It is important to have a gun safe in your house if you own firearms. If you plan to move to a new house, moving your gun safe requires that you understand the intricacies involved in moving gun safes because the firearms are usually heavy and this means you have a heavy household belonging to move and unlike your other belongings that can be handled anyway, gun safes need to be handled with utmost care. A packed gun safe can weigh more than the size of a small elephant, it is recommended that you hire the professional services of cross country movers to help you move your gun safe to your new home.
Gun safe is not only needed to safeguard your guns but it is also necessary to keep your family safe. Having guns in your home is a potential safety risk for both you and your family as well. Your gun safe should be kept in strategic positions in your home so that inexperienced gun handlers or burglars will not have access to it.
In order to move your gun safe, you need to have a solid plan on the ground because the task of moving a gun safe can be a dangerous task without the right proponents in place. We provide you with some of the important tips to follow when moving your gun safe.
How to move a gun safe the right way
There is a right manner in which a gun safe can be moved from one place to another without posing any hazard to the environment, and to also avoid damage and reduce the risk of injury. There are special tools needed to move gun safes and it requires experience. Hence, it is recommended that you hire professional movers who specialize in moving gun safes and other heavy-duty safes. However, if you need to do it yourself, you must ensure that the gun safe is well-handled the right way.
Guide To Moving A Gun Safe
Here are the important tips to follow when you plan to move your gun safe;
Empty your gun safe before moving it
The basic or fundamental rule for moving your gun safe is that you should not move your gun safe while it is loaded. Emptying your gun safe is a way of ensuring that your firearms are not damaged in the process of transporting them from one point to another and this can add up to spending more on repairs. Also, do not move loaded guns inside your gun safe., this is a given, do not try it, NEVER risk it. Doing so constitutes both environmental and human hazards as you can never tell what will happen in the process of transporting the safe from one place to another.
Take off obstacles
Get rid of all obstacles in the way of moving your gun safe. Major obstacles that may be on the way can include door frames, tight hallways, and stairwells among others. These obstacles need to be taken care of so that you can easily move your gun safe without any damage on the safe although this can be demanding at times with the right expertise and tools, you can get the obstacles off.
There are special equipment such as stair-climbing dollies that can be put to good use to make the job easier. Take the dimension of your safe to know how much space you need to get them past these obstacles. Also plan your path ahead before your mover arrives and also make sure you have a plan a path you will follow when you get to your destination.
Find out the weight of your gun safe
One of the first things you need to do when you plan to move your gun safe is to determine the weight of the safe. This will help you know how well to handle the safe and the number of people you will need to help with the move. Do not attempt to weigh the gun safe yourself, all you need to do is to check out the model and make of your gun safe, and with that information you can check online for the weight of the safe.
Some weigh as much as 600 pounds. If your safe weighs more than 600 pounds, it is recommended that you hire the services of a professional safe mover who has the experience and required equipment to help you move the gun safe to your destination.
Be technical about the move
Make all necessary plans needed to ensure your gun safe remains unscratched. Study the path in which your gun safe will easily go through, clear all obstacles and get the right equipment to do the job if you are doing it yourself.
However, if you are hiring the services of a professional mover, invite them for an in-house inspection so that they can have a firsthand view of what the move will entail and they can make technical plans that will ensure your gun safe is successfully moved without any damage or injury to persons involved.
Wrap up your safe
It will not be out of place to cover or cushion your safe with a cloth regardless of how thick the cloth is. This will protect your gun safe from the slightest of touch or tap, it will also protect your safe from the environment when in the process of transporting it from one point to another.
Protect your walls and floors
You don’t want to deface your walls or leave your floors with cracks after moving your gun safe or have the walls and floors in your new home with a crack in the process of moving in your gun safe. In other to protect your walls and floors, wrap a furniture blanket around your gun safe and secure it with tape. For the floor, you can lay protective film-like patches, rags, and clothes on the path through which you will transport your safe.
Secure your gun safe before moving
Use straps to keep your gun safe secured in order to prevent them from rolling off the dolly while in transit from your home to the truck and to when offloading and taking them into your new home. Ensure the lock to the safe is properly closed.
Use a dolly
The use of a dolly while moving your gun safe either upstairs or upstairs is recommended for all safes of small sizes and medium sizes. The use of a dolly will make it easier for the safe to be moved from one room to another and it will also eliminate the need to lift massive object such as a gun safe.
Where To Keep A Gun Safe?
Usually, gun safes are kept in the lower level of a home, most times in the basement of the home because moving a heavy object like a gun safe up and down the stairs can be a difficult task and the risk of damaging the safe or injuring the persons involved in the moving of the safe is a possibility. The case of the safe can drop or fall on the person who is trying to move the safe. Hence, to ensure that everyone is safe, it is recommended that gun safes should be kept in the basement of the house where you don’t have to navigate through stairs if there is any need to relocate the gun safe.
How To Move A Gun Safe Upstairs?
It is easier and safer to move a gun safe upstairs than moving it downstairs. In order to move a gun safe upstairs, you need to use a dolly and other securing mechanisms to prevent damages and injuries to people around. A person is needed to lead the gun safe and dolly up and two or more persons will be needed to lift the dolly up the stairs with each person taking a step at a time.
How To Move A Gun Safe Downstairs?
It is a much difficult task to move your gun safe downstairs as compared to when you are moving it upstairs. Here are some safety precautions you need to adhere to when moving your gun safe downstairs;
- Always use a dolly that is designated for stairs. This will help you in transporting the gun safe easily while using appropriate securing mechanisms such as a ratchet strap or a rope at the same time.
- Have one person holding the handles of the cart or dolly when you start moving the gun safe from the top of the stairs.
- Make sure you have at least two persons to hold and direct the dolly down the stairs and take a step at a time.
- Do not forget to ease the dolly wheels as those holding the dolly take each step down the stairs. This will help to prevent your stairways from being damaged and also prevent your safe from being detracted from the dolly so that the persons holding the dolly do not suffer any kind of injury.
Check regulations
Make sure you check out regulations in your state for moving gun safes from one part of the state to the other so that you can abide by the regulations stated to avoid sanctions by the regulating agencies. You don’t want to be paying fines as a result of not adhering to state laws regarding the transportation of gun safes.
Hire Experienced Gun Safe Movers
Moving your gun safe is a type of specialty move and as such you should employ the services of professional and experienced cross country movers who have the special equipment and expertise to help you move your safe from your home to your preferred destination. It requires special technical abilities to move a gun safe and because of this, it is recommended that you should avoid doing it yourself in order not to constitute any kind of hazard for yourself and the people around you.
Invite more than one mover for an in-house inspection so that they can have a good idea of the kind of job at hand (whether there are stairways or not), get their quotes, and compare the quotes from the respective cross country movers to know which one to hire based on their cost, your assessment of how well they are likely to get the job done, and if they fit into your budget.
You should treat the move as a special one and only specialized state to state movers must be handled, let your mover know what you are moving so that if they don’t have the expertise you will be able to hire movers who specialize in handling special moves such as the relocation of gun safes. Don’t assume that all movers can handle the transportation of gun safes.
Safety
Safety is important, make sure you stay safe together with your household and people involved in getting the move done. Consider safety as the top priority as your being safe is more valuable than the worth of the contents in your gun safe. Do not overlook the importance of putting in place all necessary safety measures, the need for this cannot be overemphasized.
In conclusion, when moving your gun safe ensure that the guns are not loaded, empty the safe, put in place all necessary safety measures, determine the weight of your safe, wrap up your safe, use a dolly, and make sure you avoid damage to your home and also avoid injuries to people around. Do not forget to also check out the regulations for moving gun safes in your state if you are moving within the state, and if you are moving across states, make sure you comply with the state laws regarding the transportation of gun safes.
