Bushwalk Australia

A warning to all.

This wasn't bushwalking, rather working, but as I take the mutts with us when I can, it could have been

On Friday 10 days ago I was working, which involved attending clients properties & assessing the site conditions that might effect any designs we could come up with for them.

The day was quite cold and as it progressed the rain arrived and by late in the day was very heavy.

On the last property I had to attend I was to meet our client but they didn't turn up, so got on with the site inspection anyway.

After about half an hour of walking around and taking soil samples it was time to leave & I began to drive out. It was a moderate sized rural property with a number of fruit trees in a small orchard that I had to drive through to get out. Getting onto the site hadn't been all that easy so I pulled up just short of the trees & got out to pick the best way through.

With my decision made I went back to the nice warm car, which I'd left running.

I'd also left the 2 dogs in it as I didn't need wet pooches jumping in an out any more.

THE CAR WAS LOCKED.

One of the mutts had obviously come over to the drivers side door to see what I was up to and stood on the locking button.

Fortunately I had, unusually, put my phone in my pocket before I got out, I normally leave it on the dash,

I had to walk a few hundred metres to get signal & then wait for about 1 hour in the rain/cold wind without any real shelter until the RACV came to my rescue.

Did I mention that SWMBO had pinched my oilskin from the car so I didn't have a rain coat.

I've had central locking for 12 years now and it hasn't happened before, but if I was in a more remote spot any potential for this to happen could be serious.

Also Judy commented that if it had been mid summer I would have had to smash a window as it would have been too hot for the dogs - in this case it wouldn't have been as the a/c was running and they were cosy and warm and completely unrepentant.

As soon as I can I'll be taking the car to the local auto electrician to have the lock button disconnected.

I'm also going to see if I can get a key that will just unlock the doors, not start the car (unchipped) and hide it on the outside of the car - any suggestions here?

jcr_au wrote: any suggestions here?

Get them back from the dogs home and teach what to do when you say "out"?

you can get super strength magnet cases which hold a key, attach one of these to the underneath of the body of the car??

Yep I have an unchipped key for unlocking the doors so when I go sailing I take it and don't feel guilty drowning the 'chipped' key in salt water all the time, even though it must be waterproof. Only thing is that if someone smashes a window to unlock the door the alarm wont go off because I didn't use the remote to "arm" it in the first place.

ILUVSWTAS wrote:you can get super strength magnet cases which hold a key, attach one of these to the underneath of the body of the car??

I'm a bit concerned whether that would be adequate as the car is a 4x4* and it does have to negotiate some rough/muddy/S****y stuff so I think I'm going to have to find somewhere safe and accessible to wire one


* when my main hobby was 4x4ing I used to complain about the cost of everything - even 4x4 when the shift key is held down is $X$ - but now my main hobbies are Bushwalking and more recently photography - I think it was cheaper when I just went 4wding

Depends on what sort of 4WD. In a ute, the box could go in a discreet corner of the tray.

what sort of 4x4? i know a few models that are very easy to unlock from outside... mine has central locking, and i have some packing tape(the blue fiborous stuff, not actuall tape) that is hidden under the vehicle for just such events (i had problems with my central locking locking itself randomly some time ago...)

Hm I have thought about that a few times, and I have a few possible solutions now which work with my car.
But actually I'm not sure if it is very helpful to discuss this topic here as everyone can read it.

Our 4x4 is a patrol 7 seater, so no tray.

Present thinking, as of about 1 hr ago, is if I find the time to put the roof rack back on (new car 8 weeks ago - shelves are back in but not rack) I should be able to secure one to the rhino bars I hope.

Are you really sure you want to discuss issues of car security etc. on an open forum?
Keys should be taken with you on walks, any time you are away from the car for any period of time. Insurers are scrutinising the circumstances of thefts from and of cars left in the bush against the "probability of access" having been facilitated by a hidden key (quoting from a recent neighbour's case with GIO: yes, he hid a key under the front fender to go surfing, came back 2 hours later and the car was not there). Don't risk an open discussion giving away clues to any manner of prying eyes.

an unchipped key is your easiest, cheapest and best option. i have one which is on a shoelace which i wear around my neck when i go diving, just hide the real key somewhere in the car, lcok it manually and go. could be kept on your belt or hidden on the car body somewhere.

ok so not related to the OP, but it is still a warning to all...

i very very strongly recommend against putting your finger into the moving blade of a hedge trimmer... a number of hours in Emergency yesterday, and just got back from a follow up visit today, and have to go and see my GP on tuesday... hurts a lot, and using a keyboard is interesting.... but, at least my finger is still attached ;(

scubabob wrote:an unchipped key is your easiest, cheapest and best option. i have one which is on a shoelace which i wear around my neck when i go diving, just hide the real key somewhere in the car, lcok it manually and go. could be kept on your belt or hidden on the car body somewhere.

We had an interesting experience recently with a central locking hire car.

The car had an alarm linked to the locking via the key. After about 10 minutes of locking the car the alarm would go off. We were staying in a B&B so I decided to lock the car manually without activating the alarm and found that it simply isn't possible - the car had only a single keyhole outside (driver's door) and when locked, it only locked the driver's door!. I could find no button inside to lock all the doors, and each door did not have its own lock. Crazy. In the end I took everything out of the car and left it unlocked.

This was an Vauxhall Zafira wagon. I've seen them here, don't know if they are still available or the same spec here though.

photohiker wrote:

scubabob wrote:an unchipped key is your easiest, cheapest and best option. i have one which is on a shoelace which i wear around my neck when i go diving, just hide the real key somewhere in the car, lcok it manually and go. could be kept on your belt or hidden on the car body somewhere.

We had an interesting experience recently with a central locking hire car.

The car had an alarm linked to the locking via the key. After about 10 minutes of locking the car the alarm would go off. We were staying in a B&B so I decided to lock the car manually without activating the alarm and found that it simply isn't possible - the car had only a single keyhole outside (driver's door) and when locked, it only locked the driver's door!. I could find no button inside to lock all the doors, and each door did not have its own lock. Crazy. In the end I took everything out of the car and left it unlocked.

This was an Vauxhall Zafira wagon. I've seen them here, don't know if they are still available or the same spec here though.

Vauxhalls are notorious for having wierd electrickery problems... mums vectra would turn itself off half way around corners, loosing all power steering in the process. a mates vectra turned itself on and drove thru her garage door in the middle of the night, another mates astra would rev all on its own when left in nuetral.... vauxhalls are evil...