The best time to check your mailbox is when the weather is cooperative, and especially before snow begins to fall. The weather is conducive to shaking it out to see what repairs are needed. Doing it sooner, rather than later, will save many headaches compared to doing in the winter.
If you can physically shake/juggle your mailbox installation and it gives" even just a little, it will give out when the snow and ice removal season is here. If your mailbox has been in place for any length of time, weather has surely compromised even the best installation.
As the sports saying goes, the best offense is a good defense. To defend your decorative or oversize mailbox against the forces of snow removal operations, replacing it with an inexpensive standard mailbox is a good offensive action. Snow and ice coming off the plow at 35 miles per hour and in the mass quantities pack a much bigger punch than any snowball ever could!
Before the ground freezes is the best time to shake or check your mailbox installation to be sure it can withstand the upcoming winter season by answering the following questions.
Is the wood board your mailbox is setting upon in good condition? Wood rots over time and a deteriorated board is a major cause of your mailbox landing in your front yard from the snow coming off the plow. Callers frequently state that their mailbox has been there for years and they have never had a problem. If this is your situation, it is probably time to give it a good inspection.
Are the nails to the board loose? If so, it can become a projectile.
How about the wood post in the ground? Again, an old wood post may be rotten or that 1 small knot in will become the place where the post splits, just like a piece of firewood.
We do not recommend plastic mailboxes. Plastic becomes brittle and shatters very easily in cold weather conditions. At one point in time, Rubbermaid guaranteed their plastic green mailboxes, but not any more.