How to move a gunsafe

corwise

corwise

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Nov 10, 2006
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I have a large liberty gun safe that I keep my knifes/guns in. The military has graciously told me that I'll soon be moving, so I'm trying to figure out how to move the gunsafe. The unfortuate part is that since I live in tornado country, I had the gunsafe bolted to the floor.
My current thought is to unscrew the top of the bolts off inside the safe. This will allow me to lift the safe over the bolts. However, the safe is way to heavy to lift off the bolts that'll be sticking up, so I think if I lift it an inch, jam something under there to hold it up, then use a hacksaw to saw the bolts down at the floor level. This will really suck.
So, any suggestions on a better way to do this? Or something that'll cut those bolts better then a hacksaw? Thanks much.
 
Use a wooden wedge(like a doorstop wedge) and a sledgehammer to drive it under the safe. If the wood is hard enough it should lift the safe. Once you get it up cut the bolts of with bolt cutters. Then pour a bunch of golf balls under the safe and drive the wedges back out or use a bar and a block of wood as a lever/fulcrum to lift the safe and remove the blocks. Roll the safe around on the golf balls to wherever you want to go.
 
how heavy is the safe? 3/4" pvc plumbing pipe works wonders.
 
Not sure how heavy, it's about 6' high, and 2'x3' or so, so very heavy.

Ashtxsniper: Golf balls? That's freakin genius. How well do you think that'd work on carpet? I bet I could make it work.
 
Although the safe will roll on golf balls the balls will not stay in the same position under the safe as you move it. The end result it will tip and kill you.
Lever the safe up in increments shimming higher as you go. Remove the bolts from the floor rent a very heavy duty dolly or cart get 5 buddys to help and muscle it out of there. We move them all the time and its a pain. Be carfull when they tip you cant stop them.
 
try a set of those heavy duty REAL refrigerator hand trucks. ask around. somebody on post has em you can borrow. good luck and thanks for your service!!! paul
 
1badtackdriver said:
Although the safe will roll on golf balls the balls will not stay in the same position under the safe as you move it. The end result it will tip and kill you.
Lever the safe up in increments shimming higher as you go. Remove the bolts from the floor rent a very heavy duty dolly or cart get 5 buddys to help and muscle it out of there. We move them all the time and its a pain. Be carfull when they tip you cant stop them.
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I have seen professional safe movers use the golf ball technique. You use a bunch of them and make sure you keep placing them in front of the safe when it is moving. I moved my 2000# safe with 2" schedule 40 PVC. I just cut a bunch of 3' pipes and as they came out the back side i put them back in front of the safe. I have not tried these techniques on carpet though.
 
I have used just a regular Uhaul appliance dolly. They wheels are solid with no air so it will have no problem with weight. Just tilt and roll...should work with no problem. They cost something like $15. a day.Good luck!
 
I've seen professional movers use a pair of straps on a refrigerator. They attach somehow over their shoulders and go under the 'fridge. They are taut when the workers are slightly stooped. They stand up straight, using their legs, not their backs, and the 'fridge lifts. This technique might work with a gun safe. I'd take off the door, first.

What's under the floor? You can't remove the bolts from underneath?
 
ashtxsniper said:
I have seen professional safe movers use the golf ball technique. You use a bunch of them and make sure you keep placing them in front of the safe when it is moving. I moved my 2000# safe with 2" schedule 40 PVC. I just cut a bunch of 3' pipes and as they came out the back side i put them back in front of the safe. I have not tried these techniques on carpet though.
Click to expand...

I have seen guys use golf balls ending in a disaster. If you choose to use the balls place them inside a hula hoop to keep them together. I worked for a safe company for 3 years we would have been fired for using golf balls it is dangerous, pvc tubing is much better for the move until you get to a door or other obstical. What ever you decide to do make sure you have people around to assist.
 
I used those Magic Sliders for mine. I did it with a friend and it was fairly easy. You can get them at any hardware store, I used the big ones, I think they were about 4" in diameter. To get it off the bolts I emptied the safe, undid the nuts, tilted one side of the safe up, put a 2x4 under it then did the back the same way, two people can slide the thing pretty easy by twisting it side to side. The first time it was moved was by a safe mover, well worth the hundred dollars, the second and third time I was cheap after watching how easy he made it seem. Call around, it might be worth it to have someone else do it.http://www.magicsliders.com/
 
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Any chance you can sell it with the house and purchase a new one at your new residence? It may prove easier, but will also cost a few extra dollars.
 
The straps riffraff talked about are the simplest and easiest. Two guys, or at most 4, can lift and carry some fairly heavy stuff that way. I moved my gun safe by pushing it over onto a piece of plywood and then pulling the plywood along with a bit of rope tied to it. Admittedly this was not inside the house!
 
Good luck...I had to do that one time, I now am a firm believer in Zanotti modular safes, one person and a handtruck can move them easily.
 
I would leave it there and buy a new one or get a safe company to use their special dolly to move it onto a pallet.

When I got a safe the safe company showed up with a heavy duty dolly that had a floor jack built into it and also had as extra set of wheels so the safe could be leveraged up and rested on 4 wheels.
 
I have a liberty safe about that size. Depending on fire rating it's between 450-600 pounds most likely. My movers brought it in the house, both of em!
 
I have one of the largest home model safes known, six feet tall, five feet wide, and 29 inches deep, made of 1/4 steel, with super layers of heavy fire proofing, weighing slightly over 2100 lbs, and when I purchased it, the trucking company left it on my carport. The planned position was over a well padded, carpeted floor, so I purchased two sheets of 3/4 plywood, cut it lenghtwise into 2 x 8 strips, then used a pallet jack, rolled it into position, and used wooden blocks, was able to ease the pallet jack out from under. a "mule" or may be called a "Johnson bar", large heavy wheeled crowbar helps lift, and can be rented at the time and place you rent the pallet jack. Heavy weight often will cut a carpet, so be sure to use plywood.
I attempted to get a local moving and Storage place to put it into place, however, no one would touch it, except a security sales store, who wanted $400 to place it, since I had not bought from him.
Three of us moved that not once but several times, and while I will not say it is easy, it is poossible. Depending how wide the bolt down pattern is, the pallet jack should lift the safe clear of the bolts, allowing you to deal with them without the safe complicating the job.
 
Last time I moved mine it fell on me. I am now thinner than I used to be. I do not recommend this thinning method, so please be careful.

Andy
 
I worked in a factory for a while and we sometimes moved machines about weighing several tons.
If it's not ridiculously heavy you can lift it up by, as already suggested, tipping to one side and packing that side, then tipping the opposite way and packing the other side. Do not stand in the way in case it falls.

We sometimes used solid 2" steel bars to roll machines.

Another way is to hire corner dollies with castors which slot onto each corner.

Pump trucks are useful too.

Don't try to do it alone.

Don't, under any circumstances, put any part of your anatomy underneath.

If the bolts are set in the floor and you can lift it off, just cut them off afterwards with an angle grinder.

Andy
 
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