I had my safe moved plus general discussion on movers

[s76]

I acquired a safe from my parents. I needed to move it about 25 miles from their house to mine.

I already had a Liberty Fatboy Jr and moved it when I moved houses a few years ago. That safe as about 700 pounds and 4 friends and I moved it out of one garage into another. It wasn't terrible but all of us struggled with it since it was pretty wide and getting a hand hold wasn't easy.

This new safe was on a whole different level. It is a National Security magnum 50. There is NO WAY the four of us could move this thing. It is literally big enough for my wife and I to get in and have elbow room to spare. I knew it was heavier than the Fatboy But needed to know since I was going to hire a company to move it. Liberty has bought the National Security name since My dad bought the safe about 25 years ago. I looked on Liberty's site for the specs and they list it weighing over 1500 pounds.

I Googled and called several places in the Houston area that claim they move safes and most of them said they had a maximum of 1200 pounds. One place, Safemoves.net, said they could do it. I talked to Jeff and he asked what kind of safe and I told him. He asked if it was a Liberty or original Nat Sec. I said original and he said that those were built better and weighed about 2000 pounds. Holy **** that's heavy. He gave me a quote of $850 bolted in the new location. I thought it was OK but wanted more quotes. I called two more movers after that and both of them said nope but call Jeff at safemoves and he can do it. Huh, OK looks like Jeff is the only game in town for me. I called him back and agreed to him moving the safe and set a date. Saturday comes around and we all show up at my parents house. A 3/4 ton Dodge with a trailer pulls in and two guys jump out. I said where's the rest of your guys, this thing is huge. Nope just them two. He did tell me he was sweating this move since we agreed on it.

This is right after sizing up the job and getting the game plan. For whatever reason my dad put the safe on these concrete blocks with no anchors. A large prybar and a pallet jack at first to take it off the blocks.



They put it on a fancy dolly that could raise and lower the load. They used this to climb the brick stairs. One more hick up was the safe was too tall for the doorway when on the dolly at an angle. These two pulled it off after lots of pondering.







After getting out of the house it was as simple as roll it to the trailer.



The trailer was also specialized. It could hydraulically lower and raise the deck so you could just roll the dolly on and not have to use any ramps. This is at the new location removing it from the trailer. As you can see, Jeff doesn't have enough ass to budge the thing over. The other guy and I had to push and shove it over onto the other wheels.



I know this thing is a beast but surprisingly it was not too bad to slide once on the carpet. They dropped it close to where I wanted it and then pushed/slid it into its final resting place.

Bolting down in final spot.



All done





Safemoves did a heck of a good job. Nothing was damaged and I can now enjoy my new old safe.

 

[s76]

Well I also wanted a place for people to come to tell about their safe movers. It was surprisingly hard to find a company to move this thing.

Who have you or someone you know used?

 

[Blnt4rcetrauma]

Nothing to add but nice safe and howdy fellow Houstonian!

 

[s76]

Thanks. I actually south of Houston but that is the nearest large city.

 

[edwardware]

Cool! Sounds like you found real Safe Movers, not just box-chuckers. Two guys with tools and know-how is plenty because they outsmart it instead of overpowering it.

 

[748]

He has a scissor lift trailer. That's cheating.
I never thought of that and I have a pallet jack.
So if I ever move a real safe, I'll go to the hardware store that rent construction equipment and just rent the scissor lift trailer.

 

[JJFitch]

Nice safe! Nice move!
I've had my safe moved 3 times. Once required a 1st-2nd floor of steps! A "stair climbing hand truck" was required.
It has an electric motor to climb up and down steps! Well worth the peace of mind!

Smiles,

 

[s76]

The stair climbing dolly was cool. I've never seen one in action. The trailer was also something I have never seen. Nothing like the right tools for the job.

 

[s76]

I do want to add that I was impressed that these two were always thinking about personal safety. They thought about each move and where hands and feet will go.

 

[George P]

South of Houston? I used to live in Clear Lake and Seabrook; I'll bet your dad had it up on blocks in case of flooding. My last move, the movers dropped and broke my original National Security getting it up the ramp into the truck

 

[s76]

I suppose it was for flooding reasons. The only time that house ever flooded was in Harvey. I guess I'm glad it was on those blocks.

 

[Rubone]

I just relocated these two safes on my property. I had stored one in my barn (the Bighorn) that I bought used a year ago and had gone 130 miles to pick up with the intention that it was for overflow. The Fort Knox I had but it was in a different place in my shop, in another room and beyond a doorway. I moved and set both of them by myself. The Bighorn I had set on a pallet so I was able to get close to it with my small tractor and slide it onto a pair of forks, strap it on, and drive up to an overhead door in the shop and drop it close to where it would go. It is 42" wide and about 60" tall. The Fort Knox however is 72" tall and about 44" wide and weighs way more! I had to lever it up high enough (and it was in a corner!) to get above the anchor bolts and scoot it out to clear them. I then set it down on two 1/2" square stock lengths of steel about ten feet long, lubed the top of the steel, and levered it along like it was on a train track.Spun it through the door on shorter pieces, across the room to where I had left a space for it. My wife got home about halfway through the operation and kind of freaked but I assured her no worries and continued. It actually didn't take that long, it was more effort to empty it beforehand.

 

[CapnMac]

The right tools really matters. Experience with the right tools also matters.

From experience with slab-on-grade construction in the Clear Creek/Clear Lake/NASA area, the slabs are stron, but sometimes closer to 3.5" inches thick than 4. Which can be a pin if they deflect enough to want to close the door on you. And, a one ton safe is a pain to shim back to plumb.

 

[Rembrandt]

s76......I have the same safe only in black. One tip that won't help you now is the door can be easily removed. Simply swing the door open and use a floor jack to lift it off the hinge pins. That will remove about 600 lbs, box is then 900 lbs. They are one heck of a safe.

 

[bob97]

Just curious if you called B and L in south Houston. Not sure if they do stand alone moves.

 

[WestKentucky]

That’s a lot slicker than me and my brother in law fighting mine into and out of the last 3 houses. Thankfully mine is not so big. Those stair climber dollies are sweet. I delivered furniture for a while while between “real jobs” and we used those a few times for heavy items like safes, dressers, and appliances. They are not the easiest thing to steer though, and if there is any kind of tight turn like a landing or such then they are nearly worthless. The lift trailer is probably the best idea I have ever seen.

 

[Dunross]

At 1500-2000lbs empty I don't think I would have bothered bolting it down.

Those movers were impressive. Right tools and knowing how to use them makes a major difference.

 

[bassjam]

Reminds me (on a much smaller scale) of when I bought my safe. Specs had it listed at 850 lbs, I bought it about 40 miles away off Craigslist. The seller told me he couldn't help move it, but he had already paid for safe movers to take it from his basement to his garage so it was all on one level. I showed up with my dad and my Frontier, the seller looked at us and my truck and said "There's NO way you two are going to get that safe in that little truck. We need more help and you need a trailer". I had planned this move for a week and wanted to reply "watch us" but simply said that the truck is plenty, and he went outside to call his buddy who lived down the street.

By the time the buddy showed up Dad and I had already set the safe on two moving dollys I had picked up from Harbor Freight and had rolled it out to my truck, and placed the safe on a thick sheet of corrugated on the driveway to prevent scratches. I had placed 1.5" dowel rods across the width of my bed and lightly taped them in place so they wouldn't roll until they were supposed to. I had also removed the tailgate so there'd be a smooth surface without interruptions for the dowels to roll on, and my tailgate had a 200lb load limit. Since now we had a 3rd helper I decided to remove the door to save a couple hundred pounds, and while the 3rd guy balanced that on a dolly Dad and I tipped the safe back into the bed, lifted the bottom, and rolled it into the bed on those dowel rods like it was on ball bearings. We placed the door next to it (that was the hardest part) and I strapped it all down with 1.5" ratchet straps.

Putting it in place at my house was largely the reverse, my girlfriend was there and I had a buddy show up which was helpful. The hardest part was getting that heavy door back into it's hinges. With some planning and the right tools, almost anything can be done.

 

[BigBlue 94]

Ugh safe moving... My 1500+ lb Cobalt has been moved at least 6 times. The last was out a basement, up through the grass, and onto a liftgate box truck over a hundred feet away. With 7 guys and a refrigerator dolly. Had two sheets of plywood so the dolly would roll through the yard. The other two safes were a breeze comparatively; a newer liberty and a winchester. Most moving companies here will do safes.

The two guys you got have done it a time or two id say lol!

 

[s76]

s76......I have the same safe only in black. One tip that won't help you now is the door can be easily removed. Simply swing the door open and use a floor jack to lift it off the hinge pins. That will remove about 600 lbs, box is then 900 lbs. They are one heck of a safe.

Well none of us knew we could take to door off. Good to know.

View attachment 934695

 

[s76]

Just curious if you called B and L in south Houston. Not sure if they do stand alone moves.

I cant remember off hand if I contacted them or not. Did they move a safe for you? How were they?

 

[s76]

At 1500-2000lbs empty I don't think I would have bothered bolting it down.

Those movers were impressive. Right tools and knowing how to use them makes a major difference.

I contemplated not bolting it but my wife made that call.

 

[s76]

Reminds me (on a much smaller scale) of when I bought my safe. Specs had it listed at 850 lbs, I bought it about 40 miles away off Craigslist. The seller told me he couldn't help move it, but he had already paid for safe movers to take it from his basement to his garage so it was all on one level. I showed up with my dad and my Frontier, the seller looked at us and my truck and said "There's NO way you two are going to get that safe in that little truck. We need more help and you need a trailer". I had planned this move for a week and wanted to reply "watch us" but simply said that the truck is plenty, and he went outside to call his buddy who lived down the street.

By the time the buddy showed up Dad and I had already set the safe on two moving dollys I had picked up from Harbor Freight and had rolled it out to my truck, and placed the safe on a thick sheet of corrugated on the driveway to prevent scratches. I had placed 1.5" dowel rods across the width of my bed and lightly taped them in place so they wouldn't roll until they were supposed to. I had also removed the tailgate so there'd be a smooth surface without interruptions for the dowels to roll on, and my tailgate had a 200lb load limit. Since now we had a 3rd helper I decided to remove the door to save a couple hundred pounds, and while the 3rd guy balanced that on a dolly Dad and I tipped the safe back into the bed, lifted the bottom, and rolled it into the bed on those dowel rods like it was on ball bearings. We placed the door next to it (that was the hardest part) and I strapped it all down with 1.5" ratchet straps.

Putting it in place at my house was largely the reverse, my girlfriend was there and I had a buddy show up which was helpful. The hardest part was getting that heavy door back into it's hinges. With some planning and the right tools, almost anything can be done.

When I moved my about 700 pound fat boy jr I played it down on a flatbed trailer on two 2x4s and slid it and tied it. I used a regular furniture dolly with straps to move into garage then slid it on cardboard. It wasn't too bad with some help.

 

[BigBlue 94]

I contemplated not bolting it but my wife made that call.

Understandably a good call.

On a side note, we had two of the 1500lb+ Cobalts on a trailer strapped down with HD 2" ratchet straps. At some point the corner edge of a safe cut through the ratchet strap. The safe didnt move an inch, over bumpy dirt roads and highway.

 

[4570Tom]

I have a friend who bought a safe from a store. It was small enough to fit in a full size pickup, but large enough and heavy enough to be a challenge. Their deal was that the store (and its employees) would get it into the back of his truck, and then he was on his own from there. For his work he sometimes hired a local moving company to move items, and he contacted them about moving the safe from the back of his truck, into the house, and down a full set of stairs with a sharp right turn. They agreed on a price, with the job to be done on a day they were going to be in his area. He said two guys came, got the safe out of the truck without difficulty, and used a climbing dolly to get it down the stairs. They were chatting after the job was done and my friend said that he'd likely have to leave the safe in the house if the house ever sold. The movers said "if we can get it in the house, we can get it out of the house". Money well spent.