Help moving a safe

[Bacchus]

I'm going to moving a safe soon. It weighs about 600 pounds and I will probably only have 1 other person to help me. I have a dolly that will hold the weight, although it doesn't have those tie downs that go across the safe. Any tips for moving it into the truck, back down the ramp, and then across the carpet?

What about those dollies that are flat with 4 wheels? Are those any good for moving it within the house?

 

[mete]

Go slowly and carefully !! I have a hand truck that has 4 wheels so you can use it as a handtruck or dolly .That would help.For moving across the rug I think some sheets of plywood would help. The big problem is not the flat surfaces but going through doorways over door saddles etc

 

[Rembrandt]

Wrap the safe with an old piece of carpet or rug, get some ratchet straps to secure the cart and safe, throw some plywood or 1/4" masonite over the carpet to prevent the "Sunami" wave effect.

 

[Matt G]

Go rent yourself an appliance dolly from UHaul. They're about $10. They make the job doable, and you can even go down steps with 'em. There are all different kinds, but the main thing is that they have big straps to hold the item on the dolly over the wheels, a wide stance, and a type of rolling belt mechanism on the back to help you down stairs (or even up them). Some of them even have extra wheels that pop out once you've got it leaned back to the point of balance. I've actually moved items weighing several hundred pounds by myself with these things. I'm seriously thinking of purchasing one, I use them so much.

 

[0007]

If you are moving over a hard surface one of the easiest way to move something like that is to use lengths of 3/4 or 1" conduit as rollers. You need about four pieces and you just keep picking up the one from the back as it comes out from under the weight and putting it in front again. You can easily swivel a very heavy load 90 degrees this way. If you are sneaky, you use a size of pipe that is higher then any threshhold that you have to go over. That way the load just rolls right over it. If you are on carpeting, get some pieces of 1/4 or 3/8" plywood that's large enough for you to work three pieces of pipe on and just keep moving one of the pieces of wood as the load come off of it. It sounds kinda weird and complicated, but I've moved 600lb loads this way by myself.

 

[Guntalk]

Don't know if it will work here, but I heard about using golf balls to move a safe. Two dozen should work. Just move slowly, and keep putting them under the leading edge.

You can swivel the safe as if it were on -- well, on golf balls.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I'd lay down plywood over rough surfaces. Protects hardwood floors and there's less friction when moving across the carpet. Wife won't scream at you for any marks left by the move either.

 

[Dionysusigma]

I'm going to moving a safe soon. It weighs about 600 pounds and I will probably only have 1 other person to help me.

Uh... sorry... I'm busy that day.

 

[biere]

The 2 wheel dolley is something I like to use on steps or ramps since the object has to be tilted anyway and this engages the 2 wheels on a 2 wheel dolley.

For flat stuff I use either a 4 wheel dolley my dad made long ago or lately I have used pieces of pipe to move a big old wood burning cook stove that weighs more than I care to know.

With the carpet I would use plywood and then a 4 wheel dolley or the pipes. My reason for doing it this way is that when on sorta flat ground I prefer to have something holding the object so that I only need to push the object.

I can handle 300 lbs on a 2 wheel dolley just fine by myself, this is with me having to lean it back and support it and push it and what not. There is no way I would try 600 lbs.

You might look for a dolley that has the design of a 2 wheel dolley but they added two more wheels so that you can only tilt it back so far and all 4 wheels are on the ground. This design handles weight better but I don't know the capacity of this design.

For something like a u-haul ramp I would be looking for ways to lower the angle so the height I move the safe is less. If you have a deck you can generally just run the u-haul ramp directly to the deck so you are not going down a few steps and then up the ramp. When I can't do this I have used a come along or even a ratchet strap as a way to slowly winch things into the truck. Most moving trucks have stuff you can tie too, use several for the safe.

If you are using a pickup or have trouble with the ramp I tend to roll stuff like a safe over to the truck with the dolley and then remove the tailgate and lay the safe down in the truck. This makes the load have a lower center of gravity when moving the vehicle and it is generally possable to use a floor jack or something to kind of raise the safe up a bit and then lay it down in the truck. Getting it back out I also use a jack so gravity can't speed things up too much. For this you need a good feel for how to release pressure on your jack to slowly lower it.

One thing I considered but never tried with a u-haul ramp was to get something barely on the ramp and then jack the ramp up to level so that I would not be pulling something really heavy up the ramp. I could not decide if the ramp was strong enough and I wound up just loading it off the ground like I do with a pickup truck.

With 2 people you can control the dolley but you need to be really careful on the ramps. I suspect I would let the 2nd person pull on a strap attached to the bottom of the dolley while I tried to simply balance it while going up the ramp.

For attaching the safe to the 2 wheel dolley go buy one of those cheap 4 packs of ratchet straps, around 20 bucks or so, or buy 2 of the bigger ratchet straps. Evenly space things out and wrap the straps around the safe and tighten things up very well. I like old blankets better than carpet for wrapping stuff, but use what you have. And check on the ratchet straps now and then as well since they may loosen a bit once you start moving stuff around.

Hopefully there are enough ideas here you can use some and skip the rest. I generally wind up helping people move complete households or move in heavy stuff and what not so I have done all sorts of stuff, but the most important thing is not to force something heavy since that is when you hurt yourself. And one doctor's bill can generally cover the expense of paying someone else to move things.

 

[a1abdj]

For most amateur movers, gun safes are best moved in a truck laying down. That way you don't have to worry about it tipping, or running it up and down ramps. You simply back the truck to the safe, and tip the safe slowly. Once it meets with the back of the truck, you and your friend will grab the bottom and push up and into the truck. On a 600 pound safe, you will only have to support 300 pounds, so you and a friend should be able to handle it fine. Do the previous in reverse to unload it.

A regular appliance dolly should be fine for moving it across carpet. I move 1,000 pound safes on my stair climbing dolly across carpet all the time without much effort. Although the carpet will move a little, it will go back to normal afterwords.

If you insist on sliding it on carpet, you can either just set the safe down flat (as long as it has a smooth bottom) and slide/walk it, or you can invest $30 in a set of EZ Moves, which are teflon slides designed for sliding stuff on carpet.

Anything over the 600-700 pound range, and I'd recommend paying a professional to do it. You should be fine with 600 pounds and a friend.

 

[bogie]

If you can take the door off, do it.

Move it separately.

 

[atomchaser]

try Budget or one of other companies that rents trucks with the hydraulic lift gate. It might be few extra bucks but it's well worth unless you have bunch of people to help (at both ends of the move!).

 

[Spot77]

I sympathize with you. I just had to move two of my safes, and I was completely dreading it.

Walk the path that your going to take as if you were actually moving the safe. This will help you recognize any potential problems before you have 600 pounds in your hands.

 

[ksnecktieman]

Plain old white plastic pipe is better than conduit. Less marking, cheaper to buy so you can use more. I would use larger stuff like 1.5 or 2 inch. I have heard of the golf ball trick too. If you have a local driving range, tell them what you want, and get a big bucket of balls cheap, and take them back for a partial refund?

I also regret that I am busy that day, and can not help . Good luck, and be careful, 600 pounds can be a killer.

 

[Silver Bullet]

It doesn't have those tie downs that go across the safe.

A while back I bought a cheap ($20) dolly from an auto parts store, although I don't use it to move gun safes. It didn't have any tie down straps either, so I bought some of those 1.5" wide nylon straps that come with ratcheting metal "connectors". They're sold in auto parts stores, Wal-Mart automotive section, etc., to tie down stuff in your pickup truck.

They're not nearly as convenient as the cam-bar system they use on the U-Haul dollies because they're much slower to set up and release, but I don't use it for moving a hundred items in a day. I use it for moving the wife's organ upstairs by myself or to move a 30" television downstairs.

 

[Silver Bullet]

If you can take the door off, do it.

Also, remove anything out of the safe, especially if you take the door off.

 

[slopemeno]

I moved heavy equipment for a living and most of these suggestions are OK. What I would add is the following:

Plan what youre about to do. You will only make more work for yourself if you get all the way down the hall and into the room, only to realize the safe is facing 180 degrees away from where it needs to be.

Measure your route. Can you really make that turn at the end of the hall?
Exactly how wide is that safe and handtruck combination?

Watch the overhead. Ive seen guys moving equipment clip a sprinklerhead and do hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage (not my guys, it was the competition thank god.) Now, you dont have fire supression equipment, but people never look up when doing work like this.

Masonite is the cats a** for this work. Nice slick surface if you have to muscle it into place, then rock the safe up and pull the last piece out. It sure beats pushing ANYTHING on carpet.

Ive made all sorts of ramps out of multiple pieces of plywood and 4x4's. For transoms use plywood, masonite or 1/8" sheet metal(my fave).

If you put the safe in the bed of a nice pickup, put heavy plywood down first. I have a guy who picks up junk freezers from me and you wouldnt believe the damage 500# and sharp corners can do to a pickup bed.

When moving it with someone else, never put your hands/fingers on the sides of the safe. Its way too easy to smash your fingers that way. Always on the top or back/front.

And hey- safe jacks are available for rent and they really work.

 

[a1abdj]

I think most of you guys work a lot harder than you need to

I wouldn't suggest removing the door, as some of them are tricky to put back on. I'm a professional, and I only remove safe doors when absolutely required. Messing with a safe door is the surest way to loose some toes.

Also, don't abandon common sense. 600 pounds isn't much, but it can kill you if it falls on you. Walk your route ahead of time as somebody already mentioned, and if something goes wrong, get away from the safe and let it go. It's always easier to replace paint and drywall than it is to replace a limb or your life.

A truck with a liftgate isn't a bad idea if you have access to one, but safe jacks are going a little overboard. My set of Rol Lifts weighs 400 pounds (200 lbs each jack), so it wouldn't make much sense to increase the weight load to 1,000 pounds, just to move a 600 pound safe. 600 pounds will be a breeze on an appliance dolly, especially if you can get one from a rental yard with the kick out dolly option as shown in the photos above.

 

[moredes]

I agree w/ scouting your route and renting an appliance dolly. Also, the rachet tie-downs are a good idea. Leave the door on. The handle makes a good securing point for the tie downs. If you've got access to a trailer, that'd be even better--take the gate off, tip the safe over, and just slide it in and tie it down. (You'd be amazed at how light 650lb is, when the trailer takes the weight as the safe tips over on it's back. The 'mid-point' of equilibrium is so perfect that it didn't even slam when I got it all the way on it's back.)

My safe weighs 650lb, and I moved it by myself from one home to another. Nothing to it if you use your head. I was amazed. I'm no giant--5'8", 175lb, 50+yr old; I never lifted a dumbbell in my life, and that safe moved as easily as my washer and dryer. The key was the appliance dolly--it allowed great leverage against something short and squat (with its' center of gravity somewhere near your belly or chest height), and with its' large wheels, there was no need for any sheet plywood or metal runners.

Now the big safe--the one weighing 850lb--I made a big mistake letting the gun store load it into the back of my truck. (I had to get it down and off it's pallet.) I shoulda used the trailer again, but hell, it was two years later and I wasn't thinking. Glad my wife was there to help. Again, she's no "Russian Olympian"-- just her being there shows that if you and your partner use your heads, leverage is all you need.

 

[Belial]

Beleive it or not my buddy had a big big big safe moved into his house and they used cardboard on the rug covered areas to slide the safe. Would have never though of that myself or tried it if I had not seen it done. I used old drumsticks to move mine around the hard surfaces...

 

[dfaugh]

Used to move safes for a living

Up to 6000 lbs. ...Mostly only 2 of us, sometimes 3 if it was a tricky installation. All suggestions are good, but all you should need for a 600# safe is a "refrigerator dolly" that you can rent alot of places. Personally, I would consider taking the door off, if its easy, especially if stairs involved...most of the gun safes I've seen, the door represents about 1/3 of the weight. Measure doorways and such, then measure again...We had a salesman that was always telling us "Yeah it'll fit through the doors, no problem" ...and when we got there we ending up removing doorframes and such to get the safe in.

Did have a small gun safe (about 400#) come off the dolly while going up aflight of stairs once...and I was "on the bottom"...guy I was working with said he never saw any one move so fast..he swore that by the time the safe finished crashing down the stairs (We were almost at the top), I was outside smoking a cigarette. What actually happened was that I saw it start to go, knew I couldn't stop it, so I beat feet outa there. Safe was a liitle dinged up, but we winded up getting it where it belonged.

 

[TarpleyG]

I think my safe weighs about 400 lbs. My wife and I loaded into our Explorer and unloaded it when we got home. Used a dolly to get it into the bedroom and pretty much slid it into place. A 600 lb. safe should be manageable by two big guys.

Greg

 

[Jim March]

You know what you call a safe loaded with cans of 7-Up?

Unsafe.

 

[Daniel T]

My best advice is to hire someone else to do it. Maybe slopemeno, he seems like he knows what he's doing.

 

[TRLaye]

Safe safe move

Try to rent a lift called UltraLift or find a company that uses one to do the job.

www.ultralift.com

These are a wonder and very safe. I've seen them in operation. How about full sized vending machines to the 8th floor via the stairs by one man. And the old ones down.