Gun safes are built tough to stay secure, even during accidents or hard impacts. That’s perfect for protecting your firearms—but it also means the safe is really hard to move. Since they’re so large and heavy, many people choose to let professional movers take care of it.
But if you’re up for the challenge, you can move a gun safe on your own. You’ll just need to plan things out properly, use the right equipment and have a few helping hands. This guide will walk you through how to move a gun safe safely and wisely—without too much hassle.
Gather Your Equipment
Even the smaller gun safes can weigh about 200 pounds. Medium-sized ones can go up to 1,000 pounds and the biggest ones are even heavier. Moving something this heavy isn’t easy—you’ll need the right tools to do it safely. Here are some key items you’ll need:
Appliance Dolly
A regular dolly won’t cut it for moving a heavy gun safe. You’ll need an appliance dolly which is built to handle a lot more weight—usually up to 1,000 pounds or more. Most of these dollies also have straps or brackets to keep the safe steady and prevent it from slipping or falling while you move it.
Furniture Sliders
These are small round pads made of rubber or plastic that go under the corners or legs of the safe. They make it easier to slide the safe across the floor without scratching hardwood or tearing the carpet.
Ratchet Straps
These straps help hold the safe firmly onto the dolly. You tighten them by cranking which keeps the safe locked in place so it doesn’t shift or shake while you’re moving it.
Moving Blankets
These heavy blankets are used to cover the safe and protect it from getting scratched or marked while you’re moving it.
Plastic Stretch Wrap
After covering the safe with moving blankets, you can use plastic stretch wrap to hold them in place. This keeps everything secure and stops the blankets from slipping off.
Wooden Planks
Wooden planks can be used as ramps to help you roll the safe over steps or uneven areas. They make the move smoother and prevent the safe from getting stuck.
It’s not a must but wearing work gloves and steel-toed boots is a smart idea. Gloves protect your hands and give you a better grip. Steel-toed boots protect your feet in case the safe slips or drops.
Plan Your Route
Gun safes are big and heavy which makes them hard to move. If you don’t plan your path in advance, you might end up scratching walls, damaging door frames or messing up your floors. Look up your safe’s size and weight in the manual. If you don’t have it, you can measure the safe yourself or look for the manual online.
Remember, the size given by the company might not include the handle—especially if it was added later. If the handle sticks out, the front of the safe could be wider than the back. Make sure to keep that in mind when planning how to move it through your house.
Measure all doorways and hallways to be sure the safe can fit through. The shortest way isn’t always the best one. Try to avoid tight, steep or twisting stairs—they make it harder to move heavy stuff and harder for others to help guide it. Most stairs can hold around 100–200 pounds per square foot which is usually enough. But if you’re unsure, it’s smart to ask a building expert or check your local building rules.
Prepare Your Safe
Once you’ve planned your moving route, begin by emptying everything out of the safe. This makes it easier to move and stops anything inside from moving around and possibly causing the safe to tip. After removing all the guns and ammo, cover the safe with moving blankets and wrap them with stretch wrap to keep them in place. The blankets help prevent scratches on the safe and also protect your walls and furniture if it bumps into anything.
Lift Your Safe onto the Dolly
Never try to move a gun safe by yourself. Even the smaller ones need at least two people. The larger and heavier ones might need four or five people to safely lift, lower and move them. Once the safe is wrapped and ready, carefully lift one side and slide the dolly underneath.
If the safe is in a tight spot, you can place furniture sliders under it and slowly move it to the middle of the room. That’ll give you enough space to slide the dolly underneath. Once it’s on the dolly, use ratchet straps to hold it in place. You might need two or three straps, depending on the size of the safe.
Move Slowly & Steadily
Take your time when moving the gun safe. Move slowly and keep control, even if you’re just pushing it down a straight hallway. Have someone walk ahead to guide the path, watch for any obstacles and help keep the safe moving in a straight line.
Good communication is a key. Talk through the plan with your team before you start so everyone knows what to do. If you need to lift the safe at any point, make sure everyone lifts properly—keep your back straight and use your legs to avoid getting hurt.
Load It Onto the Truck or Trailer
A small gun safe might fit in a pickup truck but using a moving truck is usually safer and more reliable. Moving trucks are built to carry heavy items and often come with ramps or lifts to make loading easier. Most of them can handle between 2,600 and 10,000 pounds, and their ramps usually support 2,500 to 4,000 pounds.
That should be enough for most gun safes but it’s a good idea to confirm with the rental company just to be safe. If the safe causes any damage, you might have to pay for it. Once the safe is loaded onto the truck, secure it tightly with ratchet straps so it doesn’t move or tip over while you’re driving.
Move It into Your New Home
When you get to your new place, just follow the same steps but in reverse. Gently lift the safe onto the dolly, strap it in and roll it inside with help from your team. First, measure doorways and hallways to make sure the safe will fit through. Once you’ve got it to the right room, use furniture sliders to move it into the exact spot you want.
Take off the plastic wrap and remove the moving blankets—and that’s it! Because gun safes are so heavy and tough to move, it’s smart to handle them first. Try to get the safe in place before moving in other boxes or furniture, or at least make sure the path is clear so nothing gets in the way.
Professional Gun Safe Movers
A1A Moving & Storage is a full-service moving company that takes care of everything for you—planning, packing, loading, transporting and delivering. Our team is trained to move heavy items like gun safes safely and efficiently. No matter how tough the job is, we have the right tools and experience to handle it the right way.
Get in touch with us today for a free quote!