Another neighbor problem.

[Taylortractornut]

Bgott, i just got in a 36 volt air raid siren from a friend. I tried it out today not thinking about the new storn siren in town. I was at the shop and the angle i was at could see my nieghbors running to the storm house. I had to go covince them it was me. It was also hell on the dogs.
I beilve i can get the neighbors to leave lol. Im trying to buy the local cropdusters T-53 Lycoming for a puller project. I try to be respectful when dealing with neighbors, but sometimes we get a neighborhood person that works a a night shift or doesnt work but likes the bass. I saw a Maverick that a neighbor down the road drives. Its a 50 dollar car with a 2000 dollar stereo. I may use a combo deal of train horns and air raid sirens on him lol. Whats suspicious is he drives up and down the road all night like that. Guess hes too afraid his car wont make the hill here. He kept telling me the other day it was a free country and he could ride this dead end road/ my neighbors drive way as much as he wanted. I told him it was a dictatorship that runs this driveway lol.

 

[JerryG]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Bgott, i just got in a 36 volt air raid siren from a friend. I tried it out today not thinking about the new storn siren in town. I was at the shop and the angle i was at could see my nieghbors running to the storm house. I had to go covince them it was me. It was also hell on the dogs. )</font>

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gifThats great, best laugh I've had for quit a while. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif When you get done, come on up and work on a couple of my neighbors. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Taylortractornut]

It sounds just like the town sirens. while they were at work i let it run to full power and thats loud lol. I had to put in ear plugs and thats odd for me. it winds up then then starts over. The next time the crop dusters fly over i may practice. My cousin said he heard it and he lives a mile from my doorstep.
let me list my noise makers: beer can cannon, air raid siren, (air craft engine wih glaspacs, detroit motor with straights sold these 2 items last week.) Air compressor and 1930's jackhammer.

 

[bgott]

I used to have a train horn, it was rather impressive! The only reason I don't declare war is that I don't want to aggravate the neighbors that aren't a public nuisance. With these turds, however, I've got to the point where I can bounce my dog's basketball off of their door over my back fence and catch it on the rebound to get their attention. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

 

[Taylortractornut]

yeah our nieghbors live across trees. My head aches are the ones that ride the roads at night with the bass up. one night the same car road up and down the road with a spot light and bass rattling house windows. I walked out to the dump truck got half a brick and sat on the ditch bank. waited for the little jack lighters. I got the car right in the center of the windshield and that fixed that. I dont mind game hunters like that but stopping in front of a house and shining a million candle power light into my bedroom is a quick way to get chunked.

 

[rback33]

Having spent way more time reading this thread than I should have, it had made me appreciate two things: 1) my nearest neighbor is a mile from my land. 2) my neighnors are good neighbors and we do everything we can to help each other out. Goes with living in the midwest I guess. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Taylortractornut]

most of our neighbors are out of sight and we ll stick ogether but down the road theres a place we call the Commune and alot of folks that live there spoil it for everyone. A few from there broke in my neighbors Anhydrous amonia tank and stole it all winter. The sheriff caught them and one of his containers about 14 miles from here in a meth lab. Out of all the neighbors we have about 40 of them are sorry as buzzard crap. The funny thing is we are spaced out enough to stop some things like last spring my neighbor down the road called sayin some folks were ball battin mail boxes and it gave me enough waring to run out and put a cinder block in my box. It was one of the commune dwellers from down the road. Other than that its pretty quiet.

 

[rback33]

When my wife and I lived on a county blacktop we had a problem with mailbox bashers. I wanted to do something similar. I wanted and oversized box and and partition off an opening on the inside either with wood or PVC pipe or something to put the mail in and fill the rest with concrete. My wife was afraid it just take someone's arm off and never let me do, but who could they tell how they got hurt?

 

[SageBrush]

I know its not a nice thing to do, But.....

Its very easy to fill one box with portland. It only takes one good hit and the bashing stops quick. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I knew of one such mail box, when the "young man" made contact with it, he found himself on the road with the pick up running away at high speed. All the neighbors came out when they heard the impact. No one could help it, we all laughed our butts off when we saw that he would live. Broke the bat in many pieces.

He was local too and we saw the truck so we all reported him to the police. Who charged them. These guys have been bashing boxes and other things for years. No problems since. The teens have passed the story down or something. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I don't know about if its legal or not, it may be a good idea to put a normal box back after it happens. But it sure works well. Its been at least 10 years with no problems.

A steel post near the road on either side of your box will do the same thing. The truck can't swing in at speed with out hitting the post, just paint them yellow. But give enough space for the mail jeep.

 

[Golfgar4]

I agree with everything that you said about this problem.....

BUT! (There's always a BUT, isn't there? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif)

We had a similar problem in our neighborhood a few years ago. Mailboxes were getting run over a couple of times a week. One would get smashed, the property owner would put out a new one, and then in another night or two, it'd get hit again.

My neighbor's got hit 3 times in about a four week period. Well, he said enough is enough. He welded 4 steel pipes together and sunk them into the ground about 6 feet! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Like he said, "Someone trys to run over that mail box and they ain't going anywhere after hitting it!"

A couple of days later, a police officer happened to be driving by and noticed the "modified" mail box. He stopped and talked with my neighbor, and suggested that he remove the "substantial structure". He explained that if someone did try to run over it and was injured, he could be held liable for the injuries and even arrested for endangering public safety, or some such silly charge. And this could all happen even though the person who was injured was in the process of breaking the law by damaging private property.

Well, my neighbor basically said that he'd take his chances and left the mailbox in the ground. Fortunately, the vandals must have noticed it and gotten the message, because they never tried doing anything to it after that! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[OkeeDon]

Guess I was lucky no one got hurt. I had one of those cheapie mail box posts with 2 square aluminum tubes. The local fools ran over it and broke it off at ground level. I drove 2- 1/2" galvanized water pipes into the ground and left them sticking up about 8", then set the aluminum tubes over them. The fact that I had cut the pipes at an angle just made it easier to guide the mailbox tubes over them. Next night, the same fools drove over it again, punctured the tires, spun across the road and got stuck in the soft swale on the other side. Turned out it was a high-dollar 4WD compact pickup with big tires, owned by the son of a local doctor, who apparently thought he was Big Foot. I wandered out while the tow truck was getting him out of the swale and the cops were writing him a citation for destruction of Federal property (the mail box), and just smiled. I doubt they would have found me liable for anything because I had no extra stucture, just what was needed to hold the mailbox up. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Bird]

Where we lived in the country, we were on a county road and you could do most anything you wanted with a mailbox, but if you lived on a state road (farm to market road) as my brother did, the state would send a man out to install a break away pole to mount the mailbox on. That was the only thing you were allowed to have.

 

[Golfgar4]

It's the same in our city. We require that mailboxes meet U.S. Postal regulations and be mounted on wooden posts, usually 4 X 4's.

How do I know this? Because I'm the one who gets to tell the citizen whose mailbox was "damaged" by a snowplow that we will only authorize the re-installation of wooden post.

We don't actively go after citizens that have these brick or real fancy mailboxes. But if something happens to the mailbox, we inform them that they can't rebuild the exact same thing. And if they do, THEN we might consider issuing a citation.

I bet you can guess the kind of responses I get to listen to, can't you? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[SageBrush]

Good points, in my area almost anything goes. As a farmer I would use the same thing I put around fuel tanks, building corners and driveways. Just a short steel yellow painted bollard filled with concrete if the problem came up again. The same things the park service marks roads/ditches etc..

If you want to get really smart, just mount a camera in one of those sealed boxes, like hunters use. Turn it on at night about when the bashing happens most often. A picture is worth a thousand words and most of the time these type of people don't remove their plates. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Send the picture to the police with details. Your post master could help too. Those fines and community service may help them understand you don't like replacing mail boxes. I've seen lots of steel mail box stands that are fully protected by tube steel around here with 4 or more boxes. There is some commercial heavy steel boxes too. Those are USPS approved, so perfectly legal on non-highways. I just live on a regular county road.

The breakaway type makes sense for those that can't stay on the road. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I saw a overhead high way sign knocked down by a big truck, it sheared off perfect. Closed the four lane for 11 hours too. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Inspector507]

Around here, it was "common knowledge" that a mailbox post could be no stronger than a 4x4, Federal Regs.
Well, I just found that to be untrue...........

From the USPS:
<font color="blue"> 2.6Mailbox Post

The post or other support for a curbside mailbox must be neat and of adequate strength and size. The post may not represent effigies or caricatures that tend to disparage or ridicule any person. The box may be attached to a fixed or movable arm.

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