Need to move gun safe a few feet... want your input

E

eos

New member
I'm not sure if this qualifies as "on topic" for the General Discussion Forum, if not my apologies.

My cousin bought a house, previous owner left a large Liberty safe in the basement. He wants it moved back where the table on the right is, so about four feet to the right, and four feet back against that wall.

So... the safe weighs a thousand pounds. Even the two of us probably couldn't budge the thing, any ideas? Tip it slightly and try to get some golf balls under it? I'm at a loss.

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Golf balls or pieces of pipe or two handtrucks capable of 800+ pounds

If that is a concrete floor, you'll want something between the concrete and the safe bottom to prevent corrosion

or rent one of the heavy duty appliance dollies
 
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Buy several pieces of 3/8" round metal rod from Home Depot. Tip the safe enough to start one rod underneath. A rope or strap around the lower portion of the safe and pull. Add rods as the safe moves. Once on the rods it will be easier to rotate and position. As FITASC noted put something under when in place for moisture protection
 
Oh yes, don't forget to tell your buddy to change the combination; Liberty can tell you how if he doesn't know
 
Unless some one added weight or it is loaded with stuff it does not weight a ton .
That Safe is a little over half that
 
Doesn't weigh 1000 lbs, probably 600 lbs at best. Here's how I move mine around the house. Take all the guns out of the safe. Open the door and look at the hinges, most likely the door comes off. That's another 100 to 200 lbs you can get off the safe. At this point I can move my safe around the room and I bet you can too.
 
Unless some one added weight or it is loaded with stuff it does not weight a ton .
That Safe is a little over half that
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Doesn't weigh 1000 lbs, probably 600 lbs at best.
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That model does weigh 1,000+ pounds. Go look it up.


...Which means all of my suggestions would not be effective.

Rollers are probably the answer.
 
On a floor like that a couple dollars worth of wood dowels will help move it lickety-split, and you don't even have to unload it.
Ive moved several of my safe's all by myself that way, more than once.
:)
 
TBM900 said:
On a floor like that a couple dollars worth of wood dowels will help move it lickety-split, and you don't even have to unload it.
Ive moved several of my safe's all by myself that way, more than once.
:)
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Simple rollers like that have worked since the days of the pyramids. I've seen hugh items moved that way by simply putting the rollers (dowels or logs) back to the front when they exit from the rear end.
 
I would think you could drill a concrete anchor bolt into the floor and use a come-along to pull it into position or a jack to push it. If you can get get some small metal rods under it as suggested it will be even easier. Check to see if any local tool rental places rent roll-a-lifts, that’s what a lot of the pros use.
https://rolalift.com
 
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Assuming its truly heavy and can't be pushed, you'll need 2 people.

Option 1: One or both will need to tip the safe back until the balance point is found. Normally it's better to go side to side, but the side is blocked. The door is heavy in relation to the other sides, which is why tipping back isn't ideal, and forward isn't a good idea. Once the balance point is found, the other person will need to place rollers underneath, so the safe can be rolled to the new spot. You'll need to leave room to tilt at the ending position to remove the rollers.

Option 2: Use a 5-6' long pry bar to 'walk' the safe to the new spot. This is good to have anyway to fine tune the position.

Sturdy Safe has a good video on their site/YouTube channel on how to move a safe. In my company, I've moved a lot of safes.

https://www.sturdysafe.com/pages/video-list
 
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Other than what's been suggested on how to move it, i will say that's a nice Freebie your cousin ended up with.
 
I don't see gun safe topics that often, so my post isn't on how to move this safe as others have given good advice, but on safes in general.

IMO, having a gun safe isn't to make the contents of the safe burglar proof; a determined and skilled burglar can crack a safe in minutes. It's to make it difficult for the low skilled home intruder, keep guns out of a youth's hands, and/or to protect what's inside from a fire.

The latter is the main reason I want to own a gun safe. As such, I think it more sensible to own two small gun safes as opposed to one big gun safe.

Not everyone gets a gun safe for free and IMO bigger isn't always better. Spend your money wisely.
 
Every thing said about pipes or dowels will work. "Walk Like An Egyptian" I would use black iron pipe and also purchase those end clamps for the pipes so You can use it as a clamp for those large glue jobs, and you can use them to move it again if you want.
 
I've moved huge machinery (40,000 lbs +) and I can tell you this thing is getting WAY over engineered. If it's on concrete and you don't have a dolly, just tip it and put some pipe under it and roll it. This isn't building the pyramids. As far as pushing it, haven't any of you guys ever pushed a car? They weight upwards of 4,000 lbs +. How hard were they to push?
 
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