Mail "drop box?"

[BellyUpFish]

Any of you guys live at the end of a long driveway?

I'm about to be living at the end of a quasi-long driveway and I get quite a bit of packages from the Internet. Easily 75% of my total purchases are online.

So, I'm thinking about putting a larger drop box for the package deliveries.

Has anyone here tackled this? Just looking for some ideas.

 

[johnoutdoors]

As a UPS man, I say thank you. In the summer, I have no problems coming up to the house. In a winter like this its still happening. But long driveways in the snow are murder. We have aluminum body, rear wheel drive trucks that are long (mine's 27'4"). When the plow guy comes and uses his 7' blade that then colapses back 6" on either side I can't get up the longer ones without getting stuck, and forget turning around. If we get stuck or leave ruts in your lawn, we get written up.

That said, even something as simple as a plastic storage tote works well. If you want to be more elaborate, wooden boxes with shed or salt box roofs are good too. If you go bigger, you may consider some sort of flag system, either a mailbox style or just a piece of vinyl flagging tape. That way I can flip the flag or hang the tape outside of the box to let you know that I've been there without you having to stop every time you go by. Some of my customers have used the garbage can sheds because they get large items and it was the easiest solution for them. Good luck and thanks again.

 

[aka rotten]

My drive s almost 1/2 mile from house,ups delivers to my door,he knows i,m somewhat disabled and we dont have snow problem here n central Ga.u.s. Mail lady brings to house also .only time i go to mailbox is when shes off or to pick up newspaper.Paul

 

[Richard Cranium]

Usps, Put in locking mail boxes for us and two big package lock boxes.

 

[csp]

USPS lock boxes aren't applicable for UPS or FedEx deliveries.

I pulled a UPS truck up a narrowly plowed, snow covered hill three nights ago that he admittedly had no business going down. The alternative was a 1/4 mile walk to deliver and he mentioned that a dropbox would sure be nice.

 

[BellyUpFish]

Fortunately we don't get much snow, but I will have a gate, and don't expect the driver to pull to my house, so I'm thinking of alternate ways.

I run a web based business and sometimes have quite a few packages both leaving and coming.

I think I'll build a box and just hope no one tampers with it.

 

[LB-1911]

Any of you guys live at the end of a long driveway?

I'm about to be living at the end of a quasi-long driveway and I get quite a bit of packages from the Internet. Easily 75% of my total purchases are online.

So, I'm thinking about putting a larger drop box for the package deliveries.

Has anyone here tackled this? Just looking for some ideas.

Fortunately we don't get much snow, but I will have a gate, and don't expect the driver to pull to my house, so I'm thinking of alternate ways.

I run a web based business and sometimes have quite a few packages both leaving and coming.

I think I'll build a box and just hope no one tampers with it.

One version @
http://www.frugal-living-freedom.com/drop-box.html

Get a drone......

 

[6t7gto]

Put a lock on it and leave it unlocked.
The delivery person can lock it after depositing the packages.
You unlock it...retrieve the packages and leave it unlocked for the next cycle.
Anchor the box so no one can steal the whole enchilada.

 

[kbs2244]

If you are in a rural area I am sure you have lots of those little shelters for the kids to wait for the school bus in.
They vary all over the map on size, shape and looks.
Build an average looking one with a locking door and a window with the sill about 4 feet off the floor.
That will give you a regular looking drop off that doesn't scream "good stuff inside."

 

[Dustball]

Put a lock on it and leave it unlocked.
The delivery person can lock it after depositing the packages.
You unlock it...retrieve the packages and leave it unlocked for the next cycle.
Anchor the box so no one can steal the whole enchilada.

I had a similar thought.

Get a small jobsite box (paint it black so it's not so obvious) and pour a concrete footing for it as an anchor. Put a padlock next to it with a note saying lock it when a package is dropped into it.

 

[BellyUpFish]

I had a similar thought.

Get a small jobsite box (paint it black so it's not so obvious) and pour a concrete footing for it as an anchor. Put a padlock next to it with a note saying lock it when a package is dropped into it.

I thought of this same thing today while trying to decide what route to take.

Ideally, I'd like to hide it behind the entrance fence, which should work.

 

[bad_idea]

What if you get several deliveries in a day? The first driver drops off and locks box. The next driver scratches head.

I order a lot of stuff Amazon Prime. I have received orders dropped off at three separate times in the same day. All from UPS. You would think they would send them on the same truck at the same time.

I'm thinking some kind of one way door on the box. They can drop the packages in, but can't get them back out. Like a vending machine. Or like a locking mail box on steroids.

 

[Zeke]

What if you get several deliveries in a day? The first driver drops off and locks box. The next driver scratches head.

I order a lot of stuff Amazon Prime. I have received orders dropped off at three separate times in the same day. All from UPS. You would think they would send them on the same truck at the same time.

I'm thinking some kind of one way door on the box. They can drop the packages in, but can't get them back out. Like a vending machine. Or like a locking mail box on steroids.

Trap door like the postal boxes where you drop off mail. Just make it large enough for most big boxes and make it tough to defeat like having that blind door at 90º to the outside door.

 

[johnoutdoors]

The combination lock is an easy one for UPS, I don't know about the others. I know a quite few of my customers gate codes and a few garage codes. There is a way that I can have the office put it into the DIAD (our scanner) so that guys that cover for me can use them too. All of the gate codes are in there, but none of the garage codes. You can give a combo to UPS and we will be able to unlock it if we're not first.

 

[BellyUpFish]

I order a lot of stuff Amazon Prime. I have received orders dropped off at three separate times in the same day. All from UPS. You would think they would send them on the same truck at the same time..

I've done the same. Multiple packages from UPS all at random times of the day.

Considered a combo lock and giving the drivers the code..

The combination lock is an easy one for UPS, I don't know about the others. I know a quite few of my customers gate codes and a few garage codes. There is a way that I can have the office put it into the DIAD (our scanner) so that guys that cover for me can use them too. All of the gate codes are in there, but none of the garage codes. You can give a combo to UPS and we will be able to unlock it if we're not first.

That was my next question - how do I get this info into the UPS/FEDEX/USPS system?

 

[LB-1911]

Specify Delivery Instructions.
Request specific delivery instructions (e.g. leave at side door) or provide a security access code for your UPS driver if you live in a gated community or secured apartment building.

More @
https://www.ups.com/content/us/en/tracking/tracking/umc_tracking_help.html

 

[BellyUpFish]

The combination lock is an easy one for UPS, I don't know about the others. I know a quite few of my customers gate codes and a few garage codes. There is a way that I can have the office put it into the DIAD (our scanner) so that guys that cover for me can use them too. All of the gate codes are in there, but none of the garage codes. You can give a combo to UPS and we will be able to unlock it if we're not first.

So, as a UPS man, what would you be less annoyed with?

If you had a house, behind a gate, that you had ample room to turnaround at..

VS

Using a drop box, just inside a gate (requiring you to open the gate via the code) that you could walk to?

 

[johnoutdoors]

If you have a good driver, he will do it for you. All he has to do is call the office and tell them to put it into CPAD with your address. If not, you can call 1 800 PICK UPS and ask for a call from your local operating center. Once they call you can give them the combo. The other alternative is that he does what we did in the old days and writes it on the truck in sharpie.

 

[johnoutdoors]

I'm not annoyed with either. The biggest question is what do you want? The driveways that annoy me are the ones where the owners insist that I can get up the hill covered with 6" of snow.

 

[BellyUpFish]

I'll have to think about that.. I've got two dogs that most UPS men tend to avoid..

 

[johnoutdoors]

That is a bit of a difference. My wife likes my backside in its factory configuration. Do your dogs have run of the whole property? If I can drive in with the doors closed, and you're good with the box not being right at the front door, I have no problem with dogs like that. Many of my customers have invisible fences for their dogs, and some of them (the ones who own the nasty dogs) find their goodies in a plastic bag about 2' on the safe side of that line.

 

[BellyUpFish]

Yeh, the dogs roam freely.. Neither of them aggressive, but they do the whole "bark bark bark" and one of them is large and the other looks mean. LOL

I think I might do the box thing.

 

[smokey0810]

Something as simple as a large, heavy duty rubbermaid tote with some pavers at the bottom will work. I'd much prefer to drop them at the end of a driveway with a gate code, than to enter the code, drive up the driveway, deal with dogs, and drive back down....especially in winter. It's much more of a nice convenience for us UPS drivers when customers have this, especially when their are animals involved. I may get along well with your dogs, but the guy covering my run, or running air, might be scared for his life when your dog comes barking...and the line 'he won't bite...' is a crock of b.s. Every dog can and will bite if necessary....If you do put a lock on it and have consistent deliver folks, you can always give them the code to a padlock. I've even got one customer in the country that has a big thick plastic 'truck' type box, and she leaves biscuits in it to feed her dog when we drop off at the house.

 

[onewheat]

My dogs are behind invisible fence and can go to the front edge of the house - that leaves the walk open to the front door/porch.

My question is - how do I get the FedEx guy's truck to quit leaking oil like a sieve on my driveway every time he shows up?

Also - why leave a package in front of the garage door vs the man door or front porch so you run over it when pulling out of the garage?

The UPS guy always gets it right.