Truly Fulltimers... storing Passport, Birth Cert., etc.

[Bster13]

For those of you truly fulltime with no storage locker, a couple of boxes in your Brother's basement, a cabin in the woods you visit, etc., where do you store items that are difficult to replace, in your rig?

Things like a passport or birth certificate may be needed while on the road (especially the passport if I want to cross the border), but I don't exactly like keeping all my eggs in one basket.  Getting a laptop stolen would stink, but easy to replace.... a passport, not so much.  So do you keep them with you on the road?  If so, do you have a secret hiding spot?  Maybe it's always on your person?

I'm trending towards a Van, Prius, or Fiberglass Travel Trailer.

Thanks!

 

[cyndi]

I carry a firebox. In truth, if there was a fire that couldn't be put out, it would be of no use at all.

 

[Van-Tramp]

Yep, mine are with me

 

[Hippiechk]

On me when mobile, locked in an ammo can that is bolted to the rig when I am staying a bit in one spot & out doing stuff.

 

[Almost There]

Well, since I'm Canadian and spend 6 months a year in the US, my passport has to be available to me all the time.

As soon as I'm clear of the border it gets put away in a safe little hidey hole until it's time to cross the border again.

I don't keep them on my person since it's more likely that my purse would get stolen or lost than anything else. When I'm out and about without my purse on me, then I carry an identification folder with my drivers' license and insurance card along with some folding money, one charge card and a debit card. My hiking pants have zippered pockets where I keep the valuables.

I don't carry birth certificate, SIN card - they are locked away in a firebox in my cargo trailer for safe keeping.

I have a record of all the serial #s/certificate numbers put away as well so that if I need to replace anything they're available.

 

[Reducto]

I used to have a safe that I used for my laptop and important papers but after several years of not being broken into that has gone away.

When I sent away for my birth certificate years ago (my parents didn't have a real one) it was shockingly easy. I just called a number, told them who I wanted one for and where to send it. Social security card was easy to get as well, and if you have those you can get the rest. So rebuilding all of it is time consuming but not necessarily difficult.

Actually, now that I think of it, I may go ahead and send away for replacement SS card and birth certificates now and just leave them at the mail service. If I lose mine all I have to do is have them mailed to wherever I am, no waiting several weeks for them to be printed.

I also have scanned copies of everything online. Those wouldn't be acceptable forms of id for everything, but it would at least be something to fall back on if I needed to.

 

[MrNoodly]

My passport has resided in several places. First it was in a folder in a box inside another box in a bin under the bed. Then it was in a box on a shelf. Then it was in the cubby on the engine cover/"doghouse" because that's where I tossed it after one of my hops in and out of Mexico. Now it's in sort of a file slot on the driver side bulkhead. That has been the best place for me. I have a color photocopy in a zippered pocket of my overnight bag. Not that it's the best place, it's just where I know it is, and separate from the actual passport. My birth certificate and the title to the van are in that folder in a box inside a box in a bin under the bed where the passport used to be.

 

[user 2252]

I have a black briefcase that I keep all my important papers in as well as office stuff like stapler, pens and pencils and scotch tape. I keep envelopes and stamps in there too. It fit behind a cabinet where it wasn't readily seen.

 

[TrainChaser]

Does everyone carry their documents in that container with wheels that is full of flammable liquid?

 

[Almost There]

Does everyone carry their documents in that container with wheels that is full of flammable liquid?

Some of us have no choice in the matter - pick me for example!

If I want to cross the border I need to be carrying my documents. Mailing them back to a friend and then back again, who loses/misplaces things regularly, through both the USPS and Canada Post, neither of which have a AA+ rating, just doesn't sound like a good plan!

I trust me to be in 'that container with wheels that is full of flammable liquid' for many hours a day. I think I can, maybe, just maybe, trust it with my documents as well!!

 

[rvpopeye]

I keep that stuff in a "bug out bag" . I had a rig burn once and had it then but couldn't get to it so found out it was not too hard to replace , just might not happen overnight.

 

[TrainChaser]

"I trust me to be in 'that container with wheels that is full of flammable liquid' for many hours a day. I think I can, maybe, just maybe, trust it with my documents as well!!"

I wasn't thinking about trust. I was thinking how FAST you could get to important documents when your rig is filling with smoke. Most of the posts here seemed to indicate that people hide them in the back end.

I can't think where I would keep important stuff outside the vehicle. But I learn new things from people every day -- I was hoping someone had a brilliant answer that I was just too dense to figure out myself.

The only time my vehicle caught fire, I got out so fast that I left my paycheck on the front seat. Things just don't happen in real life like they do in the movies.

 

[poprouge]

Bingo on the firebox. I worked for a multimillion dollar company, and the entire server and billng systems backups were kept in the trunk of my car in a firebox. Yep, it was our "offsite" storage solution.

I keep my own files in a three ring binder in a firebox at home, when I need to evacuate, I toss them in the trunk and it all goes with me.

 

[TrainChaser]

I didn't think those little firebox things were much good for a hot fire.

 

[MrNoodly]

It seems some of us think we're at greater risk of fire just because we aren't living in a building anymore. Yet there are far more building fires than vehicle fires. Perhaps it's part of the general anxiety of changing one's life and doing something unfamiliar.

 

[ccbreder]

I have a fire suppression system in my van.

 

[TrainChaser]

Mr. N:  “It seems some of us think we're at greater risk of fire just because we aren't living in a building anymore. Yet there are far more building fires than vehicle fires. Perhaps it's part of the general anxiety of changing one's life and doing something unfamiliar.”

Oh, yeah.  Actually, it seems some of us think nothing bad will happen to us because we’re ‘special’.  None of ‘us’ will ever be in an accident.  None of ‘us’ will ever have a leaking gas tank.  None of 'us' will ever have a leaking propane tank or hose.  

About half of the residential fires in 2014 were caused by cooking.  How many of the people on these boards already do, or intend to, cook in or near their vehicle?

And I’m absolutely dead certain-sure that none of us have ever hit, or have been hit by, another vehicle.

Nothing happened to us today, so that guarantees that nothing will happen to us tomorrow.  All of that bad stuff only happens to people in the news.

I just hope that you always manage to park in the Elysian Fields so nothing bad will ever happen.

And stay out of Washington State.  In 23 years, I've been rear-ended eleven times, and backed into twice.

 

[anewbiewannabe]

Mr. N:  “It seems some of us think we're at greater risk of fire just because we aren't living in a building anymore. Yet there are far more building fires than vehicle fires. Perhaps it's part of the general anxiety of changing one's life and doing something unfamiliar.”

Oh, yeah.  Actually, it seems some of us think nothing bad will happen to us because we’re ‘special’.  None of ‘us’ will ever be in an accident.  None of ‘us’ will ever have a leaking gas tank.  None of 'us' will ever have a leaking propane tank or hose.  

Yanno, everyone prioritizes their own concerns. I can understand your concerns given your experiences with all the accidents you've been in. I've only been in 2 accidents in over 40 years in a variety of states. How many times was there a fire involved in your accidents? Maybe that would help us understand the "container with wheels that is full of flammable liquid" remark. Mr. Noodly is quite right that there are far more building fires than vehicle fires so it's a valid idea that it could be about change if there isn't some personal trauma or traumatic reaction.

Crap happens. We all know that and didn't need the "special" snark. It's not Pollyanna time. I knew someone who fell in the shower her first week in her new house and died but I still take showers.

If one carries his or her home on the road and has no other options of course we're going to carry important papers. Not much different than leaving them in the tinderbox of a house I have for now. Everyone makes choices based on their own lives/needs/abilities/etc. so everyone is free to choose something different.

 

[akrvbob]

Okay, let's dial it down here folks. We're here to be helpful and kind as much as we possibly can be. Let's make that a priority in the rest of this thread. Posts lacking that can be deleted.
Bob

 

[USExplorer]

Fire safe under the passengers seat is home for all important documents. I used to have a "No Cash, Jackass" sign taped to the top of the safe to discourage burglars but it got lost along the way.