Step2 MailMaster Express Plastic Mailbox with Black Finish

The mailbox arrived quickly in excellent condition. I already had a Step 2 mailbox (cracked at the bottom) attached to a post, so I didn't have to do any digging, thank heavens. I had my dad put the mailbox together (taking the old one off was actually the hard part - I didn't have the right tool to remove the square-headed screws) but it didn't take too long. The only hiccup was when we realized that there wasn't any room to drill the top part of the mailbox together since my mailbox is too close to my neighbor's mailbox. Oops. We should have attached the top part first. Let that be a lesson to you, kids!

This is a recycled plastic mailbox of simple design. Its design uses a 4 x 4 post that you install separately as a base onto which the plastic slips over. I used the word "replaceable" in my title because that is an important feature to me. I live on a busy road at the end of a curve. About every six months, someone runs off the road and catapults the mail box into the air and across the lawn, so easily replaceable is an important feature. This is my third Step2 brand mailbox, and I couldn't be happier with it. As I mentioned before, the kit comes in pieces designed to slip over a 4 x 4 wood post. I recommend a treated for ground contact post. I put my original post into the ground with bagged concrete like you get from a building materials store using U. S. Postal Office instructions to locate it. Step2 recommends it to be no higher than 36 inches from the surface of the ground. My post was shorter, but the mailbox is designed to fix from about 24 inches up to 36 inches. Putting the post in is the hardest part of the project. The rest is easy. Once the post is solidly set (usually overnight), the installation consists of slipping the bottom part onto the post and then matching the top part to the bottom and screwing it into place. The last part is attaching the box part, making sure the red pickup flag faces the oncoming traffic. Instructions are clear. One tip: numbers don't come with the mailbox. Purchase them at the same time and install them on the box part before you install the box on top of the other two pieces. I used reflective numbers, but I expect the mailbox to be hit again in about six months! If the post survives, all I'll have to do is buy another Step2 mailbox and slip it over the post - it'll take only about 30 minutes to remove the old broken parts and put the new mailbox on the existing post. That's a major reason I gave this mailbox five stars - it's easy to install. Also, it's attractive and reasonably priced.