I grabbed a really nice safe to protect the collection. Even though I knew the size and have a wardrobe almost the same dimensions, you forget how big and heavy they are. I was planning on doing it myself with some friends but wondering if that's the best option. I'm asking for quotes on safe movers now.

Looking for any advice to move it myself or if I should just hire someone to. It has to travel my sidewalk, up 3 stairs, the foyer and then left to the bedroom same level.

External Dimensions 70"H x 42"W x 24"D
(Add 3” to D for Handle)
Internal Dimensions 68"H x 39 ½"W x 20 ½"D
Weight 930 lbs

Please hire a properly license, insured, security professional. Not just a mover, but an actual safe company that moves safes.

We have another forum member who's uncle was killed moving a safe after I had referred him to a few professionals and he opted to save some money by hiring a not so professional operation. I also had an employee who has worked with me since 1990 loose part of his foot this last year moving a safe not much heavier than that. So far we are at $500K in medical bills. There's a risk even to those who do it every day and know what they're doing.

Hire someone who knows what they are doing.

The safe guy we use told us a story. Someone called and he gave them a price to move a safe, they said it was too expensive.

They tried to move it by by them selves. It fell, breaking a couple of their ankles on the way down.

Hire a professional.

Mine weighs 1100 lbs empty. I've had it for like 35 years now and moved it twice. The first time I was much younger and so were my friends. We used a pickup and some lengths of about 1.5" steel pipe to roll it over. It worked fine but as I said we were a lot younger then. Oh, and it was a cross-town move, just a few miles. The last time was 10 months ago and was an inter-state relocation. I let the moving company handle it that time and that turned out to be a mistake. I should have bit the bullet and hired a professional safe mover to do it. Fortunately the safe is still usable, but somehow they managed to bend the handle on the door.

What's the old adage? If you have to ask.......

Looks to be a pretty big safe, probably quite heavy, if you were moving garage to garage no steps, same level then maybe, with some friends, but down a sidewalk up some steps, around a landing, have to agree, get a safe company.

I look at the deductible I would have to pay for an ER visit vs the cost of hiring a pro to do a risky job as a check value. Drop that safe on your foot/ankle and you have a $5000 deductible and the cost to move it pails, plus, wouldn't you rather spend time putting guns n such in the safe than working your butt off to move it.

Not a chance in hell I'd try to move something like that myself.

I will move my own safe from Point A to Point B in the basement, but, it's a significantly smaller safe, all on the same floor, and that floor is all concrete.

I would heed a1abdj's counsel were I you.

Don't be
Aunt Bea

900 + lbs will squash you or a body part forever. Hire a safe guy, from a safe store. And they won't tear up your house doing it.

Yeah, hire a safe company for that.

We used to move the safes we had in the CG (one unit had 9) around using golf balls or shotgun cleaning rods and the deck was concrete.

But I’m too old now to deal with it.

When I was younger, I rented a stair-climbing dolly and had my brother help me move a safe smaller than yours. We got it inside where it needed to be, but it was a terrible experience and I learned my lesson. Never again.

Hire a professional safe guy to move it.

Get a safe mover.
I watched in straight horror as my safe was moved on a loading truck. about 6 movers were involved in this process. It finally came down the loading ramp on the truck to a dolly, almost fell off twice but they "held" it onto the ramp. Then the dolly buckled and one massive guy caught it so to speak. He clearly had done the most time in prison so he was the most qualified to move it. Dear lord he was strong and huge and it almost just crushed him. He ended up fine, but when those things start moving they just dont stop.
Get a safe mover.

Call the man.

My experience is the same as others. Do not use a moving company. I did so twice & both times it was horrible. I had to replace the drywall where a movers ass punched an ass sized hole the 1st time. The second time the movers somehow put large scuffs all over the nice 36" Browning paint.

I moved a safe that size and weight once from one garage to another. I used 3/4” iron pipes wider than the safe to roll it out of the first garage. Then I used good, high quality ratchet straps to strap 10 or 12’ 4x4s to the back of the safe. I backed my 12’ utility trailer with the gate off up to the back of the safe. I tied my 5/8” rope to the tops of the upright 4x4s and pulled the rope from the front of the trailer. This used the back edge of the trailer as the fulcrum and allowed the safe and 4x4s to lay on the trailer with a few feet hanging out the back. We pushed and slid it the rest of the way onto the trailer so the gate could be reinstalled.

We did pretty much the opposite at the second garage. We weren’t anywhere near the safe while we were tipping it on and off the trailer. We were really slow rolling it along while leap frogging the rollers and we had lots of room on all sides to get out of the way if the safe started tipping.

Mine was the easiest possible scenario and the only one I’d consider doing myself. If there had been a single step, an incline, going in the house, going across pavers, going across anything other than smooth concrete really, or some other complication I haven’t thought of, then I wouldn’t do it.

Looking at your picture, your safe doesn’t appear to have a flat bottom and I wouldn’t attempt the roller method with it.

I recently found myself in the same situation as you. I bought a safe of roughly the same dimensions and weight, got it home, slid it off the trailer (onto my wide open to the public front driveway) thinking I'd get it inside no problem.

As soon as the crate hit the concrete I realized how big a dumbass I was thinking I was going to be able to move it inside by myself. At that point, I didn't know how I was going to get it out of sight from the middle of my driveway before the impending rain got there much less how I would get it into the house where I wanted it, and it was too late to just pay the small delivery fee that I was trying to avoid up front.

After about a half hour of deliberation (and my wife checking on me every 10 minutes or so because she could tell I was really irritated with myself) I hooked a winch to the pallet and drug it into the garage. It sat there until I found a safe company that would come out and move it to it's final location.

I got quite a few quotes, and ended up going with in the Nick of Time moving, who subcontracted it out to someone else. All in all it ended up being under $300, which was money well spent.

Thank you for the feedback guys! I have a safe mover coming at 7PM tonight. Instead of killing myself, I will focus on clearing the way and relaxing. I can't wait to get all the guns out from the various beds, closets, hidey holes, 14 gun safe and organized into a proper safe.

quote:

Originally posted by SIG4EVA:
Thank you for the feedback guys! I have a safe mover coming at 7PM tonight. Instead of killing myself, I will focus on clearing the way and relaxing.

Good to hear!

I have moved more times than I have cared to. I have a 600+ pound safe Zanotti and have moved it myself multiple times. Even moved it up to a 3rd floor. I'm younger (some might significantly younger ) than most on this forum and in pretty good physical condition but it's not something I relish doing.

Glad you decided to spend the money and be safe.

I use a towing serviced to move safes. A 30 gun for my son had to get up 5 steps to a porch and through the front door. They used a boom to lift it up and extend it out to set on the porch. I'm not sure how much he paid them but he's a good friend with the owner of towing company. That's why I later used them and my three were a little more involved with the larger one weighing 3,600#. Fortunately it was on ground level and the location it went is on ground level as well. For mine he used a tilt bed with a winch. The large one is on wheels, for the other two we set them on pallets and used a heavy duty pallet jack. The new location was about 26 miles away. There was just the one (very competent) operator with my son and I. I gave him $500 cash.

Having had a safe mover move my 900# safe and watching the operation, I'm glad you hired pros; it's no joke.

quote:

I got quite a few quotes, and ended up going with in the Nick of Time moving, who subcontracted it out to someone else. All in all it ended up being under $300, which was money well spent.

Which is exactly what you want to avoid. A moving company (despite claiming to be a safe expert), who’s then paying other unknown third parties who may not be property licensed or insured.