Protecting the Mailbox

[Handyman]

Yes you can...

There is a new mail box down the road from me that has a cage around the outside that looks like was made from rebar and welded together.

It looks like that just bent the bars to conform the box like a horse shoe and then welded at the bottom... Looks good.

[jimbrown]

Yep that is the way it is here you can build any kind of box you want as long as the contract carrier likes it. Only problem I have is no one wants the contract so i got to drive 20 miles to town to get my mail.

[GAFarmer]

Actually, I finally found the local regs and it's different here. In the county, it is OK as long as the postman approves it. However, in town (as far as I can find) it has to be US postal approved and is supposed to be able to break off if hit hard. So, I guess that those brick surrounds should be illegal, but I still see them around. That re-enforces a previous point I made on another post somewhere:

Zoning Officials + $$$ = Anything you want

[Bird]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
I guess that those brick surrounds should be illegal, but I still see them around.

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I know they have made them illegal in some places, but I each time they have done that, they "grandfathered" the existing ones; i.e., just can't build any new ones.

[Logan]

In GA new mailboxes on state and us highways must be the break away type. On other roads you can put up about anything.

[GAFarmer]

Hmmm, thanks Logan. I do believe I may have to have a little longer talk with the zoning officials....

[thintze]

I did big and small mailbox filled with concrete at my previous residence. We and our neighbors had the mailboxes smashed three times and sheriff couldn't catch the culprits. If you do this it takes three 50# bags of concrete and a strong neighbor to help lift it onto the post.

I moved from that mailbox 6 years ago but recently I drove past and noticed that all the neighbors boxes were smashed and the one I put together was turned slightly. None after it were smashed! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] I guess I got my revenge!!!

[Pat]

I was just fantasizing about designing a rig to mount to your mailbox that would catch the club/bat and latch in such a fashion that you couldn't get it free my normal means. The "borrowed" bat might be suitable for dusting for prints.

Alternatively: There are motion and vibration detectors that are used in automotive alarm systems. One of these mounted at the back of the box wired to a remote camera aimed to get the license of the car carrying the idiots would provide evidence to be used to halt the problem. Previoius damage should show the direction of travel of the vehicle so you can remote the camera far enough away to get the lisc and maybe a shot of the bozo too.

I smile thinking about a full automatic paint ball gun firing on the vehicle carrying the club swinger. A simpler version would be a spray nozzle like used on spray rigs and a quart of paint in a pressurized container with an electric solenoid valve to fire when the shock sensor detected the club hit. Fast drying paint is recommended. Now then how do you explain to your dad how the interior and exterior of the family sedan got painted bright day glow fluorescent orange along with you and your two buddies who were going to the library to study?

I recall that the son of my dad's boss attached a chain to a mailbox and to the back bumper of his dads car. Strong mailbox! Bumper pulled half off of the car!

Pat

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[egon]

Make that paint balls filled with mercaptan. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Egon, LIke every so many rounds you want a tracer every so many rounds could be fast drying paint. Mercaptan is OK but don't knock putricine or cadaverine (typically found in rotting corpses.) Even butyric acid (responsible for the smell of rancid butter) is suitable.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]