Transporting a mobile home and finding the right mobile home mover can be a bit tricky. Mobile homes offer great affordability and convenience but they are not as easy to move as most people think.
You can’t just hook up a mobile home and pull it like you can a camper. Transporting a mobile home requires careful planning, permits, insurance, and the right equipment. Once all the paperwork is done the homes still have to be prepared (or broken down) for the move and then set up on the new property. It’s a complex system that requires knowledge and experience.
Transporting a mobile home isn’t cheap. The following should help you learn more about the process of transporting a mobile home and finding the right mobile home mover for your situation.
How a Mobile Home Mover Calculates the Cost of a Mobile Home Mover
The most important element you need to consider when transporting a mobile home is the cost effectiveness. Mobile homes require special equipment and careful planning to move. You shouldn’t just choose the cheapest company.
You’ll want to compare what each estimate includes and what additional costs will be needed. The following will help you understand all the factors that a mobile home mover uses to calculate the cost of transporting a mobile home.
When it comes to preparing your mobile home, you have two main options, preparing the home yourself or allowing a mobile home mover to do so at an additional cost. This includes securing furniture, removing your valuables, removing breakables, securing doors, windows and toilet seats, removing skirting and ensuring that nothing can fall over or break.
What does the preparation process entail?
Discontinuing utility services in advance and hiring a licensed electrician and plumber to disconnect your home.
Removing skirting, sheds, air conditioning and decks and storing them safely for transport.
Securing windows so they don’t shatter.
Packing belongings.
Securing furniture inside the mobile home.
Lifting the mobile home off the ground for axle and hitch installation.
Source: Fema
Transportation Options
Transporting mobile homes can be very difficult because most of them weigh more than 18,000 pounds, see u-ship’s budget ideas with that weight. The home must first be lifted off the base for movers to install wheels. Then, a mobile home mover tows your home to the intended destination with at least one guide car.
Most states require mobile homes to be accompanied by guide cars to protect other road users. Because of the weight, size, and length of mobile homes, movers must use major highways, travel slowly and stop frequently to replace axles and tires as needed. Actual transportation costs between $5 and $15 per mile. Here, it is extremely important for the moving company you choose to have insurance for the total cost of damages that may occur during the move.
Moreover, insurance, moving parts, and any other fees required by your local county or state will affect the cost. So check for local calculators and free estimates.
Transporting mobile homes involves several factors including disassembly and assembly, distance, permits, travel time, and costs such as employees and gasoline. Therefore, it is essential to understand a great deal about your mobile home to get an accurate quote. Here are the factors that a mobile home mover uses to charge for transporting a mobile home:
· Distance
The transportation cost for most manufactured homes ranges between $5 and $15 per mile. However, the cost may vary by mover, state, and size of your mobile home. You may also have to pay movers according to the distance they have to travel between different locations during the moving process.
· Park or private property
Moving out of private property is very different from moving out of a mobile home park and this might also affect your moving cost. For instance, when moving out of private property, you must note whether your mobile home is accessible from the road and whether it can accommodate the load. On the other hand, you must inquire whether the moving company will clean the lot when finished because the mobile home park might hold you responsible for any mess left by movers.
Counties
Most counties require that you have licenses and legal permits to move and/or install your mobile home. However, these costs usually depend on where you are moving from and where you are moving to.
· Getting to your township destination
Difficult mobile home moving trips usually cost more. Besides considering whether the roads along the way can accommodate the load, you must also understand that most townships require homeowners to acquire building permits to install manufactured homes and this will also affect the costs.
The Mobile Home’s Details
In addition to the issues above, a mobile home mover also factors in the size and construction of the home:
Size
One of the most critical factors that affect your costs is the size of your manufactured home. For instance, moving a double wide might cost twice as much as moving a single wide would cost.
Since manufacturers use different standards in the construction of mobile homes, this may affect factor such as the roof pitch especially for double wide home sand this might also affect the costs associated with moving your mobile home.
Type of siding
You should note whether you have vinyl or metal siding at it also affects weight, insurance and hence the cost of moving your mobile home.
Drywall
Do you have standard mobile home drywall or finished drywall? This will affect the cost of repairing potential damage and the cost of moving.
Axles and Hitch
If your manufactured home includes axles you should check whether they are still intact. If the axles are missing, inquire whether your mover provides them and whether they will furnish the tires too. However, if the hitch is missing you might have to buy a new one and pay for its installation.
Finding Discounts for a Mobile Home Mover
Since most mobile home parks intend to make money in the long run, they may offer move-in incentives for people who move qualified homes into their communities. Therefore, if the home you are moving to is good looking and in good condition and you agree to live in the community for a certain number of years, the mobile home park owner might offer to pay for the setup or even part of the entire manufactured home move cost.
You’ll need to compare different move-in incentives offered by different local parks and consider their restrictions for new and used mobile homes coming into their communities. Make sure you understand all the details of the contract and have an attorney review it.
It is crucial to get individual quotes from several mobile home movers based on your mobile home and your circumstances.
Although moving a manufactured home is not an ideal alternative for everyone, getting accurate quotes from different companies will help you make the best decision based on what their moving packages entail and the respective costs. You can check out sites like “how much is it” for additional info not covered in this article. But will all moves, you need to make sure it is the best option for you and your home.
In today’s uncertain world, any major purchase you make should be covered by insurance. A mobile home or manufactured home is no exception. While certain risks associated with owning a factory-built home may be slightly different than those associated with a traditional home, there are certainly many insurers eager to compete for your business. In this article, we take a look at how to buy mobile home insurance.
Mobile Homes vs. Manufactured Homes: Is There a Difference?
When it comes to mobile home insurance, homes are generally treated the same. Both types of homes are put together in whole or in part in a factory and then are transported to the home site.
Typically, mobile and manufactured homes sit on a metal frame or use tie downs in lieu of a traditional foundation. The key difference between mobile and manufactured homes is simply the date they are made. Mobile homes are homes built prior to June 15, 1976, whereas manufactured homes are built after.
Essential Insurance Coverage for Mobile and Manufactured Homes
As with a traditional home, you need 3 categories of homeowners insurance to ensure your investment is fully protected. These categories are as follows:
– Liability coverage. This policy covers you in the event that you cause damage to another person’s property or someone comes onto your property and is injured.
– Property damage. If your property (mobile or manufactured house) itself gets significantly damaged and requires repair, this is the rider you will need.
– Personal property. This rider can cover and reimburse you for personal belongings that were impacted by a covered loss (i.e. theft or inclement weather)
Pricing for Mobile Home Insurance
If you own a mobile home, for insurance purposes this means your home was built prior to June 15, 1976. As an older residence that wasn’t built according to today’s building codes, you may find your insurance premiums come at higher rates.
Manufactured home insurance, however, is where you will see the greatest price differentials, since your home could have been built any time after June 15, 1976. The newer your manufactured home, the less costly your insurance is likely to be overall, at least structurally speaking.
In the past, few insurers offered mobile home insurance. Today, however, most of the major insurers, including Allstate, State Farm, and Farmers, offer this type of insurance, as do many regional and local carriers.
One way to check which insurers are licensed to provide mobile and manufactured home insurance in your state is go on your state’s Insurance website, which offers important information for consumers that is more regionally specific. Additionally, if you belong to any special organizations or associations such as AARP (for persons aged 50 or older) or USAA (for military members) or your employer has negotiated a special rate plan for employees, you may find cheaper rates that quotes suggest.
If your mobile or manufactured home comes equipped with special safety features, such as a smoke detector or security system, or you are bundling your home insurance with a company you already have another policy with (i.e. car or motorcycle), this may also afford you extra discounts.
Specialty Insurance Riders
Like traditional homeowners insurance, mobile and manufactured home insurance typically does not cover special issues, such as flooding, wildfires and mold and mildew.
If you live in an area with special weather considerations or in a very humid climate where mold is more likely to develop, you may want to consider getting an additional insurance rider.
Coverage Levels and What You Need
Because each state has the right to set insurance minimus, your costs for mobile and manufactured home insurance will primarily depend on which state you live in.
There are, however, other factors that may influence your mobile home insurance premium. These include:
Your deductible. The general rule of thumb is the higher your deductible, the lower your premium.
Your home value. If you have a more expensive home, it will cost more to insure it.
How much coverage you’re interested in. While states may set minimum coverage levels, this doesn’t mean you won’t want or need more coverage than what the minimums will provide. The more coverage you want, the more you will pay.
Home location. Regional climate may alter your ‘risk level’ for home damage. Flood plains, hurricane or tornado zones or other special issues affecting your state or region could raise your price.
By understanding what kind of coverage you need, the types of coverage you get and how your price is determined, you will be better equipped to shop around an
In the Spring, tornados on the east coast begin gearing up and can cause havoc for everyone, especially those who have chosen mobile home living as their dwelling. If you are not prepared, your home, as well as your physical safety, are at risk from hail, heavy rain and flooding, and lightning strikes. In many areas of the country, tornado warnings often accompany severe storms.
According to ready.gov/tornados, “A tornado appears as a rotating funnel-shaped cloud that exceeds from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach three hundred miles per hour.” Mobile homes, particularly older single wides, are not equipped for winds at this speed.
Tornados are not the only threat to affect mobile home living residents on the east coast. During late summer and early fall months, hurricanes are also a danger.
Ready.gov/hurricanes defines a hurricane as, “a type of tropical cyclone or severe tropical storm.” Hurricanes can produce winds in excess of one hundred and fifty-five miles per hour and often have micro storms or tornados. Large amounts of rainfall in a relatively short time and for those living on the coast can result in excessive flooding.
To properly prepare for a severe storm, tornado, or hurricane, mobile home living residents must take the proper steps to secure their home and know what to do when a storm hits.
Mobile Home Storm Safety Tips
Make a plan
Keep an emergency kit including food, water, and medication for three days minimum. Choose food that will be easily consumed and remain safe. Also, keep essential documents in a water-safe container. If you have pets, be sure and plan for them as well.
Plan for shelter. Know where you will go if you must evacuate and what items you need to take. Many shelters do not allow pets so pet owners must plan in advance.
Keep shrubbery and trees around the home trimmed.
Remove any debris or loose items such as chairs, tables, and trash bins.
Check roofing materials and reinforce as needed. Older roofs may be worth replacing with stronger materials.
Invest in an anchoring system. Anchoring systems should include straps (or ties) and anchors. Ties are secured to either a ground anchor or a concrete deadman anchor. Some anchors can be attached to the foundation.
Tornados may occur without any notice. Warning signs include: dark, often greenish sky, large hail, large, dark, low lying clouds (sometimes rotating), and a loud roar. If you are unable to seek shelter and must stay inside, move to an inside room.
To prepare for possible storms, it is wise to reinforce the inside room.
“We have evidence that we can construct affordable housing that is resilient,” said Leslie Chapman-Henderson, president of the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting property from disasters.
Mobile Home Anchors and Tie Downs
Safety anchors come in two types, over the top and frame ties. According to the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia, for homes that are ten, twelve, or fourteen feet wide, both types of straps are needed. For double wide mobile or manufactured homes that are larger than fourteen feet, only the frame ties are needed.
The ties must be secured to an anchor. Typical anchors are buried underground approximately four to five feet. The depth is determined by how saturated the ground is prone to be and to the possibility of flooding. The greater the chance of ground saturation and flooding, the deeper the anchor needs to be buried. As water collects in the soil, the soil loosens, which results in the anchor’s ability to move.
If you are pouring a concrete slab around the home or as the foundation, a concrete anchor may be installed first.
Once you have the anchor set and have applied the straps to the home, adjust the straps to maximize security. It is wise to take the extra step and enlist in the service of a home inspector. The inspector has the proper education and experience to ensure your home is as safe as possible.
With a little preparation and hard work, mobile home living does not mean total loss during a storm as it once did. By taking necessary precautions such as having a plan, evacuating when necessary, and strengthening your home, you can often reduce the damage that may occur.
For more information on tornados, visit ready.gov/tornados. For more information on hurricanes, visit ready.gov/hurricanes. There you can find more information on emergency kits, dangers, and signs of impending storms.
As always, thank you for reading Mobile Home Living!
If someone is new to Mobile Home Living and has never been around a factory-built home they probably don’t know what they don’t know. While mobile homes are remarkably similar to site-built homes, there are still differences. For example, financing and installation are more complex but the plumbing is more simplified. Here are some useful tips about mobile homes to help you get started.
Every one of these 50 tips about mobile homes comes from the almost 700 articles we’ve published over the years. These are all things that I think can help a newbie or a seasoned mobile homeowner.
Over 18 million people are living in a factory-built home in America yet there are no magazines or TV shows and only a few truly helpful online resources for mobile and manufactured homeowners. If someone has never been around a mobile home before they have a lot to learn and it can be overwhelming. Hopefully, this list of 50 tips about mobile homes will help.
The tips are organized by topic. There are tips for installation and setup, underbelly and skirting, doors, roofing, and buying the best home. Most of these tips about mobile homes will include a link to an article that goes into more detail about the subject.
Installation and Setup
1. It’s been said that improper or incorrect installation of manufactured homes accounts for 80% of all warranty complaints. That tells 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. A mobile home is built on a cambered chassis meaning it the metal is curved to distribute the weight of the home. Outriggers are the triangle steel attached to the main beams that extend to the edge of the perimeter walls.
Underbelly and Skirting
4. The underbelly of a mobile home is way more important than you 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) repairs any tears or holes created in the belly wrap after they’ve finished repairs or installs.
6. Vents in your mobile home skirting should be within 3-5 feet of every corner to reduce dead air pockets under your home. These dead air pockets are a perfect environment for mold and mildew.
7. Skirting vents should be open during the summer and closed during the winter.
Doors, Windows, Siding
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.
11. Flat metal roofs 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. Mobile homes with no eaves need a healthy J-channel above doors and windows to act as a gutter and keep water from hitting them.
13. Eaves help keep the rain off those elements. If ordering a new home or re-roofing your current home opt for 8-12″ eaves.
Walls, Floors, and Ceilings
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.
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.
Mobile Home Plumbing
20. Every source of water (faucet, tub, dishwasher, washing machine) should have a shutoff valve.
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 notorious for turning yellow. You may be able to use a special recipe to reverse the yellowing but if not you can paint it
Insulation and Energy Efficiency
25. You should check the flashing and caulking around your windows, doors, plumbing pipes, roof vents every Fall. Replace loose or thin caulking.
26. Having additional insulation blown into your ceiling cavity and under your sub-floor can drastically help your heating and cooling efforts.
36. It’s been said that the average profit for a dealer on every manufactured home sale is $11,000.
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.
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.
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.
48. The term ‘mobile home’ was 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.
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:
Mobile home patio covers or deck covers can add value to your home and increase comfort and living space at a very reasonable price of around $8 per square foot. Mobile home carports are also smart additions, especially if you live in an area with hot summers or snow-filled winters. The shade can keep the car cooler and keeps the snow off the car in the winter. Never needing to scrape ice and snow from a car in 5-degree weather again pays for itself!
In this article, we are covering mobile home awnings, carports, and patio covers. We’ve gathered 40 different images of various mobile home awnings and carports with a few window window awnings. We also found some average prices for popular sizes and a few installation guides. If you are think about installing a new awning to your home this article should certainly help.
Popular Mobile Home Carport and Patio Cover Designs
Awnings are available in several different designs with the most popular being the “lean-to” design.
A lean-to awning is when one side of the carport or covered patio is attached to the home and the other side is lower and sits on posts. Ideally, all awnings should have a pitch of 1/4″ for every 1 foot. This allows enough of a slope to allow rain and snow to slide off easier.
Sheds with lean to roofs are popular additions for mobile homes as well. There are plenty of great slant roof shed plans available online if you don’t want to attach a carport or patio to your home.
The patio experts at Trueline claims that Carports, patios, and awnings are typically made from aluminum with the 2 most common designs being the W-pan and a flat pan. The flat pan is a bit cheaper because there is less material used. However, you can get an insulated flat pan with foam insulation sandwiched between the top and bottom – these are much more expensive.
The W-Pan tops have waves like galvanized sheet metal. This design reflects sun off a little better than the flat pans and help water slide down into the end gutter easier. Most of the images you’ll see below are of W-pans.
Source: Homeporchandpatiokits.com
Carports and patio cover kits will include the top, the brackets or hanger, the side fascias, the gutter fascia, and the posts. The most common post used to be the flat 8″ wide flat scroll columns but the square and pillar column have become more popular in recent years.
Post Designs For Mobile Home Carports And Aluminum Awnings (Source: Durabilt)
Flat Pan Vs W-Pan
The photo on the left is of a flat pan carport or awning. The flat section of the pan is available in a few different widths. The image on the right shows a W-pan. They are also available in various widths.
Vintage Mobile Home Awning
Open any vintage mobile home magazine from the 1940s to the 1970s and you’ll find a ton of ads for mobile home awnings. They were must-haves from the get-go because they help keep a mobile home cooler, create additional living space, are fairly easy to install, and relatively affordable. Throughout this article, you’ll find ads for mobile home awnings, carports, and patio covers.
Postcard Ad For A Mobile Home Awning Company. The Postcard Read, “18 Men On A Silvertop Roof.” (Circa 1950-1960). Source: Don’T Call Them Trailer Trash
Some awning companies offer one piece designs like the one in the vintage ad above. Durabilt is one of those companies and they still offer the arched design that was so popular decades ago.
Source: DurabiltSource: Durabilt
Mobile Home Awnings, Carports, and Covered Patios
You’ll see dozens of different designs for carports and patio covers below. Take special notice of the post designs, edging, panel design, and installation position to get an idea of what will look best on your own mobile home awnings.
Covered Patio
This aluminum mobile home patio cover has sliding wicker shades that provide stylish privacy and shade.
Standard Mobile Home Carport
A brise soleil is a really just a fancy word for a permanent sunshade or awning. This single wide has an awning shade on an angle to deflect as much sun as possible from the home.
I love the additional architectural elements added to the home.
As you walk through the mobile home carport toward the front door you can see a floral fabric or canvas shade along with a wooden deck. This is a great setup for small lots.
Very Vintage, Very Cool
This is a perfect vintage mobile home! An aluminum awning, or patio cover, is attached to the home with lattice railings and an ivy arch. I love the quilted metal design on the home.
This is another cool vintage mobile home carport hybrid.
1950S Image Of An Awning And Carport.
Smart Living Shade
This homeowner grew a smart living sun shade. Wisteria and ivy can be invasive so you need to keep it off the home which is exactly what the homeowner did here.
The same home has a private hot tub under the awning on the other side of the home. The fence design costs a little more to build but it looks great.
Simple and Stunning
This little single wide manufactured home has some great exterior design elements. The awning is simple which is perfect for a home this cute.
Lattice Admire this Mobile Home
This awning is has traditional scrolled posts holding the awning on a slant, just like every other mobile home awning. The stunner here is the lattice privacy fence and the cool stone work in front of the awning.
Stylish and Shaded
I love this home! The rich colors, the double awnings with another brise soleil (on the left) and the window shades all make a statement. Even the plants are the perfect!
The front entrance is stunning on this double wide. It’s perfectly shaded and so stylish.
Just Overhanging
This mobile home awning was screened in and a stone patio was added for additional outdoor living space. There’s nothing really unique here except the overhang – the homeowner didn’t extend the screened in walls all the way to the edge. By leaving such a wide overhang they help make the home look larger and keep the rain and sun out. It’s a smart design.
The Tale of Three Sides
This double wide in Palm Springs is unique, in three ways. From the distance, it looks like any other mobile home.
Pull into the back carport and you’ll feel like you’re the city. This graffiti art on the back carport shade is unique and I love unique! There is an awful lot of white on this home – a little bit of color sure brightens it up! I bet the kids love it!
But wait! The front door is the exact opposite of the back! On the back you have a carport with a privacy shade spray painted in colorful shapes. On the front, it’s all minimal and white and calm.
The Front Door And Covered Patio Of Palm Springs Double Wide.
We’re still not finished with this Palm Springs double wide! The backyard is just as cool! The door on the left is the door from the carport and the addition on the right is connected to the front entrance awning. This is the view from the backyard and what a backyard it is!
Look at this back yard!
I can’t stand it! This home is amazing!
Delightfully Diagonal
This is a simple awning with the traditional flat scroll posts. I’ve included it because the pavers are neat. Plus, I wanted to share how this awning was placed under the eave on the mobile home and it doesn’t look to have much of a pitch. This is in Southern California so it doesn’t need to hold much of a live load therefore you have a couple more installation options available to you.
The Pavers Add Are A Great Feature But They Will Need To Be Set A Little Better Soon.
A Shady Tree
This 1975 double wide in Southern California shades a porch and a tree.
The awning extends past the porch and gives the tree some much appreciated shade, I’m sure.
Clear Pergola Design
This 1979 double wide is in Oregon and is probably perfect for an area that doesn’t get a whole lot of sunny days. The clear plastic roof allows for a nice wooden pergola look but with the convenience of a covered awning.
Terrific Tan
The desert is so foreign to me which is probably why I love it so much. WV and SC are both green everywhere you look. The tan siding with natural wood pergola and the tan canvas is so calm and subtle. It lets the sky the surroundings become the stars of the show.
Timeless Traditional
Most homeowners go with wood when they have a little more money to spend on an awning or porch. This homeowner spared no expense and created a truly timeless design. What a gorgeous home!
Lattice Go Modern
Lattice really shines when it’s used as an awning or pergola ceiling or a fence topper. Unless you double it up lattice isn’t a great mobile home skirting material. It doesn’t protect the home from critters and allows way too much air under the home in winter. However, it’s a perfect fence accent and awning cover.
Orange You Glad You Saw This?
I’ve loved this home since I first saw it and have used it in several articles. Naturally, I had to add it to the best mobile home awning design. The trim color is perfect and gives an older mobile home a cool modern look.
One Of My Dream Homes!
A closer look at the cute vintage mobile home awning.
Caban-A-Room Ad
Interlocking all aluminum roof and wall panel sections. Easy to erect, dismantle, and transport. Aluminum screened windows and door, with or without Jalousies. Choice of all-glass or aluminum louvers. Models to fit any size and style trailer.
More space for entertaining, recreation, sleeping, and storage. Caban-A-Room may be ordered separately. Wall sections can be added later. Beautiful 10×20 foot all aluminum carport makes practical permanent shelter for trailer parks.
Simply Stoned
I like this double wide! Its siding and accent colors are great but the windows are perfect! The covered carport with matching trim compliments it all. This mobile home siding looks like those faux panels – some of the designs are fairly affordable.
The Big Picture
Dawn Moore has helped remodel a few double wides. She really understands mobile home construction and has a way to make them look like a custom house. She also designs for the future and this is one of those cases. In just a few years the ivy that is planted at the base of each pole will wind its way up and around the roof to create living shade. The wide eaves of the metal roof will keep everyone dry in the meantime.
The affordable wire fencing used on the railings and the sheet metal used as fencing are both great uses of materials.
Million Dollar Mobile Home
This awning is attached to a goregeous mobile home that is a working horse ranch. It sold for close to $1.5 million! The view alone is worth that – and they homeowners that designed the front yard took full advantage of the space and the view. Small fish ponds dot the front yard and a wooden awning with canvas shade sits beside the front porch with a pitched metal roof.
Smart and Simple and Gorgeous
I love this home, too! Aluminum awnings come in sections. Some are 36″ wide which these look to be and to add a little sunlight onto the covered patio the homeowners had clear strips installed between each aluminum panel. It’s decorative and useful.
1955 Sun King Steel and Aluminum Sun Shelters
This 1955 magazine article is about Sun King Company of Fontana, CA an aluminum awning manufacturer offering the new Ramada, Cabana, and Shademaker options. They were all approved by the California State Division of Housing.
The Ramada was available in 5 different styles with 3 different edge treatments, making a total of 15 distinctive combinations from which to choose. SUn King’s Cabana was designed and engineered to be used along with their new Ramada, or a pre-existing awning or carport. Glass-louvered windows were incorporated in steel frames to form floor to ceiling windows that were interchangeable with the double walled aluminum panels. All of Sun King’s units were made with 20 gauge embossed ribbed aluminum which proved cooler by tests with up to 95% of the sun’s heat rays deflected off the ribbed design.
I Heart This Covered Patio
I really like the design of this mobile home’s covered patio. The home is installed on higher piers than most so steps and a raised patio are needed. By extending the brick steps out several feet the homeowner has created built-in flower shelving.
This mobile home with covered patio is cool. Not sure I’ve seen railings like this before but I like unusual and unique. It’s certainly safe!
Stucco Awn Patios
California is a mobile home paradise! This double wide has a cool covered patio and a carport. Oh, and the tan stucco siding with black trim is pretty cool too.
Sheet Metal Safe
I love to see sheet metal used in neat ways. 20 years ago if you used galvanized sheet metal you’d probably be called tacky. Now, it’s cool! This little gate probably keeps a cute puppy or maybe a child safe and looks good at the same time. That’s a win-win!
Check, Check, Check!
Vintage mobile home, check. Cool window, check. Neat carport design, check. Lovely landscaping, check. Black wrought iron gate and fabric curtained covered patio, check.
Yep, I’m in love.
Clean and Classic
This newer manufactured home has a curved aluminum top, wooden posts, and a white picket fence. This is a classic design and it looks great!
Dark and Dreamy
Another creative paint scheme that looks great. I appreciate homeowners that are brave enough to go against the grain and paint their home any dang color they want. This is a great looking double wide! I bet that carport keeps the cars nice and cool even on the hottest summer day.
The slight white trim around the windows work well with the white covered patio on the left (you can barely see it).
Green-Eyed Envy
This double wide in Paramount, Ca caught my eye immediately. I love it! The green siding with white trim are eye-catching. The simple palm tree and the green shade on the carport work well with the look.
Lovin this Look
White and light gray are two of my favorite colors for mobile home siding. It’s clean and fresh. This home has everything you could want: covered carport, covered patio, covered porch in the back and a small add-a-room. It even has an awning on the window!
California Dreamin
I guess I just need to pack up and move to California cause all my favorite homes are out there! This is a great looking double wide for sale in Palm Springs. The windows and the view are fabulous!
Can’t Be Blue with this Beauty
I found this bright blue double wide on Instagram. I love everything about it!
Great Green
This double wide is similar to the blue one above. It just goes to show you how the same home design can look so different with paint and a few architectural elements.
Terrific Trees
All the different trees and shrubs are stunning around this double wide mobile home. The covered carport and patios are pretty great too!
Classic Lines
Classic clean lines make this home a winner!
The homeowner kept the design of the steps and porch simple and clean.
Angling for Attention
I love all the different angles and lines on this home! The roof and the dormers are awesome but the homeowner went all out with even more vertical and horizontal lines and it works beautifully!
Notice the band of horizontal siding in the middle of the home with the vertical panels above it? I like the vertical railings and how the awning doesn’t go past the step’s edge.
The posts that hold the carport cover up is uniques too. This double wide is great!
Carport Addition is Easy Math
This home’s addition has a classic paneled carport with large windows.
Additional Beauty
This vintage double wide has gorgeous landscaping.
Something Shiny
EEEEK! Look how shiney that gorgeous siding! Oh, and the covered patio is pretty cool too. Love this mobile home!
Source: Tumblr
In previous articles, we’ve advised homeowners to add porches and decks to their mobile home to give it a more site-built home appearance but awnings work as well. Anything you can add to give the home dimension or hide a mobile home’s obvious rectangular shape is a good idea.
Cost of Mobile Home Awnings, Carports, and Covered Patios
Costs of mobile home awnings are dependant on several variables. As mentioned above, carports and covered patios usually have a W profile, often called a W-pan. These use a lot more metal so they will cost more. However, they are better at reflecting the sun’s rays and helping rain and snow slide off so the added cost is usually worth it.
In areas where parks require carports, awnings, or covered patios you can probably expect to pay a little more as well. Suppliers know you need it and if they are close or the most recommended company in the park you’ll pay a convenience markup.
Finally, the thickness of the metal is another price factor. Some locations will require a minimum gauge or weight capacity.
Average prices for awning kits:
20 foot by 24 foot Heavy Duty 3″x12″ (.024) Aluminum Riser Panel Patio Cover Awning Kit $4,396.00 includes shipping on Ebay.
12 foot by 24 foot 16″ W-Panels (.019) Aluminum Patio Cover Kits $1,875.00 with shipping on Ebay.
10 foot X 20 foot Aluminum Patio Cover W-Pan (.025) Roof Style with 3 Posts $1,424.99 on DIYHomeImprovementKits.com (I don’t think shipping is included).
Average price for carport kits:
Most steel single carports look to run right around $2200.00 regardless if it’s freestanding or attached at DIYHomeImprovementKits.com.
24 foot by 24 foot 16″ W-Panels (.019) Wall Attached Aluminum Carport Kit is $4,095.00 with shipping on Ebay.
Can You Install a Mobile Home Carport Yourself?
Carports are a fairly easy DIY project for a homeowner with moderate construction and home improvement experience.
If you buy a kit from any supplier they will give you detailed instructions based on the manufacturer’s specifications but they will probably look a lot like this or this.
Do you have a great awning, carport, or patio? We’d love to see it! Visit our Mobile Home Living® Remodels and Repairs Facebook Group to share photos and share advice and tips with thousands of other mobile home owners.
As always, thank you so much for reading Mobile Home Living®!
All image not sourced individually were found on Realtor.com.
Good parks offer amenities for their tenants like well-manicured surroundings, play areas, and pools. They must ensure the property is safe and that utilities are functioning while offering fair lot rents that don’t increase every year for no good reason.
In return, tenants promise to pay their monthly rent on time and follow the rules of the park. But what happens when the rules are strange and over-reaching?
In this article, we are sharing 17 bizarre mobile home park rules.
Weird Mobile Home Park Rules about Pets and Other Animals
Every rule listed below had to stem from a single incident.
Whatever the reason, managers found the issue serious enough to add it to the rules and regulations section in their lease. In several of these cases, the park managers may have over-reached their boundaries and impeded the rights of the tenants in the park.
Bill Blades is a regular contributor to our Facebook Page, Mobile Home Living: Remodels and Repairs, and has a beautiful single wide in a nice park. He said his last park had a ‘no exotic pets’ rule before they decided to move there. Fortunately, he went back a few months later to see about an exception, and lo-and-behold, new owners were purchasing the park and they welcomed his iguana. Here’s his cute little iguana looking for a snack:
Bill Blades Owns The Weirdest Looking Cat I’Ve Ever Seen…Lol
No Pets in Your Own Home?
The no pet rule in parks really upset me. I love animals – have 2 cats and 2 dogs and a dwarf hamster. Of course, I can understand a no pets rule if you are renting a home. I can also understand the aggressive breed rules for dogs. But if you own the mobile home and rent the lot you should be able to do whatever you want inside your own home as long as it doesn’t impede on your neighbors rights and contentment.
One of the best perks of owning your own home is getting to have pets!
Jacki W. told us that when she first moved into her mobile 15 yrs ago the park had a no pets rule, not even an indoor cat. Thankfully, new park owners lifted the ridiculous rule.
“I own my mobile, rent their land, and they wanted to tell me what I could do within the mobile that I own?”
Jacki W.
Leigh A. says she had the same ridiculous rule in her park until January 2019. They couldn’t even have a goldfish in her owned home! Luckily, she got new park owners, too.
While Marianne’s park allowed pets, she had to pay $20 per month per pet, even for an indoor pet. I wonder if an aquarium was counted as one pet? That could get expensive!
If Lynn’s manager finds any doggie piles on a tenant’s lawn they get charged $20 per pile. She says she doesn’t have a dog so she better not ever get charged!
Ann S. says her park has a rule against large dogs but it’s based on height, not weight. Dogs need to be knee-high or shorter. Luckily, she has a 50lb Basset/Aussie mix that is super short so she can keep her. Yay!
Speaking of vicious and aggressive dog breeds, Sue Ellen Borchers-Binter’s park doesn’t allow Pugs. I had no idea pugs were considered dangerous?
I understand that animals can create issues in a mobile home park. If I knew a neighbor had snakes in their home I would be very uncomfortable and probably scare myself to death by imagining them getting loose. I would be a mess! I understand a lot of people are scared of animals, especially dogs. Admittedly, I get a little nervous around certain breeds. However, some of these rules about animals are a bit weird and over-reaching.
No Feeding the Squirrels!
Cheryl has to pay a $20 dollar fine if her park catches her feeding squirrels.
No shooting the Vermin
I thought Mitchell was pulling my leg when he commented that his park has a rule prohibiting vermin shooting. When I questioned him he shared the actual rule list and sure enough, it says “Please keep the property safe by not firing at vermin that come into the park.”
Mitchell M.’S Mobile Home Park Rules Stating No Vermin Shooting
Don’t Air Your Laundry on Sundays
Sandy B. couldn’t hang out her laundry to dry on Sundays in her first mobile home park in the early 80’s.
Thomas B. can’t air his dirty laundry on Sundays, or anything else for that matter. In fact, he can’t do much of anything on Sundays; no hanging out laundry, mowing the lawn or using any kind of power equipment on Sundays.
Cosmetic Rules
HOAs and mobile home park rules are disliked for a lot of reasons, mostly because they overreach and try to control everything. The following weird mobile home park rules deal with cosmetics and aesthetics and are a bit over controlling.
“It was there when we moved in. It’s not ours but somehow the cost of repairs is.”
Julie B.
Sable L. cannot plant anything anywhere, not even in patio pots, without board approval.
In Patricia’s park, there can be no dirt showing in the planters or anywhere on your lot.
The days of the famed victory garden are long gone in Rory A.’s park. They are not allowed to have even a small garden on their lot.
Julie found a lot in a park but it had an old shed on it that she wasn’t particularly fond of. Shortly after she moved in she received a notice to paint the shed at her expense. She states, “It was there when we moved in. It’s not ours but somehow the cost of repairs is.”
Jacki W. had that same kind of issue over a lamp post that no longer worked. When she moved in she asked to have it removed but they told her she had to do it herself and pay to dispose of it. She rightfully says, “It’s not my land, why is it my lamp post?”
Aerial View Of Canyon West Hills Manufactured Home Community In Ca.
Park Amenities Problems
Kaci’s park has a playground but the park has a rule where kids under 14 are not allowed to play on it. That makes no sense!
Catie says her park has a beautiful community room but there’s a $300 cleaning deposit and you cannot rent it unless all the people at your event live in the park. So no friends or family at birthday parties? That’s ridiculous!
Leigh A. has a pool at her mobile home community but you have to sign in to use the pool and then a park employee sits and watches you swim. She says the employee isn’t even a lifeguard. In addition to the creepy watcher, the pool is only open from July to Labor Day and weekend hours are only 2-7pm.
Leigh’s park also has a rule that tenants can have no overnight guests unless the manager is notified first. She says new owners have recently taken over so hopefully things change.
Regularly Raising Rent
Cassandra M. says her park doesn’t have any weird mobile home park rules but they increase lot rent so often and each time it’s a higher amount. Lot rent can’t be raised easily in most states and to do it in the middle of a tenant contract requires some extenuating circumstances, one of those being new park owners. She says the rent has been raised so many times that she is suspicious the ‘new owners’ are actually the same company that is just changing names/titles.
Lori C. told us that her lot rent goes up $20.00 every year and she has to pay an extra $50.00 monthly fee just for having a shed on her lot that she paid for and is not hooked up to any utilities.
Getting Soaked for a Waterbed
Mindy W. lived in a court that required permission to have a waterbed.
It’s my freaking house!!! What were they afraid the grass on the lot would get wet?
Mindy W.
In addition to getting preapproval by the park owners to have a waterbed, Mindy also had to list the owners as co-beneficiary on her homeowner’s insurance policy.
Wait. What?
Fortunately, Mindy is no pushover and she did a little research. She asked her insurance company about listing the park owners as co-beneficiaries on her private homeowner’s insurance policy and they told her it was not legally required for the court owners to be listed as co-beneficiary and they couldn’t evict her for non-compliance. However, they could come up with a reason if they really wanted you gone.
She continued, “There was actually only one company in our city that would even do a policy like that and from what I heard it was the company that the court owners used. I could tell you so many more ridiculous stories but I’m sure we’ve all been there!”
Mobile Home Park By Lynn Friedman
Heavy-Handed Mobile Home Park Rules are Finally Making Headlines
Cheryl Muhovich had lived in San Souci, a quaint Boulder CO mobile home park, for 21 years. She only had 7 more payments to own her mobile home outright. In August 2018, the 62 lot park was purchased for $3.85 million by RV Horizons, the fifth-largest ‘holder’ of mobile home communities in the US. Soon after purchasing it they left a 17-page packet on the tenant’s doors filled with new requirements, some “could force residents like Muhovich to make thousands of dollars in upgrades or face eviction.”
The new rules were fairly standard though a bit heavy-handed: no more than 2 cars in the driveway, if a car isn’t registered or licensed it has to be dent and rust-free, no statues or lawn ornaments, no skateboarding or climbing trees, no cars on ramps for more than 3 hours, and no loitering or ‘wandering’ the streets after 9 pm.
The most concerning rule is the one called, Owner’s Right of Self-Help:
“RV Horizons gives itself the power to make changes, without notifying residents, and then send a bill for whatever work was done — Section 3B of the rules and regulations document, under the heading “Owner’s Right of Self-Help.””
Conclusion
Of course, not all mobile home parks have weird or overreaching park rules. But before you move a home into a park it’s important that you research that park and its management. Ask tenants in the park about their experiences and the issues in the park. Knocking on doors and asking questions can keep you from making the wrong choice.
Mobile home parks have a lot of power and tenants have very little. In many states, a park only needs to give a 30-day notice to evict or shut down. Louisiana only requires a 10-day notice. That means a mobile home owner renting a lot must have the thousands of dollars it takes to move the home to another park or property and that’s assuming they can even find one. Before you move into a park and give them that kind of power it’s important that you understand the management and its history.
Do you live in a park with weird rules? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below, on our Facebook Page, or on our new Facebook Group called Mobile Home Living: Remodels and Repair where homeowners ask questions and post beautiful remodels.
As always, thank you for reading Mobile Home Living!
Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of mobile home skylights. While they are nice to have, the disadvantages have far outweighed the advantages in my experience. However, I understand that skylights are getting better with modern technology so I’m not ready to write them off completely.
In this article, we’ll cover mobile home skylights. We’ll cover the various types of skylights, share tips on choosing the right kind of skylight and where they should be placed. There’s also advice for finding and repairing leaks and replacing a skylight.
Advantages of Skylights
Skylights have many advantages. Adding natural light to a room without losing privacy is by far the best advantage. It’s no secret that sunlight can help elevate your mood but it can also help warm a room. And, since home buyers absolutely love skylights, having one makes a home more appealing.
In a home with low ceilings, such as a mobile home, a skylight can make the room feel more open. One company described this as visually expanding a space which seems fitting.
Disadvantages of Skylights
Leaks are the most common complaint and therefore the biggest disadvantage of mobile home skylights. However, cleaning skylights comes in a close second to the biggest disadvantage of skylights. No one wants to have to climb upon their roof to clean something.
Loss of heat in the winter and added radiant heat during the summer are also common issues if the skylight doesn’t open or have a shade.
Fixed Vs Operable Skylights
There are many different types of skylights available on the market today and they all fall into two categories: fixed and operable.
Fixed skylights have no moveable parts. They can be any shape or size but they do not open or close and there are no fancy blinds or mechanical mechanisms.
Operable skylights have some sort of mechanism to them such as a middle pivoting hinge or a top hinge that allows the skylight to open. They may have built-in shades or remotes that can open and close the hatches. Solar powered skylights may have rain sensors so they know when to close.
Operable skylights are sometimes called roof windows because they can be opened and closed and can have integrated shades that can be shut. These roof windows can have motors controlled by remotes or in-wall switches or have a pole and latch system.
A skylight that opens can create a natural cooling effect. This occurs when the windows and doors are opened so cool air comes in and pushes the warm air, which naturally rises, out through the skylight.
There are several types of skylights on the market today. It’s easy for a buyer to get overwhelmed. We’ll go over the common types below.
Cutaway closeup of a deck-mounted skylight. Source: Velux
Curb Vs Deck Mounted Skylights
Fixed and operable skylights are just the first classification of skylights. The next classification involves how the skylights are designed and installed, referred to as deck mounted and curb mounted.
Curb and deck mounted skylights have a couple things in common. It’s recommended that the roof have a minimum 3:12 pitch before either a curb or deck mounted skylight be installed.
Both curb and deck mounted skylights require flashing and underlayment to help create a water-tight seal.
Curb Mounted Skylight Diagram Source Sun Tek
Curb Mounted Skylight
A curb mounted skylight can be fixed or operable and has a boxed framed that it sits on lip usually made of 2×4’s.
AIA Industries explains curb mounted skylights best: “Think of a curb as a shoebox, the skylight is the lid. The boxes can be made of wood, metal or concrete.”
Curb mounted skylights are the most popular in residential housing. Their biggest advantage is that owners can replace the window without needing to replace the whole thing.
Deck Mounted Skylights
Surface or deck mounted skylights do not have a frame or lip that they sit upon like the curb mounted skylights. They just attach directly to the roofing deck, typically using their own frame, hence the name.
Deck mounted polycarbonate mobile home skylights are a bit more prone to leaks due to improper installation or poor flashing and sealing maintenance. However, they are more affordable so if a homeowner is willing to do the proper maintenance, a deck mounted skylight would be a great choice.
Polycarbonate Skylights
Polycarbonate skylights are by far the most popular skylights in the RV, camper, and manufactured housing industry. Before polycarbonate. acrylic was the most popular skylight material besides glass.
Polycarbonate is made with a petrochemical called G.E Lexan® Resin. It’s so strong that it’s used as airplane windows and automobile bumpers. It is 30 times more impact resistant than acrylic skylights and 250 times more resistant than standard glass. Polycarbonate skylights are available in bronze, clear, and white outer shells with frosted or clear interior domes. They are all usually coated with a tint that filters 97% of ultra-violet light which reduces heat and glare.
Polycarbonate skylights come in many shapes: flat, round, pyramid, ridge-shaped, bubble, and dormer. They will typically be self-flashing or one solid piece that is sealed to the roof’s deck with the shingles or metal laid over it.
Glass and Acrylic Skylights
Weight is a big factor for mobile home roofs so glass skylights will likely need additional support. For instance, a 4-by-4-foot polycarbonate skylight will weigh less than 65 pounds while a glass skylight of the same size will weight in at around 120 pounds.
Acrylic skylights, most common in the 1980s, are prone to be damaged by hail. They also fade or discolor over time so they aren’t used as much anymore.
Tubular lights are becoming popular in residential housing because they can be installed just about anywhere. Unlike glass and acrylic, they can work well in a mobile or manufactured home.
Tubular skylights are extremely flexible because their shafts can be straight, tilted, or even curved. A direct access to the roof isn’t needed. Prisms help bounce the light through the tunnel.
Tubular lights, also called sun pipes or light tunnels, are best installed after a manufactured home has been permanently set up on location so they can be placed in the best position. This eliminates possible damage to the shaft of the tube during a home’s transport.
Tube skylights with shallow shafts work well with manufactured homes since there isn’t an attic.
Fox Lite and SunTek are the most popular brands that appear when you Google ‘mobile home skylights.’ These are typically deck mounted polycarbonate domes with integrated flashing and are reasonably priced.
Velux brand is the nation’s leading curb mounted skylight manufacturer and available in your big box home improvement stores. They come in a variety of sizes and can be used to replace the original mobile home skylights fairly easily.
Location of Mobile Home Skylights
There are a ton of things buyers must consider when choosing a manufactured home. The location of the skylights isn’t usually high on the list. However, making sure the skylights are pointing in the right direction is a bit more important than most buyers realize.
For cold climates, skylights do best if they face south to capture the heat, but have a deciduous tree shading them in the summer. The leaves reduce the heat during the summer but allow the sunlight in once the leaves have fallen off.
If you live in the Sunbelt you’ll want skylights to face north since you don’t need any help capturing heat. Adding shade over the skylight during the hottest months isn’t a terrible idea.
Other things to consider when installing a mobile home skylight is glare on TVs, computer monitors, or thermostats.
Slope
The slope, or pitch, of your roof plays a huge part in choosing the right mobile home skylight. This is especially important to reduce leaks so that water and snow will not pool or sit around the skylight.
Most skylight manufacturers require a roof slope (also commonly referred to as pitch) of at least 3:12.
Elkenhout, a Michigan construction company, says the optimal slope for a skylight is based on the geographical latitude plus 5-15 degrees.
Why are Leaks so Common with Mobile Home Skylights
Skylights are well known for leaking, even in site-built homes. Water will always follow the path of least resistance so any additional holes, crevices, or valleys on a roof can lead to problems.
A leaky skylight can create havoc on a mobile home. Rotted roof decking and trusses are just the beginning. Once the insulation in your attic gets wet it loses its insulating capabilities. From there, the leak hits the ceiling, walls, and can even reach the flooring. All without anyone knowing.
Leaks can occur due to material expansion and contraction.Outside temperature fluctuations can make the sheathing, tapes, and caulks shrink and create small gaps in the skylight’s seal.
Debris, snow, and heavy rains can also create leaks around mobile home skylights. Ice that slowly builds up will create an ice dam above the skylight that traps water and eventually damages the roof’s decking.
Identifying Skylight Leaks
Water usually finds a way through the flashing and sealant around the skylight. This is often caused by improper maintenance, dried-out tape or caulking, or failure to repair damaged flashing.
Water that doesn’t have an easy path off the roof can damage the decking which eventually leads to leaks in the interior. A roof’s decking can be significantly damaged before the water reaches the ceiling. This is why inspections are so important.
Locating the source of a skylight leak can be quite difficult especially if the leak has been previously ‘repaired.’ Knowing the signs of a skylight leak can help save a lot of headaches.
Damaged skylights. Source: Wasco
Signs of a Skylight Leak
Here are some common signs of a mobile home skylight leak:
Squishy Roof Decking When walking on your mobile home’s roof you should always put your weight on the trusses but you will want to do a spot test between the trusses. If you feel loose decking or see warping you may have a leak. dried out caulk
Loose caulk
Small cracks, holes, and discolorations in the skylight itself
Damaged wood or shingles around the skylight
Pitted frame or flashing
Discoloration on or around the skylight
Repair or Replace a Skylight?
If your original mobile home skylight is leaking even the tiniest bit it’s usually best to go ahead and replace it with a new skylight.
Repairing a leaking skylight correctly will usually require the skylight to be removed or at least pulled up from the deck enough to replace the flashing. This means shingles (or metal roofing panels) will need to be pulled up. If you are doing all that you may as well take advantage of the situation and get a new, more modern skylight that likely has a better UV and rain coating and a clearer view.
How to Measure for a New Skylight
If you are buying a new skylight you’ll need to take measurements based on the type of skylight you are getting. For self-flashing or deck mounted skylights you’ll measure the finished opening of the width and the length. With curb mounted skylights you will measure the outside of the curb.
How to Replace a Skylight
The following images and descriptions quickly explain how to replace an old skylight with a new one.
Grace Ice and Water Shield is a popular product for roofers. It’s a membrane made of two waterproofing materials that are layered together. The first layer is a rubber-asphalt adhesive and the second layer is a high-density cross-laminated polyethylene. The rubberized asphalt bonds tightly to the roof deck.
Most skylight manufacturers will include their own step-by-step instruction sheets with their products. For example, this mobile home skylight sold at MHPS includes this installation manual.
How to Replace a Mobile Home Skylight
Position New Skylight Over Opening in Roof
A new skylight is put into the place where the old skylight once was.
Nail pre-installed deck seal into the roof’s decking.
Nail the deck seal into the trusses of the roof.
Adhesive Underlayment
Cut the adhesive underlayment to length and place around the skylight.
Nail Engineered Step Flashing
Nail engineered step flashing under the shingles.
Hiring a Pro to Install a Skylight is Smart
While we are big advocates of DIY there are some cases where hiring a professional just makes sense if you don’t have experience. Repairing a skylight leak is one of those cases. It’s a project that is best left to professionals, especially if you don’t have moderate experience with construction. Water can cause a lot of damage in a short amount of time. Plus, climbing onto a roof can be dangerous even with low slopes.
Also, during my research, I found several Youtube videos labeled “repairing a mobile home skylight’ where the homeowners simply added silicone or goop to old silicone or goop and that’s not going to work well. This kind of repair does nothing but make the real repair more difficult in the future. In fact, this method can actually create more damage. Be careful where you get your information.
Regular Maintenance is Key to Preventing Skylight Leaks
To keep your skylight leak-free it’s important to perform regular maintenance. Ideally, regular maintenance means a thorough inspection every quarter, or when the seasons change.
Homeowners should do seasonal maintenance checks and visual inspections to their mobile home every 3-4 months.
Conclusion: Mobile Home Skylights
Skylights can be a nice addition to any mobile home but it’s not a set it and forget it type of product. Regular maintenance is absolutely necessary to keep skylights healthy and leak-free.
If you are a homeowner that enjoys doing things around the house and have a moderate amount of construction knowledge sunlight can be a true advantage to your home.
Simply put, if you own a mobile home with a skylight you have to be proactive and do regular maintenance checks every few months (ideally, when the season change). Otherwise, you will likely encounter issues.
Understanding how manufactured homes are constructed can help you remodel or modify a home. This is especially true when you have to replace the flooring or move walls in a mobile home. Knowing the construction methods that are involved, and the order of construction, can help you plan your project better and save money.
Manufactured Home Construction Basics
Steel Chassis
Both single wides and double wides (which are basically just two single wides) sit on a steel chassis.
Steel beams with slight curvatures are welded together to create a cambered chassis.
This is done to help even out or distribute the weight of the home. These curves are barely noticeable but are vital to a strong manufactured home that can withstand vibrational forces and transportation at 55 mph.
The camber or curve of the steel chassis helps the home absorb shocks and distribute weight more efficiently.
The best chassis are built with American steel. Cheaper Chinese steel is used in a few builders – try to stay away from those if you have a choice.
Outriggers
The ‘side to side’ beams have outriggers on the ends. Outriggers are the tapered edges that may or may not go to the very edge of the home.
Cheaper manufactured homes will not have outriggers that go to the very edge of the home.
Outriggers that go to the very edge are better because they hold the weight of the walls and the roof better. If the outriggers aren’t strong enough or doesn’t extend out far enough, the home’s perimeter walls and roof can sag.
Besides the chassis and roof-down structural integrity, manufactured homes are built much like site-built homes.
Floor Joists
Once the chassis has been built to specifications, the builders will use a jig or template to built the floor joists from 2x6s or sometimes 2x8s for the higher quality homes.
Palm Harbor homes uses computer aided design programs to help design their floor joists for each model.
The heating and cooling vents, plumbing lines, and electrical cables will be installed through the floor joists. In some models, the ductwork and electrical will be ran through the roof trusses.
Next, the subflooring and floor covering will be laid.
How Walls are Built in Manufactured Homes
Walls are built using wood boards called studs. Studs are the vertical boards and are normally 2″ x 4″ and spaced every 16″ in a manufactured home. That’s what the term 16″ OC, or ‘on center’ means in construction lingo. Better quality manufactured homes will have 2×6 studs and more affordable homes will have 2x3s. State laws and wind zones will determine how your manufactured home is constructed.
Interior walls, sometimes called partition walls because they separate space and have no load bearing qualities, can be 2x2s and spaced 24″ apart.
The vertical studs are held together with horizontal boards called bottom plates and top plates. Home Tips shares a helpful illustration of the parts of a wall:
Walls around doors and windows are built differently to distribute weight down the sides of the rough opening. Structural headers are used above the doors and windows to reinforce the area. Oftentimes trimmer or king studs will be used (sometimes both but not as often).
How Walls are Attached to Joists and Trusses
The bottom plate of an interior wall is nailed into the floor joists. The floor and the roof will sandwich the walls to create a structurally sound wall.
The perimeter walls of a manufactured home are attached to the floor joists using nails and 26 gauge metal straps as shown below. These are also called hurricane straps.
The perimeter walls are attached to the roof trusses using metal straps and nails, as shown below.
If your manufactured home’s roof truss sits completely upon a top plate it usually indicates a load bearing wall.
Double Wides
In reality, double wides are just two single wides. Each piece of a double wide has its own integrity and strength but together it creates an even stronger home.
In the image below, you see one half of a double wide that has the interior and perimeter walls installed. Notice there is no roof, yet. Roofs are built separately from the rest of the home and installed after all interior work has been done.
Double Wide Roofs
Double wides use roof trusses that are
Once the roof is installed over the walls it will create a strong web of structural integrity.
Exterior Construction on New Manufactured Homes
Some manufactured home builders do things a little differently. Some brands will put the roof on first and then add the exterior sheathing, others will add the sheathing on before the roof.
Jacobsen Homes does the latter. Jacobsen Homes released a video on Youtube that shows their manufactured home construction process. Of all the videos I’ve watched they seem to call out other brands more often for cutting corners or using cheaper materials – I enjoy that.
Exterior sheathing should be OSB or plywood. There is a product petrochemical product called Thermo-Ply. It’s cheaper and doesn’t seem to withstand the elements as well.
Video Tours and Construction Videos
We have added several of the top manufactured home builder’s construction videos below. This should make it easy for you to see how each company differs. Remember, though, a few of the brands below are owned by the same corporation so there really isn’t much of a difference.
Also, keep in mind that these brands are showing their best models in these videos and therefore their best construction. Most models that builders offer will not have the materials mentioned.
How Manufactured Homes are Constructed at Clayton Homes
How Manufactured Homes are Constructed at Jacobsen Homes
How Manufactured Homes are Constructed at Palm Harbor
How Manufactured Homes are Constructed at Champion Homes
https://youtu.be/LDU3s9Kf0HY
How It’s Made TV Show Covers Factory-Built Homes
https://youtu.be/wON_F2j1izI
How Manufactured Homes are Constructed at Schult Homes
How Manufactured Homes are Constructed at Golden West Homes
Conclusion – How Manufactured Homes are Constructed
Knowing how manufactured homes are constructed is smart for those looking to remodel an older mobile home or buy a new manufactured home.
Over the years, the manufactured home builders have tweaked their building processes down to a fine science and the quality of the homes has increased significantly.
Building a home in a factory is a safer and far more affordable method of home construction.
Advanced computer-aided design, specialized machinery, and tight inventory control has allowed brands to build manufactured homes at half the cost per square foot as a site-built home.
Constructing a home inside a temperature controlled factory with well-trained employees that know they will have a job tomorrow creates a higher quality product. People that work regular shifts is the best all-around method for home construction.
As always, thanks so much for reading Mobile Home Living!
Updated April 13, 2019 (MMHL does not endorse or recommend one manufacturer over another. Each manufacturer has their own strengths and weaknesses.)
Most of us started hearing about FEMA trailers shortly after Hurricane Katrina. FEMA had purchased 52,000 travel trailers to house the victims of the nation’s largest natural disaster but they ended up making thousands of their residents sick. The builders of these trailers used cheap composites with extremely high levels of formaldehyde off-gassing levels.
Disaster survivors living in these toxic trailers suffered from off-gassing toxicity with symptoms including watery eyes, nosebleeds; coughing; wheezing; nausea; respiratory infections; and headaches.
While it may have been the first time we’ve heard about formaldehyde off-gassing in recent years, it’s been a problem in modern construction since we started creating composite wood products.
Formaldehyde Off-Gassing Occurs in Every Home
RV, mobile home, and, yes, even site-built homeowners have been complaining about their house smelling like nailpolish remover from formaldehyde off-gassing causing similar health issues decades before Katrina.
All homes have synthetic or composite materials made from petrochemicals which means every home has off-gassing of toxic chemicals.
The 2009 California Air Resources Board‘s report stated, “Nearly all homes (98%) had formaldehyde concentrations that exceeded guidelines for cancer and chronic irritation…”
In this article, we look at toxic trailers, formaldehyde off-gassing, and what some have deemed ‘the mobile home syndrome.’
Is your mobile home making you sick?
After Wwii, Plywood, A Popular Petrochemical Product, Started Replacing Lath And Plaster Walls.
When it comes to our homes, we understandably want the absolute best for our loved ones, pets, and ourselves. We work hard to keep our homes clean, welcoming, and safe—which is why this whole concept of toxic trailers and the Mobile Home Syndrome is so fundamentally upsetting. Our homes are so supposed to keep us safe and warm, not make us sick.
The Beginning of the Toxic Trailer and Mobile Home Syndrome
Our technological advances after WWII had many great benefits but there were plenty of problems and growing pains along the way.
Mobile Home Syndrome was born from a construction movement towards cheap, synthetic materials that was only made possible by oil and the petrochemicals derived from oil.
These derivatives gave us a vast array of products we still rely on heavily today. For instance, the phone or computer you are reading this article is made possible by petrochemical advancements. Our homes, offices, and schools wouldn’t be possible without the plywoods, lumbers, adhesives, etc.
At the same time, these wonderful products created issues for health and quality of living from the 1960’s all the way to the present day.
After our troops came home from WWII, they were ready to settle down and start families but they couldn’t do that without a home. A nationwide housing shortage created a boom in mobile home sales that lasted for 25 years.
Following the War, manufacturers prioritized the bottom line when it came to producing buildings, especially when it came to less expensive mobile homes. Materials needed to be cheaper and more lightweight and the best way to get that combination was to use petrochemicals.
These gorgeous new mobile homes were perfect for a family just starting out – they were easy to buy, quick to set up, and extremely affordable.
Mobile Homes And Trailers Were Mass-Produced After Wwii Using Abundant Petrochemical Derived Synthetic Materials.
Sick Building Syndrome
Advances in petroleum-based products, a deficit of housing, and a desire to create more (for less) all came together during this time —with unhealthy consequences.
Mass-produced, synthetic building materials began to take the place of tried-and-true materials used for centuries. Instead of woods and natural fibers (or nothing at all as is the case of insulation) we were using a vast array of petrochemical products:
Engineered Woods
Particle board
Plastics
Foam Ceilings
Foam Insulation (UFFI)
Plywood
This stuff was new to the world and very few thought about their potential toxicity.
What’s the historical precedent of Mobile Home Syndrome? What sorts of materials contribute to poor indoor air quality? And what can we do to make our homes safer?
A jarring 1984 report from the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that 30% of buildings worldwide “may be the subject of excessive complaints” in terms of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ).
Issues of poor air quality were so drastic during this time that it was given a name: Sick Building Syndrome. Though this term originally applied to all sorts of buildings, those of us who live in mobile homes might be specifically impacted.
All Synthetic Materials can Emit Formaldehyde
What do these synthetic building materials have in common? Unfortunately, many of these materials were bound together with or contained formaldehyde.
We know now that formaldehyde emissions can be detrimental to human and animal health at levels greater than .1 ppm. According to Cancer.gov, high levels of this colorless and odorless gas in the air can cause the following:
“… watery eyes; burning sensations in the eyes, nose, and throat; coughing; wheezing; nausea; and skin irritation.”
Formaldehyde is also classified as a potentially carcinogen (meaning it may contribute to certain types of cancer). Unfortunately, as demand for synthetic building materials grew, so did the prevalence of formaldehyde-based adhesives.
It took decades before the dangers of Mobile Home Syndrome came to light. Here’s a quick timeline:
1960’s. According to Ore, mobile homes were not classified as official “houses” prior to the 1970’s. This meant that builders didn’t have to adhere to the same codes and standards as other houses. Because they were generally made to be more affordable, mobile homes were overwhelming made with cheap petrochemical products like plywood and particle board. Though studies were already being done to show that formaldehyde off-gassing could occur, it wasn’t enough to staunch builders.
1970’s. Formaldehyde wasn’t just used in adhesives: by the 1970’s, formaldehyde foam insulation (FFI) was heavily used as an insulation in mobile homes.
1979. By this point, some strides were taken in the name of public health, as individuals began to report the tell-tale signs of formaldehyde toxicity. Massachusetts, hearing consumer’s complaints about toxicity in the home, banned FFI at this time.
1980-1982. Escalating studies, complaints, and lawsuits lead to a temporary nation-wide ban on FFI used in homes. By this time, it was shown that petrochemical materials were indeed toxic to humans, a fact which was already evident for those who were suffering the effects of headaches, burning eyes, and chronic coughs.
Researchers confirmed that formaldehyde eventually becomes unbound to the materials it’s built into, its gases leaking from adhesives and proving toxic for humans. Unfortunately, though the building industry reformulated its glues and processes in 1981, this didn’t solve the issue of the formaldehyde-containing particle board and plywood that had been heavily used in mobile home construction.
“…except for those who live in mobile homes or conventional homes using a large amount of pressboard made with formaldehyde.”
1984. Fortunately, regulatory authorities truly began to take notice of the dangers of building new mobile homes with outdated safety standards. At this point,HUD set minimum limits of formaldehyde for building purposes. They also began to require formaldahyde disclosure on all mobile home sells
1987. EPA ruled formaldehyde as a probable carcinogen, with Charles Elkins emphasizing that mobile homes were at a particular disadvantage. He claimed that the public was not at risk,
Though the EPA, HUD, and other agencies eventually came together to decrease harmful emissions, this was unfortunately not the end of the harmful petrochemical legacy in mobile homes.
2006. FEMA Trailers
Hurricane Katrina left thousands of families homeless in its wake. To temporarily house the homeless, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) provided travel trailers and single wide manufactured homes to displaced individuals. Because of the immediate need (and cost) these trailers were made quickly and with inexpensive materials.
Though they were only meant to house people temporarily, some individuals and families remained in these FEMA trailers for years. But the problems didn’t take years to develop: in fact, many occupants immediately noticed a strong and chemical odor. Some began to get nosebleeds, headaches, and even have trouble breathing.
By 2008, the CDC found toxic levels of formaldehyde in these trailers. That same year, it became clear that the companies who produced these FEMA trailers were aware of the high formaldehyde levels—and provided them to homeless people anyway. ToxicTrailers.com is a great source about FEMA’S toxic trailers should you want to learn more.
Department of Health and Human Services classified formaldehyde as “a known carcinogen,” in 2011.
Formaldehyde-leaking materials can cause some serious health issues. A constant sinus and/or respiratory infection is probably the most obvious. If you seem to be sick all the time, it could be caused by formaldehyde toxicity.
Is your mobile home making you sick?
Symptoms of Formaldehyde Toxicity:
burning eyes
congestion
sore throat
coughing
breathing difficulties
frequent sinus or resporitory infections
nosebleeds
difficulties concentrating
While travel trailers and mobile homes are well-known to have excessive off-gassing levels, a site-built home can be toxic as well. Mass built communities that pop up seemingly overnight is likely to have high levels of formaldehyde toxicity.
You can also reach out to local home inspection agencies in your area and get a quote from them.
How to Decrease Formaldehyde Toxicity in your Mobile Home
Thankfully, factory-built homes are better regulated to guard against dangerous levels of formaldehyde.
According to the CBC, having a formaldehyde level of 50-80 ppb is high, while 10-50 ppb is considered medium. Although they assert that formaldehyde concentrations within these levels probably won’t cause acute health problems, they suggest that it’s still worthwhile to take preventative measures.
However, if you feel like your mobile home is making you sick, this indicates a serious problem. If you feel like this may be an issue in your house, the CDC recommends getting plenty of ventilation in your home to make it safer:
Keep windows open, if possible, to allow plenty of fresh air into your home.
Keep the temperature as low as possible (within comfort) to prevent your indoor air from overheating too much.
If you have a dehumidifier or an AC, run these to help decrease levels of mold in your home that can also contribute to safety issues.
Don’t allow water to accumulate, and clean up mold immediately.
Spend as much time outside in the fresh air as possible.
These guidelines from the CDC are common-sense advice to decrease toxicity through ventilation and mold-control.
But if you ever feel like you’re becoming very ill or in physical danger, they recommend that you see a physician immediately.
Conclusion: Mobile Home Syndrome
Mobile home syndrome and the FEMA toxic trailers were a direct result of our advancement and use of composite and synthetic materials made by petrochemicals. The glues and resins used to create plywoods and panelings have many chemicals, formaldehyde being the most dangerous.
FEMA’s toxic trailers may not have been avoided. These disaster relief units were built in a few short months using the cheapest materials possible because of budget issues and profit margins (just like the trailer orders in WWII). The hurricane survivors were moved into the trailers quickly after they were built and lived in them full time for months, even years, at a time. These trailers were never meant for full-time living so of course there would be issues.
Off-gassing levels reduce over time and can be lowered quickly with better airflow and ventilation. Newer homes are built more airtight so formaldehyde off-gassing may affect more people.
If you have any symptoms create more air flow and consider getting a test done in your home so you can know exactly what you’re up against.
Have your experienced formaldehyde toxicity? Has your mobile home made you sick?
As always, thank you for reading Mobile Home Living!
“No one has a right to comment on anyone’s life or the choices I do or don’t make.”
-Kate Winslet
There’s NO such thing as Trailer Trash
People living in mobile and manufactured homes have been stereotyped, stigmatized, and labeled from the very beginning.
In the late 1920’s the first ‘mobile home’ rolled off the assembly line. A transportable canvas tent, pulled behind the vehicle in a small wooden box, had been available for years, In fact, they came out shortly after the automobile. Eventually, a pull-along camper with walls and a roof was available.
The transformation from the simple camper of the late 1920’s to the gorgeous modern manufactured homes we have today is an almost perfect story of American ingenuity.
Americans were suddenly able to see the country and road trips became a popular pastime. It was only natural for the new tourists to want to extend their road trips to see as much as possible. Carrying along cooking tools and sleeping quarters made the trips easier – the public could see as much of the country as they wanted.
In the beginning, only middle to high-income families could afford such luxuries as a camper. Campers were a popular status symbol. But WWII changed that quickly. You can read how the mobile home stigma began in WWII here. It’s an interesting story!
Trailer Trash Prevails
Stereotyping and name-calling are no longer as tolerated as they once were. You can’t use derogatory words in polite company without consequence anymore.
But there is still one group that continues to be labeled freely and openly: trailer trash.
It is still acceptable, even in polite company, to use the term trailer trash to describe someone in a negative manner. Just about every other derogatory label has become unaccepted but trailer trash still prevails.
Many of us know the truth and understand the advantages of factory-built housing but there are still a lot of good people that are being influenced by the stigma and myths that plague mobile homes. It’s keeping many families from considering a manufactured home.
Embrace Your Individualism (but don’t do that, or that, and definitely not that)
Why is this country so focused on labels?
We are told to embrace our individualism and uniqueness but as soon as we do we are labeled rebels, or worse, trash. All of us are supposed to fit into a square peg even though we are all round.
Watch Who You’re Calling `Trailer Trash’
Helen R. Lee wrote of these frustrations more than 15 years ago in an article titled “Watch Who You’re Calling Trailer Trash” that was published in the Chicago Tribune in April 1997. I think you’ll enjoy her insight:
By Helene R. Lee. She and her husband are retired and have lived for nine years in a manufactured-home community in Lockport, N.Y | April 2, 1997
Remember the character in the movie “Network” who yelled; “I’m mad as hell and I won’t take it anymore”? That’s exactly how I feel whenever I hear or read two words–”trailer trash.” The supposition seems to be that people who live in trailer parks are trash and/or that their homes are trash; that they are mentally challenged; unclean and have little conception of world events.
The words or inference keep popping up in novels, in articles, in movies, on TV, in a description of a Barbie doll. We’ve heard them repeatedly in references to Paula Jones, President Clinton’s nemesis in a sexual harassment case. A Newsweek writer, speaking on television, referred to Jones’s reputation as “just some sleazy woman with big hair coming out of the trailer parks.” And James Carville, Clinton’s former adviser, made the comment: “Drag a hundred dollars through a trailer park and there’s no telling what you’ll find.”
I have to stop at these quotes because I am getting angrier and angrier.
The park where my husband and I live has more than 1,000 homes. The park is well maintained, likewise the homes, with perhaps one or two exceptions. Not a bad ratio, since unkempt homes can be found in any neighborhood.
The diversity of the residents is apparent, especially on a warm summer evening. There are young couples just starting out, couples with children, retired couples, widows, widowers, and singles. There is neighborliness, too. After our last bad snowstorm, we soon saw our young neighbor shoveling out not only his car but an elderly neighbor’s as well.
There are yearly contests at Christmastime for the best decorated home–also for any homeowner who demonstrates special improvements. There are parties for the children at holiday time. In the summer there are organized softball games and other pastimes, all taken care of by parents and the park management.
Manufactured Home Communities
I would like to point out that communities like ours are no longer called trailer parks. They are “manufactured-home communities.” There is no way one of these homes can be hitched up to a car or small truck and pulled away. Once the home is set up, there it stays. Only extraordinary and costly ways are utilized to pull one out.
The homes come in varying sizes and are very affordable compared to site-built homes. Not everyone can afford a $100,000-plus house, after all. In our area (western New York), a new manufactured home can cost $40,000 to $50,000 while a good used one can be bought in the $20,000 to $30,000 range, depending on size.
Because of the reasonable costs, these homes make good starters for young couples who hope to move up later to larger, conventional houses. They are suitable for retired people on fixed incomes, families with lower-wage jobs or those who just don’t want the hassle of maintaining a large home.
My own experience with so-called trailer parks extends to California where I visited a friend a few years ago. Her park was beautifully laid out and landscaped, as were other parks we toured. The pride of the residents was obvious in the immaculate homes and well-maintained lots.
At this point, I admit I am not wearing blinders. No doubt there are trailer parks that are rundown.
Unfortunately, the film industry and television insist on perpetuating the stereotyping of trailer parks–manufactured-home communities. In their version, every park is rundown, inhabited by borderline illiterates and drunks prone to violence.
The film industry and TV executives along with James Carville, the Newsweek writer and a host of other writers owe an apology to all the residents of manufactured-home communities. We’re sick and tired of the stereotyping…….
The above article was originally published in the Chicago Tribune.
Summary
I wrote my own editorial regarding the frustrations I had with mass media and their ever apparent prejudices against mobile and manufactured homes in an article called “Why Mobile home Journalism is Biased” that you may want to check out.
I urge all journalists and anyone with a public following to remove the term trailer trash from your vocabulary. It’s indicative of poor research and labeling an entire demographic wrongly and unfairly. We are people simply trying to make it in this world with little debt and lower housing costs. We are far from trash.
I’d love to hear your opinion regarding these silly labels and stereotypes and how you think we could best combat them. Just add your comment below. Thanks!
As always, thank you so much for reading Mobile Home Living!
