Moving question

[boulderchild]

Alright, I'll start by saying I have never made a move this far before.

My wife and I have decided to relocate to New Braunfels TX. Right now we are shooting to make the move over the summer while my daughter isn't in school if we can time the house sale and purchase right.

My first question, this is a 10+ hour move. If you have ever made this big of a move did you bring your safe or just use the move as an excuse to buy a new one? I'm considering the latter since the movers charge by weight but I'm still on the fence. If you did just buy a new one how did you sell your old one?

Second, and probably the more important. I have a rather large collection including a lot of nfa items. I know I need to file with the ATF that I am relocating those items so that's not the issue. What is the best/safest way to transport a large collection that far? Locked in the back of a uhaul truck at a gas station while eating lunch gives me anxiety just thinking about it. I was thinking locked in cases in the safes if I take them. Otherwise rent a large SUV and fill it to the brim like I'm headed to shot show. But I'm open to any other suggestions.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[338 dude]

Alright, I'll start by saying I have never made a move this far before.

My wife and I have decided to relocate to New Braunfels TX. Right now we are shooting to make the move over the summer while my daughter isn't in school if we can time the house sale and purchase right.

My first question, this is a 10+ hour move. If you have ever made this big of a move did you bring your safe or just use the move as an excuse to buy a new one? I'm considering the latter since the movers charge by weight but I'm still on the fence. If you did just buy a new one how did you sell your old one?

Second, and probably the more important. I have a rather large collection including a lot of nfa items. I know I need to file with the ATF that I am relocating those items so that's not the issue. What is the best/safest way to transport a large collection that far? Locked in the back of a uhaul truck at a gas station while eating lunch gives me anxiety just thinking about it. I was thinking locked in cases in the safes if I take them. Otherwise rent a large SUV and fill it to the brim like I'm headed to shot show. But I'm open to any other suggestions.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I moved from Florida to Tennessee. I brought my safe with me, but I did the moving so there's a difference and as far as your NFA items they would not go out of my sight. If I had to run a truck separate and drive it myself that's how it would go.

 

[scrmblr1982cj8]

I've moved from South Carolina to Texas in 2017 and from Texas to Kentucky in 2020 with my collection. I've loaded and driven my assortment of safes/guns/ammo with me on both trips. On both trips, I drove straight through, only stopping for gas/food/bathroom trips and the occasional power nap. You should be able to make the 10 hour + trip in one day.

A 26' U-Haul will handle 3 large safes when you load them with the sides placed against the inside wall of the cargo area. The ramp on the back of the 26' U-Haul will support a safe, the dolly, and 3 Division 1 linemen (or other big bodies guys) for loading and unloading.

Most of my possessions were moved by my previous employer from Texas to Kentucky. The mover was ****ed I wouldn't let him take my safes since he got paid by the weight of cargo he transported. I'm not a very trusting person, so I would NEVER let someone else take my stuff. The Grandma's Attic in the trucks is a great place to store your gun cases. I put the guns in the Grandma's Attic, put up pieces of plywood to make sure they didn't move, then placed the safe's against the plywood to keep everything nice and tight. I then placed the contents of my garage and storage unit between the back door of the U-Haul and the safes in such a manner that a greased midget couldn't crawl through to get to the guns. Get yourself the biggest furniture dolly you can find, and with the help of a few friends, you will be good-to-go.

Keep the paperwork with your NFA items.

 

[Darryle]

Rent an enclosed Uhaul trailer, pay a mover to move the safes into the trailer, put cased guns in safe and tie down the safes.

Put anything else you may want access to right away in the trailer and don't open it until you arrive. Park the trailer in the new garage until movers arrive and pay them to unload once they arrive.

You will most likely beat the movers to the new Casa, tell them you will pay cash to load and unload the safes, might be surprised at how cheap you can get it done for.

 

[boulderchild]

Lots of great advice here. My other issue is that we are going from a 2500sf house with 2 out buildings to just over a 3500 sf home with no out buildings. Our goal is to downsize enough to fit 99% of our stuff into an atlas semi but I may try to follow with a uhaul to carry the safes and appliances we are moving.

The nfa stuff is a huge pain in the *** but I'm almost more worried about my shotgun collection because of the wood.

My wife is giving me a hard time because out of the entire move to TX the guns have been the most difficult thing we've delt with so far

 

[IllinoisBurt]

Movers won't transport your firearms, ammunition, or reloading supplies on their trucks. You definitely do not want to fudge that either in the event of damage or loss it would not be covered by insurance (by the way, make sure you get a rider from you homeowners insurance company for the move based on replacement value - the trucking company insurance is total garbage). Usually the guys loading the moving truck are local day workers so a small side job for cash to get them to haul out the safe is usually easy to negotiate the day of the load and unload. My preference has been to load the safes in a U-Haul truck laying on down and pack all the firearms inside the safes wrapped in moving blankets to keep things from shifting and scratching each other. Once it's loaded up and locked, use semi ratchet straps to secure the safe to the wall in the center to distribute weight and prevent movement. I'd recommend some military footlockers for ammunition and components. They are study and better hold the weight (lead is heavy!). Keep them on the floor (don't stack) and distribute evenly/strapped in place.

 

[scrmblr1982cj8]

I vote for the U-Haul. First, I'd haul anything of significant sentimental or monetary value due to past experiences with movers. Second, in moving to Texas, you will be judged by other men on your firearm collection. The more guns, the higher your standing. Convert that extra bedroom to a vault if needed. Third, and speaking from experience, moving is EXTREMELY stressful on wives. If you drive the U-Haul, she could drive one of your cars and you wouldn't have to deal with her for the 10+ hour trip from Arkansas to New Braunfels. I drove solo from South Carolina to Texas and from Texas to Kentucky, and the solitude was amazing.

Feel free to reach out for more marriage tips!

 

[FreeNHim]

What do you do if you have good bit of powder to move? Like 8-8 lb jugs or equivalent?

 

[IllinoisBurt]

What do you do if you have good bit of powder to move? Like 8-8 lb jugs or equivalent?

Wooden crate separate from loaded ammo and primers is the proper format.

 

[Darryle]

What do you do if you have good bit of powder to move? Like 8-8 lb jugs or equivalent?

Put them in a big plastic tote with several desiccant containers, tape totes shut

 

[Scottkuy]

We moved from Illinois to Tennesse last summer. We used a moving service U-pac. They are contracted with ABF freight we loaded the semi trailer hired a crew for the real heavy stuff. The reload bench and supplies went in the semi . Powder primers guns went with me in the truck. Just a 10 hr drive so one day. The safes went in the semi all brass and equipment went in the semi. The trailer arrived in 6 days to the new house. Saved a bunch of money.

 

[IllinoisBurt]

Put them in a big plastic tote with several desiccant containers, tape totes shut

In theory wood is safer since it doesn't have static electricity concerns and is more sturdy but nothing wrong with a hard plastic tote. Keep powder separate from other items.

My last move we ended up using Plano rolling heavy duty storage containers for ammo, tools, and other heavier items. The packaging said 200# capacity and 50# stacking. These worked really well keeping items secured with padlocked hinged lids and no concerns with humidity since they have seals. Loaded those in a separate rental we drove down. Still using them for storage, job site, and trips 8 years later.

We had clothing and other items with the moving company in the standard plastic totes. Those weathered the ride mostly okay however some had damaged lids from the movers stacking them. Stick with the more rigid tall ones with snap tight lids. The clear plastic are ones are not durable at all and lids fall off.

 

[Recon$$]

I just moved and only personally transported firearms with sentimental value. I did a complete inventory with Moyers and values so they understood to pack them accordingly. I had no issues. It was insured.

Don't spend the night near a city. Get at least 30 minutes outside, where less bs happens. Back the trailer against walls to make it a pain for any attempt at bs.

 

[epags]

Don't spend the night near a city. Get at least 30 minutes outside, where less bs happens. Back the trailer against walls to make it a pain for any attempt at bs.

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