Best Ways for RVers to Get Mail

The question we get most often about full-time RVing

This seems to be the most common question we get from those who are in the early stages of becoming full-time RVers. Although you can now receive most things digitally, there are some hard copy items that you still get in the mail. Some items we’ve had to have forwarded are things like healthcare cards, vehicle titles, checks, and small packages that ship USPS.

So the big question is: how can RVers get daily mail while traveling?

IF YOU STAY IN ONE PLACE FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME

Mail Forwarding

Standard mail forwarding
RVers can get mail forwarded anywhere by the USPS from 15 days up to 6 months and can extend this service for up to one year if necessary. Mail is forwarded as it arrives, piece by piece. Find details about standard mail forwarding at Standard Forward Mail | USPS. Give 2 weeks’ notice if possible (at least 3 days). Go to https://moversguide.usps.com/mgo/disclaimer and choose the “temporary” option under the “type of move” category. You can view mail ahead of time using the US Postal Service electronic scanning service (known as “informed delivery). This is a free service.

Premium mail forwarding
This is a paid service offered by the USPS. Mail is collected by the USPS and forwarded to a specified address once a week via priority mail. There is a one-time enrollment fee which at the time this article was written was $26.20. there is also weekly shipment fee which is also currently $26.20.

Forward to friends or family
RVers can have mail forwarded to a trusted friend or family member who can review it and send it to you on a regular basis. We did this for my mother- and father- in-law when they started full-time RVing. We sent mail once a week and called them if anything looked important. A private resident can even forward a piece of mail for free by crossing out the address and writing the new address on the envelope and placing it back in the mailbox. NOTE that if you’re traveling full-time, using someone else’s address for your mail could cause some domicile issues. Domicile is the state you intend to be your permanent residence – where you vote, pay taxes, etc. Learn more about domicile at our website Establish Domicle – New Life RV. When having your mail forwarded to a friend or family member, include “in care of” as the second line of the address, along with your name on the first line:
Your Name
c/o Family or Friend Name
Street
City, State, Zip

If mail cannot be received at your campground

You can also forward mail to a rented post office box. You can rent post office boxes at any local post office for between $5 per month and $24 per month.

UPS store locations also rent mailboxes with real street addresses for mail and package delivery. The length of the agreement, mailbox sizes and prices vary by location. Monthly prices are approximately $10 to $50 per month. UPS store will also hold mail and forward mail if needed.

IF YOU MOVE FREQUENTLY

Use a Professional Mail Forwarding Service

I personally think that the best way for RVers to get mail is to hire a professional mail service to collect, review and forward your mail to you. They will provide you a street address to forward your mail to, and then monitor and scan it, making it available for you to view. They will forward mail that you want them to, and shred or recycle the junk mail that you do not want. There are many available, and I’ve searched for reviews of the services that are the most trusted. These services can also help with obtaining a street address for the purpose of establishing domicile in another state. See our page to learn more about establishing domicile. We use :

Anytime Mailbox
Addresses are available in almost all 50 states. Pricing varies by location. This service will open and scan mail, and upload to a cloud-based platform. This is the service that we use, since they have the most addresses available, and we needed one in Wisconsin.

Other Mail Forwarding Services:

ipostal1
With over 3,000 locations, you can choose an address in any of the 50 states or also Puerto Rico and Guam. Upon reviewing the addresses I did notice that some of them are the same as those offered through Anytime Mailbox. I’m not sure what the connection is between the two, if there is one. Their plans for individuals start at $9.99/month.

GoodSam
Good Sam uses MyRVMail as their service provider. Discounts for Good Sam members if you go through Good Sam, and get discounts through MyRVMail if you are a Passport America member. Located in Florida, this service can be used to obtain a domicile address in Florida if you want.

Escapees
Your address will be in Texas, but Escapees can also provide an address in Florida or South Dakota, if one of those is your domicile state.

Traveling Mailbox
This service has over 25 addresses countrywide to choose from. Use any or all of the addresses any time.

USA2ME
Provides an address in Texas. They will photograph and log your items so you can choose whether or not to have them sent to you.

Legalzoom Virtual Mail
This service used to be known as Earth Class Mail. This seems to be suited more for small businesses.They will scan mail and upload to a cloud account, and also deposit checks for you. Set up automatic scanning for senders, or automatic shredding for others.

Checklist of What Your Mail Service Should Do

• Provide a physical address to send your mail to, not a P.O. box. Packages cannot be received at a P.O. box, and you cannot use it for establishing a state as your domicile. If you are changing your domicile state, then choose a mail forwarding service that can provide an address in that state.
• Real-time mail notifications
• Physical sorting of mail
• Scanning the outside of the mail for online viewing
• Opening and scanning then contents if requested
• Mail and package forwarding
• Mail disposal including shredding
• Check depositing
• What are the hours of operation and service availability?
• Can the addresses they have available for mail also be used as domicile addresses?

We move around frequently and also stay at county or state campgrounds where mail cannot be received, so mail forwarding is not an option for us. The mail forwarding service we use (Anytime Mailbox) has worked out pretty well for us. There have been a few times that we have needed to forward some things to family or friends and then pick them up when we’re back in Wisconsin for the summer, but this still has been our best option.

Be sure to leave comments or suggestions below! Thanks for reading!