Mailbox location on a rural road

[Oaktree]

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!

Why does the post office care which side of the driveway your mailbox is on? I get that they'd want it at a height that matches the window of the carrier's vehicle, but the other part I don't get. It's not like you get so much snow in N.C. that keeping access clear should be a problem.
Mine has been before the driveway everywhere I've lived for the past 45+ years and the PO's never complained.

 

[ruffdog]

From the usps site:

Here are some helpful guidelines to follow when placing your mailbox:
Position your mailbox 41″ to 45″ from the road surface to the bottom of the mailbox or point of mail entry.
Place your mailbox 6″ to 8″ back from the curb. If you do not have a raised curb, contact your local postmaster for guidance.
Put your house or apartment number on the mailbox.
If your mailbox is on a different street from your house or apartment, put your full street address on the box.

 

[jaxs]

Even hipsters fresh out of bright lights should quickly realize why rural mailboxes should placed a few yards past owner's private drive. Life long country curmudgeons know but like going against the grain. Here's why. People often wait in their drive for mail delivery. When carrier approach's box she see's patron getting out of car or stepping to edge of road and pull's over to hand patron mail. If person in drive is a motorist pulled over using phone,changing a diaper or such the carrier can usually tell by their reaction so she pull's past them, throw's mail in box, and scoot's away. If carrier mis-judge's and pass'es patron,patron can still get mail from box. If box is before drive and carrier pull's past box before realizing it's only a loiter,mail isn't deliverd unless carrier back's up(which isn't going to happen). Now I'm going down and wait for my stemless check.

 

[Ford850]

If you put it past your driveway, your carrier can deliver your mail to your house when they have packages that don’t fit in the box. That way, if you are not home when they drop off a package they can put regular mail in the mailbox afterwards since they aren’t supposed to leave mail loose. If it’s before your drive, they will leave regular mail in the box then pull in your drive to deliver boxes at your house, not taking a chance in case you aren’t home to hand you letters.

 

[Wakey]

I’d suggest getting the largest box you can find. That seems to keep USPS off my driveway and from turning around on my lawn even though I have plenty of driveway area.
At my previous property I used the big box to cut down on the dreaded yellow slip which required you to pick up the package at their location. (I had a locked gate)

 

[MossRoad]

Many of the driveways in this neighborhood are near each other with a strip of grass between them. Both mailboxes are usually in that strip. So one is past the driveway and the other before it. Sometimes there's a 3rd for 4th mailbox in the grass strip for houses across the street. There's no rhyme or reason as to where they place them in relation to the driveways. The more mailboxes in a group, the fewer stops for the truck.

 

[goeduck]

We have a theft problem so almost everyone has lockable mailboxes. They solve the theft problem for sure, but make more work for the mail carrier. Not nearly as much fits in the slots which means they then have to drive to the house or in some cases they just leave mail on top or beside the box. I had a $40K check once in a big envelope that said Do Not Fold (not sure why). The carrier left it beside the box. I knew it was coming so I was checking every 15 minutes but still. After that I set up a P.O. Box for all important things.

 

[oosik]

Maybe it's just that we are out in the country/sticks here. The postal service has a few requirements. Approved mail box - specific height - specific side of the county road. On N/S roads box is to be on the East side. On E/W roads box is to be on the South side.

 

[JethroB]

Maybe it's just that we are out in the country/sticks here. The postal service has a few requirements. Approved mail box - specific height - specific side of the county road. On N/S roads box is to be on the East side. On E/W roads box is to be on the South side.

It seems pretty much the same here. I am hesitant to ask the PO or carrier as I might not like the answer. Sometimes its best to not ask and hope for forgiveness.

I am the OP. I am looking to avoid the muddy trench created by the the carriers right wheels making a mess across the end of my driveway. (where he pulls off the pavement onto the soft dirt shoulder.) I will put my box far enough to one side of my driveway to avoid his trench cutting across it. The common solution seems to be adding gravel to said trench occasionally.

Thanks for the posts.

 

[Wakey]

One of my neighbors has what looks like a full size commercial locking toolbox bolted to a slab. It is about 35 feet from the street on his long drive. It appears to be a secure place to leave deliveries.

We don’t have any theft issues and very few close their gates at the road.

This seems like another way to keep most delivery drivers off your drive but for me, I doubt it is a wise way to spend the money.

 

[JethroB]

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.

No snowplows but plenty of large Ag equipment to take a mailbox out. Meeting a cotton picker on a narrow road will get your attention.

 

[goeduck]

. I am looking to avoid the muddy trench created by the the carriers right wheels making a mess across the end of my driveway. (where he pulls off the pavement onto the soft dirt shoulder.) I will put my box far enough to one side of my driveway to avoid his trench cutting across it. The common solution seems to be adding gravel to said trench occasionally. .

Maybe put some cold patch asphalt down? I would do it a month before you set the mailbox so it gets a chance to set up before the mail truck drives on it.

 

[Oaktree]

On N/S roads box is to be on the East side. On E/W roads box is to be on the South side.

Here they just have to be on the side of the road that corresponds to which direction the carrier drives. Some of the state highways they're on both sides since the carrier doubles back.

 

[cqaigy2]

All the mailboxes are on one side of the road here. It's located either before or after your driveway on the box side of the road, and it's located as directly as possible across the road from your driveway if you live on the non-box side of the road. So pretty much everyone who lives on the mailbox side of the road gets visitors looking for the people that live across the street, because their mailbox is probably directly in front of your front door.

Also, at one time or another, most of the people on the non-box side of the road will back out across the road and run their own mailbox over. :laughing:

Running boxes over was pretty common where i used to live. I backed over the neighbors once too. It was the custom to put a post in a 30 gallon barrel and put enough rock into it to stay upright. Kinda like one of those bouncing clown bag. Snow plows would hit them sometimes, but it was "easy" to stand them back up. We would try to bunch them together so the mail carrier would have to stop less often.

 

[Streetcar]

Mine was north side before driveway
Post office dictated side . May relate to route mailman drove
topography dictated before or after driveway.
Lots of gravel to prevent rutting

Maybe it's just that we are out in the country/sticks here. The postal service has a few requirements. Approved mail box - specific height - specific side of the county road. On N/S roads box is to be on the East side. On E/W roads box is to be on the South side.

 

[Diggin It]

I am looking to avoid the muddy trench created by the the carriers right wheels making a mess across the end of my driveway.

The common solution seems to be adding gravel to said trench occasionally.

Mix a bag or two of dry concrete into the gravel surface whenever you add more. Over time that will help it pack down into something that will stop being a problem.

 

[KennyG]

Here the post office defines which side of the road the box goes on but they are sometimes before and sometimes after the drive. You can ask for exceptions to the side requirement. Our neighbor has dementia, so they moved the box so she wouldn't cross the road. The carrier doubles back for that delivery.

 

[Meatballkop]

Why does the post office care which side of the driveway your mailbox is on? I get that they'd want it at a height that matches the window of the carrier's vehicle, but the other part I don't get. It's not like you get so much snow in N.C. that keeping access clear should be a problem.
Mine has been before the driveway everywhere I've lived for the past 45+ years and the PO's never complained.

I am a rural carrier in Northeast Pennsylvania. One of my former postmasters had the policy that the mailbox be installed before the driveway. This was a safety issue for the carrier. When the carrier was stopped placing the mail in the driveway, the would not be blocking the driveway. Our manual, PO 603, states that would should not block the driveway. Even when we get out to deliver parcels or obtain signatures. It was also policy not to hand mail to customers. This is a safety and privacy concern. Safety - as the carrier pulls away, is the customer clear of the vehicle? Privacy - is that really the resident of the address? Those are the reasons why I believe that a mailbox should be installed before a driveway. That being said, is it always practical to install it there? No. Let common sense govern that decision.

 

[LouNY]

I'm glad our carrier doesn't follow those "guide lines".
That said my box is before the driveway. And yes it will become a muddy rut if you don't take care of it.
A small strip of highway fabric and less then a scoop of gravel does a good job on mine, I did have to add a bit more gravel this year.
Also, when I plow snow I plow that shoulder for close to 20 yards. It gives the mailman a good pulloff run and keeps the plow wipes from getting to my driveway.
Our mail carriers often bring packages that don't fit in the mailbox up to the house, or shop when I'm out and about.
As far as handing me the mail. When we are moving cows calves across the road at various times of the year we may have the road closed for 10-20 minutes some times. I've had the carrier hand me the mail for the farms address and for my brother a half mile further down the road. The farms because my truck and it's 4 ways are blocking the access to the mailbox, and my brothers because that's his is the last drop on the road before he turns around and does another side road.

 

[stumblinhorse]

My mailbox is with 2 others about 500 yards down the road from my driveway. My post office has a lot of oddities. But is better than some. We only get mail 3 days a week, m,w,f. No packages to the house. No package pickup for packages delivered that day.