If you want to travel anywhere with a gun and ammo, you need to take adequate precautions. Think about what would happen if you had to park your truck and leave it unsupervised for a while? How would you make sure that your guns stay safe? Well, this is why many truck owners make use of a truck gun safe.
This type of secure firearm storage is specially designed for use in trucks and other vehicles. The best models are strong, compact, and quite easy to hide. But where can you hide them? Where is the best place to hide a gun safe? This guide will cover all you need to know about concealing weapons in your truck in clever ways.
The Importance of Using a Truck Gun Safe
Before we look at some of the smart, and out-of-the-box ways you can hide a safe, let's look at some reasons to do so.
Protection Against Theft
One of the main reasons to use a gun safe for trucks is to keep your weapons safe from thieves. Cars, trucks, and other vehicles get broken into all the time, both in cities and rural environments. Thieves see vehicles as an easy target, as it's relatively simple for them to smash a window or unlock a door. From there, they can look around inside and take anything of value.
If you simply leave guns lying around, thieves will find them with ease. In fact, the sight of a handgun or rifle might even make your truck a more tempting target for a criminal. Hiding your firearms in a safe and then concealing that somewhere smart will help to reduce the risks of your truck being targeted.
Keeping Your Family Safe
If you happen to have kids of your own or ever drive around with other children, like nieces and nephews, having a safe is vital. You definitely do not want your firearm to fall into those little hands. All kinds of accidents can happen if young people get hold of guns, and it's your responsibility to prevent that from happening.
Having a safe for any road trips or family vacations will help to keep everybody protected. Even if you leave the kids in the car momentarily to pay for gas or visit a store, you shouldn't have to worry about a thing, as long as the safe is well hidden.
Compliance with the Law
Gun laws vary all across the country. Each state has its own rules and ideas about how firearms should be used and transported. So, let's say that you're planning a cross-state road trip, you can't just assume that you'll be safe from prosecution by following your own state's laws.
You need to think about the legal situation in other areas that you might be visiting. Having a safe in your truck to keep your firearms secure and protected can go a long way towards helping you avoid any kind of charges. The Firearm Owners Protection Act, for example, requires you to transport firearms locked securely in some sort of container.
Clever Methods for Hiding a Gun Safe on Board a Truck
Next, let's look at some of the ingenious ways you can conceal your weapons inside a safe in your truck.
1. In a Custom Truck Bed Storage Unit
This is one of the best methods, but it may require some hard work. Take a look online for truck bed storage ideas, and you'll see that many truck owners have created clever custom storage units for their truck beds. These units can include wooden drawers, hidden areas to hide things, built-in boxes, and more.
You can build one of these customized solutions yourself. You could also have one made for you by a professional. Either way, when getting it made, you can have a special, hard-to-find area where you can place your safe. This will make it very hard to find.
2. Inside Truck Bed Boxes
Many truck drivers have some truck bed storage containers on the backs of their vehicles. These boxes and units are great for transporting all kinds of items. You can also use them as an extra layer of protection for your firearms.
A safe can be positioned inside a big box, right at the bottom. You can then stack other items on top to cover it up. You can even drape tarp and sheets over the box to hide it even more. With all of those layers, it will be very unlikely for any thief to look right down to the bottom and find your guns.
3. Behind the Radio
Many people are unaware that there's actually a lot of space secretly stored behind car and truck radios. This is especially true in older models of vehicles. If you unscrew the radio and pull it out, you can find the hidden area behind.
If you have a relatively small firearm safe, like a handgun holder, it should fit quite nicely in that gap. You can then place the radio back in front to cover it up.
4. Behind the Door Panels
Another intriguing area to consider for concealing your safe is inside or behind the door panels. A lot of doors have plastic or faux wood panels that can be screwed off. You might find that there's a surprising amount of space behind them.
You can then place your safe in that area and then reattach the panel. You might have to make a few little alterations to get it to fit, but if done correctly, this can be an excellent hiding method for firearms.
5. Inside the Console
Don't forget about the console area in the center of your truck. This is often an area where people keep drinks or store their phones while driving. Well, you can hide a truck console gun safe inside it, as well.
There are a few ways to do this. You could simply lift up the console and hide the safe in the space provided. Or you could remove panels from the sides or top to access other areas to conceal your safety.
In the Glove Compartment
This is a classic area where people famously keep guns while driving. It may not seem like the safest space, and it is often one of the first places thieves look. However, if you're smart about it, you can hide a safe here.
A good idea is to attach the safe to the ceiling of the compartment. Thieves will often focus their attention on the bottom of this storage area and look for things they can grab there. If you hide your gun holder up top, it'll be harder to see. You can also fill the space with papers, clothes, and other boring items to make it less tempting for criminals.
Conclusion
Having a truck gun safe really can be the difference-maker in all kinds of situations. Whether you're going on a hunting trip, heading to the range, or just want to have a weapon nearby to protect yourself and your family in a worst case scenario, these safes are so important to own. But you have to hide them correctly to avoid thieves, accidents, and any issues with the law. Keep these tips in mind and follow our advice to conceal your firearm storage solution the right way.