Moving a Gun Safe

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  • WebSnyper

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    My brother had a part time gig years ago, delivering for Liberty Safes. They had the same setup as described above and two guys had zero issues with HUGE safes. Might be worth a call to Liberty to see if they can share info about their team or help set it up...
    Independence Safe based out of Noblesville is who I purchased my Liberty through and they delivered as others have said. 2 guys and a motorized dolly, down stairs and into the basement.
     

    WebSnyper

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    You guys make it sound easy. I bought a Fat Boy Jr (48 gun @750lbs) and hired three movers plus I helped them. We took it up three porch steps into the house and then through an interior doorway. It was not a pretty operation and I don't think three people could have done it.

    I need to move it again in the spring but just out of the room long enough for new flooring to be installed. I'm hoping to do it myself with rented equipment. Maybe a power mover is the ticket.
    I would think if it's just sliding it from one room to another (no steps, no floor height transitions and you can get it through door ways) it could actually be moved pretty easily on sliders without having to pick it up.

    Getting it off the ground seems like the difficult part.
     

    d.kaufman

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    I would think if it's just sliding it from one room to another (no steps, no floor height transitions and you can get it through door ways) it could actually be moved pretty easily on sliders without having to pick it up.

    Getting it off the ground seems like the difficult part.
    I have them sliders under all 4 corners of mine. I can slide it around by myself fully loaded. It's roughly 650# empty.
     

    TheGhostRider

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    I have them sliders under all 4 corners of mine. I can slide it around by myself fully loaded. It's roughly 650# empty.
    This^^^
    I did the same thing with a toolbox that has bad rollers. I was able to pull the it out of my tilt trailer onto the garage floor with help from my neighbor. It weigh's 800 lbs empty but had tools in it so who knows how much it actually weigh's. I loaded it in the trailer with a fork truck. I used those silly looking round sliders on a rubber backed carpet runner and couldn't believe they worked so well. We were able to shove that chest with the top cabinet attached across the garage with a little effort. Once I got it where I wanted it I used a floor jack to lift it up on each end and set stacked 4x4s under it suspending the rollers off the floor. I planned to replace the rollers... That was in 2014... It's still setting there and the rollers are still bad. lol
    Someday I might replace them... for now it's good enough.
     

    SnoopLoggyDog

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    Moved a 24 gun Remington safe from Ohio to Indiana by myself. An appliance dolly, cargo straps and drop ramp trailer made it easy. If it had been a 40 gun safe, I would have brought along a couple of friends.
     

    Amishman44

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    Rent an appliance dolly and some plywood (most places that rent dollies have the plywood). Lay the plywood across gravel. It'll b a breeze. This old man moved his up 5 steps by himself
    Ditto this...or use an inflatable wheeled dolly and you'll go over the gravel easily!
    Two people can get a loaded dolly up some stairs...just take your time and work together!
    That or get a couple of high school athletes...
    ...although letting some teens know you have a safe may not be all that good of an idea???
    My wife helped me move both of my safes...albeit they were 26-gun safes, not 40!
     

    ISP 5353

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    Jeff moved mine and did an excellent job. We did not want to take a chance on someone getting injured while moving it. That is a lot of weight! Money well spent, for me.
     

    xwing

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    You guys make it sound easy. I bought a Fat Boy Jr (48 gun @750lbs) and hired three movers plus I helped them. We took it up three porch steps into the house and then through an interior doorway. It was not a pretty operation and I don't think three people could have done it.

    I need to move it again in the spring but just out of the room long enough for new flooring to be installed. I'm hoping to do it myself with rented equipment. Maybe a power mover is the ticket.

    I have the same safe. Myself and 2 friends (none of us body builders or particularly strong) got it down from my SUV and got it up three steps into my old house with nothing but a harbor freight furniture dolly and a small jack. It would've been easier with an appliance dolly, and I would rent one if I ever did it again.
     

    Butch627

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    Ditto this...or use an inflatable wheeled dolly and you'll go over the gravel easily!
    Two people can get a loaded dolly up some stairs...just take your time and work together!
    That or get a couple of high school athletes...
    ...although letting some teens know you have a safe may not be all that good of an idea???
    My wife helped me move both of my safes...albeit they were 26-gun safes, not 40!
    Inflatable wheel dollys are awesome for many things, but tall, wide, and heavy are not at their best. They are narrower than the hard wheel appliance style with tripod and with a lot of weight the tires compress quite a bit and if the weight shifts the tire may pop off the rim or it may flatten enough for the safe to try and trip. Stick to a hard wheel appliance dolly with tripod I am saying this from a great deal of experience.
     

    BJHay

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    Mar 17, 2019
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    I have the same safe. Myself and 2 friends (none of us body builders or particularly strong) got it down from my SUV and got it up three steps into my old house with nothing but a harbor freight furniture dolly and a small jack. It would've been easier with an appliance dolly, and I would rent one if I ever did it again.
    Good on 'ya mate. We struggled.
    Use of a jack in interesting. That may have helped. Getting it around a 90 degree corner was tougher than the stairs for us.
    I may add a second safe in the basement soon. If I do I'll be looking harder for equipment to rent.
     

    Amishman44

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    Inflatable wheel dollys are awesome for many things, but tall, wide, and heavy are not at their best. They are narrower than the hard wheel appliance style with tripod and with a lot of weight the tires compress quite a bit and if the weight shifts the tire may pop off the rim or it may flatten enough for the safe to try and trip. Stick to a hard wheel appliance dolly with tripod I am saying this from a great deal of experience.
    Interestingly, I used to deliver all sorts of things as a delivery driver for a housing contractor supply business (summers, when I was a teacher and needed the extra work) and we used inflatable (air-filled) dolly wheels over the hard-skinny (narrower) wheels for the stability and better balance that they offered, especially over rough surfaces. We delivered all sorts of plumbing supplies, HVAC supplies, electrical supplies, appliances of all sizes, etc...quite often all by ourselves!
    Keeping the wheels properly inflated was key to avoiding all of the issues described above.
    The hard-skinny wheels would get stuck in places that would cause issues with the item being transported, whereas the inflatable wheels would roll right over the obstacles or depressions with ease.
     

    xwing

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    Apr 11, 2012
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    Good on 'ya mate. We struggled.
    Use of a jack in interesting. That may have helped. Getting it around a 90 degree corner was tougher than the stairs for us.
    I may add a second safe in the basement soon. If I do I'll be looking harder for equipment to rent.
    lol. We struggled a bit too. But "got it done" ;) I used the jack to jack it up each step and then scoot it onto cement blocks level with the step, reset and do again. But in retrospect, an appliance dolly would've been much easier.

    When I moved to my current house, 3 movers got it up several steps and across the home with just muscle power, a steel ramp & a furniture dolly. They were mad that their appliance dolly was missing (another moving crew had "borrowed" it from their truck and didn't bring it back.) But moving the safe was nothing compared to the full size 1980s vending machine they got down a full flight of narrow stairs with just muscle power.
     
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