How to Move a Gunsafe

Moving a large gun safe can be difficult and dangerous because safes are bulky and heavy. Depending on the weight of the safe, where you want to move it, and the safety risk you are willing to take, you have several options. Personally, I prefer professionals to do it for me, because I know that making a mistake will cost me far more than what I pay for help. But depending on your resources (friends and local handymen), and what you are willing to spend, you have choices.

How to move a large gun safely depends on the following. Your choices range from small safes, the majority that weigh between 150 lbs. to 1,000 lbs. to the really big and heavy safes over 1,000 lbs.

To help you decide, I have some suggested safety tips. Should you want to move a safe yourself, I’ve provided a list of equipment you are likely to need and steps on how to do it. Finally, let’s look at how professionals move safes.

10 Safety Steps to Consider Before Moving a Safe

Part of the best way to move a gun safe is by first planning adequately for the move and finding the best equipment available. But most critical of all, you need to take not of the following safety tips:

Pre-plan your path through the house and weigh any doorways or tight spots so that you’ll know how you can really transport the safe through narrow spaces. Walk the path to ensure that you can go around tight corners when you bring in the safe.
Empty the safe of all accessories and any contents. Gather the necessary equipment you will need.
Cover the gun safe with a heavy blanket and wrap the ratchet strap securely all-around dolly
Make sure that any stairs that would be used are strong enough to support the weight of the safe.
Know your safe dimensions and weight. When renting an appliance dolly from a moving firm, you would need to provide them with these details.
Wear lightweight, close-toed shoes with decent soles for better traction, to reduce the risk of falling as you move in the safe, and to secure your feet.
Borrow or hire a heavy-duty to move your safe securely, complete with support belts or ropes and thick moving blankets.
Cover your hands with high-quality work gloves to give you a firm grip on the safe and moving equipment.
If you’re transporting the safe to another house or company, make sure the truck you’re using is large enough to carry the weight of your gun safe.

Equipment needed for Heavy Safes

Part of moving a safe is preparing it for the move and having the right equipment available.

Moving Straps – upto 800 lbs - $20 Purchase

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008ASBLJI?tag=safesvaults-20

Stair-climbing Cart – Up to 500lbs - $150

Equipment Rentals from United Rentals (www.UnitedRentals.com) – subject to availability in your area.

Pallet Jack, 5,000lbs, Hydraulic, $60 per day
Stair climbers, 1,500 lbs, $50 per day

Moving a Safe Yourself

After following the safety tips and now you’re ready to start moving the safe, make sure it’s closed and locked and empty of all loose contents. Wrap it up in moving blankets to help protect it from damage. You’re going to want to tape the blankets in order to keep them from slipping off or tripping you.

With the aid of your mates, gently and cautiously tilt your back and slide the dolly somewhere under the bottom of it. Secure the dolly absolutely with the straps or ropes before continuing down your pre-planned route. If you’re tossing the heavy safe onto the back of a moving truck, use the loading ramp to roll up the dolly. When the safe is in the moving truck, place it against the side and keep it in tight corners so that it doesn’t move during the ride. Reverse the step at a time to safely unload your gun safe and move it to your new space as you move within your home or some other place.

Best Way to Move a Gun Safe Upstairs

Moving the safe upstairs is a very hard activity. Before beginning to move, you should take into consideration the full weight of the gun safe and two to three persons as well as the stair capacity.

However, one of the best ways to move a gun safe upstairs is to use a stair climbing dolly. You can also use a non-step climbing dolly, which is hazardous if you don’t have an experienced helper. While you hold the safe up, three or four of your friends should raise the furniture up at the same time.

Best Way to Move a Gun Safe Downstairs

There are various ways in moving the safe but let’s take a look at the best way to move a gun safe.

To move a Gun safe downstairs, the thing to do is to find some friends to help you out. It could be three or four of your mates, or you could pay other people in the area to help. As a gun safe can be a bulky item, trying to carry one can quickly lead to a back injury, injury to the leg, or damage to the arm if you want to move it on your own, particularly if you want it to move down the stairs. However, a heavy safe gun should not be lifted with your arms unless you don’t mind breaking anything, straining your hamstrings, or pulling your muscles.

While trying to follow the best way with moving the safe, then it’s recommended you get a dolly as it will help move the gun safe, ideally with belts and a rating of 1200 lbs+. The supporting straps allow you drag the gun securely to remove the need to lift it from one room to another and then down the stairs. If you are able to find one made for stairs, that’s then better. Otherwise, use a ratchet strap or a rope. Ensure that the belts are hooked to the bottom of the dolly to keep the heavy safe more comfortable and secure when moving it down the stairs. After placing the gun safe on a stair climbing dolly, the next move is to lead it down the stairs.

A significant thing to remember when you move a gun safe is to make sure there is no one on the way to the gun safe. Whether it’s the people who support you move around or some part of your family, make sure everyone remains upside of the gun. Keep the dolly and position it gently at the top of the stairs, holding the wheels first, and one of the men holding the straps. Carefully push the dolly to cause the wheels to slide off the ground. When you do this, keep the dolly at an angle of 45 ° to the downward slope to guarantee that the protected gun’s weight moves with the momentum.

However, be careful to slide the dolly wheels when you drive the appliance dolly down every step at a time to avoid destroying the stairs, as well as to prevent the risk of a gun being safe from the dolly and falling down the stairs.

Best Way to Move a Gun Safe to the Garage

The best way to move a heavy safe to your garage is by using a pallet jack. You may hire one of them from a local moving company that leases heavy machinery. Make sure you get one that is rated to withstand the weight of your safe. Aside from using a pallet jack, you could also use a regular refrigerator dolly. If you don’t have one, check with your friend, or you can rent one from a moving company that leases heavy right equipment. A four-wheel dolly is usually the safest, but a two-wheel dolly can fit if the safe isn’t too heavy.

However, if you want to move the safe using a two-wheel refrigerator dolly, line it up with the pallet foot. Push the safe away from you at the very top of the safe, with both paws, and then at the same time push the dolly in at the bottom of your foot. The next move is to get to the opposite side of the safe. Don’t push from the center; push the safe from the top, and roll the safe right into your garage. If you’ve a steep driveway, you will need some support driving the safe. Then get the refrigerator out of the bottom of the pallet. Only stick your hand to the top and pull it to the bottom. At that point, you should be clear of the safe.

Professional Movers & White Glove Service

Professional safe movers and white-glove service providers will typically give you a detailed questionnaire to fill out so that they can assess the complexity of the move. Fill this out thoroughly and carefully because what they quote you as a service cost will depend on what the movers can get done. (Download White Glove Service Questionnaire.)

For complex moves, the movers might create a temporary loading ramp, take off a door, and move heavy furniture and appliances that are in the path of the move. All this costs you good money. I have found that in some extreme cases, a safe gun owner finds out during the move that the safe cannot be brought into a specified long-distance location and has to move it someplace else for an additional cost. Plan your move, even if you have someone else doing it!

Hire Professional Movers to Move a Heavy Gun Safe

As stated earlier in this post, it’s hard to move gun safe as some of these safes can weigh 1,000 lb to 800 Ib. But it will keep your guns locked up and provide fire protection. The same attributes that make sure these essential activities are significant also make safes incredibly heavy—and challenging to move. However, you will need the help of a professional, safe mover since they can easily move safes with long distance, out of tight spaces, garages, or master bedrooms without compromising the surrounding areas of the home. They’re going to do that the exact way they’re going to move all other heavy objects. This means that they will secure the safe in bubble material and moving blankets to prevent harm. Then gently load it onto a moving dolly and move it like any other heavy household items

Conclusion

There is absolutely no doubt that moving the safe can be difficult. Some Gun safes can weigh 800IbS to 1000lbs, so it can be tricky to shift the protection box. However, most times it's tempting to move 1000Ib gun safes on your own, particularly if you're only moving it around the same room to a new spot. The risk here is that you might tip over your protection. If you're pushing it around long distance, the room, or down the corridor, let others help you out. It's a smart idea to have at least three close friends at your side who are physically up to this heavy-duty task.

Another thing is to plan effectively and safely as you move your safe upstairs to eliminate hazards and harm to property. Your top priority should be your wellbeing and helpers, for nothing is more important than an individual’s wellbeing. Moving a safe can be dangerous if you don’t follow the directions for moving gun safes upstairs, however, what you need to do is follow the steps carefully.