One of the main issues people run into when shopping for a gun safe is delivery. Due to their extreme weight, gun safes are generally unable to be delivered to your door and instead have to be delivered to your curbside or picked up from a terminal.
In this article, I will discuss why your gun safe cannot be delivered and hopefully help you get it into your home.
Table of Contents
1. Freight companies can’t deliver to the door.
For most ground services (typical packages) weight limit is 150 pounds. Because of this, if you did not opt for a white glove delivery (we’ll talk about that later), you will be working with a freight company for your residential delivery. For most people, this is the first (and only) time you have worked with a less-than-truckload (aka LTL) freight company service.
These companies pick up different loads from commercial companies and sometimes residential addresses. However, they are generally more positioned toward commercial clients, which causes a disconnect.
While most people are used to packages being delivered to their door (and even into their garage or home), freight companies are only obligated to deliver your safe to the end of your driveway and nothing more.
Because of this, you need to make sure you are prepared for your gun safe to be delivered to the end of your driveway and have either a moving company (white glove service) or plenty of friends and family available to help you move this big metal box into your home.
2. The tractor-trailer can’t get to your driveway.
Another common reason your gun safe can’t be delivered to your home is the need for access to your driveway. If you live somewhere highly rural or in a neighborhood with tight turns or roads, you may find that the tractor-trailer can’t get to your driveway for delivery.
If this is an issue for you, you will want to discuss it with the dispatcher to see if you can pick the safe up at the terminal or meet somewhere the semi can access and transfer it to another vehicle for the final delivery to your home.
3. The gun safe was lost and needed to be found.
Logistics is a difficult task. With thousands and thousands of LTL shipments moving around the USA (and even international), it is easy for even a gun safe to get lost in transit. When this happens, they perform something called a dock-to-dock check to try and find the unit.
The customer must often initiate this check, so if you do not see movement in your gun safe tracking, I recommend calling the final terminal to discuss if this is needed.
4. Your gun safe was damaged.
Damage in transit is an unfortunate yet common issue with LTL. With so many large parcels and forklifts, liftgates, and heavy machinery, a safe can be dropped off a truck or even jabbed with a fork on a forklift.
Most of the time, the freight company will still attempt delivery; sometimes, your freight will be stuck at a terminal or even shipped back to the manufacturer or retailer to be replaced.
5. Weather-related issues.
While winter is the biggest culprit why delivery might not be able to happen, there are plenty of other reasons weather might affect this.
- High winds: Semi-trucks are large and tend to tip over if the wind is fast enough. Because of this, if a truck moves through an area with high winds, it may have to pull over and weather it out. This will mean delays and the lack of delivery of your gun safe.
- Heavy rains: Once precipitation gets to a certain level, LTL service again has to pull over to the side of the road, causing delays. Rain can also cause roads to get washed out and more. Remember, these trucks are not only hindered by the weather you have at your home. They are moving throughout the country, seeing all types of weather.
6. The freight company is waiting for your call.
Residential deliveries generally require a phone call and an appointment scheduled for delivery. If you see that your safe is sitting at its final terminal, and hasn’t moved, it might mean you need to make a quick call to get it moving to your driveway.
Most carriers have the terminal’s phone number on the page where you watch your gun safe’s tracking.
7. You did not sign up for white glove delivery.
I have alluded to this one throughout this article. While LTL carriers can only deliver to your driveway, a white glove delivery (aka a specialized moving company) is the best way to ensure that your gun safe is delivered inside your home and not just to the end of your driveway.
What is white glove delivery? This service is where a smaller box truck brings a heavy item to your home. The heavy item is brought into your home and placed exactly where you want it. These companies should be licensed, insured, and experienced in moving heavy items like this. You should not have to lift a finger to complete the delivery.
This is an expensive venture and should always be accounted for in your gun safe purchase price. This generally requires the LTL carrier to deliver the safe to the white glove delivery provider; they come to your home in a smaller box truck. Once there, multiple people will bring your safe into your home and place it where you would like.
Getting a white glove delivery service is relatively easy. Most gun safe retailers offer it as an add-on, and they handle the logistics, with you just taking the final call to schedule delivery.
Quick note: Always ensure that any moving company to your home is fully licensed and insured.
How can you avoid issues with getting your gun safe delivered?
1. Thoroughly vet, and understand all delivery companies.
If you have never worked with a freight company or a moving company, make sure you do your homework. No company is the same, and they all have upsides and downsides. If you have a question, make the call, and don’t hesitate to ensure all your questions are answered. You should also be fully aware of how the process works and which company has your safe at any time.
2. Purchase a modular gun safe or gun cabinet
The easiest (and one of my favorite ways) to avoid most freight-related issues is to purchase a modular safe or cabinet (here are my favorites).
These safes generally are still shipped via freight; however, they are shipped in a flat crate, which helps with damage and delivery, and they can quickly be brought in piece by piece from the curbside with one or two people. They can save you tons of money on a white glove delivery service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
I hope this article helped you understand why your gun safe cannot be delivered. Hopefully, you are reading this article before you have issues. Still, if you are currently having issues with delivery, the points above should do an excellent job of helping you get out of these problems.
