Mailbox location on a rural road

[Tinhack]

I had to request an address from the PO. They came out and inspected the location to determine the address number based on where I would put the driveway. And since it was a state highway, the transportation department had to come out first to ok the location of the driveway. They then came out and put a metal break-away post in place across from the drive location. I had to use that post to mount my mail box. I also had to have a drainage pipe put under the driveway with concrete rip-rap facing. It had to be inspected by the state. Then, about 10 years later, the state tore it all out when they widened the road. The replacement pipe is smaller but they paved my entrance up to the fence line. I have a 20' entrance to the property but with the flares at the road, it's about 30'. I've needed every bit of that on occasion.

The county couldn't care less. I have a side entrance I put in first so I could get onto the property. The side entrance is off a county road. The front highway access was too rough. There was little or no fence then so I just picked a spot that wouldn't let storm water drain into the property. I put my side entrance there. :confused3:

 

[dougtrr2]

I would place it so I could get the mail without getting out of my vehicle. Since it is a rural road it shouldn't be a big deal to cross over the road, grab the mail, and then turn into your drive.

Any chance you could get the post office to install one of those lock box stations for you and all the neighbors? Keeps your mail secure and packages can be delivered also.

Doug in SW IA

 

[Diggin It]

My box is close to 200' from my driveway. It's where the old driveway was before I moved the driveway. The box is a lot closer to the house than where the new driveway meets the road, so I left it where it was and walk out to it. It's sort of at the crest of a hill so traffic from both ways can see the mail car when stopped.

 

[3Ts]

I live on a paved state highway. The county highway department provides the breakaway post, and we provide the mailbox. They will install the post and mailbox. The emergency crews want the mailbox with big numbers on both sides of the mailbox and "near" the driveway so they can find the house.

Previous place we lived, the post office wanted the mailbox on the side of the driveway since we were the last ones on the route and he used our driveway to turn around.

 

[Frankenkubota]

Every box I see in our area is past the drive not before it. I do not know if that is some kind of requirement or just "the way things are done in these parts" kind of an answer. Since you do not have snow plows to worry about where you are that takes one concern off the table.

Here the same. I put mine before the drive and the gal very nicely asked that i move it over to the other side and put it down low enough so she can reach in!

If it ever stops raining, i'm going to put in a little gravel because when she scoots off, she throws mud all over my white mailbox. I really don't care but, it's amazing you can get a ticket for driving without a seatbelt but the rural carriers can drive their honda whatever from the passenger seat! That takes practice!

 

[TheMan419]

Here the same. I put mine before the drive and the gal very nicely asked that i move it over to the other side and put it down low enough so she can reach in!

If it ever stops raining, i'm going to put in a little gravel because when she scoots off, she throws mud all over my white mailbox. I really don't care but, it's amazing you can get a ticket for driving without a seatbelt but the rural carriers can drive their honda whatever from the passenger seat! That takes practice!

Nothing can stop the mail! Well almost nothing.....

 

[breadtrk]

If a neighbor agrees, put it with theirs. Makes it easier for the mail person and does not tear more property up. 8 of us at one stop around here.

 

[MossRoad]

If a neighbor agrees, put it with theirs. Makes it easier for the mail person and does not tear more property up. 8 of us at one stop around here.

I share a single post with my neighbor's box. A large T, basically. The only problems with multiple mailboxes is it's hard to see the addresses on the side of any of them past the first one. Mailman doesn't care, but pizza delivery person at night has some issues. :laughing:

 

[goeduck]

There are 4 of us who share a common driveway, yet there are 13 mailboxes at the driveway entrance. Houses from side roads, not even near us installed their mailboxes at our driveway before we bought the place for whatever reason. The boxes are not in numerical order and not even in the same sequence (due to being in different roads). Makes for a heck of a confused delivery person.

 

[mapper]

After years of annual mailbox replacement due to vandals with baseball bats, our mail lady let us move it down our driveway near my shop. She just wanted a large enough area to turn around in without backing. Our neighbor who lives back of us and shares our driveway has hers there as well. My mailbox has a rather nice growth of moss and lichens growing on it now that it has been there undisturbed and undamaged for about 15 years now. We have been informed by our current mail lady that we are grandfathered in for that location and if we ever sell the new owners will have to move it back out to the county road.
The county road location puts the mailbox on the edge of a 6' deep ditch in soft and unstable soil. Not the best place to plant a post!