Where to keep that spare ignition key...........................................

Willie,
Taped to the radiator hose with black tape otherwise Mrs Willem might have to carry the phillips head in her handbag!!!
Nick

Aahh, if you had the 80 series toyota the spare key would always be on your person as it comes in a credit card size holder that fits perfectly in the wallet ,,, yes yes yes I know "what if the wallet is locked inthe car ",,,,

I don't mind where you put it mate.

Just so long as you put it ... and I'd prefer not to know unless I'm trav'lin in the GQ wif ya.

;-)

Willem

Use Tie wire the one steel fixers use, wont break or wear through, double strand it & tie it up any where underneath. She"LL be right mate" Lol.

Axle.

Willem,

What about the top of the front spring tower.

Should not get hit by rocks there but it would have to be secure to the tower.

On the other side the screw driver could be secured, just in case.

Wayne

I put mine in the fridge, next to the ice cream :)

Willem Willem Willem....

Not sure what to do with you young fella! How many times have I talked about this?

Take the spare key. Place the thickest wire you can through the top of the key.

Cover the key with a copious amount of reinforced Gaffa tape until it's deemed water proof.

Find an area underneath the car that is least likely to suffer rock or heat damage.

Tie the wire to the selected area and apply copious amounts of gaffa tape to suppport it.

It works in very rough country and I've never lost one.

Regards

Kim

get a magnetic key holder,,I went all over australia with a key in one

Whilst staying in town I had the pleasure of going out on a few breakdown jobs with the
contractors and seeing what happens on the other end of a country breakdown call. Most of these
calls were flat batteries and a couple of lock outs. The most interesting of these calls was on a
warm balmy evening whilst I was enjoying a nice cold beer taking in a magic Kimberley sunset
with Peter (who wasn’t drinking of course) when the mobile sounded. He received a call from
Steve Mantell about a Budget Landcruiser with a lock out at a Emma Gorge resort, approximately
110kms from Kununurra, 40kms of which was on the Gibb River road.
The call was received at about 1800 on the Tuesday night and an ETA of roughly 2000 was given. So it was all
systems go as we checked the Mazda 4X4 to make sure he had the appropriate gear to get into this late model
Landcruiser, then off we drove. As we were travelling out to the job, Peter explained that because of the vastness of
the country, most of the huge outback stations don’t have fencing adjoining the highways, so at night time the risk
factor for hitting cows, kangaroos and emus rises significantly.
When we were getting close to the Gibb River turn off I noticed some quite large bushfires and scrub fires burning
out of control, I was thinking what the! And where’s the fire trucks? As Peter explained “oh no, they just let the fires
burn up here because there’s no way of controlling them because the terrain is too difficult to get to them so they just
let them burn out on their own accord, no matter how many hectares is burnt”. Interesting I thought.
Having finally turned on to the Gibb River road and heading towards Emma Gorge Resort it didn’t take long for the
first roo to come bounding out in front of us, no worries, we pulled up in time and let it go on. The ruts on the gravel
road were very deep to say the least, which in turn made the car slide very easily if not driven correctly.
Then there were a few creek crossings which weren’t too bad and the other difficulty was
trying to see the road when another car passed, the dust just sat idly over the gravel on what
felt like a warm summers evening-but it was the middle of August.
We arrived at Emma Gorge resort and went around to the beautiful outdoor area where the
restaurant was built around the base of a Boab tree, which in turn had lighting beaming out
from its roots, it was a truly magic setting.
We went to the bar and shouted “who’s the guy with lock out in the Landcruiser”. Laughter
was heard from many quarter’s when finally this English gentlemen quipped, “I’m here, I’ll take you to the car”. The
laughter continued and someone said, “fancy getting help all the way out here for a lock out”. Peter took about 2
minutes to get into the car and subtly advised the driver to be a little more cautious next time, especially considering
where he was. As he was doing the paper work with the Budget customer I went for a walk and couldn’t help notice
the amount of 4WD’s lined up at the resort, in one car park I counted about 35 Landcruisers in a row, it looked like a
Toyota dealership!!

Join the AANT ...LOL

Drill a hole through somewhere you wont forget, A 1"x 1/4" ss screw and nut to hold it in place, the key, then a 1/4" wingnut done up pretty well to keep it there.
I have lost spare keys through the wire/cable tie vibrating through, my method is permanent (out of the way of flying rocks of course)
furph

Willem,

Wot can I say......firstly you should have paid them off.

Those that were there watching when you 'lost' your keys.......you know Des/Roachie et al. Cash would have secured your secret from EO members at least.

You would not then have to look for a 'hidey hole'.

Answer.. spare key on a piece of string/leather/whatever tied around your neck,
yep around your neck......should never go missin' again.....LOL LOL

You are just too honest...LOL LOL LOL

Michael

Hi had a basic spare cut and drilled a 6mm hole through the head, wrap it in electrical tape and used a 6mm stainless bolt and with a spring washer, drill a hole some where in behind bull bar or rear bumper etc and bolt it on, and keep a spare in my wallet.
Just have to remember you have put them ,I locked my self out one day and had forgotten i had to spares hidden away after i used my wifes key spare key.

The 78/79series don't have transponder keys, so copies only cost $6. I keep a spare in the wallet, and another hidden outside the vehicle. Theres a million places to hide a key - inside the chassis rail, fixed with fine wire is something I've used in the past.

When I had a Prado, I hid a transponder key inside the vehicle. But I also had a cheap non-transponder key cut (opens only the doors) and had this hidden on the outside. So if someone found the key, they could get in but not drive it.

But its another use for fencing wire - I had to break into a mate's 60series on Fogarty's Claypan after he locked keys in car about 100k's from civilisation - its something that you only do once :-))

Another time I was in a largeish convoy in the Strezlecki Desert, and a 75series LandCruiser owner did it - we just got everyone to try their Toyota keys, and sure enough someone had a key that worked.

Only after owning an FJ62 for about 4 years did I discover a spare key taped to the tie rod. The tape wasn't so much sticky with glue, like gaffer tape, but was really gooey rubbery stuff that stuck very well, (almost like ultra heavy heat shrink).

The head of the key was bent slightly so it wouldn't protrude, hence I never saw it.

Willem, Triumph Heralds (showing my age) used to come from the factory with a spare key in the rear tailight. They never put that info in the owners manual so most people never knew.

Just change a phillips head to a straight screw head and you can undo it with a coin or maybe a nailfile.

Don't put it too far under the car, Murphy says it will be raining when you need to get under to get it.

Dave

Hi Willem ...............

A coupla more alternatives, mate :

1 / Remove one screw from your numberplate, drill a hole same size in the key and replace numberplate with the key BEHIND the plate. Disguise any visible portion with a small bit of BluTac embedded with dirt. As before said .... use a slot-head SS self-tapper ...... then any coin, knife, flat steel something will undo it.

2 / Tape a spare to the top of your snorkel with 'self-amalgamating tape,' so that it looks like you have made a temporary repair to said snorkel. Black on black and most unobtrusive.
[Better still, tape it to your vehicle snorkel instead ????]

Or, for real insurance ............ do 'em both.

Thanks for all the good advice here on the forum, MM's and private emails. I will take it all on board.

Some of the advice is problematical however. I tend to go off on off track excursions from time to time so the front numberplate takes a hammering. I have a lot of sticks and foliage brush up against the chassis on these excursions and it could be a that even something taped to the chassis rail could disappear.

In the past I have always driven old bangers and have never had the need for a spare key as I could Hot Wire the truck in an emergency. Now that I have this new modern 1994 GQ I am all at sea with electric windows, central locking and locking steering wheel...lol

Cheers

get a leatherman on your belt man......they come with phillipshead driver as standard equipment.....

another option is to get a spare key cut minus the head to fit in your wallet.......if you have a key with a mobiliser chip then still get a key cut but stash a spare key with mobiliser inside of car......this will allow you to at least get inside the car to search for spare if needed

Jeez- all these hi-tech solutions !! What about 6" fencing wire with a couple of half-hitches up under the chassis.?? Just checked under mine (still there) and it's been there for nearly 7 years.

Ahhhhhhhhh yes a senior moment .................... there are some good suggestions on here ............ the only problem with a senior moment is to remember where you hide the bloody key LOL .............

The problem with my vehicle is I have to many good places to hide things. Of course I have enough problems just putting my keys down at home and then remembering where I put them.

Just remember to take a spare to the gathering ............ I'm sure you would not want everyone on hand helping you out of a senior moment ........ then again I guess we would not say anything ..... much :) :) :).

Brian

Good idea is to get a piece of 1 inch clear plastic tube about 3 inch long, and about 1/2 inch from one end cut/drill a hole through the centre of both walls.

Place the key into the plastic tube with the hole in the plastic tube and the hole in the key level with the key protected by the plastic tube and place a 'black plastic tie strip' through the hole in the plastic and the key which will hold the key in place inside the plastic tube.
This will stop any damage to the key from flying stones under the vehicle.

Tie the 'black plastic tie strip' around some part of the underbody, this will hold the plastic tube/key stable and where you want it, tie it in place close to the side/front or side/back of the vehicle, because you have to lay on the ground and cut the 'black plastic tie' to retrieve the key when you lock the original in the vehicle.

It works for me sometimes twice a year lol

Willem, as we know, you never had the car locked in the first place and why do you need to lock it anyway when your out in the bush.

Just ignore all the other advice as you and I know the perfect hiding place. Just leave the key on the front seat and throw your jumper over it. It worked last time didn't it?
LOL :))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Cheers Donut.

Fascinating web site Willem.
Was a motorcyclist for 34 years and did countless local, country and interstate trips on the bike. I was paranoid about loosing the key somewhere out in the middle of no where, so just simply tied the spare around the neck and after a few moments you would get used to it and forget it's there until you stripped off.
Never lost one in that time. Keep it on your person and then you can check it's location any time you think of it.
All the best, Wayne.

Went to replace the worn number plates on my Rocky, Drilled out the rivets holding it to the bullbar and off drops a spare key.

Wonder what else the previous owner(s) missus use to keep in her handbag!

Would it be an insurance issue if some body happened to find the key and drive off in you pride and joy ??? I have heard this but could be all pub talk. Regards Steve M

Problem solvered, try this Willem.



close up for OLD EYES



OH NO Indeed

Willem,

As to where to keep the phillips screwdriver - get a Leatherman 'wave' or 'charge' - great seletion of drivers in these tools - they come with a pouch for your belt. :-)

Hey I'll embarass myself!

Went to the local hardware a couple of years ago, dropped the keys in the boot of the wifes crumbledoor, took out the kid seat in the back, crawled through into the boot, rumaged around to find the keys so I could drive home, put the seat back in (all on a 40 degree day), then remembered the boot open button in the glovebox!

Felt very clever.