SOLAR GROUPMB515B GMB515B01 Mailbox

It arrived timely. It is large and strong. Love it.

This is exactly the same as the Rubbermaid box I bought 25 years ago. I bought this to replace my box that was hit by a car. The mounting plate bought separately was an exact replacement; even the position of the mounting holes. Removal of the broken plate and box, and replacement took less than 10 minutes. Perfect fit.

I had one of these at my old house that I purchased 25 years ago when they were still being sold under the Rubbermaid label. When we moved I was happy to find it again for the new house. I love the little yellow arm that tells you if the mail has arrived. It's wide enough that a full sized sheet of paper can lay flat, (nice if you receive magazines or large manilla envelopes). I still drive by the old place and that 25 year old is still in use. The black is a little sun faded but I'd never have noticed that without having a brand new one here now to compare.

I have bought these several times over the years. They were once made by Rubbermaid, now under the Solar Group brand. Quality is still good, the wider size is loved by the letter carrier. But the one thing I really like is the fact that it is so snug a fit, that I don't get bugs inside. Many mailboxes have gaps where insects can get in. I've had hornets build nests in mailboxes. And who wants to put your hand into a hornet nest to get mail? This model for whatever magical reason keeps bugs away.

A big sturdy mailbox, with a nice hinge design.Only the mailbox and the "mail was delivered" bottom flag are included. Although it is a "medium" box, it's notably wider than my old box. This should allow the postal carrier to easily leave magazine-sized mail (without bending it), as well as soft packages, which they previously shoved into the smaller box to avoid having to walk up to the door.I recently installed this mailbox on a 4x4 post arm-- it was very easy, but there are a few things to note:* The underside of the mailbox has a groove shaped to sit on a 4x4 with no additional hardware. Even though the 4" is more like 3.5", it was an exact fit.* The front of groove has a plastic cross piece to prevent the box from being mounted too far back (that would impede the door hinge, which sits below the mailbox proper). This meant my box could not be mounted flush to the vertical part of my locally purchased mailbox post.* There's no template for marking the install holes, and the design is such that getting a drill in is awkward, unless you have extra-long bits. I was able to mark the spots with a pen (through the screw openings in the groove), remove the box and predrill the holes, place the box, and then use a manual screwdriver to attach the box to the post. So the only hardware I needed to provide were outdoor-suitable wood screws.Note that this product used to be branded Rubbermaid, in case you're confused by having seen the same item under a different name at the local B&M big-box store (I was).UPDATE JAN 2015: Box continues to weather well through peak summer heat and peak winter cold this 1st year. No signs of wear, discoloring, or other problems. And I think the mail carrier is very happy I got this design (since I get a lot of small packages). Unlike the typical narrower box, a 8.5"x11" envelope will sit flat in the bottom of the box. It saves the carrier a lot of walking up to my doorway!Highly recommended so far.

I love this mailbox, which we ordered because our mailman kept bending up books to jam them into our old standard one. This one is quite large, and most books will lay flat it in. We've had no books destroyed since it arrived. The plastic also feels quite durable, and it's stayed dry during some pretty wet weather. (We'll see what happens in the winter, which will be even wetter.)The yellow mail-receipt flag is ingenious. It pops up when you receive mail (basically, whenever the door is opened, it levers up). I love it because our mailbox is set across the street, because we're in a more rural area, and so I can just look out the window and see if anything has arrived.The only complaint I have is with the installation. It requires a mounting base, which is not included, and which it wasn't obvious we needed. Fortunately, we had one from the old mailbox, and my dad who was helping install (that's generous: he was installing it) was able to get that one working for this new mailbox, even though it wasn't quite the right size.So, very happy, but I'd have preferred to buy a nice perfectly sized base with it.

Installed this mailbox about 6 weeks ago (using the  Rubbermaid MB225B Mounting Bracket ) on the 4x4" post my prior mailbox had been haphazardly screwed to, and have been very happy so far. The mailman probably is, too—the old mailbox was the small/standard metal thing, the neighborhood kids had broken the flag off, and 2-3 days a week there was something a little too big to fit which had to be brought up to my front door; with this new "Medium" (large to me!) mailbox, most of those deliveries can slip right into the box without folding, bending, crushing, or having to be walked up to my door. Very nice.I like the extra flag which shows delivery has been made; we live in Phoenix, AZ and I don't want to go out into the heat for no reason, so it's nice to be able to glance out the front window and see whether it's worth the scorching sun and sizzling sidewalk.Finally: It's been a little less than two months, so time will tell (I'll update if anything more serious happens), but the neighborhood kids have definitely played with the flags a few times, trying to twist them around the wrong way or whatever (nothing too bad so far), and like most Rubbermaid products the plastic has been sturdy and recovered well from the abuse. Both flags still work and everything is intact and looks good. From what I remember examining it when it arrived and snapping the notification flag on, even if the flags get pulled off (assuming I find them in my yard) I expect I'll be able to snap them right back on again.

It's good.It's says US MAIL in the front. You can't see it on the picture.I'm in Canada :)