sure I'd want a key that allows you to unlock the door by touching it—wouldn't anyone be able to open it when you are nearby, but not watching or walking away? Are they going to do away with keyholes next so if the key battery or the vehicle battery are dead, you can't open the door or start it? What if my key battery goes dead—will the truck start? How will I drive to the store to get a battery?

Gene

[girlscan2]

I kept (notice the past tense here) all my TT keys and spares to my vehicles in a dresser drawer. That was a very good plan to always have those expensive electronic keys when I couldn't find one. Unfortunately, my house was robbed in Sept and the first place the thieves hit was the drawer where my spare keys (and credit cards) were "hidden" (and I use that term more than loosely.) I now have no keys to either TT, no spares to anything, and rampant identity theft issues. Until this stunt, I always considered myself relatively intelligent. Now, highly trainable!