LIOO Moving · Heavy & Specialty
How to Move a Gun Safe (Weight Limits, Equipment, and When to Stop)
A safe is dense in a way furniture isn’t: all the weight in a small footprint, nothing to grip, and a center of gravity that punishes tilting on stairs. This is the one item where the honest answer is often “don’t DIY it.”
Before anything moves Prep
Empty it completely. Contents ride separately — firearms and ammo per Georgia transport rules, documents with you.
Get the real weight from the plate or manufacturer’s page. Guessing low is how people get hurt.
Walk the path: door widths, threshold heights, ramp angle to the truck, and where it sits in the new house — measured, not eyeballed.
Floor protection at both ends: plywood or hardboard runs over hardwood and tile. Safe feet concentrate hundreds of pounds into square inches.
The move itself Flat ground, under ~500 lbs
Heavy-duty appliance dolly (600 lb+ rating) with straps — a standard hand truck is not this tool.
Strap it upright, door side against the dolly, door locked. Tilt back together, one person steering, one bracing.
Ramp, not lift, into the truck, strapped to the wall for transport — a shifting safe in a truck is dangerous cargo.
When to stop The 500-lb / stairs line
Over ~500 pounds, or any staircase up or down: three movers and a stair-climber dolly — the equipment is what walks the weight one step at a time. That’s the standard heavy item moving protocol, and it exists because a safe that starts tipping on stairs cannot be caught. Basement deliveries, tight-turn landings, and 700-lb-plus safes are exactly the jobs to hand a crew. If it’s part of a full move, list the safe when you book so the right dolly and crew size show up — the same rule as moving a piano.
Tell us the model or weight and where it’s going — flat carry or stairs — and the quote includes the right crew and equipment, in writing.