Becoming a snowbird and getting mail...

[sande005]

Not really full timing, but I figured the people looking at this section know something about it...

Scored reservations for 3 months at Gulf State Park in Alabama for Jan-March. I've seen UPS and others make deliveries to campsites there. But no information about USPS. Too long of a period for normal "hold mail".
Any words of wisdom on finding a POBox service, Mail Service or other?

There is the Post Office, if any boxes might be available, and UPS at their stores offers what they call "enhanced" service. But haven't dug into costs and the like yet. I assume being a snowbird area, demand for such will be high. Ideally, someplace to forward it to for pickup a couple of times a week, and that can receive moderate packages if we do need to order a few items. Don't expect any critical mail, but there might be an odd bill, a magazine, or some other notification/tax forms sent during that period.

Any suggestions on finding places for this?

 

[Scousers]

USPS allows temporary forwarding

 

[theburgerts]

I think you can forward mail, via USPS, for about 6 months.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[sande005]

Yes, they allow forwarding...but I am looking for a temporary place to forward to, since USPS doesn't deliver to campsites. And I assume competition for official USPS PO Boxes is fierce.

 

[Steven@147]

You might ask the campground office you will be staying at what their preference is. Some full time snowbird campgrounds we have stayed at have mail box slots for each site in their office so USPS mail can be forwarded delivered directly to the campground. One campground with permanent sites we have stayed at had USPS lock boxes for each site. Most will also accept UPS/FedX packages at the campground main office or directly to your site. Many snowbird type campgrounds have some sort of USPS accommodations for their campers, they are used to this type of service for people staying there.

Some campgrounds will only accept bundled mail in a single package forwarded to them at their office, as Escapee's does. If the campground has no USPS accommodations you will be left with getting a PO box either at a local UPS store or at a post office somewhere close to the caampground. Maybe you could have someone at your sticks and bricks collect your mail, then every two weeks or so bundle it in a USPS pouch/envelope and mail or UPS to your campground.

 

[Second Chance]

Yes, they allow forwarding...but I am looking for a temporary place to forward to, since USPS doesn't deliver to campsites. And I assume competition for official USPS PO Boxes is fierce.

I wouldn't assume until I checked. We may get a PO box with street address (an available option) at Aberdeen Proving Ground this time and they are available.

Rob

 

[ajg617]

UPS Stores (at least some) also offer mailbox services with street address and 24 hour access. When my son moved from Boise back east, I set one up a few miles from our home. Not the least expensive but it worked.

 

[TS_Breezes]

General Delivery USPS - BIG FAIL

So we are also traveling - not full timing - 6 months. Previous season I had used General Delivery in VA, SC and in FL to receive forwarded mail. Never had a problem...now I have had mail returned to sender twice - once from my home address?? (go figure) and now on the road in AZ. I needed to use General Delivery because the state parks won't accept pkgs. We are in state parks for 2 weeks...I called 4 Tucson AZ post offices that said on their individual tool webpage that they accepted General Delivery. I tried calling all of them to confirm before I picked one to use. Not one of them answered a phone call - multiple attempts at each. The Google reviews all give low reviews and mainly they lose mail or won't answer their phones. I decided to try sending to the downtown PO and tracking alerted me this morning that my package has been returned to sender! It said on the top line: General Delivery...just as I had used last year...I tried calling and calling the PO and after a bunch of rings it just disconnects. Called the 800 number and the representative tells me you cannot use General Delivery without getting permission from the PO POSTMASTER! I said - how do you get permission when they won't answer the phone...and the reps response is a broken record - like this is a privilege to use General Delivery, not a right, and you need to have permission before you try to use it.
So, my advice to others is - don't depend on having General Delivery on the road. The only thing that really works is Amazon lockers...and you cannot get your mail via Amazon (yet). I am sooo frustrated.

From the USPS website:
General Delivery is intended to be used for: A participating Post Office to serve transients (people who travel extensively) and those without a permanent address.
and
No application is required for General Delivery. Persons interested in General Delivery should speak with the postmaster. ​

Catch 22 - You can't speak to the Postmaster if they won't answer the phone.

 

[Riverbug]

We took a different approach. We gave up the mailbox at our house and purchased a PO Box at our local post office. We also switched everything to paperless and started online banking for everything. We did this in anticipation of leaving for trips up to 3 months at a time. We really like it. We go pickup our mail when we feel like it, usually about one per week when we are home. As long as we keep our PO Box paid up (we pay annually) the post office will hold everything. We just make sure we do not order packages that might arrive after we leave. If the mail that does come in will not fit in the box after a couple of months, they put it in a bin in the back, but we have a mid-size box and everything fit in it when we went to FL for 3 months this winter. If we order something on the road, we first verify where we can ship it to (someone's house we know, campground, etc.). Since we do all of our bills either set up to a credit card, or online banking, we have no issue with monthly bills. USPS also has "informed delivery" so you can see what is in your mailbox for the most part (not everything gets scanned). Anyway, another option to consider...

 

[Always Learning]

So we are also traveling - not full timing - 6 months. Previous season I had used General Delivery in VA, SC and in FL to receive forwarded mail. Never had a problem...now I have had mail returned to sender twice - once from my home address?? (go figure) and now on the road in AZ. I needed to use General Delivery because the state parks won't accept pkgs. We are in state parks for 2 weeks...I called 4 Tucson AZ post offices that said on their individual tool webpage that they accepted General Delivery. I tried calling all of them to confirm before I picked one to use. Not one of them answered a phone call - multiple attempts at each. The Google reviews all give low reviews and mainly they lose mail or won't answer their phones. I decided to try sending to the downtown PO and tracking alerted me this morning that my package has been returned to sender! It said on the top line: General Delivery...just as I had used last year...I tried calling and calling the PO and after a bunch of rings it just disconnects. Called the 800 number and the representative tells me you cannot use General Delivery without getting permission from the PO POSTMASTER! I said - how do you get permission when they won't answer the phone...and the reps response is a broken record - like this is a privilege to use General Delivery, not a right, and you need to have permission before you try to use it.
So, my advice to others is - don't depend on having General Delivery on the road. The only thing that really works is Amazon lockers...and you cannot get your mail via Amazon (yet). I am sooo frustrated.

From the USPS website:
General Delivery is intended to be used for: A participating Post Office to serve transients (people who travel extensively) and those without a permanent address.
and
No application is required for General Delivery. Persons interested in General Delivery should speak with the postmaster. ​

Catch 22 - You can't speak to the Postmaster if they won't answer the phone.

Our experience with General Deliver throughout the West has been great. Call the Post Office to verify they do General Delivery and they usually answer the phone. All of our dealings have been with small town Post Offices, it sounds like big city POs may be different.

 

[Scousers]

So we are also traveling - not full timing - 6 months. Previous season I had used General Delivery in VA, SC and in FL to receive forwarded mail. Never had a problem...now I have had mail returned to sender twice - once from my home address?? (go figure) and now on the road in AZ. I needed to use General Delivery because the state parks won't accept pkgs. We are in state parks for 2 weeks...I called 4 Tucson AZ post offices that said on their individual tool webpage that they accepted General Delivery. I tried calling all of them to confirm before I picked one to use. Not one of them answered a phone call - multiple attempts at each. The Google reviews all give low reviews and mainly they lose mail or won't answer their phones. I decided to try sending to the downtown PO and tracking alerted me this morning that my package has been returned to sender! It said on the top line: General Delivery...just as I had used last year...I tried calling and calling the PO and after a bunch of rings it just disconnects. Called the 800 number and the representative tells me you cannot use General Delivery without getting permission from the PO POSTMASTER! I said - how do you get permission when they won't answer the phone...and the reps response is a broken record - like this is a privilege to use General Delivery, not a right, and you need to have permission before you try to use it.
So, my advice to others is - don't depend on having General Delivery on the road. The only thing that really works is Amazon lockers...and you cannot get your mail via Amazon (yet). I am sooo frustrated.

From the USPS website:
General Delivery is intended to be used for: A participating Post Office to serve transients (people who travel extensively) and those without a permanent address.
and
No application is required for General Delivery. Persons interested in General Delivery should speak with the postmaster. ​

Catch 22 - You can't speak to the Postmaster if they won't answer the phone.

Maybe you need to send them a letter!!! Jus kiddin, it would probably be RTS

 

[bstreet5]

Make sure RV park has no problem with accepting packages, I remember watching a video BLOG where someone got evicted for sending a package in C/O the park office.

 

[fez111]

We have USPS forward our mail from Christmas to Easter. Our park here in northern Florida has individual mail boxes for most lots. Some permanent residents have their own boxes.

However, packages and most magazines DO NOT get forwarded. I have several aviation magazine subscriptions. My wife calls each publisher and changes our address. Most are instructed to revert back to home at the appointed time.

Lastly, expect at least a two week delay for most mail. If you need something faster than that use Fedex or UPS. Our 2 cents.

One more thought...We used to change the addresses on our credit cards before we left, but that caused other problems with zip code confirmation for gas, etc. Now we don't change anything except the magazines.

 

[TS_Breezes]

Yes - I always ask the campground if they accept packages - Just got off the phone with one and was told there is no post office services if you don't have a box number. in their area (Gila Bend, AZ)..a UPS store is 65 miles away. Will be calling a UPS store in the Flagstaff area to see if we can setup something.

Make sure RV park has no problem with accepting packages, I remember watching a video BLOG where someone got evicted for sending a package in C/O the park office.

 

[ajg617]

a UPS store is 65 miles away. Will be calling a UPS store in the Flagstaff area to see if we can setup something.

The only problem my son ran into with UPS was they wanted him to be physically present with ID to set up a PO Box. Happened to him in Idaho and here in NH. Not sure if that's UPS policy nationwide or local to those two places.

 

[RVoyager]

We just started a year long RV adventure before moving into our next home. Our plans will be to travel every summer. So, we signed up with iPostal1.com. Our mail is delivered to one of their many locations. You can login to see a picture of mail in your mailbox. Give disposition: Dispose, Forward mail to any address, Scan contents. Junk mail is recycled.