Being locked out of your vehicle is no fun, it's inconvenient and potentially expensive. Sure, this is what we pay AAA or our insurance company for, but as a very wise woman once said: 'Ain't nobody got time fo' dat.'
That said, there's an easy and very inexpensive way to safeguard ourselves from ourselves: Ye old Hide-a-key. Now we've all heard of the ol' magnetic keybox trick, but these can leave you stranded because that pothole you hit 2 years ago sent it flying and you didn't think to check on it.
So what do we do? Ziptie. What do we do with it? Emergency key. Some of the proximity Ford fobs contained a backup HU101 keyblade hidden within that would open the lock manually, this is Strattec part # 4223891 that will take care of the newer 14-20 model years. It's a bare-bones keyblade with a small hole that you can easily thread a ziptie through and attach somewhere on the underside of the van. It won't start the vehicle, but will save you if your keys are locked inside. Maybe even hide a programmed key onboard somewhere that will save you from a lost key scenario; roll under the van, break the ziptie, unlock the door, fetch the hidden programmed key inside and drive home.
For the earlier models, Strattec part #5914577 will do the trick. Keeping a key to your vehicle attached to the vehicle might weird some people out, but honestly who's looking? Be creative and pick a spot under your van that's easy to get to but hard to spot at a glance. Mark the spot with some brightly colored duct tape and you'll be able to find it in a pinch.
Hopefully this will save at least one of you from a lockout.