Does One Need to Bolt Down a 4500 lb. Safe? - Page 1

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Does One Need to Bolt Down a 4500 lb. Safe?

Posted: 9/4/2015 11:20:39 AM EDT

Thinking about a big heavy RFX safe. I will be putting it in a garage
so that may influence ones opinion. But, with a safe that heavy,
does one really need to have it bolted down?

Posted: 9/4/2015 11:40:04 AM EDT

[#1]

how hard would it be to put a jack or dolley under?

if i hitch it up to my truck think it will slide with (4) 1/2" bolts?

why wouldnt you bolt it down?

Posted: 9/4/2015 11:40:43 AM EDT

[#2]

If someone spots it and wants it, they are going to come prepared to open it or move it.

Posted: 9/4/2015 5:00:04 PM EDT

[#3]

bolt with grade 8

Posted: 9/4/2015 5:34:35 PM EDT

[#4]

A johnson bar and a pallet jack can move that weight like childs play. Combined with a $55 rental fork lift and some time, your safe is easily gone.

Also factor in that a popular method of attack is to knock a safe on its back and then hammer in the door, or hammer in pry bars to pry the door open, simply bolting it down may prevent that.

These things are what a safe manufacturer told me when they installed my safe. I also moved it in the manner described twice. I attracted zero attention and it was surprisingly quick. Hang a sheet on it and it doesn't look like a safe to any passer by.

Posted: 9/4/2015 5:38:30 PM EDT

[#5]

Make sure it has a hole to put the bolt through.

Posted: 9/4/2015 6:45:21 PM EDT

[#6]

When I asked the install company to bolt down my 5400 lb safe, they almost laughed in my face. Then the guy opened the door 90 degrees and proceeded to try to hang on the door to prove a point. The safe started to tilt forward and was only caught by the bottom of the door hitting the ground. Wasn't so funny then.

Depending on the make and size of your safe, it might even be needed for safety purposes. Doors can be very heavy.

Posted: 9/4/2015 7:12:47 PM EDT

[#7]

I would....

Posted: 9/6/2015 12:17:30 AM EDT

[#8]

my new safe is bolted down in the corner of my office,stainless steel quick bolts into the floor,it weighs 4500lb easy,but it was moved here fairly easily with the right tools and I'm not assuming that a thief wouldn't have the simple tools it got here with.
pete

Posted: 9/6/2015 1:16:35 AM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Thinking about a big heavy RFX safe. I will be putting it in a garage
so that may influence ones opinion. But, with a safe that heavy,
does one really need to have it bolted down?

View Quote

Spend all that $$$ on a safe, whats another $100 to rent a rotohammer and anchor it down? Maybe it needs it, maybe not. But why risk it?

Posted: 9/6/2015 9:44:07 PM EDT

[#10]

Wait till you see how easy it goes in, and then ask yourself how much faster someone who didnt care about scratching it could get it out?

I still think putting safes in the garage is nuts. Its the only place in your house that the thieves literally have the power of a vehicle and visibility

I'd rather have a 1000 LB safe in a closet than a 10000 lb safe in the garage.

Posted: 9/9/2015 7:38:16 PM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:
Wait till you see how easy it goes in, and then ask yourself how much faster someone who didnt care about scratching it could get it out?

I still think putting safes in the garage is nuts. Its the only place in your house that the thieves literally have the power of a vehicle and visibility

I'd rather have a 1000 LB safe in a closet than a 10000 lb safe in the garage.

View Quote

You cannot get a large safe upstairs. When you do... Bolt it to the wooden floor?

My safe in the garage is bolted to the floor. My safe in the closet is bolted to the wooden floor. Both safes are loaded down with ammo cans which would require fork lifts or motorized dollys.

If thieves are in your house or your garage your screwed. That said.... Most thieves are smash and grab and you're protected. The dedicated safe thieves have inside info on your stuff and you're back to being screwed again.

Posted: 9/10/2015 12:16:32 PM EDT

[#12]

Steal a flatbed tow truck / rent one(if that's even possible) / know a skel who owns one. Pick one of the three, back up to garage, tilt deck back into garage, attach winch cable, remove "refrigerator" to a different location to work on, PROFIT!

Posted: 9/10/2015 9:29:36 PM EDT

[#13]

what I would do is put it on 4 x 4's and then have them spaced the side length of the safe not the width. Then on the side of the safe put a 500 pound refrigerator or work bench. That way if they want to get to the safe they have to move everything out of the side of the safe, then use a jack to pull it out. One extra step.

That way when they see the safe they realize its more than just pulling it out.

Posted: 9/12/2015 1:31:51 AM EDT

[#14]

They roll them out on baseballs or golf balls. Not hard to do. If the Egyptians can move all that rock...

Posted: 9/13/2015 11:02:30 AM EDT

[#15]

Quote History

Quoted:

If thieves are in your house or your garage your screwed. That said.... Most thieves are smash and grab and you're protected. The dedicated safe thieves have inside info on your stuff and you're back to being screwed again.

View Quote

Its the pest control / carpet cleaners / termite / cable / electrician / tow truck driver / pet sitter / baby sitters meth head BF etc. Unless you are a hermit locked up on 10 acres, your garage gets alot more visibility than your bedroom closet, basement, extra bedroom. And on top of that, if I saw a safe and google it to find out its a super high security expensive rated to $1M in insured etc I am even more intrigued with whats in there.

They may not be the thief but they may tell a buddy etc and that's how i expect targeted burglaries happen. When you have a real TL safe your only real risk is a targeted burglary. Putting it in the garage makes it feasible to take it offsite. You can conceal it, build a room around it, etc. but a shitty safe they don't find is better than a world class safe in the open.

Posted: 9/16/2015 10:22:52 AM EDT

[#16]

The shitty safe they don't find is like the shotgun in the back of the closet. It will be found. But I agree the more difficult it is the more "safe" it is.

. Anything man made can be man defeated. A larger heavier safe bolted to the concrete floor in the garage is still more secure than a smaller safe tucked away in the closet. I have both by the way. 2 is 1 and 1 is none. That said. If my house/wife could accommodate a large safe in the great room without hindering the astetics all the better. But the bedrooms are upstairs, the wife has the largest walkin closet and she doesn't want to share.

That said.... My father in-law has a safe with custom cabinetry built around it. Ranch style home 1 story. Looks really nice. But then I see various gun paraphernalia about. Hmmm.....

Posted: 9/20/2015 7:37:07 AM EDT

[#17]

Quote History

Quoted:
my new safe is bolted down in the corner of my office,stainless steel quick bolts into the floor,it weighs 4500lb easy,but it was moved here fairly easily with the right tools and I'm not assuming that a thief wouldn't have the simple tools it got here with.
pete

View Quote

What is the safe? Brand/model

I would love to see a safe the big/heavy

Posted: 9/21/2015 12:24:38 PM EDT

[#18]

Quote History

Quoted:

What is the safe? Brand/model

I would love to see a safe the big/heavy

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
my new safe is bolted down in the corner of my office,stainless steel quick bolts into the floor,it weighs 4500lb easy,but it was moved here fairly easily with the right tools and I'm not assuming that a thief wouldn't have the simple tools it got here with.
pete

What is the safe? Brand/model

I would love to see a safe the big/heavy

In the world of real safe's that weight number is not only reasonable, but quite common.

Example: My dad's TL-30 Bullion safe that is 21 X 18 X 45 weighs just shy of 2700 lbs. The largest safe in the TL-30 family that my dad's is in is 26 X 26 X 68 and weights just shy of 4600 lbs. Step up to TL-30X6 or TL-60 safes and it very easily puts you into the 4500+ lbs range.

Posted: 9/21/2015 8:23:26 PM EDT

[#19]

I am surprised this thread is still active, always better to bolt down if you can, but 4500 lbs will not walk off without some serious effort. Sure you can pry it up with a Johnson bar and put in on steel pipes, OK, step one, you are not going to easily drop 4500 lbs in the back of a F-150 and drive off with it.

Posted: 9/21/2015 10:25:05 PM EDT

[#20]

I just moved a 4,500 pound safe into a home. Up 1 step, and across 30 feet or so of floor. I was there for about 3 hours.

Posted: 9/24/2015 10:00:00 PM EDT

[#21]

Quote History

Quoted:
I just moved a 4,500 pound safe into a home. Up 1 step, and across 30 feet or so of floor. I was there for about 3 hours.

View Quote

You are a professional that takes pride in your work. How long would it take you if you were not concerned about any damage to the home?

Posted: 9/24/2015 11:59:56 PM EDT

[#22]

You are a professional that takes pride in your work. How long would it take you if you were not concerned about any damage to the home?

View Quote

Depends. If I had a large piece of construction/farm equipment and a chain, less than a minute. But bolting it wouldn't buy you much more time there either.

The only safes that commonly grow legs during burglaries are the ones that can be hand carried. On occasion you'll see something heavier stolen, but it's pretty rare, and usually commercial as opposed to residential. Bad guys aren't running around town with the skill or equipment needed to move this stuff. If they were, it should be noticeable, and they would still lack the experience required to pull it off.

Even in extreme cases of public disaster and unrest you will find that the small ATM machines have typically been relocated, and then abandoned in the middle of the road because they were more difficult to deal with than expected.

Posted: 10/14/2015 10:12:38 AM EDT

[#23]

Yes, it still needs to be bolted down. 4500 lbs is not as hard to move as you might think, and the safe only needs to be tipped over in order for it to be attacked and compromised.

Check out Wally Wallington - at the 38 second mark he manhandles a 1600 lb block like it's nothing. I know that's not 4500 lbs, but if you watch the rest of the video you will be amazed at what can be one to move massive weights without complex machines.

~Bill

Posted: 10/14/2015 11:52:49 AM EDT

[#24]

Quote History

Quoted:
Yes, it still needs to be bolted down. 4500 lbs is not as hard to move as you might think, and the safe only needs to be tipped over in order for it to be attacked and compromised.

Check out Wally Wallington - at the 38 second mark he manhandles a 1600 lb block like it's nothing. I know that's not 4500 lbs, but if you watch the rest of the video you will be amazed at what can be one to move massive weights without complex machines.

~Bill

View Quote

Neat video. Thanks for sharing it.

Posted: 10/14/2015 10:41:32 PM EDT

[#25]

IMHO, theres one reason to bolt your hunk of metal down...and thats if you have big mouth. If you let the world know you have a safe and possibly whats in it, it allows the crooked to prepare. However, your average criminal is not going to bring a fork lift to every job he does. probably a couple of standard tools at best. EVEN IF the criminal breaks in, sees your juicy safe and wants to take it, it doesnt seem realistic for him to double back, get the resources he needs, and go at your safe without A) you coming home or B) someone seeing something fishy going on. Not to mention if your safe is 4500 lbs, its big, which means you probably have a lot going inside, which means overall its going to weigh well over 5000 lbs. I'm a realist, I just don't see the common criminal having the intelligence, drive, or resources to take even my 1000 lb safe from my home.