Took Package Car Keys Home

Even worse, I got locked inside of an old 500...lol It had a padlock on the rear barn doors. I hopped it up on a curb, opened the bulkhead door, went in the cargo area....and slam, the bulkhead door shut!...The old package cars, didnt have an inside door release!
 

PT Car Washer

Well-Known Member
The bulkhead key and rear door key are specific to your center. Ours are stamped PC 1. Others are PC 2 or PC 8 etc. I always have a spare PC 1 key on my POV key ring.
 

Cementups

Box Monkey
For years one of our older drivers had a master key on him at all times for the guys that were on the outskirts of the center limits. So if we locked our keys in the back we would call in and thy would have him break off route and come and let us in and then head back to do his work. When he retired he had to turn it in. They didn't trust anyone else to have it out there.
 

cosmo1

Perhaps.
Staff member
For years one of our older drivers had a master key on him at all times for the guys that were on the outskirts of the center limits. So if we locked our keys in the back we would call in and thy would have him break off route and come and let us in and then head back to do his work. When he retired he had to turn it in. They didn't trust anyone else to have it out there.


I did bid a 22.3 preload/porter job for a year. Our LP guy gave me a double-super secret master key that fit every Best lock in the building, even his office and the server room.

I made damned sure I returned that one when I bid back onto the street!
 

FilingBluesFL

Well-Known Member
idontalwayspackagecarkeys.jpg
 

oldupsman

Well-Known Member
Old timer story. When we first started getting automatic package cars I was one of the first drivers to get one
because I was near the top of the seniority list. Plus I had a rural route and the first ones with automatic were
the smaller cars. Anyway when the Sat. air driver punks found that automatic in the line up they started
taking it out for Sat. air. I'd come in Mon. the gas tank be half full, or there be a busted mirror, or the car be
full of trash.

So on Fri nights I'd come in, run the car through the car wash myself, fuel it myself, and put it in the lineup.
The car wash guys loved it, less work for them. Then I'd take the keys home with me for the weekend. Well the Sat. sups
complained to my center manager about the keys missing to the car. He ask me what's going on, I tell him the truth.
He says"Don't take the keys home anymore, you might get in trouble. Put them in the closet in my office. Bleep them."
 

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
Taking keys home with you is no different from locking them in the back...its a rite of passage that will happen to every UPS driver at some point in his career. Welcome to the club!
 

rod

Retired 22 years
I still have a key (somewhere) for the building (unless they changed the locks in the last 13 years which I doubt) and one that I know would open any truck in the center. When I retired they never asked for anything back--- including uniforms (which I burned at my retirement party in the bon-fire). Everyone in our building had a key for the front door of the center and all truck doors were keyed alike.
 

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
I have a couple of spare bulkhead door keys for my hitch car, which means the key will also open the door of any pup trailer in our fleet as well as every other car in our fleet with a hitch. During peak I wind up handing one out to the bike helper who reports for work at the pup trailer as instructed on his first day only to discover that management has forgotten to provide him with a key to the door of the trailer. This has occurred at least once every peak since we started using bike helpers in 2008. I am always told to return the key once peak is over, and I always seem to "accidentally" misplace it until the following peak. Funny how that works.....
 
Z

ZQXC

Guest
When I got home this evening I realized I still had my package car key. Is this grounds for getting in trouble tomorrow. I live almost 40 min from my center so there is no way and probably no point in taking them back tonight.

Sent using BrownCafe App

Before you step off the truck at the end of the day, say out loud: brake, key, in gear, and visually check those three items. Make it part of your daily routine.
 
Z

ZQXC

Guest
an old timer who actually locked their bulkhead? most drivers back then had the door pegged with a folded up delivery notice. I noticed the other day I still had one of those big stainless bankers clips from the old delivery records in the bottom of my feeder bag.

Classic
Been there, done that.
 

Alexcross774

Spinning my wheels.
Daily event in our hub. Just bring it back, sh#$t is expensive. I wonder how many drivers after 10 plus hours of work, walk out to their POV and wonder why it won't unlock.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Locked mine in the back once. 30 minute drive for the mechanic to bring me keys. Luckily I was walking distance to a fast food joint.

We had a driver do that while making his last pickup (drop box) on a route an hour from the center. It would have taken longer for someone to drive from the center and his air would have missed the plane so they called a local locksmith who drilled out the lock.
 

bottomups

Bad Moon Risen'
I never had any trouble losing keys----------they were always in the ignition.
Been there and done that. Over 20 years ago I always left the keys in the ignition. Backed up to a dock one day and went about my business loading up the truck. Supervisor doing an on area observation decides to be funny and take my keys. Get back in the cab and notice no keys in the ignition so I reach into my pocket for my "spare" set. Start up the truck and continue the route. About 15 minutes later the supervisor confronts me with the keys. Told him "A planned day makes a safe day" and I had planned to lose my keys at some point and had always carried the spare key as a result. He just laughed it off. Sometimes older is better.
 

rod

Retired 22 years
Been there and done that. Over 20 years ago I always left the keys in the ignition. Backed up to a dock one day and went about my business loading up the truck. Supervisor doing an on area observation decides to be funny and take my keys. Get back in the cab and notice no keys in the ignition so I reach into my pocket for my "spare" set. Start up the truck and continue the route. About 15 minutes later the supervisor confronts me with the keys. Told him "A planned day makes a safe day" and I had planned to lose my keys at some point and had always carried the spare key as a result. He just laughed it off. Sometimes older is better.


I always thought it was funny that they would give you the lecture about shutting off the truck at each stop and taking the keys with you BUT when they rode with you on a bitterly cold day (which was very seldom because they seemed to be afraid of the cold) they never said anything about shutting the truck off. I always told them I had electrical problems---- if I shut the truck off the heater would quit.
 

idrivethetruck

Slow & steady wins the race.
Holy crap your building still has car wash guys???They got rid of ours about 8yrs ago.
Yep, they are "guaranteed jobs" put in place when a newer "hub" was opened years ago. Whenever there is an opening in our building, it takes at least 25 years seniority to score that position.
 

AKCoverMan

Well-Known Member
Lol early on I was driving an air pup run and had to use "restroom in the rear of the coach". This was pre-Fob in old p500 with the padlock barn doors on rear.

Tossed keys on shelf did my business in bottle, in a hurry to keep on schedule, back in cab in a flash and NOOOOOO! As the bulkhead door is closing I realize too late keys still in there.

As it turned out I was next to a shop on military base. Went in and asked if they had bolt cutters? Called center manager said look I can cut lock be rolling in 30 secs or the air comes in late. Snap goes the padlock!

They didn't even say much to me. Hey when you gotta go....
 
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