How to make an indestructable mailbox?

Question

I was thinking something along the lines of 1/8 inch thick plate steel for the box, welded and lag bolted to a steel ibeam sunk about 8 feet with concrete poured around the base.

Anyone else have ideas?
Our box and pole has been stolen/smashed/whatever more than 30 times in the past 5 years.

Never been able to catch anyone.

I once chained a rubber mailbox (the ones that are supposed to be indestructable) to the telephone pole and it stayed for a while, until one morning when I walked out to a pile of goop melted around the chain....

Anyway, if anyone thinks there might be liability issues from making such a strong box, what about cars that crash into telephone poles? I've never seen a utility company sued over that. Plus mailboxes are federal property I believe.

Anyway, if there's still a liability issue about that couldn't I just have guard rail put around the box?

I'm in the country. People use sledgehammers on brick mailboxes. I don't care if a car bends the mailbox. I'll have them pay for it. If they're lucky their liability insurance will cover it lol.

Answer 1

What is the big attraction to destroying mailboxes? The kids around here either bash them with a baseball bat as they drive by or their latest trick is to blow them up. Most of us have encased them in slump block covered with brick, stone or stucco with locking boxes that the mailperson has the key for. I think your idea will work, but in our area you cannot install a guard rail around the box due to some kind of code. So, far the kids have moved on to other neighborhood's and left the encased boxes alone.

Answer 2

We simply mixed up some red dye, put it in Ziplock bags, and taped it to the sides of our mailbox. Spray painted the outsides of the Ziplocks. After the first incident of people coming by with bats joyriding and taking down mailboxes, we never had a problem again..... Perhaps because bright blue faces and sides of car, clothing, etc were a little difficult to disguise. Make sure the bags are full enough that when struck they will burst, and that the lock end is facing the street. Since it is usually the same people doing it, they have avoided our place like the plague ever since. Good luck!

Answer 3

I knew someone once that bought the giant mailbox, and a regular size mailbox. He took the door off the regular mail box and put it inside the giant one. He then filled the inside with concrete. So looking at it you thought it was a regular mailbox. He told me that one day he found a broken bat by the box, so I guess it worked. I also knew a guy in high school who loved to bust up mail boxes. One day he came to school with a broken wrist. He said he had hit a mailbox with an aluminum bat and it didn't budge, I suspect that he hit the type of box I just described.

Answer 4

First, the mailbox itself, needs to be one approved for use by the post office. Pretty much your own imagination after that. I had one in Florida made from a piece of 3" pipe for the post. Buried and concreted 3' into the ground. Had a custom made (by me) steel container built around it with just the door accessible for the mailman. It lasted while others were totalled out from bats.

Answer 5

You might think about stainless steel unless you want to paint it every other year or so. Even an I beam will bend or break if a car hits it, but you'll see the car there the next morning.
I don't know of any liability issues.
I'd probably go for brick. It can be damaged but it takes about as much as steel, and, from experence, you don't want to try batting on one of those.

Answer 6

What I did was put metal(2") posts on each side sunk in concreat(for the smashers) then wraped the posts with barb wire so a person would have to remove it to get to the mail box to pull the box up(for stealers) then put speed bumps where the mail man drives

Answer 7

No mail box is indestructable. It will just require more thought and effort to destroy it. Consider a light weight mail box you can bring in at night and back out in the morning.

Answer 8

Give up, me and my mates will find a way to destroy the mail boxes you love and treasure.

You are dealing with experienced people here. We don't do this every weekend for no reason.

Answer 9

also you need to think about blast vents so they don't blow up the box. most rural carriers will deliver to non standard mail boxes, ask your carrier about it.

Answer 10

roger that