Mailbox post and mount

[seagravedriver]

We got a new mailbox for our home. A very serious, heavy mailbox. About 90 pounds, as it comes with a mail slot as well as a place for packages.

That being said, the question is how to mount it. On the side of the road it will be on, it is soft dirt and sand, and we get a lot of rain in Western WA. If one was to walk on the unpaved side of the road, you can have the ground break away and you just kinda slide into the ditch. We are wondering how to mount it. We have a piece of 4"x4" square stock, (not sure about the exact name, but it is hollow). As people use our driveway to turn around in, they have backed into it, it knocks it over, and we end up tilting it back up. Now it's propped up with 2x4s.

I don't think there is anyway we can make a big enough base to be secure, as it will lose against a vehicle, and be hard to pick up.

"Break away" bolts.

a deeper base, and be stuck with a 2x4 backing it up?

Dig deep and wide and mount it so they know they hit something solid?

We have gotten notes on it saying they were sorry and there were not able to pick it up, or most just drive off. I did reposition it, so there is much less of a chance for them to hit it. Any thoughts?

 

[3baygarage]

Paging Drivesitfar

 

[DieselNut88]

I built mine with 4x6 posts. Set 3' in the ground. Someone ran the old one over at speed. This one will damage a vehicle. I would set the post 4' in the ground. Not concrete so replacement is easier.

 

[kwschumm]

What's on the other side of the ditch?

We had the same issue in western OR. Road, ditch, then a semi steep rise.

I buried a stainless steel pipe on the rise with some bushings inside to hold a slightly smaller pipe. Welded a horizontal arm to the smaller pipe, stuck it in the buried pipe, and voila - a swinging arm mailbox. Shaped the top of the outer pipe so when knocked out of the way it would swing back and self-center again. Mounted a mailbox to the arm which extended over the ditch to a USPS approved height and distance from roadway.

The first steel mailbox post lasted six months before it was knocked down. The swinging post has worked for 20 years.

 

[seagravedriver]

kwschumm, any chance of a pic? I have an idea what you are saying, but not positive.

Across the street is a pasture with livestock, and a great owner.

Thanks, and good luck with your master race of gophers.......

 

[seagravedriver]

148 pound mailbox, to be exact. http://fortknoxmailbox.com/pages/senator.htm

 

[kwschumm]

Sorry, no pics, I've moved to WA since then.

My mailbox was nothing like 148 lbs, maybe 50 lbs, I'm sure it wouldn't have handled that weight. With something that heavy you'd need a beefy swiveling arm that could handle that weight cantilevered out far enough to cross the ditch.

 

[seagravedriver]

drivesitfar. very cool. Many thanks to you all.

 

[matt_i]

The coolest mailbox I ever saw was somewhere in Northeast Iowa, it was something around an anchor chain for a ship, but it had been laid out in an arc and all the links welded. I don't recall the post exactly (maybe the chain was set in concrete?) but it was around 25' back from where the mailbox was. I'm guessing the wash from highway snowplows laid out a bunch of conventional boxes and the farmer got creative.

 

[kbs2244]

Just remember there are both Federal and local (township) rules on mail box placement.
A review of them may save you some trouble later.

 

[seagravedriver]

Just remember there are both Federal and local (township) rules on mail box placement.
A review of them may save you some trouble later.

THANKS! We checked, and spoke the our letter carrier before we bought this. He thinks they are great, and reminded us of the height thing.

41 to 45 inches, and a bit of a setback.

 

[Burl]

Just remember as far as mounting the mailbox, a 2" dia. pipe or a 4X4 post should be the maximum mount. People who build "car-proof" or baseball bat proof mailboxes have never seen the results of a 16 year old who accidentally blows a tire on their Cavalier and runs into the mailbox. Its easy to replace a mailbox, but plastic surgery (or worse) can be lifelong. Also, in some states, massive mailboxes can be illegal according to the DOT.

 

[gahrajmahal]

For something sturdy and moveable start with a basket ball weighted base. Dig out a small pad with a rim around it. Use something that drained good for the base, then crushed limestone on top of that. Then weld up a horizontal post or attach a decorative wood one to get the mAilbox out to the road in the right place. If a vehicle hits it it will just move out of the way. You might have to rebuild it, but should solve most of the challenges.

 

[seagravedriver]

Burl, we know what you mean! The next door neighbor's son had been driving a few months, and then got a bit nicer of a car. Days after he got it, he nailed a mailbox down the street as he reached for something. 4x4 post, it broke, the mailbox hit the windshield, caused some damage, but made quite an impression. It is going to be a 4x4 post.

 

[drivesitfar]

Seagrave: I just saw your thread and noticed 3BAY was paging me. on my thread I've got a few more pictures of the cedar mailbox stand i built for mine and my 3 neighbor's new security mailboxes.

here's a picture and I had a little culvert under it that i poured about a ton of concrete in the hole to hold that drain. it's working find and I think it looks ok too.

 

[crazyjim30]

One of my customers got tired of people knocking his mailbox down so he made his own out of I-Beam and 1/2 inch plate. I've seen tank obstacles that were less sturdy.

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