RV Mail
Get Your Mail While RV Traveling
By Mikel
Lopategui
One of the challenges long term RV travelers face is how to
get important mail while traveling. Your power and phone bills
still need to be paid even when you're not at home. If you've
given up your house for full-time traveling, you'll still need
to get your Social Security checks, DMV documents, bank
statements and credit card bills. How, then, can you get your
mail while on the road?
With over 25 years of experience handling mail for RV
travelers, here are some tips that The Postal Depot can offer
for mail receiving and mail forwarding:
Step 1:
Rent a mailbox with a physical address. If you rent a box at
the local Post Office branch, you won't be able to receive
packages or mail from any carrier other than the good old
U.S.P.S. Also, the Post Office can't forward your mail to
various addresses you might be at while traveling around the
country. A mailbox at a commercial mail service center, like
The Postal Depot, can offer you a true street address place for
receiving your mail.
Step 2:
Sign up for a mail forwarding service. Choose a reliable mail
forwarding service that's experienced in forwarding mail to RV
travelers. You'll be able to have your mail sent to you as
often or as little as you'd like anywhere you might be in the
United States . The best services forward your mail to you for
the actual cost of postage plus a flat handling fee. This
handling fee should include the cost of the envelope used and
all other supplies. Be careful of the hidden costs some
forwarding agencies tack on to their so called low handling
fees.
Step 3:
Plan your trip around small towns. When you need your mail
forwarded to you, look on a map for a small town that you'll be
traveling through in five to seven days. Why a small town?
Because you can have your mail sent to that town's Post Office
c/o General Delivery. Big city Post Offices probably won't
offer this service. The Post Office receiving your mail will
hold it for 10 days before returning it to the sender. Your
general delivery mail address will look like this:
Your Name
c/o General Delivery
City, State, Zip Code
Remember that not all Post Offices will accept and hold mail
arriving c/o General Delivery, so it's a good idea to call
before you have your mail sent. Call the Post Office's
toll-free number (1-800-ASK-USPS) and ask if the Post Office in
that town will receive General Delivery mail.
Step 4:
Use Flat-rate Priority Mail Envelopes. If possible, have your
mail forwarded to you in a Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope. As
long as your mail fits in this envelope, the postage price is
the same regardless of weight. Also, Priority Mail usually
arrives at its destination (anywhere in the United States ) in
two to three days.
Step 5:
Consider having only first-class mail sent. Most bills,
statements, payments, letters, postcards and other important
mail are sent via first-class mail. Advertisements, sales
magazines and basic “junk mail” are usually sent presorted
standard (second-class). You can save money on postage by
having your mail forwarding service send you first-class mail
only. The remaining mail can be held in your mailbox. If you
enjoy looking through ads and sales magazines, like many people
do, have all your mail forwarded.
Step 6:
Rent a mailbox with a Nevada address. Even though the typical
full-time RV traveler is retired, many continue to maintain a
corporation. Consider incorporating in Nevada to save money.
Nevada is one of the most tax-friendly states in the U.S. For a
nominal amount of money, you can rent a mailbox with a Nevada
physical street address, obtain the services of a Nevada
Resident Agent and incorporate your business through the Nevada
Secretary of State while enjoying Nevada 's corporate tax
benefits.
The last thing on your mind while relaxing in your RV should
be worrying about your mail. By becoming familiar with the
above tips, mail delivery won't be much of an issue.
The Postal Depot - http://www.thepostaldepot.com/
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