Managing the Mail

[Hooter G]

We're not exactly newbies, but have not taken the MH for extended (say more than two weeks)trips. What's the experience in managing your U. S. mail? We normally stay only one or two nights at any given location. Ideas? Thanks.

[itdave]

You did not say how long a trip you are planing but I assume you are not going full time so you will still have a home address. I also assume that you don't want to get the magazines and junk mail while you are traveling. If you have some one who can sort the mail and froward it to you there are some options.
The cheapest is to put the mail in a large envelope and send it to General Delivery in a town where you be in a week.
I think you can also use Priority mail (2 Day)and Express mail (overnight) to send your mail to a general delivery location where you will be in the next couple of days. I am sure you can send Express Mail to General Delivery but check with Post office regarding Priority Mail.

[CheetahGirl]

Priority mail can definitely be used to send mail to a general delivery address. We've done it several times.

We rent a mail box at a UPS store. They will, for a small fee, forward whatever is in our box any time we call to ask. But we also have a friend with our mailbox key and generally it is she who checks and forwards our mail for us every two or three weeks.

If we are not going to be at one location long enough - or if the park we're staying at does not accept mail for their guests - we will just have her send it to the town general delivery. She sends it a few days early and usually it's waiting for us when we get there.

You will need a piece of picture ID to pick up the mail so be sure it is addressed to the person who will actually be picking up the mail. In other words if Mrs. will be going to the post office to pick up the mail, don't address it to Mr.

[glennb100]

If you are going to be gone for a month or less, you can have the post office hold your mail. They'll collect it at your local post office and either deliver it when you get home, or you can go to the post office to pick it up.

You can either go to www.usps.com to enter a mail hold request or you can pick up and fill out a mail hold request at your post office. We've found using the form more reliable than the web request, so we usually do both.

[LindaH]

I agree with Glenn...have the post office hold your mail if you're going to be gone a month or less.

If you're going to be gone for more than a month and are going to be moving from location to location, then you really only have two choices if you want to receive mail while gone: 1) get a friend/relative/neighbor to pick up your mail and send it to you when you call. Supply them with several Priority Mail envelopes for this purposes, or 2) hire the services of a mail forwarder and have the post office forward your mail to them. As you want/need your mail, give the mail forwarder a call and have them send it to your location. Since you have a motorhome, you might look into the FMCA mail forwarding service. It is free to members so you'd be paying only for postage.

[GaryKD]

Hi Hooter G,
Here is another process to consider. Put all your monthly payments on auto pay. Have any income direct deposited into the bank account of your choice. Then hold all the mail until you return. Learn how to access all your accounts via the Internet.

We travel for up to 3 months at a time. I quickly realized after doing the above mentioned items, there wasn't any mail I needed to open. Our daughter does look for mail from any government agency and will open it. After 3 years, there has been nothing to open, of any importance. I have found everything else can wait.

[teofff]

We use the local UPS store...we rented a mailbox...I just call them, and then choose how I want the mail forwarded...either over night or something in between to regular mail if we are going to be somewhere for a week...it works great.

[skigramp]

The US Postal Service also has a Premier Mail Forwarding service ... I have used it successfully ...

You do need to know ahead of time where your mail should be sent ... my post office sends it on Wednesdays ... it is sent by Priority mail and I generally get it on Fridays (sometimes on Saturday)

It costs about $11 per week

[SideRoads]

We full-timed for over 2 years, and when we started I set up an account with American Home Base mail forwarding through the Good Sam Club, Pensacola, Florida. (I even had them to register/license our new MH we purchased out of state.

$10 a month., Plus postage,,, Excellent service.

Now that we are back in a home, we still plan to travel from 3-6 months a year.

I will keep our mail forwarding service and use the USPS Temporary Mail forwarding (NO Cost) and have all mail temporarily mailed to my Mailing Service for further forwading to my location.

US POSTAL Service Temporary Mail Forwarding
Select Temporary if you plan to move back to your old address within 12 months. Your initial forwarding period will be limited to a maximum of six months, which you may extend to a maximum of 1 year (in all other cases select Permanent.)

For minimal cost, this works for us, and I get my mail, without imposing or inconveniencing anyone.

By using the mail forwarding service, I can have my mail forwarded to me no matter where I travel or where I am located.

[LindaH]

Quote:

Originally posted by skigramp: The US Postal Service also has a Premier Mail Forwarding service ... I have used it successfully ...

While the USPS's Premium Forwarding Service is great for the Snowbird who is in one location the entire time, it won't work for someone who moves from location to location as the OP does.

Even if a person is qualified to use the Premium Forwarding Service, depending on how long they're going to be gone it can be an expensive way to receive mail...at $11.95 per week, a 6-month stay some place would cost $310.70. Most mail forwarding services are a lot less expensive than that.

[Tom N]

Quote:

Originally posted by SideRoads: Now that we are back in a home, we still plan to travel from 3-6 months a year. I will keep our mail forwarding service and use the USPS Temporary Mail forwarding (NO Cost) and have all mail temporarily mailed to my Mailing Service for further forwading to my location. US POSTAL Service Temporary Mail Forwarding Select Temporary if you plan to move back to your old address within 12 months. Your initial forwarding period will be limited to a maximum of six months, which you may extend to a maximum of 1 year (in all other cases select Permanent.) For minimal cost, this works for us, and I get my mail, without imposing or inconveniencing anyone. By using the mail forwarding service, I can have my mail forwarded to me no matter where I travel or where I am located.

The USPS will forward all mail for only 2 months. After 2 months have expired they will only forward 1st class mail.

-Tom

[K-Star]

I did what Gary suggested.

We took an extended trip last year. Most of my bills were electronic. Before I left I set up the remaining for electronic notification and had the Post Office hold my mail. I was living in a small town so they agreed to hold mail longer than 1 month. I then picked up my mail when I got home. This worked out well for us.