How to Move a Gun Safe Without Moving It Onto Somebody

Short answer: How to move a gun safe, according to the people who build them: empty it, measure the route, use an appliance dolly rated well beyond the safe's weight, protect the floors, keep it upright, strap it down, and never move it alone. For heavy safes, stairs or tight turns, Liberty Safe and Browning both strongly recommend professional safe movers. That's not modesty. It's the safest advice in the manual.

This guide is about gun safes specifically: the tall, heavy, fire-lined kind that goes in a closet or a garage and stays there. If you're moving a small home safe or a fire chest, our general guide to how to move a safe is a better fit. If you're still shopping, the gun safes page lists what's on the market, weights included where the maker publishes them.

Gun safe weight is the whole problem

Every step below exists because of one number. Liberty Safe's moving guide says the average home or gun safe weighs anywhere from 200 to over 1,500 pounds, with some models exceeding a ton. Its do-it-yourself page goes further: a loaded gun safe can weigh well over a thousand pounds, and "in many cases, 2 or 3 thousand pounds."

Liberty also notes the high center of gravity. A tall gun safe is narrow at the base and heavy at the top. That shape tips.

Find your safe's empty weight before you do anything else. It's on the manufacturer's spec page or in the manual. You need it to rent the right dolly, to check the vehicle, and to decide whether this is a job for you at all. Our guide on how much a gun safe weighs shows typical ranges and example models.

The steel doesn't negotiate. It just waits.

Before you move a gun safe: empty it, measure it, plan the path

The prep is most of the job. Liberty Safe and Cannon Safe agree on the order.

• Empty it completely. Liberty calls this non-negotiable: firearms, ammunition, documents, valuables, all out. Contents shift and can tip the safe, and every pound you remove is a pound nobody lifts.
• Lock the door for the move. Liberty's moving page says to lock the door during transport, and its do-it-yourself page says to wrap the closed, locked safe.
• Measure the route. Cannon Safe says to measure the space along with doorways, hallways, staircases and turns along the delivery path. Liberty adds handle depth to the list and suggests a cardboard mock-up of the safe to test the tight spots.
• Check the floors and stairs. Liberty says to make sure floors and staircases can handle the load. Browning's manual lists the same considerations: the load floors and stairs will bear, floors that could be damaged, doorways and furniture, and the stairs and corners you'll need to navigate.

The Haven series manual from SA Consumer Products has a cheaper version of the mock-up: take the empty safe box and see if it fits all the way through to the final location. (I admire a manual that recycles.)

How to move a gun safe with a dolly

A regular hand truck is not the tool. Liberty Safe is blunt about this: "Do not use a standard dolly." It calls for an appliance dolly rated to handle well over 1,000 pounds, with straps. For its Fatboy Jr. Extreme, Liberty's do-it-yourself page says you'll need a hand truck or dolly that can hold at least 800 pounds, with supports to keep the safe secure when tipped back.

The rules from the same pages:

• Strap it before it moves. Secure the safe to the dolly completely before rolling along the pre-planned path.
• Never lift by the handle. Liberty says never use the handle, dial or other hardware to lift or lever the safe.
• Bring people. Liberty's do-it-yourself page asks for at least three strong helpers who understand the risks.
• Move slowly. Liberty's moving FAQ says so in as many words.

Professionals also use "slick sticks," wooden bars with slippery polymer strips, per Liberty. That's the kind of equipment most homeowners don't own, which is part of the case for hiring them.

How to move a gun safe on carpet and hardwood floors

The floor is the second victim in most safe moves. Liberty's moving guide says to lay plywood sheets, hardboard or thick moving blankets to spread the weight, and to pad walls and doorframes along the route. Its moving FAQ adds rubber mats and says to avoid dragging the safe across any surface.

Two home remedies come up a lot, and Liberty addresses both:

• Golf balls. They can leave divots in wood or linoleum and break tile.
• PVC pipe rollers. They only work on a completely smooth, clean floor.

On hardwood, plywood or hardboard over the whole path is the clean answer. On carpet, the same sheets give the dolly wheels something firm to roll on. Wrap the safe itself in padded blankets, then plastic wrap, to protect the finish, as Liberty's do-it-yourself page describes.

How to move a gun safe up stairs or down stairs

Stairs are where gun safe moves go from awkward to dangerous. Liberty Safe's moving guide says: "Never attempt to move a heavy safe on stairs with a standard dolly." It points to stair-climbing dollies, and its moving FAQ says that for safes over 500 pounds or complex moves "like stairs or tight spaces," hiring professionals is strongly recommended.

Two safety rules apply whether the safe is going up or coming down:

• Confirm the stairs can carry it. Liberty says to make sure any staircase you use is sturdy enough for the weight of the safe.
• Keep a way out. A safe dealer's guide on transporting heavy safes puts it plainly: everyone involved should always have a clear place to jump to should the safe topple.

Liberty's guide to getting a safe upstairs says the same thing in fewer words: "Don't be a hero; if the safe slips, jump out of the way and let it fall." It suggests an electric stair-climbing dolly load-rated for the safe, at least two helpers, and, as the best bet, a professional safe mover. Gravity has one plan, and it's a simple one.

If the safe is headed upstairs for good, check the floor up there too. Our guide on where to put a gun safe covers upper floors and joists.

How to move a gun safe in a pickup truck

A pickup feels like the obvious answer. Liberty Safe's pages are less sure.

• Check the load rating. Liberty says to check the vehicle's rating and warns that tailgates can be damaged by overloading.
• Consider a trailer. "It's usually a better idea to rent or borrow a rated trailer," per Liberty's do-it-yourself page.
• Lift gates beat ramps. Liberty's moving guide calls a moving truck with a reinforced floor and a hydraulic lift gate the safest option for loading and unloading.
• Strap it in. Use heavy-duty ratchet straps to secure the safe to the dolly and inside the vehicle. Liberty says not to rely on the safe's weight to keep it from tipping.

How to unload a gun safe by yourself is the same question with the steps reversed, and Liberty's answer is the same: don't do it alone.

Can a gun safe be transported lying down

This is the question everyone asks, and the honest answer is that the manufacturers we read don't endorse it. Liberty Safe's moving FAQ says to "keep the safe upright whenever possible," and its relocation guide says keeping the safe upright during the move is crucial. Neither page describes laying a safe on its back.

The one manufacturer manual we found that mentions a safe lying down at all is the Cabela's safe use and care manual, which says it's made by Liberty Safe. Its line is a warning, not a permission: "Never move the safe with the door open. Do not open the door with safe lying down."

Door removal splits the manufacturers too. Browning's manual documents door removal for its external-hinge safes and warns the door can be as much as one third of the safe's total weight. The Liberty-made Cabela's manual says safe doors are "NOT designed to be removed" and that removing one voids the warranty. Same question, opposite answers. Follow your own manual; if it doesn't describe a procedure, don't improvise one.

So: can you lay a gun safe on its back? Ask the manufacturer with your model number in hand. If they say no, the answer is no.

Here's the catch: the "cheap" move is the expensive one

The do-it-yourself move saves one bill and risks several others: a cracked tile floor, a dented tailgate, a damaged safe, a hurt back. Browning's manual warns that failing to follow its moving warning "could result in serious injury or death." That sentence is in capital letters in the original. They don't do that for the paint care section.

Liberty Safe "doesn't recommend that you move a safe on your own," says to contact your local dealer for moving information, and recommends "using an Authorized Liberty Safe Mover." Its moving FAQ says you can filter the Find A Dealer page by "Safe Mover." Browning: "We strongly recommend using a professional mover."

The professionals bring the equipment, the experience and the insurance. You bring the coffee.

Skip it if: when you don't need to move the whole safe

• You're only rearranging the room. A few feet across a concrete floor is still a safe move. Empty it and follow the same rules, or get help.
• The safe is bolted down and staying. Moving it means pulling the anchors first. Our bolting guide covers anchoring, and the same anchors have to come out cleanly.
• You're moving house and the safe is small. A compact cabinet or fire chest is a different job. See how to move a safe.
• The safe is over 500 pounds, or there are stairs. Liberty's own line on this is "strongly recommended" professionals. Take it.

That's the move. Find the empty weight, measure every doorway, and call a safe mover before you call your friends. Then, once it's standing where it belongs, bolt it down — a safe that's hard to move is the whole point, and now you know exactly how hard.