I don't have the problem yet, but rumors say its only a matter of time since I had a high school that just opened less than a mile from my mailbox. My neighbors have this happen all the time, from what I hear. I dunno why it hasn't happened to me yet. Perhaps they know I'm armed. :
If you know any good solutions, I'm taking suggestions so I will be ready when it does happen.
One thing I have read about is getting a large mailbox and putting a small mailbox inside it, with concrete filling the gap. I figure that's gonna be an arm breaker.
I have also seen where someone took and old Chebby Turbo-400 tranny and made the front pump cover hinge somehow to make his mailbox. It's been years and that box was taken down sometime ago so I do not know how it may have held up to bashing.

Chris

 

Sink a 4x4 in deep and cement it in place really well. Then go with the little box in a big box with cement insulation. If they are moving when they hit it....ouch!

 

Stamey, My folks had the same problem in B.C. , Canada. Punk kids with bats driving by and wham, pieces and mail everywhere. Finally found a product up here called Tuff Box ???(I think) Anyway I think this thing is 8 guage steel with a 3 inch pipe in the bottom that you sink into the ground or it comes with a plate to anchor to concrete. The selling feature is a forklift parked on top of it without any damage to the box. About three months after they put it in they heard a WHAM sound at about midnight followed by a lot of swearing and crying. Dad got outside in time to see 2 teenage boys, one crying and holding his mangled bat and the other still trying to figure out why the other wasn't in the back of the truck anymore. Works great. Hope I could help.

 

Put the box inside a big one with concrete insulation. Then use a steel pole.

 

Most of us around here build a small brick house over the top of the mailbox. If the brick matches the house it looks real nice.

I still remember the mailbox thing from my younger days, except we skipped the ball bats and used M-80's. No mailbox was safe

Don~

 

Here in Ky. if you put up any thing bigger than a 4X4 and a standard box it's illeagle [ sp ]
The law doesn't enforce it very often though.
The reason is that if any one runs over it and it won't break away and gets hurt YOU are liable for them.
I've known a couple that the law made them take thier custom boxes down or get wrote up and the fine was going to be pretty stiff if I remember right.
Ain't that just crazy?
I have known some that were sued because of this and lost in court.
And had to pay all the medical bills of the guy that hit thier box.

I also live in a rural area and have the same prob.

I now use the Rubbermaid mailbox.
You mount the base to the pole and the box snaps onto that.
When they hit it it just snapps off and falls.
Then you just snap it back on.

I've been doing this about 10 years and have only replaced 1 box.
Then it only broke the door hinge.

Hope this helps.


: Eddie : 8)

 

Second to what Bulthisl said. I spoke to the postmaster the other day and he said the same thing. I guess we are going to just take the darn thing down and get a PO box in town.

Did catch one bunch of little punks when they ran off in the ditch a little too far. :

Ed

 

Since I don't know about the laws and regulations in the US my method may not be applicable. Over here we have the mailboxes mounted on the house walls, or sunk into the house wall.
How far away from the street can you post your mailbox? Maybe it would be viable to mount it just out of reach for the basher, so that they would have to fall into the ditch to reach it or so?


AlpineRAM

 

Alpine in the towns and cities, the mail box is on the house. The mailman walks the route. In the country, the mailboxes have to be at the end of the driveway, on the shoulder of the road. The mail is dropped off by car. Another problem is after a heavy, wet snowfall, the big plow trucks can push the snow at a force that the snow knocks the mail box off the post.

I recommend getting a plastic mailbox and mounting it so the box will come off before enuff force is there to crack it. If something knocks it off, then just go pop it back on. Most areas do have guidlines as the box is located on the "right of way". You wouldn't want to be sitting in a court room explaining the mailbox construction after one goes through somebody's windshield, when it should have bounced off. Besides, is it worth injuring and maiming a 16 year old, because his parents have better things to do than supervise?

 

Don’t know if this will help or not, but in Texas if you live on a “state maintained road” (US, State or FM) the rules are enforced. Also in most cases the state will supply the break-a- way post and mount your box for you. But on county roads you’re on your own. I live on the later, so I have found that a Telephone pole set in the ground only 1and-½ feet (no concrete) will not withstand the impact of being run over. It will fall over but sure does make it easy to see who the punk that is running over all the mail boxes in the area. It leaves a nice V shape in the front bumper.

 

Maybe if our money wasn't spent on salt and plows, we could have that too. Wehave people here, in the North half of the state, that get spoken to occasionally, trying to keep snowmobilers from crossing there drives. It's all fun til someone loses their head.

 

I'm not sure of the legality of this fix (after seeing the above discussion) for stopping mailbox bashers, but the best solution I've seen was a mail box that was covered with a custom re-bar cage.

 

[quote author=Redleg link=board=10;threadid=20556;start=0#msg192981 date=1065359426]
Maybe if our money wasn't spent on salt and plows, we could have that too. Wehave people here, in the North half of the state, that get spoken to occasionally, trying to keep snowmobilers from crossing there drives. It's all fun til someone loses their head.
[/quote]
If you are talking about wire across the drive. Yeah that is crossing the line. But maybe leaving the yard rake lying around would be a different story. I’ll bet that would gum up the works on a snowmobile. But the question that I have is if there is that much snow on the ground then what would it mater if they ride on the lawn?

 

The best way I found to keep snowmobilers out of my yard was to move from NW PA to Texas. Haven't seen one snowmobiler yet in my yard.

On topic: in the subdivision I live in, all the mailboxes are inserted into a brick structure. It's pretty common in the neighborhoods around here. Never seen anyone stupid enough to take a bat to one of them yet.

 

[quote author=bigfoot link=board=10;threadid=20556;start=0#msg192986 date=1065360274]
[quote author=Redleg link=board=10;threadid=20556;start=0#msg192981 date=1065359426]
Maybe if our money wasn't spent on salt and plows, we could have that too. Wehave people here, in the North half of the state, that get spoken to occasionally, trying to keep snowmobilers from crossing there drives. It's all fun til someone loses their head.
[/quote]
If you are talking about wire across the drive. Yeah that is crossing the line. But maybe leaving the yard rake lying around would be a different story. I’ll bet that would gum up the works on a snowmobile. But the question that I have is if there is that much snow on the ground then what would it mater if they ride on the lawn?
[/quote]
Some areas get enuff riders to wear it down and most have carbides and studs. Problem is the law says they have to ride the ditch. Some people make this part of their yard. They will put up snow fence so the snowmobiles will have to go into the road. Or, they put out "ornanments" (inteded to disrupt snowmobiles) that aren't so easy to see.