Portable and Secure – The Top 5 Best Truck Gun Safes

4.7/5

Gun safes are necessary for those who have guns in their cars, as well as in their houses. Part of the enjoyment of being a gun owner is the ability to bring a gun with you at all times. However, leaving the gun lying around the vehicle, whether it’s on the floor, the passenger seat or the glove compartment, is not a responsible thing to do.

Gun safety is always on, whenever a gun is nearby. Leaving the gun on the seat or on the floor is irresponsible. For one, it leaves the gun unprotected and open to scratches, dirt, and grime. For the proper functioning of a gun, cleanliness is a necessity.

A naked gun in a vehicle is also a danger to the driver and passengers. A gun should not be allowed loose at any time. Doing so leads to accidents. It can also lead to losing the weapon.

Gun safes come in different sizes. The difference is in the capacity. The smallest gun safes have space for only one compact handgun. Larger guns or more guns require larger safes. These can be screwed on to the wall or the floor of the house. Alternatively, a gun safe can be a permanent fixture in a car. A truck gun box can also be installed instead of a gun safe. The gun box is a fixed compartment for storing handguns.

For sportsmen, they can have a gun safe or mount for their rifles. These can be mounts where rifles are securely stowed, and not moving around banging or bouncing on the floor or seats. A pick up can have a truck bed gun safe. Multiple rifles and other equipment can be safely stored in such a safe. These are different from external mounts for larger caliber guns.

Top 5 Products

Truck Gun Storage - The Best Models of 2019

We bring you our choices for the 5 best truck gun safes. These are discussed in more detail below.
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Why You Need a Truck Gun Storage

Truck and vehicle gun safes are a necessary piece of equipment if you have a gun in the vehicle. Licensed firearms users understand the importance of keeping the gun safe and within easy reach when it is needed. At the same time, they understand that they need to keep the guy away from their persons when driving their truck or car. A gun is a personal safety device, but it does not need to be on the person when inside the vehicle. It should be kept safe and secure.

There are several reasons to have a gun safe. The primary reason would for your family’s safety. There are 27 states that have “safe storage laws” meant to protect children. Some states require a gun safe is there is a child living in the house, while in other states the gun safe is required as part of gun ownership. Having a safe to store a gun ensures that children would not be able to access and use them. Firearm accidents inside the home kill a significant number of children every year. Having a gun safe helps prevent your children from becoming part of that statistic.

Another reason for a safe is to secure the gun from burglars. It would be ironic if you have a gun in the house to protect yourself against burglars, and a burglar steals your gun. It may be ridiculous but it is not a laughing matter. In the 5 years leading to 2010, burglars stole more than 1.4 million guns. This is a staggering number of loose guns. These may have been intentional because they know you have a gun. This may later be fenced, or used in crimes, or even kept by the burglar. However, every stolen gun can potentially be used in another crime.

The problem with a stolen gun is that if used in a crime, the original owner might be held accountable and sued in court. The only way to protect yourself from that happening is to get a gun safe and bolt it where it cannot be stolen.

With a gun safe, you can defend your home without being vulnerable. If you bought a gun to protect your home, then you should keep you safe where you can easily reach it. This is the problem with stowing a gun. It is bought as a form of protection, and when there is a burglar you would not have enough time to get the gun and defend yourself. The proper placement of the gun safe is essential.

Gun safes provide additional protection to guns when there’s a fire. If possible, choose a safe which is UL rated and tested to withstand high temperatures of a fire. Unfortunately, not all safes are UL rated. With a high rating for protection against fires, you can also store valuables in the safe.

Gun Holder for Truck Features

A gun safe has to be relatively small to fit in an area near the driver. The owner should be able to easily open the safe when needed. Depending on the size of the safe, it should be able to hold a handgun, ammo and a couple of clips.

A truck gun safe has to fit under the glove compartment, or beside the driver or passenger seat. It would have to be tethered with a cable to keep it in place.

Modern safes no longer use keys, except as a backup. The safe uses a mechanical 8-button keypad or it might have more modern locks. The current standards in Biometric fingerprint readers are now small devices, and some of the best truck gun safes have these fingerprint readers. Other methods to access the safe include using an app, or an RFID. These are contemporary technologies which are now in use as security for the safe.

There are efforts to keep the safe quiet with the use of gas-strut support to open the door. There is an audible hiss much like the sound of a whisper when the gas-strut opens the door. There would be instances when the quiet operation may be useful.

The best safe should be certified as fireproof. This can help ensure that the gun and other contents are safe in case of fire. A fireproof rated gun safe can also be used to store other valuables like jewelry.

Gun safes have also embraced modern technology. Modern features include audible alarms when the safe is touched. Smartphone apps are also increasing. These are used to help in managing the safe. For those with biometric features, the app is used to manage the fingerprints, the users, access, and even the interior light intensity. More bright innovations are expected in the near future.

Some of the included safes have built-in rechargeable batteries. One even has USB ports to charge other electronic devices.

5 Best Truck Gun Safes – The Details

Our Rating

Top Rated Truck Gun Safe
5/5

This is the best in the class gun safe. It incorporates an advanced biometric lock, with a numeric pass-key combination, backlit keypad, adjustable interior LED light, in a 16 gauge steel body. It has a rechargeable battery life of 4 months, and management features using a smartphone app.

It has pre-drilled holes to allow securing it on something solid, or it can be tied down with a 5mm diameter heavy duty steel security cable. It will keep your gun safe. It can also be easily accessed if needed. It meets the TSA airline firearms guidelines for the safe transport of a handgun.

Part of a gun owner’s responsibility is to keep his gun safe and secure, at the same time it should be readily accessible when needed. Keeping a gun at home or in your car is a matter of personal security. Keeping the weapon in safe storage is a function of the VT20i compact safe.

PROS

  • Anti-pry bars
  • Heavy duty carbon steel (16 gauge)
  • Long lasting powder coat anti-corrosion finish
  • Quick access backlit keypad
  • Smart Safe Technology using a smartphone app
  • Rechargeable Li-ion battery which lasts up to 4 months
  • Biometric fingerprint can store 2 administrative and up to 20 other users
  • Manual backup key

CONS

  • Not fireproof or waterproof. After being submerged in water, it requires the use of the manual backup key
  • Capacity is 1 full size or 2 compact handguns and the clips

Our Rating

4.7/5

Unibody construction with a heavy door is a sure protection for the handgun. The gas-strut assisted opening initially releases the lid. The way it is constructed, it can be used to smash against any opposition when needed.

The user would have to pull the door open for the gas-assist strut to fully open on its own. The door is that heavy. The lock is a Simplex push button assembly, with 1,081 different possible combinations. The interior is egg crate foam lined to protect valuables and guns from scratching. It has pre-drilled holes, which helps to bolt it down to a solid floor.

The Fort Knox PB1 handgun safe has a large enough storage capacity that it can store up to 4 handguns when the inner lining is removed. The normal capacity is only a single gun or 2 compacts with their magazines and some ammo.

PROS

  • Uni-body construction made with 10 gauge steel. It has a 3/16” wrap around tamper-proof, pry-proof door
  • Quick entry fast pushbutton mechanical lock
  • No electronics. Full mechanical safe
  • Lifetime warranty

CONS

  • It is not UL rated
  • Not guaranteed to be fire resistant
  • No backup key lock

Our Rating

4.5/5

The ShotLock 300M handgun safe is a mechanical safe built with portability and security in mind. This is a no-nonsense safe designed to around an 8 button programmable lock. Keep it in a convenient location in your house, or use it as a truck or car safe.

The handle allows the user to have the facility to bring his gun to any location safely and securely. It has a handle on top which makes it a portable device. However, it is a solid performer. This is for gun owners who would rather have a mechanical access code, instead of a digital keycode.

The 8 button keypad allows 1,500 combinations. To key in your code, the numbers must be pressed in order. Other combinations of presses would not open the safe. However, there have been cases where non-unique numbers can allow the safe to open. The storage area is ample for a large handgun, ammo, a couple of clips, and some jewelry. It may be a tight fit, but it is possible to have 2 or 3 guns stored inside.

PROS

  • Robust mechanical safe
  • All mechanical and programmable 8 button lock with over 1500 possible combinations
  • Key override included
  • Comes with 4 screws for mounting on a wall or the floor

CONS

  • Limited 2-year warranty
  • Some problems with the keycode. There are combinations which allow other numbers to access the safe

Our Rating

4.1/5

This GunBox is a robust die cast box made of aluminum weighing only 4.5 pounds and capable of storing a single handgun, with ammo and clips. It has a smartphone app to access the gun safe’s other features. It has an audible alarm when it is touched, moved or tampered.

At the same time, the blue indicator light also turns red, and it also sends a warning to the app. It has pre-drilled holes for installing the safe to any solid object or structure, including the wall or the floor. It is suggested to use the tether cable (sold separately) when installing in the car or any vehicle.

PROS

  • The fingerprint scanner allows for up to 25 unique fingerprints
  • Comes with an RFID as alternate entry devices. Pass the RFID over the safe to quickly open
  • Rechargeable long-life battery lasts up to 3 months between charging
  • Pre-drilled holes for easy mounting anywhere. It has a tether for mounting in a car or truck

CONS

  • Sensitive motion alarm requires the app to shut down the alarm
  • The alarm notification is not sent to the smartphone app

Our Rating

4/5

SentrySafe model QAP1E is a solid performing gun safe. Considering that it is a small device which is supposed to stay in only one place, it has a lot of features going for it. The safe itself is battery powered and does not use any power connection to the mains.

There is also no indicator that it is in use or otherwise, is occupied. It does not have any indicator which helps for long term storage without draining the battery. Its gas-strut construction results in a soft hiss when the safe is opened. This is a quiet operation which is barely noticeable. The single handgun capacity has enough space for ammo and a few clips. It is perfect for the car, truck or even under the bed.

PROS

  • Made of solid steel construction with a pry-resistant door
  • It uses a digital keypad with a redundant override key as backup
  • Allows 4, 5 or 6 digit codes for better and more flexible security

CONS

  • Not fire rated
  • It does not have a locking cable
  • Requires 4 AA batteries. It is recommended to use name-brand alkaline batteries for long term storage

Conclusion

People need to keep their guns secure as part of their responsibility as gun owners. For those who want a small safe which can be used in the home and in the car, the above list of gun safes is a good place to start. The above list of gun safes offer different features and cater to a wide range of preferences. There are safes with mechanical or digital locks, different metal thickness, and other standard features.

Among the above list, the Vaultek VT20i Biometric comes out on top. It has a set of features including modern biometric locks and an app to manage the safe. Its 16 gauge door is one of the thickest among those mentioned above.

On top of the standard features, there are also others which can only be found in the Vaultek VT20i Biometric. Its backlit keypad allows the safe to be opened even in the dark. It also has an interior light and the intensity of which can be controlled by an app. These are convenient features which can help the gun owner find it in the dark.

There are still some guys who prefer older features for their gun safes. They are the exception and not the rule. Overall, the feature sets would increase in complexity in the coming years. This means that safes would be more secure, and portable. Further, they can also be more transportable, allowing the user to bring it along with him wherever he wants to. The Vaultek VT20i Biometric is paving the way with its modern styling and secure features.

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