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

[best defense]

I would not trust a moving company to move the guns. I 've heard more than a few stories about things getting stolen, so I would suggest that you figure out a way to lock the guns into your pickup.
How about if you get a special box made that will fit perfectly inside your pickup bed. Create something that looks plain and simple but would take criminals a long time to break into. Perhaps a metal locker with a wooden crate outside and steel banding around the wood. Label the outside something like pet supplies or water filters, plumbing supplies.
I believe you mentioned that the truck bed can be locked, so make sure it gets locked.
I have some friends who traveled from Phonix to Idaho in one day by driving in shifts, so I know it can be done. Send the safe(s) ahead so when you get there the guns can be put directly into the safes assuming you need more than one safe.
Loading and unloading the crate might require quite a bit of work unless you have help and a secure place to load and unload. You certainly don't want nosy people checking out your load. Whatever you do, don't tell more people than you need to tell.

 

[HikerKat]

I've done it solo from SoCal to Portland in a Toyota van. Never left the driver's seat once except for getting gas and taking the fastest pee breaks in history at well-lighted rest areas (parked right in front of the main walkways).

I don't normally use credit cards for gas on long road trips (only cash), especially on the I-5 corridor, but I did for that trip so I didn't have to leave the van at all. (I have my accounts set up to send me a text every time a charge is made.)
I've always slept in my vehicles on long trips, mostly because I don't have the money to spend on hotel rooms. The inexpensive ones are sketchy as heck.
I've learned the hard way to not trust anyone.

Like others here have said, drive straight through. Don't get a hotel/motel room. Sleep in your truck.

P.S. - A couple of you said you would load your safe in your pickup. Mine costed me $780 to be moved from a SoCal storage unit to Portland by a safe moving team with a good reputation and recommendations. It weighs about 1100 pounds. There is no way I can move this thing by myself, so I'll have to pay for another discreet safe mover when I move again, which looks like it will be sooner rather than later. We won't survive the property taxes in this city.

 

[Dr Prepper]

Get a small armoured vehicle !!!

Haha i was thinking this ^ the whole time reading Then the very last post!
Paint your van in a nice FBI/sherrif/corroner motif.
Or the old herse complete with coffin. I saw a nice coffin for sale on offerup the other day. Only a few hundred $$ you could bring the coffin in your room every night. Then you'd have all sorts of extra people watching you at night.. Wondering.
Waiting to call the cops at any funny business.
Sometimes you gotta think outside the box.

Also has anyone tried contacting a service like securitas or Brinks?
I mean they are already kinda in the business of moving valuables and they already carry guns so going across state lines might not matter?
Was just a thought.
Does anyone else here reading this see a prime business opportunity? Why doesn't anyone offer this service?

I do like the idea of disassembly.. Just taking the serialized parts with you. You could pack the rest of ship it/mail it what ever (save the ammo) I mean they aren't "guns" at that point so..yeah. and last I looked into it years ago it was legal to mail yourself your own guns for hunting etc. USPS first class insured incase they are lost or stolen. Not sure how much that would cost.

Man reading all these tales and accounts is depressing as hell!!! i dont really see what the point is trying to live a peaceable life anymore when its utter misery and constant worry and anxiety from all these thieves and druggies
Makes me just want to say f it and end it all. They win. They/you can have it. I dont know how much longer i can care.. They already won it seems like.

I'm in the same boat trying to figure out how to move to AL. its not cheap at all.
Im desperately trying to get out of this miserable state.

 

[Dr Prepper]

Or a prius would probably work to.. No one wants those.

 

[dcfranzen]

My daughter and her USMC husband have made many cross-country moves moving their household items themselves. My daughter had to do it once while he was deployed in the sandbox. She had professional packers pack and load the rented box truck, put on a special lock, and drove across the country staying at campgrounds or truck stops. She then had pros unload the truck at her destination. They have a SPECIAL LOCK like the one below that attaches easily and gives them an added sense of security even though they are never far from the truck.

Locks for sale | eBay

Get the best deals on Locks when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. Free shipping on many items | Browse your favorite brands | affordable prices.

www.ebay.com

I've done some international moves and cross country. I injured my back on the job and found letting the pros do the heavy work was well worth the price to avoid the long term pain from another back injury. Also, selling most of the furniture and big items is a smart move because they often do not fit in a new place like they did the old. My wife and I like new stuff that is sized for our new place and that includes a new mattress for our bed.

Good luck with the move.

 

[aikikenjitsu]

And I only have three handguns and one rifle. Thank God I plan on dyng where I now live, because someday we will be like England; woun't be allowwed to carry a gun or pocket knife!!! But I'm sorry, the criminals can carry anything they want!

 

[gunluvver]

I'm in Apache Junction right now. We left Hillsboro Saturday morning at 0600 and arrived 28 hours later. We took I5 to 210 to 10 into AZ. I was driving my 93 F250 diesel towing a fully packed 12 ft enclosed trailer. As soon as you cross into Kali, speed limit drops to 55 for all vehicles with trailers. All steep grades were pulled at 40 mph in 2nd gear. Fuel is $3.75 to $4.00 a gallon until i got to AZ where it dropped to 2.75. My wife co-piloted and we lived through it. My plan for the next part is to buy a 26 ft truck and load it up, towing the trailer. Trucks are cheap in Kali right now due to the new laws on older diesels. I have a mountain of stuff and vehicles to move, so it will take a few months to finish up. Our favorite toys are last, filling up the trailer and guarded every minute down, avoiding Kali at all cost. It is a major ordeal, and the last time I'll do this.

 

[OregonTJ]

……………………. What would be perfect is to find an enclosed car trailer buy it fill it with the high end stuff I don't want the carrier to take like my guns and reloading gear and the wifes car and ship the bubblegum I don't care about.

We moved from Oregon to S. Carolina a year ago. I bought an enclosed trailer and loaded my gun safe and guns, ammo and tools in it plus wifes "important stuff". I double locked everything. Drove 4 days (2800 miles) there with no issues. Had the rest of the household goods shipped.

 

[The Heretic]

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.

I used a POD when I moved here from Seattle. The ammo/etc. went in the pod, the guns went with me in a car (I made multiple trips). The POD was good in that I could take my time loading/unloading. But don't count on it being waterproof (mine had no water damage, but they mention that IIRC) and the sides are not metal, they are some kind of plastic. The cost for me was $1200 to move most of my household goods. I also loaded up my car, drove it down here, then took a train back up and loaded up my flatbed truck and drove it down here.

 

[catman]

We moved To Arizona and back again a year later. We drove a Penske Truck with a safe in it and 30 guns. I had about 20,000 rounds in several large plastic bins with tie strips. Be careful what you transport through California. Best to probably just avoid that route.

 

[11Charlie]

Lets be clear on one thing. I will never go through California. Our route will be over into Idaho and then down through Utah into AZ. I'm really thinking the trailer idea is the best at this point. If I can get the wifes Audi and all my guns into it then I would just fly the wife down and drive with a buddy straight through.

 

[Member 34319]

You could rent a Penske truck. They don't usually have loading ramps like a uhaul. However you could put the wife's car inside the back as they are more of an industry truck vs home goods truck. You'll need to find a dock somewhere to load and unload the car. But that's doable. Had a friend do this driving from Chicago. He just drove around looking at warehouses that were closed after 5pm for a dock he could use to load and unload the car. He also camped at campgrounds or slept in the truck at truck stops all the way to OR.

 

[11Charlie]

You could rent a Penske truck. They don't usually have loading ramps like a uhaul. However you could put the wife's car inside the back as they are more of an industry truck vs home goods truck. You'll need to find a dock somewhere to load and unload the car. But that's doable. Had a friend do this driving from Chicago. He just drove around looking at warehouses that were closed after 5pm for a dock he could use to load and unload the car. He also camped at campgrounds or slept in the truck at truck stops all the way to OR.

Then I would need to figure out how to get my truck down there. If I pull a car trailer with my truck then I kill two birds

 

[Member 34319]

Then I would need to figure out how to get my truck down there. If I pull a car trailer with my truck then I kill two birds

Gotcha. I figured the wife would drive one of the two vehicles.

 

[Bushman]

Even if you sleep in the truck you have to go poop some time. That's all that is needed to steal the vehicle, which is most likely as opposed to them breaking into it and trying to unload it right there. I hear it's very common to have these stolen at motels...

Shipping is also risky, stuff get's stolen all the time. I had a USPS package, signature confirmation that was marked as signed for and delivered to a locked mailbox...except it wasn't. Had a substitute postal carrier that day I found out...the lock was unmolested so it's not like someone broke into it, postal carrier obviously stole it...There was also an article recently about amazon delivery people being involved in a major theft ring here in the Puget Sound, FBI investigated.

Putting the safe in first isn't going to do anything, they steal the vehicle and unload somewhere else with plenty of time.

The ONLY safe way is to drive straight through or have a buddy/spouse with you while you sleep in the truck and he/she takes the hotel. This is what I planned to do when moving out of state, even discussed it with my now ex gf. We have pets so driving straight through would not be feasible, I would have had to stop and had her take them into a hotel for the night, etc. Either that or fly back and fly them down which would probably be much less terror for them...they freak out leaving the house to go to the vet, act like it's the apocalypse.

Driving through with another person is the only safe way, take shifts guarding the stuff if stopped or shifts driving.

 

[1streamer]

Load the safe first. Pull the shelves out of your safe and load everything in with soft cases. Fill the gaps with towels, pillows, blankets, etc... When you park, box the truck in with your other vehicle and use a steering wheel lock. If you are still worried you can pull a wire off the ignition.
Plan your stops ahead of time! Look at the parking lot via sat image. Some hotels will tell you that they have truck parking on the phone but when you get there you have to park in a dirt lot off to the side - you want to be able to park as close to outside the door as possible. Moving trucks take 10 to 20% longer on the drive than the map will tell you. You are going to get tired in the wrong place at the wrong time and then you are going to have to just keep driving while compromised.
I'm realizing I've done this too many times!

 

[1streamer]

This quote. Also I haven't thought about it until now but tent camping at a KOA might be a really good option.

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.

 

[STEELE]

Build a plywood box...glued and screwed. Line it with plastic to keep water out. Put steel strapping on it, mark it as GLASSWARE and put a handle on each end with UP ARROWS to keep the box in a tall position. Ship it freight, UPS, etc. and insure it.

 

[oldcars]

Buy a decent used car hauling trailer, load guns into Audi, load Audi on trailer, drive to AZ (i wouldn't worry about stopping at a hotel, just pick a good one, jack-knife the trailer with the back up against a power pole) & pack all the guns on the bottom of the car with household over it, then if you are really worried pop a battery cable off the truck or something) then when you get to AZ, sell the trailer for what you payed for it. Last time I moved, I used an enclosed trailer and put all my guns in cases (or when I ran out of those, layered in cheap harbor freight moving blankets) and put them in the big aluminum diamond plate cross-bed tool boxes like you see in the beds of pickups (bought used off craigslist), locked the boxes, stacked them up, then covered them with other household stuff. Worked great. Then I sold all the tool boxes when done.

 

[Member 38805]

I think a safe is great to protect my guns at home, but guns in a safe traveling down the highway at 60 mph in the back of a truck isn't going to end well. Even if they're in soft cases I doubt they'd make the trip without some bumps and bruises. I sure wouldn't trust it to go smoothly.
I travel often to gun shows that are 18-24 hours travel time, and with numerous guns in the back of the truck. I wont stop anywhere that I can't park close to my motel room, and back the truck up tight against a wall or a column. If those aren't an option I simply sleep in the front seat of the truck. I'd pay someone's plane ticket home before I'd chance leaving my truck unwatched, or not protected overnight.
And covering guns with household items wont stop theft. The thieves and druggies looking for anything they can sell will break in to steal household items too, and just be tickled at their good fortune when they discover guns underneath! And many will simply steal the vehicle and drive it to a place where thye can sort through their ill gotten loot later.