Video: Plow-Proof Mailbox Post

Here’s a fun project I did about 8 years ago after several successive years of shoring up and replacing mailbox posts that were clobbered by snowplows. The last straw arrived back around 2015. I had just gone through the effort to replace our battered mailbox post with a brand new box mounted to a beautiful cedar post, stained and outfitted with those nice big house numbers down the side. That following winter, it was utterly demolished in one blow. If you live in the north, you know the pain.

A $10 DIY Mod to Make Your Mailbox Snowplow-Proof

Come the following Spring, I went back to the big box store and picked up another cedar post, but this time I had other plans. Instead of installing it as-is, I grabbed a heavy duty stainless steel hinge and some long stainless wood screws (2”-3”, or as long as you can find without coming through the other side of the post) and went to work on it.

I did my best to deconstruct the post without damaging it. Once the arm was removed from the base, I used my circular saw to cut a bit of an angle to allow the arm to swing freely and fully clear the post. Then I installed the hinge.

The brace under the arm provides just enough support and friction to generally keep the arm from swinging out of place during normal circumstances. But when a snowplow hits it (or pushes snow into it), it swings away freely. I usually wake up after a storm to find it swung out of place, and all I have to do is swing it back and up onto the brace. No harm done.

I wasn’t sure if that little hinge would hold up, but I’ve had this setup for 8 Winters and counting. I think I can say it’s been time-tested.

I’ve since discovered that there are mailbox posts on the market that operate on a similar “better bend than break” principle, but this simple DIY mod can be made to just about any existing timber post at a fraction of the cost.

Why Not Just Put up a Sheet of Plywood / Snow Break?

That seems to work for some people, but the way I see it, it just creates a bigger target / larger surface area for the snow to push against that has to be resisted. Plus, it’s just another thing to have to maintain and fix when it gets knocked over. And if the plow actually hits it it’s not going to stand a chance. With this hinged breakaway design, as long as the base of the post itself doesn’t get hit it will live to see another day.

My philosophy is that the plow always wins. Don’t fight it!