# Spare keys..what do you do?



## clemmo (Sep 15, 2008)

Ok..so Im pretty bad at losing stuff.

I also fear being miles away from home and finding Ive lost the key when I get back to the M/H.

I was thinking of hiding a spare ignition key inside the home and hiding a spare door key somewhere outside the van up in the chassis.

Whats your thoughts on this?
Any body do this?..or similar?

Cheers,
Clemmo


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## Jented (Jan 12, 2010)

Hi.
Jennifer allways has a spare set of keys,despite my best efforts,i have never managed to loose her yet.
Ted.

PS. Anyone need a lodger? lol.


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

I have an electronic key finder.
It works on the sonar principal and has a range over 100 metres.
After getting in a panic when I lost the master key to the van for the umpteenth time I thought it was time :roll: .

Its called a Loc8tor and I'm impressed with its accuracy.

Needless to say since the purchase I've never mislaid the keys! :?


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## inkey-2008 (May 24, 2008)

If you leave a engine key in the van and a thief finds and uses it the insurance wont pay.

Andy


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## Crindle (Feb 2, 2007)

Hi all......several years ago a friend with a new Winnebago Brave returned to the van, hot day, dogs inside going berserk, no key, butchered the door to gain access, what a mess.
From that day on we have always had a spare door key hidden outside the van, its alway's possible to find a secret spot someware. Over 25 years have needed the spare on a couple of occasions, but well worth it in my opinion.......Crindle.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Ted

_Jennifer always has a spare set of keys, despite my best efforts, I have never managed to *loose* her yet._

I hope you don't *lose* your *loose* wife!

We are thinking of hiding an ignition key in a *very* secret place inside the van.

The spare Ford key that is not coded will be hidden under the van.

Any thief who found that would have a frustrating time trying to start the van because although it turns the ignition on and the engine tries to start it simply doesn't carry on.

A good time-waster! Thieves like a quick in-out (!) so would give up.


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## Jented (Jan 12, 2010)

Hi Pippin.
Spelling was never a strong point of mine, nor the computor,but Loose women! How would one go about getting an A-level in Loose women?.........My mother warned me about Hussies and Tarts,but never said a word about loose women. Thank you for the correction,stay well,stay lucky.
Ted


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## LisaB (Apr 24, 2009)

we hid a cab key in the depths of the van - a burglar would have had to have been in there a while to have discovered, by which time they would have more than likely been satisfied with belongings.

We hid a habitation key on the chassis.

This was our old van - I haven't got round to ordering a spare hab key for this van yet.


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## Euramobilly (Apr 3, 2010)

I agree with Pippin about hiding the chipped key in a deep dark place inside the van and keeping a 'dumb' key under the van. Even if they do find it they can't nick the van with it. 

However if you happen to have a VW T5-based van the rules are slightly different. You can still use a dumb (unchipped) key to open the door but the alarm will go off (assuming your van has an original VW alarm) if you don't insert a valid chipped key and turn the ignition on with it within a few seconds which makes it harder to retrieve your 'real' key from its deep dark place in time. This problem comes up a lot here in Cornwall with us windsurfers and surfers who don't want to do the daft thing of leaving a real working key on a tyre but don't want to risk using a wet pouch etc out at sea.


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Unless your "spare" key is secured in a safe should your vehicle ever get stolen then the insurance company WILL NOT PAY OUT as you have failed to take all reasonable steps to safeguard it. 
  
If you check your policy document it will almost certainly say (somewhere in the very small print) that keys should NOT be left anywhere in the vehicle, and that if you do leave one in it they will not cover you for theft.

If you check with your company most of them will consider a locked safe as being good enough security for your spare.

Many companies ask to see ALL of the keys that the _vehicle was issued with when new_ in the event of a claim for theft of the vehicle !!!

So check if you have all of the keys you SHOULD have. If in doubt get another spare so you will always be able to produce the "correct" number :wink: :wink:


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## badger750 (Nov 1, 2009)

we managed to lock the keys in the m/h on the iow in april all that was open was a roof vent and no spare keys so spent 1/2 hour trying to jimmy the front door open which we finally done with untwisted metal wall tie talk about panic


terry


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## clemmo (Sep 15, 2008)

Sounds sensible...

where would you store the key that locks the safe?!!


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## bubble63 (Sep 30, 2009)

hi 

cover it in grease, use a posi-drive self tapper and screw it underneath to the bottom of the floor. Only a desperate keyless owner would venture near it. 
The rest would not want the mess. 
greasy black key or bent door. Only you would choose the key. 

neill cambridge


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

When travelling in Europe I always have a spare key secreted on the outside of the vehicle (there are loads of safe hidey holes), together with a €50 note so if I had my wallet and keys nicked I could always get into the van and buy some grub.


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## Hezbez (Feb 7, 2009)

Mrplodd said:


> Many companies ask to see ALL of the keys that the _vehicle was issued with when new_ in the event of a claim for theft of the vehicle !!!
> 
> So check if you have all of the keys you SHOULD have. If in doubt get another spare so you will always be able to produce the "correct" number :wink: :wink:


What if you bought your van second hand and it only came with one key?


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Not sure if this is off-topic or not.

Recently parked on edge of village. Went for long walk. Did not lock MH because of problem opening door again (since solved), but set alarm.

On return, note from local police "we have removed laptop for safe keeping"

At local Nick, everything very friendly and retrieval OK. 

I asked why the alarm did not go off. Answer: It did but stopped when we shut the door. Same as when I make a mistake, blows for 5 seconds till I correct it, so nobody reacts. 

Anybody can be in and out in a few seconds and nobody will do anything if the alarm stops.

Surely it would be better if the alarm, once triggered, only stopped if the alarm fob were activated, not just because the door is shut.

Is that just my system?

Any comments/advice?

Geoff


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## JockandRita (Jun 1, 2005)

nicholsong said:


> Surely it would be better if the alarm, once triggered, only stopped if the alarm fob were activated, not just because the door is shut.
> 
> Is that just my system?
> 
> ...


Hi Geoff,

That's how most alarms operate. After so many minutes, they reset again, whilst flashing an activation code which tells the owner what zone was compromised.
Closing the door once the alarm has gone off shouldn't make any difference at all, it should still sound until it either resets, or the fob is activated again.
What make of alarm system do you have on your MH?

Regards,

Jock.


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

I once had a little magnetic key box which had a really strong magnet.

This could be placed under the van in such a place that it would be quite invisible to any lowlife who didn't come prepared with a mirror on a stick!! 8O 

I don't know if they are still available, but this thread has prompted me to have a look in Halfords and the like.

I would vary Pippin's idea of a "dumb" ignition key, and would instead hide a spare habitation door key in the magnetic box. No tea leaf would ever find it if it was hidden carefully enough, and the ignition key could be (_as he said_) very carefully hidden within the van, maybe in the safe.

Gaining access to the van is the vital issue if one is unfortunate enough to lose one's keys!  :roll:

Dave


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Hello Jock

Thanks your reply

My alarm is a GT Autoalarm. the small Owner's Guide cover models GT 103, GT 109 and GT 111. Since it was already fitted I am not sure which of these models it is.

Geoff


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

nicholsong said:


> Surely it would be better if the alarm, once triggered, only stopped if the alarm fob were activated, not just because the door is shut.
> 
> Any comments/advice?
> 
> Geoff


Fit one of these to your door Geoff. It will go on for about 30 minutes and is_ very _ loud. It sounds different from the usual car and house alarms so is more likely to attract attention. Any thief, inside the van, is likely to be sickened by it ( literally- try it)

http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftoptitle-65092-a-cheap-multipurpose-motorhome-security-device.html

G

Edit: Sorry, new computer set up is refusing to let me put this in as a link. Don't know why !


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Grizzly

I tried the link you posted and it did work.

Unfortunately the device described is no good if one only has a Habitation Door, as my Arto.

Geoff


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Zebedee said:


> I once had a little magnetic key box which had a really strong magnet.
> 
> This could be placed under the van in such a place that it would be quite invisible to any lowlife who didn't come prepared with a mirror on a stick!! 8O
> 
> I don't know if they are still available, but this thread has prompted me to have a look in Halfords and the like. Dave


Yes Dave they are still available.
Bought a couple a few weeks ago at a boot sale for buttons. Now have an obvious one with an old key and a less obvious one with the correct key hidden.

How far do we take this?

Ray.


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## grizzlyj (Oct 14, 2008)

Not really relevant for short trips but if you had a spare spare key available you could leave it with a friend who could post it to you if required?


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## clemmo (Sep 15, 2008)

Cheers to all..
I apprecaite all your thoughts.

I have decided...

1) to hide a habitation door key somewhere on the outside of the vehicle.. somewhere you really need to grovel under the vehicle to get to.

2)hide an ignition key along with a sum of cash inside the m/h. Making sure the hiding place is only accessible with some level of dissassembly..ie screwdriver needed.

cheers,

Clemmo


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## Euramobilly (Apr 3, 2010)

Excellent advice allround mrplodd :thumbleft: :wink: The keys must be in a place where if they got them you can prove you took reasonable steps to secure them. It's the same with leaving keys around the house these days, you really should lock them away every time you go out, after all if the prize is a thirty grand motorhome they won't hesitate to break in to your house for the keys to make things easier for them. I heard they will even get them off that hook we all have near the front door using a fishing rod through the letter box!


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## suedew (May 10, 2005)

Not sure I would be happy to have a spare key secreted on/ under the van. Would not disclose it either if i did 8O 
However, have to say I wish we had for the car which is in locked storage.
Have had a nice few days away on a girlie break Got to the storage to retrieve car and leave van. No car key :? 
Emptied every cupboard, event emptied the fridge. no signs. no wthis would not be a problem normally storage not oo far from hom BUT John is away on a golfing holiday and has the other set of keys with him oops. good thing he is back today.
Sent texts to both my friends key found in bottom of Pat's bag    
Pat lives 120 miles away, she had come by car and we met up on site.
Conclusion, would be a great idea for situation like this.
Would i do it for the future :?: 
probably not
Sue
p.s. have previously had house broken into keys stolen and new car written off


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