Can you move a safe with a pallet jack?

Hardest parts: getting it up to start and setting down to finish.

Use a bar to get a dowel under it. Then, add more dowels. Then, roll on dowels to get it clear of wall. Keep adding dowels to the path of travel you want to go.

Once clear, use a bar to raise it high enough for pallet jack to get underneath it.

Rent the best (newest) pallet jack you can find at local rental places. They all have one or more.

Once it's on the pallet jack, you can easily (slowly) do anything with it. (this assumes a solid surface, or carpeting that is covered with sheets of plywood to make rolling the jack possible).

May I strongly recommend you put it on a pedestal to make the end of this move easier and make the next move simple. A pedestal will get your gunz higher up and result in less dings when you put them into and take them out of the safe. Also, a pedestal will help keep water out of your safe in the event of disaster. A 2x4 frame -- on edge -- covered with 3/4 ply and indoor-outdoor carpeting looks great and is tall enough (5") for any pallet jack. At the end of the move lower to dowels on top of pedestal, then put it in place and remove dowels.

You can do all this yourself. It helps, however, to have someone helping right at the beginning and end to place and remove the dowels while you lever the safe. If you have help at the start, you most likely will not need a bar to get it started -- the two of you should be able to tip just about any safe.

I agree with you, it is really a one man job. With more than one person, communication is so critical that it can easily result in unnecessary difficulty. Once you have it up, if you're working alone, you can carefully plan your moves and not have the burden of communicating it to someone else. A pallet jack is like having ten people helping you without the hassle of ten people helping you!

If the safe is under 1000 pounds, you should be able to tip it easily to place the dowels yourself.

I moved a 1600 pound FK this way and it was under control the whole way. Never had any help -- but, as I said, would have been nice right at the very beginning and very end. I went very slowly and carefully considered every move. It took about three hours, but most of that was the first inch and last inch of the move.

Leveling the safe is critical for proper door function. Use wooden shims to level.

Table of Contents Show

What can you not do with a pallet jack?
How do you lift a heavy safe?
Can you move a safe by yourself?
Can you transport a safe laying down?

Call the factory and find out if the door DOES come off. It will be worth the call yes or no.
Door can be couple hundred +
Mine only weighed 600 with door. Had to get up 6 inches to ride on a HD moving dolly.
Took 2X6 4ft long (lying on 2" side cut line from floor to opposite top corner - 3/4".
that's your ramp frame do it again to have a piece in the middle. space evenly about 4"
wider than safe and screwed down 3/4 inch ply to the three ribs to cover ramp. put the
dolly against the wall nearby (and put blocking under dolly so it wouldn't tilt any when
weight is applied, (you must be able to hammer them out, or break out to remove) and the
ramp against the dolly to hold it. put a wood wedge under the back side of safe to start the tilt.
Tipped the safe toward me and started rocking and twisting as the opposite corner
was off the floor. moved it up the ramp onto the dolly. reverse at the other end of basement.
and ramped it up again to it 4 inch high support pad its permanent position .
Oh did I say CAREFULLY ! Will you need to reinforce the floor joist?

picker said:
Its one of those Franklin "Fat Boys" around 1000#s empty and I don't believe the door comes off, I have one step to maneuver and the floors are wood and tile.Probably need to move it 80 feet ?
Best/picker

Click to expand...

Most safe doors can be removed.
They are about 1/3 of the total weight of the safe so you can figure about 350#.
They hang on the hinges so they have to be lifted off after the retainers are unscrewed.
That leads to your next thread.

My friend bought a 61 gun safe, about the same weight, maybe more.
He brought it into the front entry with a bob cat loader. It was still on the pallet.
He had a heavy duty moving dolly and with him on the dolly and his dad lifting at the other end,
they could barely get it off the floor.

They finally slide a throw rug, with the fuzzy side down, underneath it.
The main floor was cement with linoleum floor covering.
With the rug underneath it, they found it would slide reasonably easily with two guys pushing.
They didn't have any steps or thresholds to deal with so after about 30ft,
they had it in place.

Get some help, you're going to need it.

I bought half a sheet of 3/4" plywood when I moved my 450# safe into the house.
There were 3 steps and a landing from the garage to the basement steps that were right inside the door.
I was afraid of ruining the wafer board & 2x4 construction of the steps so I built ramps out of 2x6 from
the garage floor to the landing.
My friend (6' 2" 250# farm boy) brought the safe in his pickup.
It was laying on it's side, strapped to the heavy duty dolly..
He backed into the garage, we tipped it off the truck bed.
He pulled the dolly and me and my hefty 6'4" muscular adult son helped push it up the ramp
onto the plywood I laid on the landing. Over a low threshold, into the kitchen by the stairs.
One quarter turn and we were in line with the stairwell.
Me & my son got part way down the stairs so we could help stop the thing from getting away from
my friend. We went down one step at a time for 14 steps.
Once it was 3 or 4 steps down, my friend didn't have much leverage as he was getting bent over.
I was just glad my son was down there with me.
I don't think me & my friend could've got it down alone.

Even after he put it within 3 feet of it's final destination,
I had to walk it and crow bar it into it's corner.
The painted cement floor still shows a few marks.

Good Luck Guy!

What can you not do with a pallet jack?

Steps to Ensure Safe Operation of Manual Pallet Jack Never place your feet under a machine. Always push the load, never pull, unless going down an incline. When going down an incline go in reverse. Be wary of pinch points to avoid hand injuries.

How do you lift a heavy safe?

Use the supporting straps or pieces of rope to strap down the safe to the moving dolly. Tighten the straps or ropes as far as they will go to eliminate any movement of the huge load. Tilt back the dolly on its wheels and keep the heavy safe well-balanced and stabilized to avoid tipping.

Can you move a safe by yourself?

Safety In Numbers Simply because you must move a safe by yourself does not mean that you should move a safe by yourself. Enlist at least three able-bodied individuals that are up to the task to assist in moving your safe.

Can you transport a safe laying down?

Well, in general laying a safe on its back is not a problem so long as you tip it safely. However, you do need to put some prep in to make sure your safe and the contents aren't damaged in the process. The first thing you're going to want to do is empty the safe.