Moving and the best way to transport your guns!!!

[Member 34319]

There are very few that I trust at this point in my life. The ones I do are on this forum.

Another option is to store the guns and ammo and such with one of these people. Get established, then come back up and drive only this stuff back in one trip with a buddy. Fly him/her back.

 

[11Charlie]

Another option is to store the guns and ammo and such with one of these people. Get established, then come back up and drive only this stuff back in one trip with a buddy. Fly him/her back.

That actually would be an option I would consider. But if I can swing it in one trip I would rather do so.

 

[Member 34319]

Ya I am at the point that I am going to sell a lot of stuff before we go. would rather go with a pile of cash to buy new than pay a fortune for the move and have a pile old stuff. Now to convince the wife that everything needs to go.

When we moved here from NV, we sold or threw away a ton. I sold off quite a bit of gun stuff too.

The last move was only five minutes further west, and we did the same thing.

Couch, big furniture, all can be bought again in the new state.

 

[The Heretic]

Don't have kids and or stuffed animals and I would need a way bigger car! I will be driving my Dodge truck with a locking cover on the 8 foot bed. But I also don't want to carry all the guns in and out of hotel rooms on the drive.

Be careful; thieves see vehicles at hotel/motels as likely targets. They know people who travel often carry valuables in their vehicles - especially those who are moving their household goods.

I've moved guns several times - the longest distances was from Las Vegas to Salem. I simply put them in a car and drove the distance. Today it would be harder as I have many more guns.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Ya I am at the point that I am going to sell a lot of stuff before we go. would rather go with a pile of cash to buy new than pay a fortune for the move and have a pile old stuff. Now to convince the wife that everything needs to go.

Good luck with that brother....

 

[11Charlie]

Good luck with that brother....

Battle is on we will see who winds this one.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Battle is on we will see who winds this one.

I'm rootin for ya Bro...

 

[Unicykle]

Have you looked into PODS? You fill it up, they haul it for you. It's all locked and insured.

As long as they take the back way to arizona and not i5 down thru cali cause their laws suck.

 

[leadcounsel]

Why not a one way U-Haul box truck?

This is what I did. Rented a box truck from Budget. Load it so the weight is distributed forward and evenly. I stacked ammo cans and boxes on the floor near the forward area. Strapped shelving on the sides of the box truck. I put rifles in boxes and stacked them and strapped them. I put handguns in pistol boxes and then filled up heavy plastic tuff boxes full of them. Strapped them in. Filled the rest of the truck with household goods so no smash-n-grab thief could have a chance to see what was in there or get to it. It took me hours to even dig into it to unload it so no way a thief would be able to without being spotted.

Get yourself a wheel lock for added truck security at night. And use the most expensive heavy duty lock you can find. If you must part it, back right up to a concrete wall or your garage door so nobody can easily get into it.

I also need to say I could NOT have done it alone. I had the help of amazing friends helping me pack, load, and move and get my house ready. Several friends helped me pack and load guns and ammo, all trusted church friends. One friend offered to drive with me. He was a huge help and I paid him with a brand new generator as a thank you, as well as all expenses and transportation back. He drove my vehicle behind the box truck. We didn't have any overnights on the drive thankfully.

With the distance you're going an overnight to rest is probably necessary. I would have someone reliable along to pull security. A dedicated person that rests during the drive and is alert at night. I will offer this option to you. I'm in Boise and if your trip brings you thru this area, I'm happy to a safe stop point if that's of any help.

It was a ***** of a move. Have trusted people to help you. Be armed and very alert.

 

[nwslopoke]

A gun cabinet is lightweight and should fit in your p/u bed. You might also break some rifles down, just because.

 

[leadcounsel]

It has crossed my mind but its not cheap by the time you pay for mileage and fuel. And then there is the not all my crap will fit in a U-haul. I found a company that will drop a semi trailer in your driveway, we do all the loading and they charge by the foot. After that they put up a curtain and drop it at the next house and then deliver it. Again don't trust my guns in something like that.

I suspect we were similarly situated. I bifurcated my move. I priced it out many ways and this was the best case. [Disclosure, the movers were "free" as part of my military benefit.]

I also had professional movers and a semi-truck, and they packed, moved, and loaded and unloaded and unpacked most of my normal replaceable household stuff like furniture, clothing, tools, my safes, heavy stuff, etc. No guns, no ammo, nothing sensitive or irreplaceable.

I priced out and considered a lot of options. I looked at making multiple small trips in a truck, renting or buying a truck and travel trailer, looked at PODs and similar, etc.

The best solution, as I wrote above, was renting a 1-way box truck and filled it with the help of trusted people. I was resistant to this advice initially but ultimately did it and it was excellent. 1-way, unlimited mileage, 4 days was under $1000. I ended up keeping it 2-extra days to unload it and it was about $200 per day extra. Fuel was about $200. No mileage charge. I believe it was the best of all possible options for convenience, personal security over my property, and costs.

Not going to lie, it was a VERY physically, mentally, and emotionally hard move that wiped me out. Hence the additional 2 days to unload. I was just wiped out at the end...

 

[leadcounsel]

Have you looked into PODS? You fill it up, they haul it for you. It's all locked and insured.

1. You cannot transport ammo or anything flammable or gasses or explosives. So it's a BIG risk of violating their policies and maybe incurring massive legal and financial liability if it goes south.
2. You lose all visibility on the POD for weeks. Could be burgled and a total loss.
3. It costs 3x or more what it would cost to do a Box Truck drive.

 

[leadcounsel]

Ya I am at the point that I am going to sell a lot of stuff before we go. would rather go with a pile of cash to buy new than pay a fortune for the move and have a pile old stuff. Now to convince the wife that everything needs to go.

Smart!
I sold and gave away a lot of stuff before I left and don't miss any of it. Keep the essentials or stuff that is harder or more expensive to replace at your destination, and get rid of the common stuff, the heavy stuff, etc.

 

[GWS]

Ya I am at the point that I am going to sell a lot of stuff before we go. would rather go with a pile of cash to buy new than pay a fortune for the move and have a pile old stuff. Now to convince the wife that everything needs to go.

Great idea. We had a house sale the weekend before we moved and made a few grand selling stuff. Sold tv's, sofas you name it. Some lucky guy got several hundred pounds of lead and most of my molds. And the best part was I didn't have to move it.
Be merciless when you are choosing what to sell.
Again, best of luck on your move.

 

[GWS]

Where PODS are really useful for is storage. Case in point, I was not going to be reloading or builds in the months before we moved, so all of that went into a POD along with a bunch of tools, books and shelving and camping gear. So, it was gone, out of our hair and a bunch less heavy stuff to deal with when the big move came in July.
In short, it let us get a jump on the move and we didn't have to deal with that stuff till we were ready for it, a week or so after the moving van goods were properly put away..

 

[clearconscience]

Pistols would be easy, for long guns why not take them a part and just take the lowers, actions/barrels with you and pack the rest up?

When we moved I wrapped my guns up in towels for padding and stuffed them in a safe in the moving truck and packed them in the back of the truck.

 

[L84Cabo]

I'm assuming you've got too much to either take on a plane with you or ship them...or you don't want to risk shipping them.

There's really no good way but to drive them. And unless you've got friends or family in between where you can stop, you're likely looking at driving straight through. If it were me, I'd load the truck up with as much as I could that would still allow me to make decent time and just bomb it straight through. But big drives don't bother me too much as long as I have my tunes and enough coffee.

You mentioned a car trailer in one of your posts. That could actually work and if you bought the right trailer you could probably sell it once you got to Arizona for close to what you paid for it. The problem with pulling a trailer, however, is that you would definitely have to stop somewhere and then there is the risk of the trailer getting broken into or stolen.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

just drop off all your guns on your way down I5 to AZ. i'll make sure they get to AZ when u get there





Eventually

 

[gmerkt]

If you are driving the truck, keep the guns in the safe. Safe should be loaded first anyways so the weight is closer to the cab. So thieves would have to dig all the way to the front of the box to get to a locked safe. If your at a hotel type thing. I don't see that happening.

This.

I made a 1,200 mile move 33 years ago. With wife and three children under ten years old. And three cats. I'd transferred in my job and had to be there for a month before the move. My wife had to handle business on her end, so I didn't have the opportunity for finding necessarily the cheapest way to move. So I hired a moving company to handle the household goods. For the sensitive stuff like guns, ammo, tools, etc., I rented a U-Haul truck. I didn't want to entrust those items to the moving company. It cost plenty of money but was worth the move.

The guns, I loaded my gun safe on it's back in the forward end of the truck body. Then I placed the guns in the safe and locked it. Then the ammo, then the tools. Then used car parts that I wasn' t smart enough to leave behind. No wonder that old U-Haul oil leaking, fuel burning truck grumbled. Oh, and I was towing a car behind on a tow dolly.

Anyway, in the matter at hand of the OP. You don't need to rent a moving truck, you've got a pickup. You could put your safe in on it's back like I did. Covered with the usual low value miscellany. When you stop at night, rent a room for your wife and you sleep in the cab of the truck. It won't be comfortable but it will only be for a night or two. If you have a dog, leave some space for the dog in the bed of the truck with your goods.

STAY THE HELL OUT OF KAlI, go through Or, and Nevada to Kingman Az, and then cut over, it's easier then Kali and a little shorter too!

This. Don't take I-5 south through Calif. Take US 395 south to Reno, then pick up US 95 through Nevada which keeps going into Arizona. Yes, 395 cuts through the northeast corner of Calif., this isn't a problem. You're way less apt to run into thieves by staying away from the interstate highways. 95 goes through Las Vegas, I suggest you keep going and don't stop there.

 

[LuLuBelle]

Don't have kids and or stuffed animals and I would need a way bigger car! I will be driving my Dodge truck with a locking cover on the 8 foot bed. But I also don't want to carry all the guns in and out of hotel rooms on the drive.

Get a small armoured vehicle !!!