Okay, not my best moment.
Went up to the Beta Site and did some camera work, which I’ll talk about later, and got ready to leave. Locked up the conex, locking all five padlocks on it. Climberd into the truck and…hey, wheres the car keys? And with that sense of dread that lets you know you really messed up, I realized I had locked the car keys in the conex. Where were the keys for the padlocks that were securing the conex? On the key ring with my car keys.
So here’s the situation – it is 5pm, daylight is starting to head for the hills, it is pouring rain. And Im sitting in a truck that cannot move because the keys are locked up. Now, I do have a spare key hidden on the truck but that is just a key to open the doors…which made sense at the time because usually the keys are locked in the truck, not in a cargo container. And, like most modern vehicles, the truck requires the chipped key that is wildly expensive to duplicate. But, I do have a duplicate…at the house in Missoula.
So, there’s no real option here. I’m going to have to break the padlock that I purchased specifically for its breakproofness. How to do so? Well I have access to a small bag of tools in the back of my truck…theres a heavy steel mallet in there. I use that and a combination of wrenches, heavy screwdrivers, and the like to achieve the spectacular result of…nothing.
Now, having to spend the night out there wouldnt have been a big deal. In addition to just sleeping in the truck, there was a cache a hundred yards away that had sleeping bag, tarp, freezedrieds, sleeping pad, cookstove, etc. Staying out overnight wouldn’t have been an issue, but so what? The next morning Id still be locked out of my car keys.
:::sigh::: Okay, I’m not happy about this, but theres only one real course of action left – shoot the damn lock off. Weapon of choice? My bear AK w/ steel core ammo. As you know, the sights on the AK, like the AR, are offset a bit above the bore. I didn’t want to get too close because I really didnt want shrapnel or bullet fragments flying back into my face. First couple shots missed because of the sight offset. Next couple hit the lock but not enough to bust the shackle…my shots were hitting closer to the bottom of the lock, not near the hasp. Looks like the only way to do this is to risk a little shrapnel and stand right next to the stupid thing, put the muzzle an inch from the lock and pull the trigger.
Which I did.
And the lock came apart like a Mexican space shuttle. I didnt catch any fragments but I sure as heck don’t ever want to be in that situation again. Which is why, on the way back from the Beta Site I swung by Home Depot and picked up a half dozen heavy duty combination locks. I’m replacing the keyed locks with combination locks so I never have this problem again.
And, really, this shouldn’t have been a problem the first time. Wargame the scenario – you show up at your hidden supply cache with whatever you could grab as you fled for your life. Where’s the keys? One less thing to have to worry about if you just carry the combo in your head rather than having to frantically make sure you grabbed the keys, or dig through six inches of snow and ice to find the key you cleverly (you thought) hid up near your stuff. No, for me it makes more sense, especially after this incident, to use a combination lock instead.
So, a hundred dollars worth of keyed-alike locks wasted. I’ll find other uses for them, but this was a lesson I’d have been happy to not have to learn the hard way. And you, my friend, can take what you will from my experience. Maybe I can save you the cost of a set of new padlocks and a dozen rounds of 7.62×39.
Put the keys in a boot in the back of your truck, or just leave them in the ignition. Truck shouldn’t lock that way.
Dude, my truck is so bare bones it doesn’t have power locks or power widows…so leaving the keys in it and locking them in is a very real thing.
Perfect-the boot will work!
Hate having keys in my pocket, so they go in a gym shoe in my truck bed while at work (as long as the site isnāt infested with crackheadsā¦)
Does your truck have the front triangular vent windows ? I once locked myself out of my truck many years ago, but a coat hangar (hidden under engine hood) was snaked through the edge and latch swiveled up. Old truck, Dodge ’76 Adventurer.
I always leave the truck keys/vehicle keys in the door when I unlock it… Open or closed especially going in and out of it… Never lock my keys in the truck if they’re in the door… But yeah… Spare key in the truck, also a good idea…
I do have spare keys for my farm hidden. They aren’t gonna get covered by snow unless the dolly mammoths make a comeback.
Additionally, I have a spot that when I arrive I put the farm keys and the vehicle keys EVERY SINGLE TIME. It’s in an out of sight place in a building that can’t be locked. That way I won’t loose them while working around the place and won’t lock them up where I can’t get to them.
Commander:
A bad day indeed –
It could have been worse.
Imagine if you had managed to blow a hole or two in the Conex…
Moisture getting in and who knows how much stuff damaged inside!
As the old saying goes “You live and learn or you don’t live for long!”
Ceejay
Following. This is actually a good brain housing group exercise and lesson. A person has to actually live these experiences, of sorts, to gain that executive function level thinking for wargaming out all of those what ifs, contingencies, and establish little routines that seem excessive in steps or details but are proven necessities. I dummy cord my keys ring to my belt and then put in pocket, and as a fidgeting kid routine, before closing a door with locks, truck, house, garage shop etc I do a pat down touch verification twitch habit to feel they are there on my person and then close the unit’s door. And of course the follow on step is that stashed “access key”, at a set location at a building or wired up under your truck somewhere. This is actually as critical a planning and contingency subject matter as having muh guns and ammo in importance. Good report, thanks.
From a security standpoint, you just confirmed two basic weaknesses; puck locks (aka “hidden shackle locks”) are considerably more secure, but AFAIK all require keys; the second was “failure to have a tested and proven backup plan.”
There is no such thing as “break in proof” only “higher degree of difficulty.” Raise the difficulty level high enough and almost all attempts will be discouraged; unmonitored and 30 miles from nowhere, though, even NORAD probably couldn’t keep everyone out.
“Keys stored securely under combination” might be an, maybe the, answer.
When I had rural property with multiple buildings with locks I endeavored to have as many as possible keyed alike, and a neck lanyard with the most common key was required wear. Alternatively, there are ways of doing the hidden key thing that are – a little – easier to access while also being secure.
I’m sure you can come up with backup plans. Some will be unworkable – digging barehanded through snow and three feet of frozen ground in January obviously won’t work, and even with Starlink, internet-controlled locks have enough failure opportunities that’s also a no-go – but the alphabet offers opportunity for backup Plans A through Z.
Whatever your tested and proven backup plan ends up being, I’d bet we readers will never hear the details. Not that I think any of us will hop a plane to Montana to defeat it, but OPSEC is OPSEC. Then again, the best crypto is open source crypto that the world has been given the opportunity to defeat….and failed.
one other option is to hotwire the truck and drive home. i cant begin to tell you how hard or easy that is on a modern vehicle as i havent done it in decades. just tossing that out for consideration.
A problem with combination locks is RUST. I’ve come back to visit a secured site and needed to soak them in WD40 or such and some still required a bolt cutter/grinder.
That and my memory isn’t that perfect.
A Paracord necklace with a spare key (even a chipped one for the truck) is nice.
I don’t suppose a decoy Conex with a “decript” no windows nor doors large shed with a under the shed storage idea isn’t useful there. Painting on “rust” on the steel roofing is a nice touch.
Cordless dremel tool with a cut off wheel. I have made short work of many high security, damaged padlocks with this combo. Coming from a forester in charge of gate security. Beats using a hacksaw blade since you can’t fit the whole tool in the confined space. Although if you have the time and a good supply of blades I have used a hacksaw to cut the 1/4 inch steel tongue off a gate. Good luck.
Picking up a Milwaukee M18 with cutoff wheel next week.
And keyed locks work a lot longer than combo locks in the elements. But both are susceptible to mischief. I am guilty of not having a spare key hidden on my truck too. I need to remedy that situation.
I know that feeling all too well. A few years ago I was gathering my stuff for a hunt down a closed road and closed the door. Yep, keys were still inside along with the cell phone. Was thinking seriously about using a sex stone master key when another Ford Ranger came up the road. I waved him down, explained the situation and asked for a ride into town. After a quick thought of I wonder if his key….. asked him to try his in the lock for gits and shiggles. Lo and behold, it worked. I compared his key with mine and it was very close indeed. I found out later from my BIL that the keys for his company’s work vans worked in most the other vans as well. On another note, a wide piece of steel banding/strapping 18″ long makes a good slim jim, cut a half inch deep by 1.5-2″ long piece out near the end and keep it under your bed liner, or?
OK, I’ve got to ask: what is a “sex stone master key”? I Googled it, but the result didn’t look like anything that would help me open a truck door. š
āIndian Sex Stoneā orā¦
Just an Fāin rock.
Sex stone through a window = master keyš
So many missed the point of your experience. You lose or forget the important keys when you flee your home (fire for example) and now you cannot access your vital supplies stored off site. The combo locks are the best solution verse keyed padlocks for sure. Thanks for sharing and the reminder.
There are very, very few combo locks that are at all secure. AFAIK, none are sold at HD or Lowes, and their prices start at US Government…..
Spare keys might be better.
A lesson here beyond the obvious is that being Out There means never being complacent. You have to be methodical. You have to slow down and remember to consider consequences – if I move this heavy thing over there and lose footing, how to I avoid being smashed?
The “no one is coming” rule is exponentially applicable as in odds are no one can come in time.
Yes, this problem had an inexpensive fix to get home. Be very careful of the more expensive lessons…
The U.S. military solved this problem by engineering padlocks that retain the key while it’s unlocked. You insert the key into the locked lock, give it a 1/8th turn, the shackle pops open, and the key is stuck in there until you lock the lock. At that point the key can be removed.
The lock to my (redacted) uses a captive key, i.e. the key can’t be removed while unlocked. The door can’t latch until it is closed and then locked. Quick SHTF access here is lower priority than “can’t possibly lock the key inside”. IMHO, CZ is right to go with combo locks when SHTF access is paramount.
Is it wrong that I LMAO when I started reading the post? I had to kick in my back door once but didn’t enjoy it…
So do the combination locks all have the same combination, or maybe they are settable? If not, then you might have to remember all of the combinations.
I’ve seen a lot of locks being shot open in the movies, but I never thought of actually trying it.
a) Programmable combination
b) The lock shooting thing isnt as easy as it looks
MythBusters tried it and said “Not without a lot of firepower, repeatedly” or something like that.
+1
I’ve shot locks off. Seldom happens on the first shot. I learned that if its a padlock you tie paracord to it and then the other hand to a solid object, pulling the lock away from what you DONT want to shoot. Then line up and try to hit it. Seldom works on the first shot.
Regarding copying a chipped key, yes they are expensive at a dealer BUT the walmart near me has a new key copying machine that can actually copy them, the key and the chip both. Look into that. I didnāt check the price but the sign said itās less than half dealer cost. The machine also copies fobs and pass cards too apparently.
$179 for a 2024 Tahoe, I can tell you that from a (bad) recent experience..
FYSA, combination locks are fine unless it’s after dark and you are trying to exercise a bit of light discipline.
I recommend:
* multiple padlocks keyed alike
* padlock key on dog-tag chain (paracord [even gutted] can choke you if it gets snagged)
* padlocks that retain the key when unlocked
-or-
* unlock the padlock, set it aside and immediately re-lock (must use the key to unlock and re-install)
The advantage of relocking the lock with the cabin open is that it stops anyone coming along and locking you inside.
I keep a set of lock picks in my toolbox (of course, if your toolbox keys are on the ring with the truck key, that wouldn’t help much). I’m also a bit OCD about my keys. On my way out the door at home, or out the door at work, I put the key or fob IN MY HAND, IN MY SIGHT, before locking up.
The locks are to keep the mostly honest or just plain lazy folks out, so I see no issue with either keyed or combination locks. Someone with time, physical access and desire cannot be kept out, part of humanity being clever evil hairless monkeys. If they have an angle grinder it would only be a few minutes. Luckily most thieves are in urban areas where the pickings are better.
Posts like this:
> Problems/failures
> Critical thinking
> How to solve said fau pax
These are the most valuable, and most appreciated.
Like the other guy said…
TEST your preps.
Thanks CZ
When I was a lot younger, there would be times when someone much older would say to me”I’m gonna tell you something I wish someone had told me when I was your age. I know its going to go right in one young ear and out the other but here it is…” And they would tell me something that, as they predicted, went in one ear and out the other. And then years and years later something would occur that would make me think “Holy crap, that guy was right. I should have listened, it would have saved me all this grief….”
And now that Im older, Im that old guy telling these young kids “Hey, trust me….you need to do this and this. You’ll tahnk me later.” And, of course, they dont listen and the cycle continues.
But, if I can spare those who are willing to listen, and they gain from learning from my mistakes….then its all worth it.
Well said
Iāve been in the Remote area the Blue Ridge mountains with a completely dead battery. After some time thinking , I had a Honda lawnmower that was cranked by a small battery. I stripped a 2 wire electrical cord connected the lawnmower to the Tundraās battery and 30 minutes of the mower running I was free again
McGyver Award of Merit, First Class
Toro mower doesn’t have a charging system. Uses a plug-in charger to keep battery fresh. That mower really needs that starter. The hand pulled cord system is a joke. The electric starter fires it instantly, cold or hot, so the battery last forever, pretty much. Twenty years of multiple properties, and I don’t ever think it didn’t work when needed, until some ham-handed new guy tore the electrical system off the handle. Sheesh…
Uh.. how about just caching a set of keys in your ‘great wilderness’?
A buried Nalgene bottle would seem to be a good solution…
ANd in February, when theres three feet of snow and every patch of snow looks like the next? And the ground is frozen? Not sure how good an idea that might be. But its worth contemplating.
How about drilling a cavity 5 or 6 feet up in a recognizable tree, big enough to hold the relevant keys (conex, UTV, spare truck key)?
Glad you eventually sorted it, but, this is something I can never understand.
My keys exist in one of like three places… on top of my dresser next to my watch and wallet when I’m asleep, in my front right pocket when I’m awake and dressed, or in the ignition of my car. Never will you find them anywhere else.
My fiance is like that, she sets hers down all the time and I had to buy her a keyring sized tracker so she can find them… assuming she didn’t also set her phone down with them (she uses android, I use an iphone, so I can’t track her stuff).
I just do not get it.
When I’m up there, I have a million things running through my head so its pretty eay , unfortuantly, to overlook some details. I ususally worry about locking the keys in the truck, n ot locking them in another container…so my automatic mental processes are based around ‘keys in vehicle’, not key sin cargo container. A fail-safe system is what is needed and I have that in regards to locking the keys in the truck…a spare key hidden on the vehicle. But the cargo container is a new enough thing that I haven’t setup a fail-safe process for that, except that now the combination locks provide a bit of that ‘just in case’ angle.
I do like the idea of having your keyed-alike locks modified so you canāt take the key out until you re-lock it. We use those at work and I also started using them for my own stuff when I stopped buying cheap master locks and started using Abus locks.
As some have pointed out, combination locks are nowhere near as secure and rust will be a big problem.
Some of the conexes the Department uses at remote jobsites have steel boxes welded over the padlock area that are only open on the bottom. I hate them. You have to get on your knees and reach up inside, praying there arenāt any black widows in there, and feel around blind to get the key in. It does make it difficult to cut the lock, though.
combination locks suck in weather. Keyed alike padlocks with cheap sandwich bags twist-tied and covering them has worked for me for a lot of years on jobsites and on the property. If they are all keyed alike, one spare with extra truck ignition/door lock key on a break away lanyard around your neck… with you always like your carry pistol. Or, perhaps you can find a spot on your holster for your spare keys… mag pouch maybe?