Spare keys
- Thread starter LDB
- Start date
AAA is nice to have, but in the case of lock outs... it could take them 45 minutes to an hour or more to get there. I found a co. a few years ago in Ky- because I was told to call them... called Pop-A-Lock. They're a national franchised co. and good to know about. They were much quicker than AAA and while it cost me I believe $35, considering it was windy and dark and the temp. was dropping... into the 50's (not normally cold, but I was in shorts and a T-shirt with no jacket)... and I was tired- that was 1 of the better $35 I had spent given the circumstances.
Another side note, the rig was a Freightliner tractor. And they can unlock nearly any lock- with no and/or very little damage to weatherstrip. Thought I'd pass that along.
Keys, always good to have a door key with you at all times.
I have been known to keep them in my boots/shoes. In a shower bag.
The spare ignition key helps, just in case. I've kept spare keys in wheel wells, engine compartments, storage areas. fuel tank "areas".
There are numerous places on a truck and bus to keep a spare key.
In the case of a bus, not having a spare key can be very expensive and very damaging. On a bus, many times a door is locked shut using air pressure. Unless the system has a leak, and they usually do over many varying time spans, that bus door is Sealed Tight! Bus door locks are very tricky to unlock due to the complex nature of them. There's usually 2 pins that lock a bus, sometimes more.
In the case of a private coach, the locks have usually been modified as has the door. The doors on private coaches usually don't have the air closing system hooked up. And they're usually locked with a deadbolt and the stock bus door lock as well.
On all busses, private and passenger- The Luggage bay doors take a different key, as does the engine compartment. And sometimes there is a seperate key for the fuel doors as well.
Reason being is that busses are kept in so many different places and having different keys helps prevent tampering with anything. Having seperate keys for fuel and engine compartments also prevents passengers and/or mechanics (or anybody other than who ever needs those keys) from tampering with something they should not, if they need to unlock the luggage bays- that's all they will be unlocking.
There are horror stories of drivers having belts cut and engine parts stolen in large cities due to not having locked the engine compartment. Luggage can get stolen if bays are not locked. I heard a story of how a driver left his coach locked on a nice day with keys inside, and had come back to close his roof hatches due to a storm blowing in... and had to use a ladder to get to the roof and enter from the roof to get his keys... and No, it wasn't me.
I have always carried a door key on me for what ever I roll in.
On trucks, I could see a keyless entry coming in handy.
The feature of having to manually lock from the outside is a nice feature as well.
BBB
Another side note, the rig was a Freightliner tractor. And they can unlock nearly any lock- with no and/or very little damage to weatherstrip. Thought I'd pass that along.
Keys, always good to have a door key with you at all times.
I have been known to keep them in my boots/shoes. In a shower bag.
The spare ignition key helps, just in case. I've kept spare keys in wheel wells, engine compartments, storage areas. fuel tank "areas".
There are numerous places on a truck and bus to keep a spare key.
In the case of a bus, not having a spare key can be very expensive and very damaging. On a bus, many times a door is locked shut using air pressure. Unless the system has a leak, and they usually do over many varying time spans, that bus door is Sealed Tight! Bus door locks are very tricky to unlock due to the complex nature of them. There's usually 2 pins that lock a bus, sometimes more.
In the case of a private coach, the locks have usually been modified as has the door. The doors on private coaches usually don't have the air closing system hooked up. And they're usually locked with a deadbolt and the stock bus door lock as well.
On all busses, private and passenger- The Luggage bay doors take a different key, as does the engine compartment. And sometimes there is a seperate key for the fuel doors as well.
Reason being is that busses are kept in so many different places and having different keys helps prevent tampering with anything. Having seperate keys for fuel and engine compartments also prevents passengers and/or mechanics (or anybody other than who ever needs those keys) from tampering with something they should not, if they need to unlock the luggage bays- that's all they will be unlocking.
There are horror stories of drivers having belts cut and engine parts stolen in large cities due to not having locked the engine compartment. Luggage can get stolen if bays are not locked. I heard a story of how a driver left his coach locked on a nice day with keys inside, and had come back to close his roof hatches due to a storm blowing in... and had to use a ladder to get to the roof and enter from the roof to get his keys... and No, it wasn't me.
I have always carried a door key on me for what ever I roll in.
On trucks, I could see a keyless entry coming in handy.
The feature of having to manually lock from the outside is a nice feature as well.
BBB