Need Assistance Moving a BIG Safe in SE MI

So I got a family deal on a 60x42x30 safe.  Very heavy.  Huge overkill for what I need or have but it was at a "I'd be stupid to say no" price.  Would anyone near Farmington Hills be able to help me move it?  It is in a garage and will be going into a walkout basement, so no stairs to worry about. I should be able to back a truck up to the basement door.  Weight is about 1100lbs from what I've found online. I think a couple people and a large appliance dolly will get the job done being careful. 

I can be reached at phil_at_philmatherracing_dot_com

Thanks!

Phil

Oh, beer, pizza, or wrenching help as payment too!  I will also pay for gas!

This weekend?  

Also- I may be able to get our engine hoist- which may help.  But we are out this weekend.

In reply to alfadriver :

No big rush.  I have an engine hoist if needed.  I just need a truck and low trailer (will probably rent from U-Haul if I can't borrow) and a way to roll the safe. Maybe some pipes on the concrete. 

PMRacing said:

In reply to alfadriver :

No big rush.  I have an engine hoist if needed.  I just need a truck and low trailer (will probably rent from U-Haul if I can't borrow) and a way to roll the safe. Maybe some pipes on the concrete. 

The truck I can't help with.  And my trailer is out on use- and is probably the wrong layout, as you already know.  I should call the guy who has it someday.  But having a clear path to my new greenhouse is nice.

Our church has a Steinway grand piano that needs to be moved for events 2x a year.  It weighs almost 1,000# and it takes 12 guys to pick it up and carry it up/down six stairs.  

Do you think a couple of guys can move it?

This suggestion won't help you move it vertically but you may be able to use PVC pipes as rollers to move it horizontally

I  have moved a big heavy safe. I can come help supervise, My left arm is in a cast.  I think that we put down a couple sheets of masonite on the floor. We had a third sheet with a 2x4 attached to the top surface. We placed the safe against the 2x4, using a front end loader. and slid the safe across the masonite. I  remember using at least 6 people to move it.

Thankfully I'm far away so I can't help.  Having moved a couple of heavy safes over the years, you want wooden dowels to roll them on.  A couple of long pry bars to lift each side and more than 2 people (!)

For a safe of that size I'd strongly suggest you call the local safe sales place and ask them how much they charge to relocate one.  Should be a couple of hundred bucks and well worth it.  They can be dangerous if they topple onto you.

At 1100 pounds, an appliance dolly will fold pretty quickly.  I have even seen car dolly's collapse a wheel under excessive point loads.  I use machinery dollys for the really heavy stuff.  

^This. There are cars on this board that weigh less than that safe. Two dudes are just enough for one to panic and call 911 as the other is crushed to death.

I'm usually a diy guy, but it may be worth calling a company, even if just to get a quote. The price + moving fee may still be cheaper than what you would've paid.

I helped a buddy move a safe 1-2 years ago. It was probably close to that size, and we needed to get it out of his pickup truck and inside the house and down a set of stairs. We had 6 guys (25-30 yo) there and it was hairy. There are not a lot of good places to grab on. But I'm sure the right team of movers with the right knowledge and equipment could have done safely it in 15 minutes.

Edit: we also avoided the inside stairs by going around back outside and basically dropping the safe down the half stairwell to his basement door.

Worth noting as well.  Safe mechanisms don't really like being slammed and dropped.  There are some pretty delicate bits going on inside the door that prevent the lock from being easily drilled that if they go kablooey, you have the worlds heaviest paperweight.

There is a good reason safe moving dollys exist.... I second getting a quote. 

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think I will be leaving this one to the pros.

In reply to PMRacing :

Good call. I helped my dad move a safe last summer, maybe 18x18x18" or so, much smaller than yours, and I swear that berkeleyer weighed 300 pounds easily. Moving it down the basement stairs with an appliance dolly was super sketchy. Safes and pool tables, never again.

All I see in my head is spike jonze death scene in breaking bad. Bye spooge!