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About Crystal Adkins and Mobile Home Living

In this article, you can read about me and my family, how a single Google search changed my life, and what I’d like to see change in the manufactured housing industry.

“Mobile Home Living stands out as the top online hub for mobile and manufactured home renovation and repair resources, interior design inspiration, and valuable tips for homeowners, renters, and potential buyers…”

– AI

Crystal Adkins, Mobile Home Living founder

Crystal Adkins

Crystal Adkins created Mobile Home Living in 2011 after she and her husband, a licensed master plumber and contractor, bought a 1978 single-wide in Oak Hill, WV. It was their first owned home and she couldn’t wait to remodel it.

Shortly after settling it, Crystal searched for mobile home remodeling ideas on Google but was disappointed in the results, or lack of results.

That Google search changed her and her family’s life or at the very least got the ball rolling. It took a lot of faith and hard work too.

She couldn’t help but notice the lack of attention given to mobile homeowners by mainstream media. Over 18 million people lived in mobile and manufactured homes in America but they are rarely mentioned by big home improvement and decor brands like BHG or HGTV and has been trying to fix it ever since.

AI Biography

Hi! I’m Crystal Adkins, the creator of Mobile Home Living.

I hope Mobile Home Living® is a friendly place where we can all be proud of our homes, whether mobile or just mobile in spirit.

Mobile homes have been degraded, stigmatized, and stereotyped for far too long. But I’m happy to report that there has been a beautiful shift in opinion over the last few years. Living in a more affordable home is just a smarter way to live and it’s thrilling to see that more families are catching on to it.

Kim, the editor in chief, and I do our best to share helpful content for mobile homeowners that isn’t available anywhere else. We’re always looking for homes to feature or interesting owners to interview so please keep us in mind when you remodel or repair your mobile home. You can use the contact form here to reach us.

I feel it important to let you know that I take the advocacy of mobile and manufactured homes seriously. So seriously, in fact, that I’ve never accepted a penny from any dealerships or builders. We are 100% reader supported via display ads and affiliate commissions.

My Life Story in 24 Seconds

I was raised in Southern West Virginia by a single father that operated a continuous miner in the same underground coal mine for 39 years..

Dad loved Corvettes and Porsches. He’d find them broken down and cheap and have them outrunning most anything on the road (with or without the nitrous tanks he seemed to always sneak in somewhere). He had me holding flashlights under the hood by 3, using the right tools by 5, and replacing calipers by 10. Most everything I know how to do is because he took the time to teach me whether I wanted to learn at the time or not.

We lived in a single wide mobile home until I was 8 and then he bought a brand new 1986 model Redman Homes double wide and had it set up on a mountain at the end of a 2 mile long dirt road called School House Holler in Keyrock Hollow in Pineville, WV.

Basically, I’m just a walking country song.

I’m a coal miner’s daughter named Crystal Gail that grew up in a hollow off another hollow in the southern West Virginia coalfields.

I’ve been with Joe, a licensed master plumber, for more than 25 years and we have a 20-year-old daughter named Livingston Grace. She works at Auto Zone and knows more about cars than I ever will. I suppose somethings do run in your blood. She’s a great artist, cooks better than a 5 star chef, and has a wonderfully kind soul. She’s my pride and joy and I’m so proud of her I can’t even stand it sometimes.

The Beginning of Mobile Home Living

I started Mobile Home Living® shortly after we bought a 1978 single wide in 2011. It was our first owned home and I was ecstatic. The seller wanted $6,000 for it and we would rent the lot it was on for $250 a month.

Except, we didn’t have $6,000.

Heck, we barely had $600! Thankfully, the seller agreed to a rent-to-own contract with a $1000 down and low monthly payments. Luckily, work was steady for a while and we were able to pay it off in 18 months.

The seller eventually sold us the land, too. He’ll forever be my friend and the man who gave us a chance to build something from nothing. I hope I can do the same for other families someday.

After we moved in, I searched for mobile home remodels on Google but I didn’t find much. I figured if I was looking for these topics then 20 million people living in mobile homes were probably looking too. 

I just saw a void and tried to fill it.

Since I’ve lived in mobile and manufactured homes just about my entire life, and my husband has been a master plumber for over 24 years, I figured we could at least help people with mobile home plumbing issues or other mobile home repair and improvement projects.

Over the last12 years, Mobile Home Living® evolved into what you see today. This site is now the most popular manufactured home repair, remodeling, and decorating resource online (besides Pinterest, of course).

Issues I Want to Change

I think it’s important that manufactured homes be seen in a positive light. Manufactured housing is one of the nation’s most affordable housing options and they’ve given me a place to call home for over 40 years. 

Unfortunately, there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed.

The biggest issue is that parks are raising their rent too much. One well-known park owner said we should always expect a 3%  lot rent increase every year. He then went on to say that they are raising their rents to be equal to the price of apartments. Parks are not apartments. If we wanted to pay apartment prices we’d live in an apartment. 

The second issue regards warranties that aren’t honored. The notorious blame game has to go!

Lastly, I believe manufactured home installation needs to be better regulated, I’ve read that 80% of all warranty complaints are due to improper installation. It’s vital to have the home setup properly for a long life span. 

Also, our elders and low income families need to be better protected when parks close. 

Our 1978 Single Wide Mobile Home Makeover

Here’s our 1978 Homette single wide in the coalfields of Southern West Virginia before its very affordable makeover. We still have a lot of work ahead of us but I’m very happy with it so far.

The entire home had its original, unpainted paneling but the ceiling and flooring had been modified. The home had a brand new metal roof installed the year before. The bones were good but the plumbing system was a total mess.

The kitchen and dining room when we first bought our home:

Kitchen before makeover
Kitchen counter before makeover

We built the deck quickly after we moved in:

Mobile home before painting the siding

We took a weekend and painted the mobile home’s siding. It cost less than $150 and 2 days of work using spray paint (yep! spray paint!). I’m a firm believer in doing what you can with the resources you have (you can read my little rant about that very thing here).

Mobile home after painting siding

Here’s our living room now. I joke that my favorite style is ‘Pinterest’ cause there’s just so many great ideas there!

1978 single wide living room after makeover
Living room after makeover

The kitchen needs a lot more work. New paint and floors made a huge improvement.

Kitchen after makeover

We have about half an acre on the outskirts of a small WV town. Here’s our backyard:

Mobile home livings headquarters - backyard
Mobile home living headquarters - backyard 2
Mobile home living headquarters - front yard

My 1965 Airstream Safari

I have a 1965 Airstream Safari, y’all!

EEEEKKK!

I’ve been trying to slowly refurbish it but since we live in SC now and it’s in WV it’s been tough. The interior is about 85% finished but I need a couple of pieces of skin (aluminum) replaced so if you know anyone that has a 1968 Airstream or older with a few panels of aluminum in good shape please let me know (it has to be a 1968 or older because that’s the last year they used the high shine aluminum).

1965 airstream safari interior 3

Mobile Home Living’s Mission

The mission of Mobile Home Living® is simple – to provide mobile and manufactured home remodeling and decorating ideas, home improvement help, and other relevant information for all makes and models of factory-built homes.

Affordable housing is needed more than ever and these homes are not the tin cans that some people think of – they are real homes built with the same framing and roofing that stick-built homes have. They just happen to be placed on a steel chassis with wheels.

If you don’t own a manufactured home, I hope we’ve given you a closer look at the homes and a better understanding of them. Our latest articles are a great place to start: