Mailbox Vandalism

[happybluebird]

Living out in the country we go through several mailboxes a year. Some lost due to winter ice or drunkeness causing someone to unintentionally hit the mailbox, but more often than not smashed up by vandals. We are way way off the road and the mailbox is an easy target because there is very little if no threat of the perpetrators getting caught. I have over the years preached to my husband about how it is just kids and it's just a mailbox, but lately I'm even having trouble swallowing that line! We have lost 2 mailboxes inside of 3 days to vandals. I must admit that visions of hiding in the corn with a shotgun have crossed my mind. Or booby trapping the mailbox lol Short of that we have been trying to think up some more reasonable ways of solving the problem. We are not the only ones in the area that have had problems with this by no means, and some of the neighbors have just given up completly and don't have mail delivered to their homes any longer. Any ideas or input would be helpful. Thanks. Jamie

[Ramblin Wreck]

The same problem occurs in country/remote locations everywhere I'm afraid. This year I've lost two boxes, but there was a 3-4 year period before that where there were no problems. Two suggestions from others (that I have not acted upon) are: (1) Have a metal fabrication shop build you a heavy duty model out of thick steel material; (2) Put up a motion detection camera to try and get a snapshot of the vandals. Suggestion #1 is more realistic and achievable, but #2 sounds awfully tempting on the day you are replacing a box. Hope your mailbox troubles are over for a long while.

[happy@home]

Look for a snowplow proof mailbox stand. Usually they are homemade. My dad had a small business making and selling them before he died and my mom got calls for a long time after he was gone with people begging her to see if there was just one left They are on an arm that swings the box out of the way when it gets hit by a plow or vehicle. Not sure if it would help with vandals but it might if they are smashing as they drive by.
.

[CraftyDiva]

I'm thinking in cases like these a concrete mailbox would be the ticket. Maybe making one yourself. Do a search for "hypertufa", you should be able to use a wood frame with chinkenwire for your base form. Then again land mines might work as well :baby04: Just tell the mail person where you locate them.

[Ann Mary]

I have seen this style to be very successful against vandalism: Take the new mailbox and place it in a metal culvert the length of the mailbox, put on metal back, fill in around the box with either cement or that spray foam in a can, then set the whole thing up on a sturdy pipe and install. When the colvert gets smacked with a baseball bat or whatever it doesn't do anything...except maybe break the bat Some people have had to go with those Post Office metal lockable mail holders but I'm sure they aren't free.

[Fla Gal]

A big rock placed at the base of the mailbox might work. One house in a certain neighborhood used to have a flower bed on their corner lot run over at least once every two months, ruining the flower bed. The people that lived there put a good sized rocks in the bed then covered them with dirt and flowers.

Front ends and oil pans are no match for the rocks. It never happened again and I'm sure whomever owned the car got a ticket or two as they couldn't move the vehicle after they disabled it themself by running over the flower bed on rocks.

[fordson major]

we had the same problem a few years back . i welded up a 3/8 plate mail box and except for the twit denting his car with the rebound ,no damage since. it's on a pivoting arm incase something does hit it.

[bonsai jim]

I think the hypertufa would be somewhat short lived because of the elements...

We just moved to the country. I currently have ~8" diameter iron pipe welded to brackets attached to a 6x6 post. They certainly aren't going to hit any home runs with it. I guess they could run over it though.

Other options I've heard of or thought of...

I've heard of embedding a smaller mailbox inside a larger one with concrete.

How about getting one of those playground riding animals on a spring and using that as a base....



jim

[SteveD(TX)]

There's lots of companies that specialize in "vandal resistant" and "vandal proof" mailboxes. Google it and you will find them. Here's one:

http://www.steelmailbox.com/html/ste..._mailboxes.htm

[Ahne Homestead]

Happybluebird I would find out what federal requirements there are on mailboxes before you fabricate a new one. I have been told that if you make a solid non moving mailbox and extra damage or a fatality occurs as a result of your mailbox it becomes "intent to do harm." If you stay within federal guide lines you are safe. I sympathize with you on your dilemma of what to do.
For me it would boil down to a moral decision. On the human side I would see the smashing of my mailbox as vandalism, violation, and a reason for revenge. On the other side is my belief system. It tells me I am not my own. That I am a servant of the most high and my actions reflect back to Him. If I think of this problem in the light of my belief system it is easier for me to know what I should do. Fair and unfair would have nothing to do with it...only what is pleasing in His sight. Carl

[blufford]

Go out and buy several of the cheapest mailboxes and poles you can find and everytime one gets torn down replace it with a new one. Cheap mailboxes aren't as a big a target or challenge to vandals. It could also be one of your family members accidently sliding on the ice into your box so you don't want them hurt. IT DOES MAKE YOU MAD THOUGH!

[BeesNBunnies]

Get some steel fence posts (T posts) and paint them black. Drive them in 2 on each side of the mailbox. Most of this stuff happens at night so they won't be able to see the posts. They are springy enough not to break and probably will cause enough pain to the swinger of the bat(yes it is called mailbox baseball) that they will probably leave it alone. I stopped having mail delivered to my house for another reason....neighbors would go through my mail. I just figure a P.O. Box is more secure. I check mine once a week.

[palani]

Rose

I have a neighbor who has been taking his mailbox back with the mail and replacing it in the AM just before the mail gets delivered. Works for him.

In this area the problem is large farm implements and not vandals.

[happybluebird]

Yes Quint, it is indeed a cowardly act. My dh use to help the old farmer up the road fix his all the time from damage, so I know what you mean there. And I definately know what you mean by a problem getting worse instead of better when you can point a finger at the culprit. I have read stories where the law came down pretty good on the weasles though, so I guess that depends more on the judge. And I suppose that if the judge has ever had his mailbox smashed he would be a little more apt to throw the book at them! Mailbox smashing makes even a patient man mad as a hornet.
lol there was one story called going postal. The victim of the mailbox smashing turned out to be a postman! He laid in wait for the rotten little turds one night and took after them down the road in his old truck with a shotgun! lol The teens got away (with a flat tire and some bullet holes in the car that they had to explain to dear old dad), but the mailman got the license plate number. The sheriff paid them a visit and arrested them. I forget what kind of punishment they got, but I bet that ended their mailbox smashing careers. Nothing like getting the sh*t scared out of you by a ticked off mailman!

[gspig]

Get a wildlife camera. Once you catch him on film, turn him in. Let the law officials get him. Once you know his name and address, sue him for the damaged mailboxes and pain and suffering. I think a big hit in the wallet will cure this person.

[Manny]

After many mailboxes I drove a T post in the ground next to the road. I attached the mailbox to a piece of 1x6 wood as a platform and attached a 8" piece of PVC pipe, as a socket, vertically to that platform. I now place the PVC mailbox socket over the top of the T post in the morning and remove it after the mail is delivered. When the mail box is not on the post I store it behind a bush near but out of sight of the road. I have to go to the road every morning to get my newspaper so I'm not making an extra trip just to set up the mailbox. It's worked for me for two years now with the same old crummy mailbox----I think I'll get me a new one this year or next. Remove the aggravation and do it cheap!

[SpaceCadet12364]

As a rural mail carrier associate (one or two days a week until I get picked up full time).....PLEASE don't booby-trap your mailboxes with bees or big rocks, and other nasty stuff like that.

You can't do anything to the approach for your mailbox that would hinder/prevent the carrier from delivering your mail. If you do put large rocks, deep chuck holes, etc in the way...the carrier does NOT have to deliver your mail, and you will have to drive in to the Post Office to pick it up yourself.

The best ones I have seen over the last few months of delivering mail, the one mentioned about the large metal pipe with the mailbox inside seems about the sturdiest, without going to the expense of building a brick/stone enclosure for the box.

You could try checking with your local Postmaster, they may know of someone local that could build you a nice sturdy box that would work.

I copied this off the USPS website..took a bit to find, hope it helps.
(oh, if you tend to get a lot of packages, keep that in mind when you are trying to decide how big of a replacement box to get! Thanks!)

***********
Postal Policies for Curbside Mailboxes?

Installation of curbside mailboxes must meet specific construction standards, which can be obtained from the local Post Office™ facility. For United States Postal Service STD-7, Mailboxes, City and Rural Curbside you may write to:

Delivery & Customer SVCS Equipment, Engineering, US Postal Service
8403 Lee HWY
Merrifield VA 22082-8101

The following are a few of the federal regulations that apply when installing a curbside mailbox:

* Important: Before installing, moving or replacing your mailbox or mailbox support, you will need to contact your local Post Office.
* All mailboxes must be approved by the United States Postal Service®.
* Custom made mailboxes will be approved by the Postmaster if they meet established standards.
* Name put on box should be at least one inch high.
* Private mailbox located near the street next to a curb.
* Generally, the boxes should be installed with the bottom of the box at a vertical height of between 3.5 and 4 feet from the road surface.
o Because of varying road and curb conditions and other factors, you should contact the postmaster or mailperson before setting up or replacing your mailboxes and supports
* A mailbox with a lock must have a slot large enough to accommodate customer's daily mail volume.
* Advertising on a mailbox or the supporting post of the mailbox is prohibited.

[agmantoo]

Buy 2 mailboxes, one regular size and one very large. Place the smaller inside the larger box and pour the space created between the two boxes with premixed concrete and let it cure. Now mount the box.

[Oxankle]

My mailbox is a piece of 8 inch oil field pipe with a back and front welded on, a slope cut in front and a door welded inside the slope so that it is protected from rain and missiles.

It is mounted on a piece of 6 inch pipe and set 3 feet into concrete.

I believe it was hit the first year I was in this house because I found scuff marks on the paint. A month or two ago the postman told me that vandals had ruined every mail box in the area, for two miles on either side of me.

I have also found demolished pumpkins scattered in the road where kids threw pumpkins at the mailbox out the back of pickups as they went down the road. So far they have not tried rifle fire.

If I ever have to replace it I am going to mount the pole on an X of steel I beams about three feet long, just long enough to spear an engine if the box is driven over.
Ox

[Elizabeth M]

Get a P.O. Box.

Getting rid of my mailbox was the best thing I could have done. I just put up a small reflective sign in the front yard with my address on it in case of emergency.

Also, I didn' t like the idea of my credit card/bank statements being on a deserted road for anyone to pick out of the mailbox.

Eliz