Gun Safe moving, how too?

[lancem]

I have a safe I need to move from one building to another, it weighs around 500# empty. It is currently in my garage with concrete floor and will go out down the concrete driveway. At the end of the driveway it will have to go about 30' through dirt to the back door of the house, where inside is currently T&G ply flooring it will have to travel over to get to it's final resting spot.

Currently my tractor w/loader and forks is down for the count. I'm looking for experienced suggestions on how to accomplish this task. I really don't want to involve any friends as no one knows about this safe and I'd like to keep it that way. I don't mind having to purchase some equipment if it means being able to accomplish this task safely and easily.

Thanks in advance.

[NSB]

I’ve moved them with a heavy duty dolly and strap. Some were pretty big and as long as I had room to maneuver I had no problem if I got a couple of guys to help.

[WILCO]

Typically a two man job, but anything can be accomplished with straps, chains and a come along winch.
Last safe I moved had been tilted and slid into a pick up.
Removal was done in reverse order and once the back edge was on the ground, backed the truck up to stand it upright.

[deltaenterprizes]

I did it with a Harbor Freight 2 wheel dolly. Put 3/4” plywood on the grass, make a ramp to get it into the house.
I did it by myself but a spotter will make it safer!

[G W Wade]

Rent a refrigerator cart Another tip I got from the person who delivered my safe is remove the door if possible, the door is almost half of the weight o the safe. GW

[contender1]

Sadly,, I've been roped into helping move a few safes. A heavy duty dolly with a strap is a must at the very least especially inside a house. You can lay plywood or OSB on the ground to cover moving across dirt. And to help protect the house floor, you can also lay down cloth & plywood to move across.
The movement across the concrete can also be done with a dolly.
But due to the weight,, only YOU can determine if it's a one man job or not. As mentioned above,, at minimum, a spotter to avoid pitfalls or to help in the event of an accident.

If none of that appeals to you,, how about a professional moving company? Hiring a few strangers from out of the area, who move these things all the time? They move enough of these things to where they aren't likely to "talk" to others about an empty safe.

[John Wayne]

I have moved my 1225# safe 3 times. It is threaded in the top for a lifting eye but absent that you could use straps. Just make darn sure they don't slip inwards and the safe fall right out. I lift with a large engine hoist (with giant tractor weights for ballast) and place it on a pallet and strap real good. Have an all terrain forklift delivered or find a working tractor you can put your forks on cause you have dirt. I have rented a skid steer with forks and tracks to move a large lathe across a grassy area and put plywood down because the guy worried about his lawn.
Hope this helps, be careful and no alcohol that day ;^)

[Shawlerbrook]

Get a keg and tell your friends once the safe is moved the keg is tapped. But in all seriousness, the above suggestions are spot on and even though you already know this…be careful !

[ascast]

I have moved a big lthe nd very heavy wood stove by myself. Rollers of 2" iron pipe, minimum 3 but 4 or five is better. I put down 2 x 10's or 12's I had on hand as a "road", put stove on 2x12 base plate and used engine hoist or bottle jack to get stove on it then on to "road". Moves easy enough, block and tackle for slopes. Harbor F. has a variety of winches that would pull that 500#'s and 5 more just like it in one pull. Remote sensor is very handy. Direction is easy by angling rollers .

[Sasquatch-1]

When I had mine delivered, 1000# + empty, there were two people, and they had an electric stair climbing 2 wheel hand truck. Even with this they almost lost it taking it down the outdoor stairs to the basement. I would definitely have some help and if your friends are that untrustworthy, I would definitely look for new friends.

[country gent]

Theres nothing that cant be moved with the proper use of explosives.

Now seriously, A good dolly inflate the tires to 45-60 psi you want them hard. a couple sheets of plywood to go over the dirt if its soft. leap frog them this gives a good surface to roll over. I would also put runners over the plywood flooring to help support it spread the load over more area. A couple 2 x 12s will spread the load over more of the floor joists and reduce the risk of breaking thru the plywood. Have some pinch bars, prybars, blocking handy and ready to go, if its there you wont need it but if its not for sure you will.

[country gent]

When we brought the big drill in ( 7500 lbs) 2 mill wrights brought it in the building on a fork lift, then set it on skates and they rolled it in the shop. A skate made with 4-8 castors and a flat platform to set on would work well but getting the safe up on it and then down again is the trick.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Most gun safe dealers provide moving service. I have a friend local to me, who is a member here (but is not active) that is a gunsafe dealer...he has the right equipment to move them.

[725]

As a former bomb tech, I agree with country gent. Barring zoning issues, my alternative is to do it like the Egyptians. Several round bars (ie: 1/2 PVC or similar) and just roll the safe from place to place. Works great if you go from flat to flat. Stairs - not so much.

[Gtrubicon]

I’ve moved several large safes with pvc pipe.

[shootinfox2]

Check out Rhinocart at Amazon.

[Froogal]

30 feet across dirt?? I will suggest investing in some 3/4" plywood.

[wildwilly501]

Good time to get your tractor fixed.

[murf205]

I moved a couple of mine with 1" wooden dowels from Lowes. I pulled mine out of my van which sits lower than a pick up. I used my sons pickup to tie the come a long to and once it was on the rollers, it's pretty easy. Use plywood for the grassy spots and if it is level you can keep it standing upright. If not, lay it down for the grass/plywood. If you use larger rollers, it gets pretty dicey if you let it get off the rollers. Remember, DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU ARE BY YOURSELF!

[Misery-Whip]

Host a Bbq for the football team. Get those strong young backs to move it.