I wasn't sure where to put this on the forums so starting out here. Admins please feel free to move it if it's in the wrong place.

I'm going to be moving soon and I will be hiring a moving company. I have two gun safes. One big 36-gun safe, one medium sized 24-gun safe. The 24-gun is upstairs. They're empty because I lost all my guns in an unfortunate boating accident, but I still want to keep them.

I've used moving companies before but I've never used one when I had a gun safe, let alone 2. My question is, how are they handled? What cost can I expect? Anyone have any tips or things to consider!

Thanks!

I'd Google Safe Movers in the Houston area, worth a shot.
Here in Dallas there are companies that do that. I've used them before.
Good Luck

First thing I would do is ask the buyers of the house if they want them. Sell them to them at half price. Buy new ones for your new house and your money will be a wash without having the headache.

Gun safes going down stairs can be tricky. That would be a big repair bill if they let it go.

That sounds like the best option if, by chance, they wanted them. I would certainly go for that.

My sphincter puckered up just reading your post…

I would lay it on its' back and let it slide down the toes of the treads. Some ratchet straps to make a purchase, rope connected to straps and build a lower system connected to walls upstairs. If possible...

Then they get rolled out of the house on 1" PVC pipe.

Thresholds can be tricky. A plywood ramp helps.

It’s doable, I’ve done it twice. Once on carpet and once on wood treads. The landings are the worst if it’s a decent sized Safe.

If they are good movers they should be able to handle anything, Would imagine they move them all the time

I've moved my almost 700lb Liberty Franklin 48 gunsafe 3-4 times just using movers, never anyone special. Never had an issue but I've never had to move it up and down stairs (that would be a nightmare). They always used a hydraulic lift - sort of like a dolly with forklift like rail bottom and hydraulic lift..worked fine.

Earl

I had a 1500lb safe moved from the curb of my front yard into my office near front of house, cost was 300 bucks. Had a dolly with two car batteries to assist in moving it. These guys were good.

Hire professional safe movers. They will have the right equipment and will give you piece of mind that they job will be done right. $250-$400 each.

Exactly, and most of my downstairs is travertine tile, they laid down 4 X 8 plywood sheet to keep from destroying the tile floor.

I would hire professional safe movers.

Yep, did this for long distance move. I offered to purchase the safes in the house I bought. I needed the larger safe anyway. Left the entry level safe behind. Might be cheaper just to leave the upstairs safe where it is regardless.

First, ask your moving company if they move safes. Usually the answer is yes, and they will be insured for it also. Our local companies will usually move one out of your house onto closest concrete for you to deal with for $100. To deliver and re-install in new location about $200-400, depending on distance traveled.

Second option is to call a local piano moving company, who will specialize in electric dollies and moving heavy loads

My friends here in Idaho Falls with a gun shop are the biggest sellers of gun safes, and they spent $5000 on an electric stair-climber safe dolly. Does it all easily and automatically, up to 1500#. One person can walk them up and down into basements or 2 stories in 5 minutes! They charge $100, and it is your homeowners insurance to cover any damage (never had a claim tho).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkETo8X8m0U

Use a professional. I moved my 36gun myself with just an appliance dolly and it was dangerous. I got impatient waiting on a buddy and figured worse that could happen is I wouldnt be able to tilt it on my own. Got it tilted and on the dolly wheels and figured “i got this”. Its one of those moments in life where afterwards I asked myself “wth was i thinking?” I managed to get it in place but it was scary carrying that much weight myself on a dolly and pretty sure I hurt my back for life. Not to mention I damaged a couple tiles. Tiles were easy to replace but my back hasnt been right since and there’s no cost worth saving for your health. Just like garage door springs - leave it to the pros.

I moved my 24 gun safe myself 4 times now. From fort worth (granite securities factory) to my upstairs apartment in rockwall, then to my house in royse city, then to my 2nd house in royse city, then to my house in caddo mills. Each time I had one extra guy with me. Just man up and do it, or pay a pro. We used a heavy duty dolly and lots of caution.

I'd think a 36 gun would be quite a bit heavier and would be on the border of what 2 guys could do.

I ended up with mine because they didn’t want to move it. Practically gave it away. I don’t think it would have been that hard to move personally but they didn’t want to mess with it.

At our old house we had the safe in the basement. When we moved I hired people to get it out. They got going so fast up the stairs that they knocked a hole in the wall opposite the door to the stairs at the top. They offered to do the move for free if I handled the hole in the wall. It was an easy fix for me.

I hired a safe mover back in July when I moved. 48 gun safe. The mover had a special dolly that could do anything except commit sodomy with a duck. It was hard for me to believe how easy it was for the mover. I’d check with the moving company first, then a safe mover second if need be.

Some moving companies have no problem with moving any safe. It's worth asking about that when you call them. Everyone has something that's not easy to move, but that's why we have moving companies. They should be able to move gun safes without any issue. Too bad you're not in one of the locations where https://sekamoving.com/locations/new-jersey-movers/ operates, but you can still give them a call to see if they have someone close to Houston. They helped me move to my new house a few months ago, and everything went smoothly. I was afraid something valuable might get broken, but that didn't happen.

Its more about the weight of the safe than the # of guns. 24 and 36 gun safes aren't all that big and unless they are really high-quality ones, probably not crazy heavy. I would imagine any regular moving company can handle it just fine with a couple of guys. I hired a moving company for a 24 gun safe because I had 30 stairs and switchback for it to go up. For my 36 gun safe, I rented an appliance dolly, used every ounce of my weight to get it tipped over on the wheels and just moved it myself. Wasn't a great idea doing it by myself looking back but if I'd just waited on my buddy to arrive it would have been super easy.

If you don't want to move gun safes, why not bowhunt only?

Take the door off and use a dolly. 24 gun safe isn’t that heavy and shouldn’t be hard. I’ve done it more times than I care.

safemoves(dot)net were great. Says they serve Houston area. Affordable and quick. They picked up a 64 gun safe for me at Cabelas, delivered it and bolted it down for me. Didn't break anything in the process which gets a thumbs up. Good luck.