Vandal Proof Mailboxes

Whether your mailbox was knocked down run over by a passing snowplow or crushed by a baseball bat, you're shopping for vandal proof mailboxes. It's not a matter of needing to lock your mailbox, just to protect it from being damaged. This has happened one time too many. What do you do when, for whatever reason, a front door mail slot isn't an option?

What to Look for in Vandal Proof Mailboxes

As you start shopping for vandal proof mailboxes, you might suddenly wonder what specifications you need to check for. Advertising, after all, is advertising. What material is strongest? What should the post your mailbox stands on be made of? You want something as durable as a commercial mailbox along a sidewalk, or the multiple mailbox units you see in front of condominium and apartment complexes.

Galvanized steel and cast aluminum are your best bets for vandal proof mailboxes. Both are fairly standard materials used by mailbox manufacturers. Mailboxes get a lot of wear and tear and are subject to the elements 365 days of the year, sometimes extreme conditions, whether salt air, subzero temperatures, or desert sun and heat. It's more than vandals and lousy drivers you're guarding against. For steel, you're looking for 12-gauge thickness--which translates to about .105 inch thick for regular steel and .109 inch thick for stainless steel. Ten gauge steel is used, but usually only for high-crime and vandalism areas and certain business applications. Heavy cast aluminum is also an option.

Don't forget that the mailbox post is just as important as the mailbox. A snowplow, of course, won't even shudder as it knocks over a post. But chances are that you want a post strong enough to at least damage a car that might deliberately knock it down. If nothing else, it might dissuade malicious pranksters from trying again.