Sorry not trying to be a jerk but thats illegal and you can go to jail and have the socks sued off you for making it like that…. We where informed in no uncertain terms by the police if I redid ours with anything other than a wooden post or a pipe not set in concrete that we could and probably would be facing a $5000 fine in an accident or possible jail if the person was injured. Federal law.
What about a swivel arm? A 4*4 with a break away section or a couple of pipes slit together with a 4 or 5 ft arm that swings if hit? That would just swivel around and not get the box if made right.
I had thought about that and will pursue something of that nature in the future but right now finances are tight so Im just going to have to go with what Ive got.
this thread is yet another reason I like my mailbox on the porch. Yes it is a slight inconvenience for the mailman, but having to walk 10 feet each way isn't too hard.....
I agree with you chvy, simular situation with my mailbox. The box was a target for the baseball bat or in one case the driver who just went right over it. My repairs were generally just enough to get the mailman to put mail into the box. The last time it happened I decided that someone will know I was mad. I cemented in a 4" lolly column 3' into the ground. The box was protected by a steel bar in front of the right side (for the batters driving by) and to box was moved closer to a telephone pole. Life has been good since
Growing up we had a rash of mailbox bashings. Our next door neighbor, a retired parole officer, finally had enough of it. He mounted his mailbox on a coffee can that slipped over the 4x4 post. Every morning he would put out the mailbox and every afternoon when the mail came he brought his mailbox in for the night. A lot of extra work but it solved the problem for him.
Im not sure as to a specific law hes talking about but the research I did all led me to believe that if I did anything like that and someone hit my box intentionally or on accident I can be held liable for any damages/injuries. The USPS has a set of guidelines in place for proper mailbox installation to summarize them a 4x4 post or 2" pipe planted no deeper than 2ft and designed in a manner to be easily knocked over should a vehicle contact it so as to not cause harm. Something like that not a quote by any means, but basically theres not much a person can do to prevent their box from being smashed.
If the problem is just the bat-swingers, I like the idea of a "guard" pole close the box to deflect the bat. Paint it the same color as the post and position it so it "disappears". And don't bury it deep. Doesn't need much to stand up to a bat. When I had my accident in February, I took out a cluster of three mailboxes all mounted on 1 4x4. Thank God is wasn't a 12" RR tie buried 6 ft deep and set in concrete as some of you are suggesting. Just sayin.
Rebuilt the mailbox post at the foot of the long steep winding gravel driveway at parents acreage on that rural gravel road in mid '90's. Milled a 6 x 6 x 7 foot White Oak beam from the center of a medium sized tree with the top recently broken out from a storm barely 100 feet up the hill.Mailbox itself is on a 1 x 6 x 24" White Oak C-shaped platform (hollow box beam) that sets flush inside dado's cut in the faces of that beam. Per Post Office regulations (both older brothers worked there,both retired in the past 18 months) the floor of mailbox is something like 39 inches from the ground.Wasn't much fun using post hole diggers down through 3 foot of gravel & clay,but I was a lot younger then..... Have a couple pics on harddrive someplace....
I remember when I was a young lad and our neighbor had his mailbox get hit. This is a case where the mailbox was not in front of his home but was actually around the corner and about 150 yards from the house. So, he had a large pole, larger than electric or telephone poles (don't know where he got it). He set it 3' in the ground and in concrete. End of problem. That thing still sets there today.
Well it lasted almost 4 years... (pictures are on first page)...Then last night.... it took a nice hit...... but still standing... So next week will be more modifications ....
What about a nice size boulder on the grass near that mailbox. Cars and truck usually try to avoid hitting big rocks.
