Where to stash your keys

[Sleepdr]

We had a bunch of contractors in & out of the house doing flood damage repair. I kept the house keys in a Master key carrier posted by mike_s. It's a combo lock with a key compartment and a hasp to go over doorknobs. It just occurred to me to use that same thing for vehicle keys, moments before reading his post. It could lock to one of the permanent tie-downs in the pickup bed or a safety chain attachment on the trailer hitch. It's not waterproof, so just needs some extra protection in case of a rainstorm.

If your car doesn't have any easy points, then an inexpensive swaged multi stranded wire rope through the hasp could wrap around large parts of the car. This solution isn't totally theft proof. It is more secure than a magnetic key box inside a wheel well or behind a bumper.

 

[Frosty]

Hey guys I do the car thing for a living and I find the best option is to have a plain key cut. straight out no fancy chips. Hang that around your neck inside the wetsuit/drysuit. Then have a hidey hole inside the car where you put the fancy gizmo keys. Even if its an alarmed car you will still get in and have about 10 seconds to grab the "real" keys and disarm the alarm. This avoids a heck of a lot of issues with fried alarm remotes or fried key fobs.
Incidently I ship cars to the pacific islands and because those guys are REALLY low tech I actually duct tape the chip key up along side the ignition barell (inside the plastic cover) and supply them with 3 flat keys. --saves a heap of drama

 

[p1p]

We had a bunch of contractors in & out of the house doing flood damage repair. I kept the house keys in a Master key carrier posted by mike_s. It's a combo lock with a key compartment and a hasp to go over doorknobs. It just occurred to me to use that same thing for vehicle keys, moments before reading his post. It could lock to one of the permanent tie-downs in the pickup bed or a safety chain attachment on the trailer hitch. It's not waterproof, so just needs some extra protection in case of a rainstorm.

If your car doesn't have any easy points, then an inexpensive swaged multi stranded wire rope through the hasp could wrap around large parts of the car. This solution isn't totally theft proof. It is more secure than a magnetic key box inside a wheel well or behind a bumper.

I just put my Master Lock Carrier on my tire.

Sure, someone could steal it, but they arent gonna get in the car, so it would just be malicious to take it. I'll take my chances there I guess.

 

[Belmont]

I once placed my key on top of a rear tire.
I pushed it a bit farther back so that it would not be visible and it fell behind the wheel.
It did not reach the ground but got stuck on the universal joint near the hub...&?%*$!!#¼&
I had my dry suit on with thick insulation in 85 degree temp.
I had to crawl under the car over rocks and mud to retrieve it, again:cussing:

It now follows me in an empty spare lamp case.

 

[nimoh]

I once placed my key on top of a rear tire.
I pushed it a bit farther back so that it would not be visible and it fell behind the wheel.
It did not reach the ground but got stuck on the universal joint near the hub...&?%*$!!#¼&
I had my dry suit on with thick insulation in 85 degree temp.
I had to crawl under the car over rocks and mud to retrieve it, again:cussing:

It now follows me in an empty spare lamp case.

couldn't you take off your drysuit before retrieving the keys?

 

[rhwestfall]

.... and then the light bulb goes on.....

 

[dfx]

Dry Pak:

Comes in various sizes, doesn't look like much and there's lots of other similar products that aren't really waterproof, but this one works. I've tested it to only 40 feet, but I'm pretty confident that it can go quite a bit deeper too, as the inside really stayed bone dry. Combine with a plain old non-battery powered non-remote key, and you're good to go.

 

[Areprobate]

I slide the key inside the wrist of my wetsuit, then pull gloves over sleeve.

 

[nimoh]

I slide the key inside the wrist of my wetsuit, then pull gloves over sleeve.

I think there are better options (like a zippered pocket) if the key can get wet, this thread seems to be exploring options when you have a key with remote entry that can't get wet.

 

[gypsyjim]

Hey guys I do the car thing for a living and I find the best option is to have a plain key cut. straight out no fancy chips. Hang that around your neck inside the wetsuit/drysuit. Then have a hidey hole inside the car where you put the fancy gizmo keys. Even if its an alarmed car you will still get in and have about 10 seconds to grab the "real" keys and disarm the alarm. This avoids a heck of a lot of issues with fried alarm remotes or fried key fobs.
Incidently I ship cars to the pacific islands and because those guys are REALLY low tech I actually duct tape the chip key up along side the ignition barell (inside the plastic cover) and supply them with 3 flat keys. --saves a heap of drama

To me this is the most obvious and simple solution.
If the key does not have a chip, it goes U/W with me, but keys with chips don't seem to like water much, so an unchipped courtesy key, with the real key stashed in the car would be the next choice, although I have simply locked my key in a buddy's vehicle who was carrying his keys on him.

I figured, even if he flooded his key, and shorted out the chip, it would still work as a courtesy key, and open his door, so at least I could drive home.