It pays to be prepared ....

[jeririgged223]

Originally Posted by DutchmenSport

... but this time I wasn't!

We're still at Wilderness State Park near Mackinaw City, Michigan and all is (was) going well until today. I wasn't prepared for what happened today!

Word of warning for all.

OK, RV ownership for 25 years, been around RV all my life, but still, what seems like the impossible to happen, CAN still happen.

We went into Mackinaw City for the day. We had lunch at Mackinaw City Weinerlicious and then through the down town area, worked our way to a tea shop, got some fudge, to the park under the Mackinaw Bridge and finally to the fort. Great day, wonderful experience, all was well, the world is great!

Returned to the camper and .... no keys! Ugg! I lost mine somewhere.

I asked my wife for her keys and she said, they are in the camper! OH.... double UGG!

Both doors were locked (dead bolts) and I checked all the windows. One was not locked, the one above the kitchen sink. I was able to slide the screen to the side and got the ladder out of the bed of the truck, and climbed through that itty bitty window, getting stuck about half way in. OK, so my "hips" are bigger than my shoulder ... so I found out, but a 45 degree turn of the hips and a shove from my wife and I fit in.... only to land with that fat posterior in the kitchen sink and my feet still dangling out the window and my head hanging over the counter and both hands in the air mimicking an old fashioned Pentecostal Revival Meeting! I was stuck in the sink! Well.... I was able to reach up and grab the cabinet door handle and pull my southern posterior out of that sink and did a "ker-plop" to the floor! By now, I just know God was laughing at me and the hilarious predicament I was just in. Well, maybe I'm not so sure about God, but in spite of everything, my wife sure was laughing hysterically at me, in spite of our situation.

I finally made it in, got the doors opened, and she found her keys.

We then decided to travel back and retrace our route to see if we could find the lost keys. So we retraced all our steps and searched the grounds everywhere we went, and no keys.

Now, I'm not comfortable with just one set of keys. So my wife checked for RV dealerships in this area to see if we could get duplicate keys.

She found Petoskey RV, in Potoskey, Michigan and we high-tailed it over there and they had all 4 keys we needed. So, we got 2 new sets.

The drive back to the camper was just a little bit slower and the panic feeling subsided, and now, all life is back to normal again.

My greatest thanks to Petoskey RV who had the duplicate keys (all 4 of them) and took care of us immediately. We arrived at 4:45 pm and they closed at 5:00. Really, really nice people there! I feel they did save us a bunch of agony.

Meanwhile, I have since put that 3rd set of key in a secret location on the outside of the trailer and hope I never, never, ever have to use them.

And oh, did I mention, this fat old body, squeezing through that itty bitty window is 66 and 1/2 years old!

The fear of being locked out and/or losing my keys is why the first thing I did was put a touchpad lock on my trailer.

[ShaneGreen]

We put in a digital door lock, also. But just to be safe, I bought a key lock box with a combination lock. Bolted it up underneath the pinbox. It's nearly impossible to notice and you practically have to stand on your head to unlock it. So if anyone was trying to break into it, someone would see them.

[Roy & Georgia]

I know that you’ve already got your problems solved but for the benefit of others you might want to check with your local locksmith. When I was still working we had most all of the rv keys and were always cheaper than the rv dealers. 4 wheelers and side by sides too.

[Roy & Georgia]

Oh yes, hilarious story as well. Thanks for sharing.

[BB_TX]

Originally Posted by Roy & Georgia

I know that you’ve already got your problems solved but for the benefit of others you might want to check with your local locksmith. When I was still working we had most all of the rv keys and were always cheaper than the rv dealers. 4 wheelers and side by sides too.

Agree. That is where I got my 3 extra sets made.

[wed]

That’s funny but no fun ! You might want to look at a keyless lock like RV lock it’s real handy

[Wisconsin Retiree]

Combo lock box mounted inside propane tank compartment. Used these for the last 10 years for kids. Work great.

[Leftie Canuk]

Saved our (Canadian) bacon a few times having our lockbox stored outside, as well.
Highly recommend others consider storing one full set of keys, perhaps even one for the tow vehicle, in a secure lockbox somewhere outside. Possible locations: pin box, LPG cabinet, sewer hose storage, spare tire cover, even under something up on the roof !

[wed]

That’s funny and at the same time not!!!
We have changed are lock out on our last 3 Montana’s to the RV lock.
It’s has a code, key fob, and a regular key. So you have 3 options.

[twindman]

Extra keys may not save you all the time. My lock had the screws get loose on the inside of the lock. Would not budge even if you were inside. One time my daughter climbed in the back windows which by luck, I hadn't locked. She had to get a screw driver I handed her to unscrew the lock and take it apart. Now I kind of make sure the screws are tight.