Rural mailbox vandalism solution - 300 lb mailbox?

[RyanA]

This is a serious concern of mine. However, upon testing the finished box, it seems that the post will come out of the ground before too much damage is done. I buried it about 2 ft. deep with 3 bags of concrete. I can wiggle the post/pad slightly by hand. So hopefully it is not removeable by manpower, but will give if hit by a car. With a total of 450# of concrete though, it is quite an inertial mass.

That might be worse. Like hitting a deer.

 

[RyanA]

Just put a sign up near the mailbox that states, "You are being filmed"
Let'em call the bluff.
T

That might just entice some. Teens most likely, striking out at the oppressive confines of authority, and some such junk.

 

[LED_Thrift]

What if you put it on a swivel mount, so it swing around when hit? People up here do it so their mailbox doesn't get taken out by snowplow in winter.

It's like this:

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I modified my mailbox just like that soon after we moved into our present house 16 years ago. The letter carrier said our box was too far away from the street - the same box that the original owners of our house had used for 30 years!? Mounted the box to a four foot long 1.5" dia. galvanized pipe so it could swivel if hit.

 

[nikon]

I've got my mailbox mounted on flexible plastic tubing. It'll bend 90 degrees and pop right back up.

 

[Illum]

double mailbox, c4 in between, impact detenator should do it

yeah, then you get this no0b courier that ships your new M6/Mclux/expensive light and its keeping the door from closing and he decides to slam the door in.

my Community college diploma was bent in this manner:shakehead

 

[LuxLuthor]

LZ, I expected nothing less. That setup is a work of art.

If you are not seeing this as workable, go visit the local P.O. and see if they can give you any ideas, special exception, etc. They have had to deal with before....and getting ANYTHING from them regarding permission/exceptions will protect you legally.

It's amazing how much good will a Christmas present & some conversations with your actual postman can bring...especially if they heard about your problem.

Final answer is a P.O. Box, or if you have one of those P.O. Office Stores nearby that can give an actual street address.

 

[mrsinbad]

I saw a post once from this guy that used cold rolled steel and welded it to look exactly like a standard mailbox. Imagine the reaction from the kid that wanted to play mailbox baseball with his new mailbox!

 

[CLHC]

A friend of mine lives out in the rurals where they did have their mailbox batted and shot at more than a few times. They thought of getting one of the HD versions, but decided to leave it alone as soon as they found it lying on the ground. Funny thing of it is, they never bothered to replace it, and sure enough, it was never "vandalized" again.

The U.S.P.S. mailman simply would have to bend get off the truck and literally bend over to put mail in the bullet ridden mailbox lying there. They got a picture of their mailbox posted on the front of the local newspaper for the ugliest yet usable mailbox in town!

 

[NeonLights]

We live out in the country and while we've never had our mailbox vandalized (I did chase down some kids I caught doing it to other's mailboxes in our area 20 years ago), we do have a problem with snowplows in the winter. Our next door neighbors typically replace theirs every year or two because a snowplow takes it out.

We've been very lucky with our so far though. It is just a relatively inexpensive (around $10-15 probably, it was left by the previous owners) plastic mailbox mounted on a 4" round post. When the snowplow hits it, the plastic deforms, pops the lid off its hinges, and the plastic mailbox retains its shape. I just keep an eye out for when the snowplows run, and go out and dig my mailbox lid out of a snowbank and snap it back into place.

I've though of putting something very heavy-duty in place, but I would be worried about the liability of damaging a snowplow or having someone accidentally hit it, we live on a busy state highway with a speed limit of 55 mph and traffic is usually moving at 65+ mph. As long as our cheap little plastic mailbox keeps bouncing back into place, I'll stick with it.

 

[LED Zeppelin]

Thanks for the kind words LuxLuthor and Skalo.

I went to Cabela's and was in line with a Moultrie IR game camera and mouting box in hand, only to have left my wallet behind.

But after much thought, I decided not to spend the $250 for the camera that may or may not capture a picture that could lead to prosecution. I decided the money would be wiser spent on security lighting or the next iteration of my mailbox should one be required.

If I need to do it again, I'll make something more indestructible, but perhaps spring mounted to absorb/deflect collisions or something on a weeble/wobble base that can simply be stood back up.