When a safe isn't safe. [Archive]

View Full Version : When a safe isn't safe.

Anvil

11-21-2008, 03:54 PM

A buddy of mine, calls me up.... Hey Tim. God! I'm glad you answered YOUR phone, (he called 4 other friends before me)! Are you busy? (That's when I should have run!) me: Not really, what do you need? him: I just need to move a little gun safe.

How many other people will be helping?

Well that should have been the deal breaker.... just him and me. Down a flight of stairs at an apartment complex.

I get there and he's got a Uhaul appliance dolly and all I have is some flat nylon webbing.

We lay the 600 pound safe on the dolly and use the dolly as a sled and mule-haul it to the stairs and do what we can to ease its decent down 15 stairs with the nylon straps. I'm about 400 pounds and he's 200.

I had a shoulder injury when I went there and used my right arm anyway, now my arm is feeling better albiet 2 inches longer from supporting 500 pounds of safe.

Man! What a goat rope!

There came a time (every time we negotiated a stair step) that we had decided if the safe fell, bounced down the stairs and came to rest eventually, his safe would just be a local landmark and any moving effort would be over.

The safe is now at his house and I have his gratitude to show for it.

I have a safe at my house I need to move now and it too is 600 pounds. I'm hiring the local safe company to move it for me.

BigSlick

11-21-2008, 04:06 PM

Golf balls, 2" PVC pipe and plywood are your friends ;)

Make movin a safe easy as pie, unless ya got stairs - then, call da safe company, pay da $200 an be done wit it

MullahElRon

11-21-2008, 04:11 PM

Almost got, did get a little bit, stupid with a friend, a 800 lb safe an' an undersized 2 wheel hand truck. 'Fore anybody got killed or worse, went an' rented a for real appliance dolly wid da rear wheel thingamabob. Easy as pie then. Man, it's cool when God does look out for drunks an' idiots. Never did stairs, aye carumba!

craig110

11-21-2008, 04:32 PM

Moving a 600 pound safe down a flight of stairs with just two people? :yikes: The only thing I think would be worse than that is trying to move it up the stairs with only two people.

ept000

11-21-2008, 04:53 PM

This may be a stupid question, but because I have helped many people move many things including more than a few safes, was it empty???

MullahElRon

11-21-2008, 05:16 PM

:supergrin:

Crazy4nitro

11-21-2008, 05:29 PM

He prolly had all his "Rat Holed" WWB Ammo inside and didnt wanna "Pull it all out to just put it back in"

'Nitro

Anvil

11-21-2008, 06:51 PM

Moving a 600 pound safe down a flight of stairs with just two people? :yikes: The only thing I think would be worse than that is trying to move it up the stairs with only two people.

When we got to his house we DID have to go up stairs with just us.

Him on top pulling like a mule and me underneath leaning hard and trying to just straighten my legs.

It got up the stairs with a little grunting but that wasn't nearly as scary as going down. I could just move aside and let the safe go and get out of the way but going down those stairs, you can't just grab a rope and hold on.... when it goes renegade down the stairs it's 911 time for anyone in the way. Like I said, I'm hiring the damn safe company to move mine. They'll provide the equipment and the labor!

Now where's a safe falling smiley when you need one?

MONTEGOD7SS

11-21-2008, 07:25 PM

[quote=Anvil;95740]A buddy of mine, calls me up.... Hey Tim. God! I'm glad you answered YOUR phone, (he called 4 other friends before me)! Are you busy? (That's when I should have run!) me: Not really, what do you need? him: I just need to move a little gun safe.

Pshhhhhhhht psshhtttttttt you're cutting out pshhhhhhhtttttttt can you hear me? pssssssssssssshttttttttt...click.

Crazy4nitro

11-21-2008, 08:37 PM

:animlol:

BigSlick

11-21-2008, 10:46 PM

Pitmaster

11-22-2008, 05:10 AM

Back in the day I helped a friend move. Others were coming to. Beer, food, etc. to help. I was the only one that showed. He had 2 old wood stoves plus a house full of stuff. Up 5 steps from the sidewalk then mores steps to a porch and the house had 3 stories.

He bought a 12 pack with spaghetti dinner and 2 of those relaxing cigarettes.

I saw one of the guys who was supposed to come. He said "I did it once".

I don't help people move. I would much rather give them a $100 not to help.

Anvil

11-22-2008, 11:00 AM

I would much rather give them a $100 not to help.

There's some wisdom in that.

Steve Koski

11-22-2008, 04:07 PM

I brung my safe up stairs, down staris, up stairs, and finally down stairs. (3 Different houses.)

With 3-4 guys, straps, and a decent appliance dolly it aint too bad. But then again, I'm built like King Kong.

MakeMineaP99

11-22-2008, 04:08 PM

Koski built?

:rofl:

BigSlick

11-23-2008, 11:01 PM

RugerFan58

12-03-2008, 01:14 PM

One of my safes weighs 600 lbs and bringing it into the house was a lot of fun. I didn't want to scratch it so I left it in the cardboard. After we got it inside and out of the cardboard I saw the door was removable and realized we had exerted more sweat than necessary. If all else fails...follow directions.:sifone:

45auto

12-04-2008, 04:07 AM

I have a little safe... it only weighs 500lbs...

If I ever have to move that thing up and down stairs again.... :incazzato:

mark l miller

12-04-2008, 06:54 PM

Mine is 900lbs empty. Scared me to death trying to get it set up. Some pipes & planning ahead worked wonders. No one got hurt. The only problem will be moving it someday when I'm not as young as I was when I bought it.
MLM

cvfl

12-05-2008, 09:22 AM

When I bought my safe last year my wife and I went to go pick it up. Pallet jacked it over to the back of my trailer and laid it on it's back onto moving blankets. When I got home, I had 3 friends help, and we just stood it up onto a 4 wheel movers dolly and wheeled it into place. Only bad part was after we got it off the dolly we had to slide it about a foot into the corner - on carpet but we couldn't get traction. Wife was laughing at the sight - we celebrated our success with beer.
I don't think I'd try stairs - am outweighed by about 600#s...

Anvil

12-05-2008, 11:06 AM

When I bought my safe last year..... Pallet jacked it over to the back of my trailer..... I had 3 friends help...... 4 wheel movers dolly....... we celebrated our success with beer.

See... there's the difference. The right tools, help and beer.

BIGGUNGOBOOM

12-05-2008, 11:18 AM

I have moved 2 safes, one is the BIL and other is mine..... let me tell you 1/2 PVC cut to 2 foot lengths is your best friend. Mine weights 600 ish and the BIL's weight was 800 just us two !!!!!!!! one last time PVC is your friend

Bullseye10x

12-12-2008, 01:36 PM

PoiDog

03-15-2009, 07:29 PM

I guess these stories illustrate one point.

Anything that can be move in, can be moved OUT by a motivated pair of individuals.

Bolt those puppies down, men!

Mine weights over 900# empty, and it ain't empty. It's still bolted down to the concrete. You can grab the inside of the safe with the door open and try to rock it.

It doesn't even quiver.

Boge

03-16-2009, 05:09 PM

I guess these stories illustrate one point.

Anything that can be move in, can be moved OUT by a motivated pair of individuals...

One exception: a "take downable" safe assembled in the basement and is wider than the doorways. You have to get inside the safe to take it apart. This is what I did. King Kong Koski couldn't get it through the basement doorway AND up the stairs and through two doorways. He'd have to "banana peel" the roof & hoist it out with a double rotor helicopter. :)

blueline541

03-16-2009, 10:27 PM

I don't help people move. I would much rather give them a $100 not to help.

I stopped helping folks move a long time ago. Nowadays I have a standard response, "Here's the key to my fullsize truck. Keep it as long as you need it and don't worry about hurting it because you can't."

BoltNut

03-17-2009, 09:04 AM

Here's one time I'm glad to be living in FLAT FLORIDA!!! No stairs down here... if you go down, you hit water... if you go up, you're in a rental! :)

I need a safe, and I'm "Weighing My Options" veeeeeeeeery carefully, seeing as Creo is my only help these days! :43:

Any suggestions on something in the $300.00 range? Y'all sound like you have awesome safes!!! :yesnod:

Anvil

03-17-2009, 11:57 AM

Y'all sound like you have awesome safes!!! :yesnod:

If by awesome you mean heavy, then Absolutely!

BigDog[RE]

04-03-2009, 01:32 PM

Awhile back, I nearly killed myself with these two items:
http://www.buyasafe.com/v/vspfiles/photos/WP-6030-2T.jpghttp://www.avonrents.com/images/accessories/dolly.jpg

I was dumb enough to try moving 570 lbs. of safe into the house by myself (including getting it down from my pickup bed) :yikes:
Finally got it done, but I was kinda sore the next day...

Yep, BTDT. I moved my Canon safe by myself using those slider pads you can get at Home Depot. The hardest part was getting it up the 6" step from the garage to the house.

jtrade

04-03-2009, 05:27 PM

Got a pretty good idea about the PVC Pipe & Plywood but what are the golf balls for???

J

Golf balls, 2" PVC pipe and plywood are your friends ;)

Make movin a safe easy as pie, unless ya got stairs - then, call da safe company, pay da $200 an be done wit it

Dark Horse

04-03-2009, 06:28 PM

Got a pretty good idea about the PVC Pipe & Plywood but what are the golf balls for???

J
The Golf balls allow for movement in any direction. Picture a ballbearing top sorting table
http://toolmonger.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/rollers.jpg

GLShooter

10-04-2010, 06:02 PM

I have one that goes right on 90 pounds. When I moved from Oklahoma I had my buddies helping me load the 24 ' Penske. The safe went in first. The ramp was too narrow for a good sized dolly so they did the next best thing. Poured Wesson oil on the ramp sides, set the safe down on the rails and scooted that puppy straight up in to the truck.

When I got to AZ I called in a flatbed wrecker and we just dollied it across to the bed and dropped the bed to the ground, The diver went about 350 and he just moved it around with the appliance dolly like it was an box of ice cream!!

Had a safe company move it from storage when I bought my house and bolted it to the concrete pad of the house. It would withstand a hurricane at this point.

Greg

speedracer211

10-04-2010, 06:29 PM

When I moved my safe to its new location I used the hard plastic carpet sliders. I slid a 600 pound safe across the carpet easy as pie. Now getting it into and on the carpet was a feat in itself.

Rollis

10-04-2010, 09:57 PM

I moved my safe onto the porch of the old house with the intention of having it move by the front end loader into the yard. Then after the basement was done, have it placed there before the house was set onto the foundation. Unfortunately, when I burnt the house some of the flames were to close cuasing theglass antitheft device to shatter. So now my niebor has a nice water trough for the cows.

gjk5

10-12-2010, 08:38 PM

When I moved my safe to its new location I used the hard plastic carpet sliders. I slid a 600 pound safe across the carpet easy as pie. Now getting it into and on the carpet was a feat in itself.

Me too, me and a little buddy (215lb and 140lb respectively) unloaded my 600lb safe from my slightly lifted 3/4 ton truck and across the garage then used the "moving men" pads on the carpet and it scooted like butta.

Stairs would make me think twice though.