HitchSafe: Stash a Spare Key in Your Tow Hitch
The "HitchSafe" slides inside your pickup truck hitch, making possible to hide a spare copy of your keys (and anything else) inside. The HitchSafe attaches to a standard two-inch hitch with a steel pin that is attached from the inside, making it difficult to remove it without the combination to the lock.
The HitchSafe has a single review on Amazon which indicates that water can get inside the vault, which isn't promising, but should still be fine for a spare key. The HitchSafe is $70.
Product Page [HitchSafe.com]
Previously: Tow Hitch TV Mount [BBG]
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Just as a heads up:
When I had a car stolen a couple of years ago, the first question both the police and the insurance agent asked me was "Did you have a spare/valet key? Where was it located?" The agent intimated that if all the keys to the car could not be accounted for it would be very hard for them to pay the claim, since there was no sign of forced entry (no broken glass in my parking spot).
Hiding a spare key on your car is bad news. Thieves know all the common spots to hide keys, and looking for them is one of the first things they do if they target your car. Plus, with all the transponder keys and built-in alarm fobs on modern car keys it would probably break the electronics in the key to leave it out in the elements like that.
The best solution IMO is to keep a spare key in your wallet - I had a couple cars come with spare keys and credit card sized holders for them to place in the wallet. A simple DIY version is to staple around the edges of a couple business cards to create a pocket and keep a key in that, inside your wallet. Or you can just shove the key in there if that works for you. I have locked my keys in my car but never my wallet...
If your car has a transponder key (and these days almost all cars do), the wallet-key is either going to be really fat or won't work to start the car. While it's great for the times when you lock your keys in the car, it's not so great when you drop your keys down a storm drain.
I would make a completely unscientific guess that the majority of situations calling for an extra key are simply to get into the vehicle but even if I am wrong I think you may be overestimating the number of transponders keys v non-transponder keys but that is an equally unscientific guess based on personal experience and is likely related to income and age of myself and the majority of people I know / meet well enough to know about their keys.
We keep a spare key on our vehicle not only for a spare but we do outdoor sports and dont want to take the keys with us. We are always uncomfortable about doing this due to any common thief knowing where those few places are that keys are hidden. I like this concept whereby we can be more confident about leaving those keys behind!