Discover 50 essential mobile home tips covering setup, repairs, plumbing, roofing, buying, and maintenance to help homeowners avoid costly mistakes.
Although mobile homes share many similarities with site-built houses, there are some important differences.
For instance, financing and installation tend to be more complex, while the plumbing system is often simpler. Between the differences, the misinformation, and the stereotypes associated with factory-built housing, it’s easy to get a bit confused. To help set the record straight, here are our top 50 most useful tips about mobile homes.
These 50 essential mobile home tips listed below come from our archive of over 1000 articles published on Mobile Home Living over the last 15 years. Whether a factory-built housing newbie or a seasoned homeowner, this list of 50 tips about mobile homes will help.
The tips are organized by topic like installation and setup, underbelly and skirting, doors, roofing, buying and selling mobile homes.
Note: Most of these tips about mobile homes will include a link to an article that goes into more detail about the subject.
1. I’ve been told that improper installation account for 80% of all manufactured homes warranty complaints. That should tell you just how important it is to make sure your manufactured home is installed properly.
2. For best setup and drainage and to ensure water doesn’t pool under a mobile home HUD recommends the grade under a manufactured home have a 5-6” slope around the first 10 feet around the home. Which equals out to a mere ½” for every foot.
3. New manufactured homes are build on steel chassis with outriggers are the triangle steel attached to the main beams that extend to the edge of the perimeter walls.
4. The underbelly of a mobile home is way more important than most homeowners realize. There should be no rips or tears in the black material covering the bottom of your home. You can repair mobile home belly boards with special patches and tape.
5. Always make sure plumbers and HVAC (or any contractor) repair all tears and holes they create while making repairs in the belly wrap.
6. Vents in your mobile home skirting should be within 3-5 feet of every corner to reduce dead air pockets under your home. Dead air pockets are a perfect breeding ground for mold and mildew.
7. Skirting vents should be open during the summer and closed during the winter.
8. Mobile home doors are usually smaller than doors in site-built homes. Upgrading doors is the #1 home improvement based on return on investment figures.
9. You can replace windows in a mobile home with site-built home windows but you’ll probably need to retrofit them in most cases.
10. You can paint the metal siding on older mobile homes with a brush, roller, or sprayer.
11. Flat metal roofs on mobile homes should be recoated with an aluminum-based roof coating every other year. Take the opportunity to check sealants, caulks, and patches – replace if brittle or cracked.
12. If your mobile home doesn’t have a gutter system it should have a J-channel above all doors and windows. J-channels are surprisingly efficient gutter substitutes.
13. Eaves help keep the rain off your doors and windows. If ordering a new home or re-roofing consider installing 8″ eaves at minimum though 12″eaves are better.
14. Most walls in a mobile home are covered with VOG (vinyl on gypsum) or POG (paper on gypsum), you can paint VOG and POG.
15. You can remove the strips or battens that cover the seams of the VOG wallboards.
16. You can remove walls in a mobile home but you must ensure that they aren’t load-bearing. Marriage lines, where the two sides meet to form a double wide and perimeter walls are always load-bearing.
17. MDF subfloors soak up water like a sponge. If you are buying a new manufactured home you should have the subflooring upgraded to OSB or plywood.
18. 3% Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) may whiten your ceilings. Shoe polish and chalk are also options that may work.
19. Replacing subfloors in a mobile or manufactured home is a pain but a homeowner with moderate construction experience can probably handle it. If you can afford it, use marine-grade plywood in the bathroom. It holds up against water a lot better than anything else.
20. Every source of water (faucet, tub, dishwasher, washing machine) should have a shutoff valve.
21. Mobile homes often have a lot of ventilation issues in their plumbing systems due to simplified design and smaller pipes.
22. Heat tape is one of the most common fixes for frozen water lines on mobile homes but it must be installed before the pipe freezes.
23. Factory-built homes usually have smaller bathtubs so you can’t easily replace it with a standard tub from Lowe’s or Home Depot. You have 2 choices: buy a bathtub from a mobile home supply store that is double the cost of a standard tub or buy a $129 standard tub from Lowe’s and retrofit it. You’ll need 6″ more inches both ways.
24. Mobile and manufactured home bathtubs are usually smaller than standard tubs sold at lowe’s or Home Depot. Measure before your buy. Bathtubs in mobile homes are also notorious for turning yellow. You may be able to use a special recipe to reverse the yellowing but if not you can paint it
25. Always check the flashing and caulking around windows, doors, plumbing pipes, and roof vents every Fall. Repair or replace as needed.
26. Having additional insulation blown into your ceiling cavity and under your sub-floor can drastically help your heating and cooling efforts.
27. Older mobile homeowners should try to have insulation blown into their ceiling cavity using the drill and plug process.
28. You must use a mobile home-approved furnace or stove in your home.
29. A double wide will have two titles, one for each section. A single wide will only have one.
30. You should never buy a mobile home from anyone that doesn’t have a legal title in their hand with their own name on it.
31. In most states, you do not legally own a mobile or manufactured home until the title(s) has been registered in your name so get it titled as soon as possible.
32. Whether buying a new or pre-owned manufactured home, it’s smart to have an appraisal done whether in person or online. You can get an online mobile home appraisal done on the JD Power website for $35.
33. Do not use land that you already own as collateral on a manufactured home if at all possible.
34. Always, always, always have a licensed inspector inspect a pre-owned mobile or manufactured home before buying it.
35. You can get FHA loans for manufactured homes.
36. It’s been said that the average profit for a dealer on every manufactured home sale is $11,000 so there’s wiggle room for negotiation.
37. There are 3 levels of manufactured home quality. The most affordable has the cheapest materials and lots of staples, mid-grade levels are more like site-built homes, and luxury grade is equal to or better than site-built and equally expensive.
38. Do not add insurances, furniture, taxes, warranties, etc. into a dealer-financed loan. If needed get a second private loan from a bank to cover those separately and pay them off quickly. Otherwise, you will be paying double or even triple by the end of the loan.
39. There are 10 builders building 80% of all manufactured homes in the US. Make sure the competitors are really competitors (and not owned by the same corporation).
40. Never buy insurance from a manufactured home salesperson or dealership. Call a licensed insurance agent – you’ll almost always get a better rate.
41. Only 25% of mobile and manufactured home that sits on privately owned land is permanently installed. The pros of being classified as real property usually don’t outweigh the pros of remaining personal property.
42. There are 38 states that have HUD agency offices that monitor and handle complaints between home buyers and builders. These offices are funded by the builders – they have to pay a $24+ fee per section of each home they produce.
43. HUD’s Office of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs is in charge of the manufactured housing construction and safety standards.
44. Keep the manual and the data plate to your home. There are a certificate and important numbers that will be needed if you ever plan to try to get an equity loan or to sell it (the buyer needs the info).
45. Less than 1% of manufactured home loans through a dealer are ever refinanced.
46. Check to make sure your mobile home is level 90 days after installation, 1 year after installation, and then every 3-5 years. A water level is easy to make but you can buy a new one from Amazon for around $30:
47. Your dryer should never ever be vented directly under your home. You’re just giving mold and mildew a perfect home and possibly damaging your home. Be sure to seal caulk and seal around the dryer vent.
48. The term ‘mobile home’ was likely coined by Elmer Frey, the man that fought the state’s highway system so the homes could be 10 foot wide. The additional width allowed for a hallway instead of walking through one bedroom to get to the next. This small improvement made vintage mobile homes viable for full-time living.
49. Mobile home additions aren’t actually attached to the home at all. They just look like it. Additions, porches, and decks must have their own footers.
50. It’s usually best to buy bulky or oversized mobile home supplies from a local supply center because returns and shipping are problematic but online retailers like Amazon and Walmart carry affordable mobile home products.
If you know how to maintain and repair a factory-built home you have an advantage. Fortunately, modern manufactured homes are becoming more like site-built homes every year. They now have similar framing, sheathing, siding, and roofing materials. Still, there are a few things like financing, skirting, and odd sizes that will always be different from site-built homes.
In addition to the 50 tips about mobile homes, we’ve collected a few of our most helpful articles:
If you have any questions or tips you’d like to share please list them in the comments below and please share this article if you can.
As always, thank you so much for reading Mobile Home Living!
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View Comments
Thanks for also talking about how the plumbing of a mobile home works. I'm planning to look for listings where I could buy a tiny mobile home because I will be moving to a different city soon. Being able to buy a simple house for myself would be a great idea.
Very informative. Great ideas . Answered many questions.
Hi my husband and I purchased our first mobile home which is an older one 1987 last June. We weren't to much knowledgeable about these homes we were in a situation we had to move so we purchased this home for 25,000 there was a lot of work that needed to be done such as the bathroom , kitchen we could only afford to have the tub put in theres so much still to be done the cabinet are dropping the porch is weak windows need to be replace what can we do we don't have money anymore to fix these things i wish we had gotten an appraiser is there help or a funding program we're both seniors i want it to look nice at least while we're here what can we do.
This may help! Good luck.
https://mobilehomeliving.org/low-income-home-repair-loans/
how do you find some one who is qualified to make repairs? i live in escondido california
You can check out sites like Angie's list or even just call companies that are listed locally online in your area. Just be sure to ask for references. And if they ask for full payment up front, that's a big red flag!
I have not been able to find any info on how to restore the old gutters on manufactured homes as far as the paint mostly worn off. I believe they are aluminum, there is no rust but there is some type of corrosion. What do I need to do to prepare them for paint and what type of paint when they are ready.
Thanks so much for all of this great info! I just purchased a 14X48 on .21 acres in NE PA and am repairing it myself. I feel confident that I can do it because of folks like you who share articles, Youtube videos and the Tiny House workshop I attended a few years ago.
I got a bargain that I was able to pay cash for and doing all of the work myself is a welcome project!!
Hi Crystal,
Like you I have a Homette. I am looking for 1 to 3 replacement knobs for my Tappan double oven. it might be 13-2626 model #M11 1331. double wide 1977 built in Oregon. I have saved some original hardware if you know of a need.
Anne
Hi Anne,
You may want to check these sites out (I just Googled vintage oven knobs). Best of luck!
Hi crystal we r mobile home owners n we live in Victorville ca. Its a older one n we would like to remodel exterior n inside but i am disabled i took sick in 2014 my question is is there anyone out here or resources that help us to fix up my home .thank you n God blessyou quisha.
Hi Quisha,
This article should get you started: . This article should help too: .
Crystal, This is invaluable, I learned so much from this one article..... thank you.
Thanks, Hunter!
Glad you liked it!
I've been trying to locate info specific to set up/properly installing ground contact bladder tanks for private wells. I can't find ANYTHING that details insulating the crock against freezing at the ground level. When the tank is located UNDER the home, should it be perched above the grade, below, doesn't matter?.... etc. I keep checking MHL but still yet to see comprehensive explanations on properly locating/ set up. Hope to soon! And ps.... DRIPPING SHUT OFF VALVES/BAD PACKING NUTS are a major cause of well-freeze ....in these types of installations! Thanks for the great work you guys do!
Hi Bridgette,
If I'm understanding you correctly I think the tank just needs to be level and only the waterline adaptors/connections (in and out) would need to be insulated since the tank doesn't have water in it, only pressurized air. Hope that helps!
I am wondering how everyone manages to hang anything on the thin walls in the mobile home.
Hi Michelle!
Great question! The walls are super thin so for anything heavy you will need to hit a stud (2 if possible). There some products like the drywall hangers but they don't work well on VOG or POG wallboard. The gypsum is just too brittle and weak. I have had good results with the biggest Command strips for framed photos and canvas art.
With shelving, you'll want to make sure it is long enough to hit 2 studs so it's important to know how far apart your framing is. Usually, it will be 12", 16" or 24" apart and the studs on new homes will be 2x4's so you have about 1.75" to screw into. Older mobile homes may have smaller interior studs.
Thanks!