2,000 miles from one state to another, by yourself, how would you go about doing it?

Flying out and renting a van to bring it back seems like a mostly uncomplicated way, but I'd be paranoid of thieves at every stop along the way.

First, you get a reliable trucker with his own rig and preferably a basset hound. Then you get a Trans Am to run interference. Once you pick up the goods, it's just eastbound and down. Can't help you if you're driving west.

I would load the guns in my truck and drive, taking them into the hotel at each stop.

Sell the safe and buy a new one at my destination.

powerbelly said:

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I would load the guns in my truck and drive, taking them into the hotel at each stop.

Sell the safe and buy a new one at my destination.

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Agree. Would help to know how many guns we are talking about and the size of the safe. All safes are not created equal.

powerbelly said:

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I would load the guns in my truck and drive, taking them into the hotel at each stop.

Sell the safe and buy a new one at my destination.

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this.....^^^^

I've had to move with a safe, across state lines etc, numerous times. Up front, I don't want to sell my safe, its the old school dial kind from American Security & I don't want one of the newer kinds with a key pad as my primary safe. (I'm old school, see also: my comment on the Texas Monthly BBQ list)

So, definitely lay your guns on the truck floorboard as best you can, lay a blanket between the layers of guns. I've had to put the safe in a Uhaul, laid flat & pulled it that way. Put a piece of cardboard under it between the safe and the floor but also secure it so it wont' slide around.

Sleep in your truck if you have to, but do not leave them unattended. If you are going through a serious blue state, for Gods sake do NOT announce to people that you have them, I don't care what the law says.

Take them into your new abode after dark. WAY after dark.

Edit: if you have to hire someone to help you move it once you get there, the correct answer on how much it weighs is, under 400lbs. Some moving companies don't touch anything more than 400lbs.

I moved from Texas to Idaho and I would have loved to take my safe along for the trip. Too heavy, so I left it as part of the house sale and bought a new one upon arrival.

It's under 400 lb and contains probably 10 firearms. Apparently there are also several crates of ammo.

O.G. said:

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I've had to move with a safe, across state lines etc, numerous times. Up front, I don't want to sell my safe, its the old school dial kind from American Security & I don't want one of the newer kinds with a key pad as my primary safe. (I'm old school, see also: my comment on the Texas Monthly BBQ list)

So, definitely lay your guns on the truck floorboard as best you can, lay a blanket between the layers of guns. I've had to put the safe in a Uhaul, laid flat & pulled it that way. Put a piece of cardboard under it between the safe and the floor but also secure it so it wont' slide around.

Sleep in your truck if you have to, but do not leave them unattended. If you are going through a serious blue state, for Gods sake do NOT announce to people that you have them, I don't care what the law says.

Take them into your new abode after dark. WAY after dark.

Edit: if you have to hire someone to help you move it once you get there, the correct answer on how much it weighs is, under 400lbs. Some moving companies don't touch anything more than 400lbs.

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They still sell dial safes.

mpl35 said:

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O.G. said:

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I've had to move with a safe, across state lines etc, numerous times. Up front, I don't want to sell my safe, its the old school dial kind from American Security & I don't want one of the newer kinds with a key pad as my primary safe. (I'm old school, see also: my comment on the Texas Monthly BBQ list)

So, definitely lay your guns on the truck floorboard as best you can, lay a blanket between the layers of guns. I've had to put the safe in a Uhaul, laid flat & pulled it that way. Put a piece of cardboard under it between the safe and the floor but also secure it so it wont' slide around.

Sleep in your truck if you have to, but do not leave them unattended. If you are going through a serious blue state, for Gods sake do NOT announce to people that you have them, I don't care what the law says.

Take them into your new abode after dark. WAY after dark.

Edit: if you have to hire someone to help you move it once you get there, the correct answer on how much it weighs is, under 400lbs. Some moving companies don't touch anything more than 400lbs.

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They still sell dial safes.

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That may be, but I've lived in some states where you don't just walk in and say, "hey I need a gun safe" and give someone your address. What they don't know, wont hurt em.

Besides my sticker collection on the side of my safe is on point...

Ryan the Temp said:

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It's under 400 lb and contains probably 10 firearms. Apparently there are also several crates of ammo.

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If you have a truck, the safe should fit in the bed. I'd put it inside heavy plastic like the mattress shipping bag or other plastic bag to protect it from rain, etc. Maybe put a " coffin " sticker on it so nobody will steal from a hotel parking lot…. My safes are 5 ft tall or shorter and have been moved in a pickup bed several times. 400 lbs is not heavy for a safe. If you had a bed cover it would be even better.
Of course take all guns out and put into a gun scabbard or at least a cheap gun sock from Walmart. And take in each night in a hang up garment bag. I routinely take long guns in a garment bag inside.

As stated, unless the safe has sentimental value, you should see what it's worth and consider sell/ replace/ shipping hassle. What state?

just leave your guns with me and ill text you a pic of them when you want to see them.

Mas89 said:

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Ryan the Temp said:

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It's under 400 lb and contains probably 10 firearms. Apparently there are also several crates of ammo.

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If you have a truck, the safe should fit in the bed. I'd put it inside heavy plastic like the mattress shipping bag or other plastic bag to protect it from rain, etc. Maybe put a " coffin " sticker on it so nobody will steal from a hotel parking lot…. My safes are 5 ft tall or shorter and have been moved in a pickup bed several times. 400 lbs is not heavy for a safe. If you had a bed cover it would be even better.
Of course take all guns out and put into a gun scabbard or at least a cheap gun sock from Walmart. And take in each night in a hang up garment bag. I routinely take long guns in a garment bag inside.

As stated, unless the safe has sentimental value, you should see what it's worth and consider sell/ replace/ shipping hassle. What state?

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I have a truck with a tonneau cover, but I'd prefer not to drive the round trip. It's 4 days each way, so I'm certainly open to renting an unmarked truck or van. I consider U-Hauls giant targets at motels or rest stops.

The garment bag idea is excellent.

Rent a high roof cargo van.

Take a sleeping bag.

Sleep on the floor of the van in a Walmart or hotel parking lot

We have shipped some high value shipments and the customers often choose to do this to avoid truck to truck transfers.

Any safe that weighs 400 lbs ain't worth hauling 2000 miles. I'd ship the guns to an FFL dealer. Pay the 150-300 transfer fee and fly home.

Just got back from a trip to Colorado. Buddy was towing his side by side and was a little nervous about parking his truck and trailer with the side by side in a hotel parking lot near a major highway. He ended up finding an airbnb about 15 miles off the highway. It wasn't impossible to steal, but he liked the idea of a reduction in likelyhood of theft. Thought it was a good idea.

^
Airbnb is a good idea. Just book places along the way that have garages for your van and arsenal.

NoahAg said:

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^
Airbnb is a good idea. Just book places along the way that have garages for your van and arsenal.

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I'd also cut the trip down a day or two. 14 hours a day at 70 mph average . I've done those trips.

We're talking about a relatively inexpensive safe and 10 guns. This isn't hard. Leave the safe. Ship the guns. No renting vans, hotels/air bnbs, driving thousands of miles and risk getting robbed.

HtownAg92 said:

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NoahAg said:

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^
Airbnb is a good idea. Just book places along the way that have garages for your van and arsenal.

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I'd also cut the trip down a day or two. 14 hours a day at 70 mph average . I've done those trips.

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I'm too old for that ***** I could do it in my 20's, but not these days.

Yesterday said:

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We're talking about a relatively inexpensive safe and 10 guns. This isn't hard. Leave the safe. Ship the guns. No renting vans, hotels/air bnbs, driving thousands of miles and risk getting robbed.

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All due respect, but have you shipped guns lately? Its a nightmare and, believe me when I tell you, they can walk out of a post office/UPS/FedEX facility, just as easily as they can be stolen from anywhere else. The Georgetown main post office is notorious for it.

Get dimensions of the safe. I bet it would fit in a suburban or expedition max. Fly there, rent one, lay the safe in the back and cover it with a blanket and haul ass. Leave the guns in it, if that is feasible and maybe find a way to cable the safe to the vehicle. Like maybe where the seats mount. I think being quiet and incognito is safer. Attract no attention and move quickly with a purpose. The air bnb suggestion is pretty good. The trouble points are lodging and an airbnb reduces that as much as possible. Sucks paying the cleaning fee each night, but small cost in the big picture.

Why not simply insure the guns and then cancel the insurance after you've arrived?

O.G. said:

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Yesterday said:

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We're talking about a relatively inexpensive safe and 10 guns. This isn't hard. Leave the safe. Ship the guns. No renting vans, hotels/air bnbs, driving thousands of miles and risk getting robbed.

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All due respect, but have you shipped guns lately? Its a nightmare and, believe me when I tell you, they can walk out of a post office/UPS/FedEX facility, just as easily as they can be stolen from anywhere else. The Georgetown main post office is notorious for it.

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I ship and receive roughly 2000 firearms a year. About 6 just today. I've never lost a firearm in the mail. Not saying it won't happen but flying up, renting a van, staying in hotels, moving guns in and out all while not being robbed sounds like a nightmare.

If the OP is coming to DFW area I'll transfer them for free.

Rent a Volvo put a Bernie sticker on it. Everyone will think there's nothing valuable in it.

powerbelly said:

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I would load the guns in my truck and drive, taking them into the hotel at each stop.

Sell the safe and buy a new one at my destination.

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And buy a bigger safe then buy more guns

We just moved a 600 lb safe. Was dreading it, but was no biggie. Easy to do with just a dolly, and one extra guy to help you lean it, and lay it down on its side. Rented a $17 a day uhaul trailer. Didn't want it 4 feet in the air, in the back of my pickup, and also risk ruining a $1500 or more tailgate.

Moving blankets are cheap at Harbor Freight. Buy 3-4. Good for laying the safe on, and to wrap the safe so it's "slightly" less conspicuous.

Some (not all) Walmarts carry soft gun cases (Allen) for $12-$17 each. Buy you a few, and take some you already have. They have enough padding to lay all the guns on themselves.

As someone mentioned, get a VRBO or Airbnb. Lot less chance stuff will get stolen, vs. a hotel parking lot.

If these aren't really "sentimental", you'd get off much cheaper just shipping them, and selling the safe on Facebook marketplace, where it currently sits..

I'll give the caveat the the plural of anecdote is not data, and YMMV.

I did 5 change of station moves in the Army with substantial numbers of guns (40+ on my retirement move). The shortest of those moves was NC to TX, the longest was SC to WA. Vehicles involved were a 2001 Dodge Dakota quadcab, a trailered 1998 Audi A4 (first move only), and 6'x12' U-Haul cargo trailers.

My practice was to put as many guns as possible on the floor in the rear passenger area of the truck, then covered with other stuff, including, but not limited to, my Army dress uniform garment bag, pillows, and sleeping bags. Stuff that's uninteresting to potential thieves.

When the collection got too big, I wrapped them in packing paper and stuck them vertically in wardrobe boxes in the trailer. Trailer was secured with a padlock.

I never had any issues, although storage at the new location was a pain when I didn't already have living arrangements set.

I'm very glad I didn't have to move my safes myself. The big one is...not light.

Depending on how big it is moving a safe is not that hard. I have moved a 400-500lb one a few times solo.

I took all the guns out and drove them in my truck and the safe in the trailer.

Now my 1000lbs safe is another story. Its in a closet and will be near impossible for me to get out.

Ryan the Temp said:

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2,000 miles from one state to another, by yourself, how would you go about doing it?

Flying out and renting a van to bring it back seems like a mostly uncomplicated way, but I'd be paranoid of thieves at every stop along the way.

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When I moved mine from Phoenix to HOU, I rented a u-haul and put the safe on it's back in the u-haul. After taking the guns out.

Lay some cardboard and a moving blanket down first. Makes sliding it to the edge of the trailer easier when you get to your destination. Really wasn't all that hard.

just cover them with this

Yesterday said:

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O.G. said:

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Yesterday said:

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We're talking about a relatively inexpensive safe and 10 guns. This isn't hard. Leave the safe. Ship the guns. No renting vans, hotels/air bnbs, driving thousands of miles and risk getting robbed.

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All due respect, but have you shipped guns lately? Its a nightmare and, believe me when I tell you, they can walk out of a post office/UPS/FedEX facility, just as easily as they can be stolen from anywhere else. The Georgetown main post office is notorious for it.

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I ship and receive roughly 2000 firearms a year. About 6 just today. I've never lost a firearm in the mail. Not saying it won't happen but flying up, renting a van, staying in hotels, moving guns in and out all while not being robbed sounds like a nightmare.

If the OP is coming to DFW area I'll transfer them for free.

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I would definitely consider a trip to DFW to save some bucks. I'll circle back with you after my mom figures out when she wants me to come get everything. Might be next month.

RCR06 said:

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Just got back from a trip to Colorado. Buddy was towing his side by side and was a little nervous about parking his truck and trailer with the side by side in a hotel parking lot near a major highway. He ended up finding an airbnb about 15 miles off the highway. It wasn't impossible to steal, but he liked the idea of a reduction in likelyhood of theft. Thought it was a good idea.

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I took a similar option when moving valuables across country. I rented a cargo van and found a VRBO in the middle of nowhere.