Mailboxes: To Lock or Not To Lock

[graylocks]

a drunk/distracted driver took out my curbside mailbox this morning and sped away. box and post completely destroyed.

i will get a box large enough to hold small box deliveries which is the size i've had for a while but i'm trying to decide if i want to get a locking mailbox. is it like the TSA locks and there's a universal key mail carriers have with them? is a locking box screaming Hey, Something in here possibly worth stealing?

[Bernie]

I would but my money into a steal post and lots of concrete.
Maybe a nice vinyl post cover.

[PeterW]

Nope, USPS carriers will not unlock individual mailboxes. You can get a mailbox which opens normally but drops the incoming mail into a lower, locked compartment.

[Speedy]

Bernie wrote:
I would but my money into a steal post and lots of concrete.
Maybe a nice vinyl post cover.

Yep, by some railroad rail, double it up and sink it in concrete. Best if it only sticks out two feet so the vehicle gets stuck on top of it.

[srf1957]

Bernie wrote:
I would but my money into a steal post and lots of concrete.
Maybe a nice vinyl post cover.

.

Then you are liable for the damage to the vehicle that accidentally hits it .

Mailboxes must be placed 6 to 8 inches away from the curb; the slot or door must be 41 to 45 inches from the ground. Curbside mailbox posts should be buried less than 24 inches deep and made from wood no larger than 4 inches high by 4 inches wide.Feb 6, 2018
A Guide to USPS Mailbox Regulations - Mailboss
https://www.mailboss.com › guide-usps-mailbox-regulations

[Speedy]

srf1957 wrote:
[quote=Bernie]
I would but my money into a steal post and lots of concrete.
Maybe a nice vinyl post cover.

.

Then you are liable for the damage to the vehicle that accidentally hits it .

Mailboxes must be placed 6 to 8 inches away from the curb; the slot or door must be 41 to 45 inches from the ground. Curbside mailbox posts should be buried less than 24 inches deep and made from wood no larger than 4 inches high by 4 inches wide.Feb 6, 2018
A Guide to USPS Mailbox Regulations - Mailboss
https://www.mailboss.com › guide-usps-mailbox-regulations
Ok, so put your rails six inches on either side of the regulation box.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

I have a locking mailbox. My neighbor said she didn't realize it had a lock until she put some mis-directed mail.

It's not as secure as some. It has a slot that is too small for an adult's hand, but that limits the size of packages that can be put in. The lock is very simple, and I would guess it's trivial to pick for someone with intermediate lock picking skills. The metal is not very strong, so it would not resist a decent pry bar very long.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gibraltar-Ma.../303490318

The next step up is a box that has a tilting mechanism like the old corner mail deposit boxes. This will still not resist a determined thief.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Architectural-M.../999918502

[DeusxMac]

PeterW wrote:
Nope, USPS carriers will not unlock individual mailboxes.

I don't think that's entirely correct. I've seen plenty like these all across the country...



(unless you're not considering these individually-locked boxes to be "individual mailboxes")

[Buzz]

Speedy wrote:
[quote=srf1957]
[quote=Bernie]
I would but my money into a steel post and lots of concrete.
Maybe a nice vinyl post cover.

.

Then you are liable for the damage to the vehicle that accidentally hits it .

Mailboxes must be placed 6 to 8 inches away from the curb; the slot or door must be 41 to 45 inches from the ground. Curbside mailbox posts should be buried less than 24 inches deep and made from wood no larger than 4 inches high by 4 inches wide.Feb 6, 2018
A Guide to USPS Mailbox Regulations - Mailboss
https://www.mailboss.com › guide-usps-mailbox-regulations
Ok, so put your rails six inches on either side of the regulation box.
SIL, recently retired, was a USPS mailperson for 40+ years, and she, and pretty much everyone else in her neighborhood uses 4" - 4.5" concrete filled galvanized pipe to hold up their mailboxes. They are also mostly sunk into brickwork, or planters filled with concrete that is 18" - 24" high from the sidewalk. The posts themselves are sunk in concrete about 24" deep underground. There was a rash of mailbox bashing there back in the 90's, so the collective wisdom made it more difficult on the vandals.

The local postal peeps went along w/ the program, but they also provided beautification guidelines that were integrated into the neighborhood so that the mailboxes wouldn't become industrial eyesores. There was sort of an unspoken competition for who could create the best looking, yet industrial strength mailboxes. The mailbox bashers had to find another neighborhood.

So, as Speedy says, be creative.
==

[JoeH]

DeusxMac wrote:
[quote=PeterW]
Nope, USPS carriers will not unlock individual mailboxes.

I don't think that's entirely correct. I've seen plenty like these all across the country...



(unless you're not considering these individually-locked boxes to be "individual mailboxes")
That type of multiple mailbox has a back panel that opens and allows the postal worker to access all boxes at once. I forget if they get a key or if USPS installs one of their locks on the panel.