Mailboxes (yeah, yeah.. weird topic, eh?)

[jen6889]

I know, Mailboxes is really a weird topic. I'm sure I could have been more creative, but I'm not in the mood for it.

I've got a couple questions -

#1 - Does anybody else who uses a rural type mailbox - you know the kind on the post out by the road, have as much trouble and have to fix/replace the post or box as often as I do?

AND

#2 - Is there any kind of rural type mailbox that will hold up to abuse better than others?


Ok, so you say "Jen, why on earth are you asking? What prompted this odd topic?" Well, I'll tell ya.

I went out and got the mail in about an hour ago. I was steamin' mad when I got to the box. SOMEBODY ran into it (AGAIN) and the box is bent in so badly that the door won't close and there's this deep gash in the center of the dent. Grrrr!!! I don't understand this. Our road is normal width with PLENTY of room on the sides for wider-than-usual vehicles. There is at least 3 feet or better between the edge of the road an our box. We rarely ever have more than one car go down our road a time. WHY do people keep running into the box?
In the last year and a half that we've been here, we've already fixed the mailbox 3 times, replaced the mailbox once, put the post back up so many times I lost count, and replaced the post once. I'm gonna go broke buying new mailboxes and posts!!! In our last house, the only thing about the mailbox I had to fix or replace was the sticker numbers because they faded in the sun. I don't get it. This is nuts!!!

Oh, and the thing that really irks my nerves - the certain farm vehicle that I suspect is responsible for it has been up and down our road I don't know how many times today going back and forth to the field and they never once stopped to apoligize. How on earth can you hit a mailbox that hard and not notice???

It had to be a farm vehicle anyway, because our box is up too high for any average car or truck to reach the box, that and the way it's dented it looks like a perfect match to one of those weird thingy-ma-bobs that hang off the tractors and fertilizing trucks.

Ugh, ugh, ugh. This really aggrivates and upsets me. I've had a horrible week, sort of. Well, I feel like I have. I think everything is just bugging me worse because I'm pregnant and overly sensitive to things right now. Good news is I feel so very much better now that I've gotten that little frustration out.


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[freesurfer]

Mount a fake camera on top of the mailbox!! That'll make them think twice!! haha LOL!!


J/K

Have you tried to maybe make a seperate drive further off the road so the mailman drives off the road a little to put your mail in yourbox? It's hard to explain, but kinda like an emergency side road loop thing? hmmm, I'll try to find a picture....


also, try the step 2 or fisher price or is it a little tykes mail box? Theyare very sturdy. Anyone have one of these?


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[jen6889]

LOL Freesurfer! A camera!! LOL!!! Then I can replace the camera too everytime they hit it, right??

We're reluctant to move the box back any further because then it might be in Mike's way (the guy who farms the land right around us) when he harvests/seeds/fertilizes/etc.
We've considered moving the box across the street near our driveway, but nooo... the mailman wants it on the other side of the road. If we can catch him one of these days, we'll ask him again and explain our dilema.

I was wondering about those big plastic mailboxes. I know Rubbermaid makes one and I believe Step 2 does as well. I wonder if they'd take a beating better than our other two boxes. Thing is, I'd hate to spend the money on one and have the same thing happen again.


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[beffie]

I've seen some really nice brick column mailboxes. They are like a column of brick with the mailbox inserted in them. I would like one of those, but have never checked into how much they cost..?

We live along a State Route, on a small hill, and we've had a few problems but not too many. Our biggest problem has always been in Winter when the road is bad and a car will slide into the mailbox/post... It's not their fault but we usually have to pay to replace it. Wal-Mart $5 plain little black metal mailbox... HOW many of those have we bought???


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[YorkieLover]

There is a company in the area I am in that has received rave reviews on the mailboxes they manufacture. They started making these mailboxes because of the high rate of mail theft and mailbox bashing in rural areas. Here's the link to their web site: [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

Their boxes are pretty spendy, but if you have to keep replacing regular mailboxes, it might be worth the initial investment.

If you know of someone handy with metal and welding, you could probably have one made locally for cheaper, I don't know. Good luck!

(A post office box is another alternative, depending on how far of a drive you'd have. It's very inconvenient at times, but at least it's pretty secure, and you won't have the repairs and maintenance to frustrate you.)


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[mayfly]

are you sure they are running into it and not playing mailbox tag? Thats what it sounds like to me. My friend bought a metal post cemented into the ground, and painted it brown to look like wood. So the next person who runs into it will have a surprise!

[Twinplets]

Originally posted by beffie
I've seen some really nice brick column mailboxes. They are like a column of brick with the mailbox inserted in them. I would like one of those, but have never checked into how much they cost..?

Our neighbors have one, and not only does it look nice, they haven't had to replace it, or any of the the bricks, in the three years we've lived here. We had to replace our metal one once, courtesy of a snowplow.


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[Mouse7088]

<raising hand> I can tell ya my big rubbermaid mailbox DID NOT bounce back...stupid commercial had me believing it would..LOL! That time the post survived, whew, but we've replaced it 2 or 3 times in the past 5 years..ugh!

[Pipanella]

If someone is doing it on purpose, that's a federal offense! Ours is on a wooden post, but the mailbox itself is one of those Rubbermaid type. It's supposed to be indestructible. I can't remember the name, but the name suggested that.

Sorry to hear about your mailbox problems!

By the way, how do you get away with having it higher than normal? Here, we have exact specifications as to how high it has to be.

[jen6889]

Pip - A substitute bus driver backed into the post back in January or February and the ground was so frozen that instead of the post just falling over as usual (it was really deep in the ground and not cemented in), it snapped off down near the bottom part at the ground. We had no mail delivery for a few days while the box sat on the ground. My dh finally had a day off work and time to go get a new post, but decided to get one of those metal spikes to hold the post instead.
The ground was way too frozen to get it in there good and after weeks of pounding off and on, it was finally in good enough. It's a little high now, but the mailman doesn't complain. Dh was suppose to fix that once the ground was completely thawed, but obviously he hasn't done it yet. LOL! I don't know why the mailman hadn't said something about it, but he is on of those easy-going types and the box isn't really up THAT much higher than normal. He can still reach it from his truck - he just can't see what's in it.


Donna (aka yorkielover) - Thank you SO much for that link! I'm in love with those mailboxes!! Of course, they are a little pricey, as you said. I have a hard time swallowing the idea of $15 for a mailbox so you can imagine my shock when I saw they were $200 something and up!! WOWIE! But it does say that the box can be hit and dragged down the street by a dump truck and only have a few scratches. And that locking feature! How neat! If I had the money, I'd have ordered one already.


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[billsmrs]

We have a cheap one from wal-mart and are about to replace it. Get this.....the MAIL MAN has hit it SEVERAL times!!! Then there is the trash truck......the UPS man.......I can go on and on.

We live on a dead end street so there is no 'traffic' so when something happens we know EXACTLY who did it. It is VERY frustrating too.

Hubby said he is fixing to put it in cement and then they will have to tear up their car to move it! lol


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[3tbear]

Our mailbox incident was a few years ago, neighbors who used to lived across the street from us. They had forgotten to put their car in park, it rolled down the driveway and I heard this loud crash, it had rolled into our mailbox. Well...I never liked the metal post it was on in the first place. They apologized, I think even offered to pay for it. My DH then put a wooden post, it looked so much better. Guess they did us a favor (LOL). Now we have a lovely white plastic mailbox with a plastic type white post, looks so much better.

Jen, there is a mailbox which might be a whole lot stronger. Here is a picture of the kind I am talking about on the following web-site. You put it by the roadside. Really sorry to hear your box was damaged again.

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I have seen similar boxes to this at Wal-mart, in case that helps.


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[beffie]

Originally posted by jen6889
Donna (aka yorkielover) - Thank you SO much for that link! I'm in love with those mailboxes!! Of course, they are a little pricey, as you said. I have a hard time swallowing the idea of $15 for a mailbox so you can imagine my shock when I saw they were $200 something and up!! WOWIE! But it does say that the box can be hit and dragged down the street by a dump truck and only have a few scratches. And that locking feature! How neat! If I had the money, I'd have ordered one already.

I checked out that website too... Feel the same way jen6889! That "Package Box with post" for $569...??? Wow!!! Would be nice...

Our mail lady will fit as much as possible inside our mailbox, but when it's something too big, she puts it in a plastic grocery bag and hangs it on the latch. So far we've been lucky and gotten all our packages... but I can just picture someone pulling up quick and yanking that bag right off the mailbox!!! Especially when we aren't home. Flash says that not only am I a true pessamist when it comes to this subject, but I'm also paranoid! LOL I just can't help it!!!


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[shannonrc]

I have a stupid question. The Post Office is forcing everyone in our town to put up curbside boxes. I have fought it and they are wearing me down. I have so many arguments against it. One of the obvious is the fact we live on a block that has parking on one side only and of course that happens to be the side they insisted we put the boxes. And if anyone parks in front of the boxes we get no mail. I have a sidewalk that goes all the way to the street and that is the best place to put it so in the winter I don't have to trudge through snow to get to it(taking for granted I have already shoveled the walk). I am worried though since the neighbors driveway is directly across from that. They have big trucks and everyone in the block uses their driveway to turn around. I get people driving over the curb all the time. I even had a bobcat take a rainbow arced piece of my yard out about 25 feet long and several inches deep. I want to know if someone hits my mailbox who has to pay for it. Doesn't the person who hit it have to pay, or at least their insurance? I know I would have to know who did it, but if I did I want to know how this will work. Has anyone ever made anyone pay if they know who did it?


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[jen6889]

When the substitute bus driver hit our box and broke the post, he called and apoligized and offered to pay to replace it.
But no, we've never made anyone pay for it. I've got half a mind to flag down that fertilizer truck that I think might have done it or go down to the field and say something to the guys out there farming, but I have a nasty temper... LOL! I couldn't be nice about it, so I guess it's better left not said at all.


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