mailbox ideas?

larry@stinescorner · Mar 4, 2014

the mailbox at the old farmhouse in pa got knocked down again,due to snowplows,we rent the house out , this spring I Want to try to put something better up,maybe something that springs to the side when hit,,,etc, It is very heavily traveled,fast type of road.Got any good ideas? Thank you in advance

Zachary Hoyt · Mar 4, 2014

I see them around here with a post set about 4' back and a triangle of angle iron or such to hold the box. The triangle is either hinged to the post or if the post is a round pipe a bigger pipe can be slipped over it and welded to the triangle so it can pivot. Also I see some hung on chains from an overhead horizontal arm but on a busy road I wouldn't want to have something sticking out like that in case someone ran into it.
Zach

JF in MI · Mar 4, 2014

Swinging is probably best. The mailbox at a place where I used to work was always getting knocked down (owner figured it was the plow coming out of a side street) so he mounted it on a section of railroad rail. Turns out it was being hit by drunks who couldn't drive a straight line after coming out of the local nudiy bar. Toyota pickup hit it and it sliced the truck in half. Fortunately the driver didn't get hurt. Mail people then let him mount the box inside the drive in area.

WI Dan · Mar 4, 2014

Up Nort' (in Wisconsin) they have swing-away mailbox posts. Pretty slick setup as there are no springs, only one moving part, thus- easy to care for. And- uses gravity to automatically return to the proper position.

Here's a pair of links to company that has these - i assume these are what Zach was describing:
http://www.freudenthalmfg.com/mailbox_stand/

http://www.swingclear.com/index.html

(no endorsement for either, its just what i could find on the google search)

Zachary Hoyt · Mar 4, 2014

That's the same principle but the ones I have seen around here
mostly look pretty homemade and one-of-a-kind. Kind of a fun
project if you had a welder and some bits of metal that were long
enough.
Zach

rrlund · Mar 4, 2014

.
Rebounding mailbox post

rustyacres sd · Mar 4, 2014

www.swingsafesupports.com/Product.htmlý

I believe this is the one I have, Mounted on a 4x4 post.

Used to lose a mailbox every year till I got one of these
Untitled URL Link

MSS3020 · Mar 4, 2014

I stuck 4 inch sewer pipe in the ground back from the road a few feet.. back filled and filled with road gravel to the top then 90 degree elbow and more pipe to overhang the side of road where it would normally had been mounted box on top.. been there for 13 years now..

Wile E · Mar 4, 2014

Get a PO box.
Solves the problem. No prying eyes either. Locked away in a box, in a building. No snow plow problem neither.

Anonymous-0 · Mar 4, 2014

Well I have a simple cheap set-up that works well for me in upstate NY. It may not work quite as well on a high speed road. The town snow plow driver has actually stopped to tell me how much he likes it. The letter carrier has told me how well it is cleared. I have a 2 inch ( I think)pipe buried in the ground tipping slightly toward the road at top, set back about 4 feet from the box. Inside that I have a 1.25 inch (I think, but it may be 1.5) pipe with a couple elbows, a horizontal extension and a pipe flange to mount the box. It swings nice and easy and the tilt returns it to the proper location (except on real windy days). When the plow comes by they just slow down a bit and it just pushes out of the way (up to 4 feet). When the plow comes back the other way, they cross over to my side of the road and use the forward edge of the plow to cut the bank back. They have to backup and finish clearing the opposite lane. I just pull the box out of the bank and swing it back into position. Like I said, it may not work as well for you, but sure works great for me.

HillsofTn · Mar 4, 2014

Uh, how about suspended from a Good Year blimp? As you can see, I got no clue. Here in Tennessee, we lose more boxes to rednecks with baseball bats than snowplows! With the few inches of snow we generally get, if the snowplows can"t miss the mailboxes, their driving skills are more of a hazard to other drivers than a couple inches of snow.

Russ from MN · Mar 4, 2014

In our county the county maintenance person comes out and puts them up, for about $55, if you live on a county road. It has a swing away feature and has worked well for us. Another nice feature is I can disconnect a little chain and put the arm and mailbox in the garage when we are gone in the winter.

ray hofstetter · Mar 4, 2014

A lot of good ideas and suggestions here Larry, but check with local authorities. Around here you're not allowed to put up a mailbox that can't be easily knocked down.....seriously....don't want drunks getting hurt when they drift off the side of the road and hit a overly reinforced mailbox.

Motorcraftman · Mar 4, 2014

Speaking of Mailboxes On a Brick Mailbox Collumn,, Does anyone know if as "Bolt On' Flag to attach to the Brick, As thye One that came woth the Box, is really Strange as to how it attaches..Can one be bought that attaches with Screws and Anchors? Thanks Larry

Rollie NE PA · Mar 4, 2014

Larry, I plowed snow for my county for 35 years and I have seen all types of boxes and mountings. The best solution is to get the box as far off the road as possible. I have seen the boxes that were mounted on a spring return system actually throw the mail out when returning to center position. In Pennsylvania, mail boxes, in most cases, are on the public Right Of Way and therefore do not have to be repaired or replaced by the government agency doing the plowing.
I have my box on a guide rail I beam that I cemented in the ground.

Good Luck!

RLA · Mar 4, 2014

I know what not to put up.. Old Neighbor John
getting cripple up he worked hours getting one
rigged up to a bunch of flat elevator chain.
Had a post & gear at the road & a gear mounted
to corner post of his Porch in the frt od his
House. Worked well until the wing of the plow
hit the post & somehow got caught on the wing.
Pulled the corner post right out of the porch.
Old John Hard of hearing said Edith someone is
at the frt door.....

showcrop · Mar 4, 2014

My wife's step father used to plow for a town. He once told me that a good snow plow driver could open your mail box on one pass, fill it with snow on the next, and close it again on the third. My father had his hung by a pair of chains from an overhead support for many years. The plows used to really make it swing. Probably one of them finally got it.

rdandersom · Mar 4, 2014

Mine got nailed twice this winter so I have been keeping my eyes open.The best idea I have seen appeared to be a piece of plastic 12" drain tile suspended from a horizontal piece.There appears to be a standard mailbox mounted inside the pipe.

Mark - IN. · Mar 4, 2014

Mailbox? Isn't the USPS signing onto partnering with Amazon to have mail and everything else delivered by drones?

I'm not above starting rumors to get folks blood pressures up.

Mark

Bob · Mar 5, 2014

A lock box at the PO costs too many bucks a year, but eliminates ALL the problems with having your own rural mailbox smashed/vandalized/run over, or someone "f'ing" with your mail if you are gone for a few days. Never used to believe in them, once I got one it's slick'er than owl snot!

C.R. · Mar 5, 2014

used to have the mailbox mounted up on a 4x4 in an old milk can full of dirt the plow drivers used to see how far off the side of the road they could move it along with the snow needless to say that got old after a while I replaced that set up with a metal drive in post kit and then put reflective tape all over it so it is more visable ,and some extra reflectors that helps some.

mailbox ideas?

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