Getting packages and prescriptions while you’re on the road in an RV
Your mail service handles the letters. The harder part on the road is a package that has to reach you, where you’re parked this week, or a prescription you can’t run out of. This page covers the options that actually work for RVers, using the carriers’ and agencies’ own pages, checked on 13 Oct 2026. Hold times and rules change, so check your confirmation email or tracking page before you pull out of a campground.
New to this? Start with the RV mail forwarding comparison for your home-base address and the domicile state guide for which state to use.
Absentee ballots are another time-sensitive letter: see voting by mail for full-time RVers.
Pickup options side by side (checked 13 Oct 2026)
| Option | Who can ship to it | How long it’s held | What to bring | Cost to you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USPS General Delivery | Mail and packages sent through the Post Office | Up to 30 days per piece (the sender can ask for less) | Suitable ID can be required | No separate pickup fee listed in the USPS rules |
| Amazon Locker | Amazon orders (most items; oversized, special-handling and hazardous items are flagged at checkout) | Amazon’s page says 3 days, and also that pickup times vary by location, so check your email | The pickup code in your confirmation email | No added cost. Free shipping for Prime, or on orders of $35 or more without Prime |
| Amazon Counter | Amazon orders, picked up at a staffed counter in a store (including some Whole Foods) | 7 days | The instructions in your confirmation email | Same as Locker |
| UPS Access Point | UPS shipments sent there, or redirected there | 7 calendar days in the US, then it goes back to the sender | Government photo ID, plus proof of address or the tracking number if the ID doesn’t match the label | Check when you redirect; we didn’t find a single published price |
| FedEx Hold for Pickup | FedEx shipments held or redirected to a FedEx location | Up to 7 days, then back to the shipper | Government photo ID. If the ID address doesn’t match the label, also the tracking number and a second document (utility bill, insurance card, credit card statement) | FedEx Delivery Manager app is free; check the hold option when you set it up |
The ID catch for full-timers: your driver license probably shows your mail-service address in South Dakota, Texas or Florida, not the campground. UPS and FedEx both say a mismatched address is fine as long as the name matches and you bring the tracking number (and, for FedEx, a second document). Keep the tracking email handy on your phone.
USPS General Delivery
General Delivery is the old-school traveler option, and the Postal Service’s own rulebook (the Domestic Mail Manual, section 508.6) still describes it as being “for transients and customers not permanently located.” Here’s what that rule says:
- One location per town, usually. In a city with several post offices, General Delivery is normally offered at only one of them, and you may use only one.
- Call first. USPS says customers should contact the destination Post Office before anything is mailed, to find out which facility handles General Delivery and its ZIP Code.
- ID. The clerk can ask for suitable identification, and a postmaster can refuse General Delivery to someone who can’t show it.
- 30-day hold. Each piece is held no more than 30 days.
- Not for big volumes. A postmaster can restrict it if your mail volume can’t reasonably be handled. It works for a forwarded batch from your mail service or a single package, not as a permanent address.
How to address it (USPS Publication 28): your full name on the first line, the words GENERAL DELIVERY spelled out on the second, then the city, state and that post office’s ZIP Code with -9999 on the end. USPS’s own example is JOHN ADAMS / GENERAL DELIVERY / TAMPA FL 33602-9999. A USPS policy update also notes the 30-day limit is per piece, not a limit on how long you can use General Delivery.
It’s a Post Office service, so before you order, make sure the seller ships by USPS. One common setup is to have your home-base mail service send a batch to General Delivery in a town a few days ahead on your route.
Amazon Locker and Counter
For Amazon orders, a Locker or Counter near your route is usually the easiest move. You add the location to your Amazon address book and pick it at checkout. Amazon says there’s no extra cost, Prime members keep free shipping, and non-Prime orders of $35 or more ship free to a pickup point. If you don’t pick it up in time, Amazon returns it and refunds you automatically.
Two cautions: lockers hold for a shorter time than counters (3 days vs 7, per Amazon’s page), and items that are oversized, need special handling or count as hazardous can’t go to a pickup point. Amazon flags them at checkout. That can include some RV parts and supplies, so check before you count on it.
UPS Access Point and FedEx Hold
- UPS Access Point locations are local shops (The UPS Store and partner businesses) that hold packages for pickup. In the US they hold for 7 calendar days. UPS emails you when the package arrives with the address, hours and ID rules for that location.
- FedEx Hold for Pickup works two ways: ask for it before the package ships, or redirect a package that’s already moving. FedEx says requests made before midnight the day before scheduled delivery should be ready the next day, and it holds for up to 7 days.
If a seller lets you choose, shipping straight to the pickup point is more reliable than redirecting after it ships.
Shipping to your RV mail service
Your home-base address is still the right place for anything that isn’t urgent: replacement cards, registration renewals, tax forms, things that can ride along in your next forwarded batch. A few points from provider pages:
- Escapees Mail Service says every category accepts packages, including UPS and FedEx. It also says staff can never receive packages that are perishable, need refrigeration, or contain alcohol, ammunition, firearms, tobacco or hazardous materials.
- America’s Mailbox describes its Silver plan as for “only occasional packages” and its Gold plan as for medium volumes of mail and packages. If you order a lot, ask which plan fits.
- A USPS PO Box can only take UPS, FedEx, DHL or Amazon deliveries if your Post Office offers Street Addressing, which USPS says depends on availability.
Forwarding is paid postage on top of the plan, so a package shipped to your home base and then forwarded to you gets paid for twice and takes longer. For one-off orders, a pickup point near you is usually faster.
Compare RV mail services Escapees Mail Service
Prescriptions on the road
This is the one to plan before you leave. We’re not giving medical advice, just the federal ground rules and some practical points.
- Regular prescriptions can usually be filled at a store along your route. Ask your pharmacy how transfers work for your medicines and whether your chain can see your prescription at any of its stores.
- Controlled-substance refills (Schedule III, IV and V) can be transferred between pharmacies for refills only once under federal rules (21 CFR 1306.25). The exception is pharmacies that share a real-time online database, such as stores in the same chain, which can transfer up to the refills your prescriber authorized.
- Electronic controlled-substance prescriptions not yet filled (Schedule II to V) can be moved from one retail pharmacy to another one time, at your request, since DEA’s 2023 rule (21 CFR 1306.08). The transfer has to go pharmacist to pharmacist in electronic form, not by fax, and only where state law allows it.
- Mail-order pharmacy: if your plan ships medicine, send temperature-sensitive drugs somewhere you’ll be within the delivery window, not to a mail forwarder that can’t take refrigerated items. Ask the pharmacy which carrier it uses, because that decides whether General Delivery (USPS only) or a UPS or FedEx hold will work.
- Refill early and carry a list. Keep a written list of your medicines, doses and prescriber phone numbers in the rig, in case you need a pharmacist in a town you’ve never been to.
Campground and RV park mail
Some RV parks accept packages for guests and some don’t. There’s no single rule; it’s up to each park. Call the office before you order, and ask what name and site number to put on the label, whether they take UPS and FedEx as well as USPS, and how long they’ll hold something after you leave. Get the answer before checkout so you’re not stuck waiting on a box.
A simple routine that works
- Keep your home-base RV mail service for letters and anything that isn’t urgent (comparison).
- For Amazon, use a Locker or Counter on your route.
- For other sellers, check the carrier and use a UPS Access Point, a FedEx location, or General Delivery for USPS.
- Have your mail service forward the batch to General Delivery or a park that agreed to hold it, a few days ahead of where you’ll be.
- Sort out prescriptions with your pharmacist before you go, especially controlled or refrigerated ones.
Sources checked 13 Oct 2026
- USPS Domestic Mail Manual 508 (section 6.0 General Delivery)
- USPS Publication 28, General Delivery addresses and Postal Bulletin POM revision on General Delivery (2013)
- USPS PO Boxes (Street Addressing)
- Amazon Amazon Locker and Counter pickup
- UPS ID requirements for Access Point pickup and Ship to a UPS Access Point terms (US hold period)
- FedEx Hold at location
- Escapees Mail Service rates and categories; America’s Mailbox plans
- eCFR 21 CFR 1306.25 and 21 CFR 1306.08; Federal Register DEA final rule, 27 Jul 2023
RV mail forwarding comparison Domicile state guide Voting by mail for RVers RV and snowbird guide
Reviewed 2026-10-13. Carrier hold times and pharmacy rules change. Check your tracking page and talk to your pharmacist before you rely on this.