Why so many keys? One, two, three, FOUR!

[Kalashnikov]

So we bought an AS (thrilled, yay!)

But one bone-headed thing I noticed was the number of keys:
1) Door key
2) Dead bolt key (can't these be the same as [1]?)
3) External storage key
4) External compartment key

What is going on?

The little compartments are locking a small plastic door that I could easily pry open with a flat head screwdriver for crying out loud! I don't want to lock any of those little doors anyway.

I guess I want to lock the outside storage areas. Fine, they have a lock.

Why the two separate front door keys? Redundant! (I do like the deadbolt however)

Ugh. Is there any way to eliminate a couple of these?

[rmkrum]

Nope. Bog standard arrangement.

[Tim A.]

Our 2002 has four keys and has since we bought it new. Doesn't bother me because of fooling with them for so long

Tim

[Meeks]

Wait until you add in a hitch lock key, hitch receiver lock key, and a bike key if you bring bikes!

[Silvr_Bullet]

I keep tack of which is which the key to the rear has an ‘R’ in the serial #, the door and deadbolt are easy,so that leaves one for fresh water and shower door, others hitch lock, etc. are a little trickier. I hope senility holds off, I’ll be in trouble.

[Adventure.AS]

You can leave the water and shower compartment key in the lock and don't use the door lock, only the deadbolt.

[daleyocum]

The little shower and water doors are standard chs751 locks which are pretty universal. Many RVs use the same key.

The storage compartment keys at least aren’t chs751’s but I heard from the dealer most Airstreams use the same key for those, too.

Airstream does all this for their convenience, not yours. If you store valuable things in the storage compartments changing those keys is something worth considering. You could also swap out the water/shower door chs751 keys if you want them to be the same as the storage compartments. https://shoprvlocks.com/ is one place that sells those parts.

[trikdacy]

I seperate my TV keys & AS keys on two seperate rings. I further put each key on it's own small ring so I can remove the smaller ring from the larger ring while being used. After a few trips I have gotten used to the numbers on the keys for quick reference. While this is quite the pain, this is now just part of my routine. I do agree that there are too many keys.

[drbrick]

WE have

1-dead bolt
2-door
3-x2 outside storage
4-outside shower door
5-water fill door
6-hitch lock
7-coupler vault
8-trimax wheel locks

The only thing NOT locked is the crap tank drain valve because I figure nobody wants what's stored there!

[BobnGayl]

Don't forget the stabilizer door key. That makes 10 with hitch lock the two for our storage unit. Lots of keys. As a previous poster said, several of these keys are universal on RVs which is interesting as well and doesn't give a sense of security.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by Meeks

Wait until you add in a hitch lock key, hitch receiver lock key, and a bike key if you bring bikes!

I finally got anal about keys and printed labels for plastic key tags. The keys live in the truck's console and never leave except when used.
Coupler lock, cable lock for surge protector, hitch lock, lock for propane tanks, cable lock for 30 amp surge in storage building, cable lock on the generator. There's a pile.
Airstream keys go in a blue zipper pouch in the truck. The storage bay keys get a black band while the water fill key gets a red band.
Never set the keys on the bumper and walk away.

[cazual6]

Originally Posted by drbrick

WE have

1-dead bolt
2-door
3-x2 outside storage
4-outside shower door
5-water fill door
6-hitch lock
7-coupler vault
8-trimax wheel locks

The only thing NOT locked is the crap tank drain valve because I figure nobody wants what's stored there!

Relatively the same.

I carry two sets of keyrings.

1. For essentials, door, deadbolt
2. For everything else. (stays inside the rig by the door)

[Daquenzer]

Suggestion:
1) Always leave one set of keys in the TV (we have keyless entry pad on pickup) or somewhere else. NEVER put both sets of keys in the trailer!!!
2) Get a "Tile" to find the keys if lost. It works with your bluetooth on your phone. We use ours often.

I've heard of the main door coming open. Recommendation to lock both locks on main door to prevent it from coming open and blowing off. That will be our plan next year. However our dead bolt right now is very hard to open and shut. If anyone has an idea how to get that to work better I'm open to suggestions

[TRIPPPIN]

Add one more unique key if you have a rear hatch.
I would love to see a keypad main door lock for Airstreams like the ones available for standard RV doors. No retrofit available to my knowledge. Better still take a lesson from automotive industry and add keyless entry and all door locking unlocking.

[djb75]

We keep the door keys on one ring and all of the auxiliaries on another. The door keys stay with us; the other keys live in the trailer. When we need them, we get them out and when the trailer goes into storage, we know exactly where to find them the next time we go out. Of course, this doesn't reduce the number of keys - just the walkaround tonnage.
A locksmith might be able to advise on the possibility of rekeying or installing a standard set of locks around the outside.

[greghoro]

Originally Posted by Kalashnikov

Ugh. Is there any way to eliminate a couple of these?

Locksmith

[parnless]

I've got a 2000 Airstream Landyacht 30 which has 6 keys. One for the ignition, one for the drivers door, two for the main entrance door, one for outside compartments and another one for the small access door for a/c cords. Some of the keys are inserted with the keys teeth facing down and others with the teeth facing up. What a marvelous idea they came up with to screw with a users mind. Unbelievable to say the least. Also, while driving back home from a trip last year, our 19-inch 40-lb RCA TV literally fell out of the dash when we hit a pothole. Airstream has no knowledge of how the TV was installed or even how it is supposed to be held in the dash. Apparently their records only go back to 2006 models. I have since installed a flat screen to fill to hole left by the original model.

[Mikebrady62]

Originally Posted by daleyocum

The little shower and water doors are standard chs751 locks which are pretty universal. Many RVs use the same key.

The storage compartment keys at least aren’t chs751’s but I heard from the dealer most Airstreams use the same key for those, too.

Airstream does all this for their convenience, not yours. If you store valuable things in the storage compartments changing those keys is something worth considering. You could also swap out the water/shower door chs751 keys if you want them to be the same as the storage compartments. https://shoprvlocks.com/ is one place that sells those parts.

Ordering the same from Lowe’s or Wal-Mart is half the price.

[daleyocum]

Originally Posted by Mikebrady62

Ordering the same from Lowe’s or Wal-Mart is half the price.

Glad that works. What’s special about that Shoprvlocks site is they have measuring guides and a bunch different parts to adapt to weird sizes. If a standard one from Lowes works that’s even better.

[KK4YZ]

After I finally memorized which key is for what, we decided to trade for a 2020 AS. In 2020 at least they decided to go with one key for all external storage, battery compartment, water fill, outdoor shower.
Different keys for the door, however.