Manufactured Homes and Park Models

While manufactured homes and park models aren’t considered tiny homes, they are an alternative to a giant stick house. If the opportunity arises to buy and remodel a mobile home, it can provide fine housing.

The Mobile Home Parts Store has the mobile home specific parts you need to maintain your home in good shape.

Manufactured Homes Were Once Called Mobile Homes

Manufactured homes have been around since before 1950. For many years they were called mobile homes. These low cost homes were a response to the need to supply returning service members with inexpensive housing.

They are usually wider than eight feet and can be up to seventy feet in length. They have regular home plumbing.

In the seventies, the official name was changed is an attempt to get away from the stigma associated with a run-down trailer park. The quality was improved by the implementation of HUD building codes for trailer homes.

The building codes allows these manufactured home to be full-time residences.

Most of us are familiar with manufactured homes, and have at least seen a mobile home trailer park. They are built in a factory to minimum standards as quickly as possible. While a buyer can select their finishes, colors, and floor plan, the quality of the shell is very basic and they deteriorate quickly.

Living in a mobile home

Forms a permeable membrane, which prevents liquid infiltration, but allows moisture vapor to vent or breathe out of underlying substrate.

My first home was a 12′ x 50′ mobile home purchased used for $4,000.00. We had it professionally moved fifty miles from one town to another. The bathroom sinks and bathtub were plastic, and the windows were like a school bus. The outside was aluminum paneling. I had to refinish the roof to stop leaks. The second trailer park was nice (see picture above). Paved roads, concrete foundation pads. You had to maintain a nice yard and have it skirted within two months of moving in. All the residents kept their properties nice.

The mobile home park had a laundry facility that was also the tornado shelter. Even though we were required to have our trailers tied down to prevent flipping, tornadoes sent everyone running to the laundry room. Mobile homes tend to disintegrate when twisters hit.

Living in a manufactured home

I lived in a “manufactured” home is Aspen, Colorado for many years. It had wood siding and a shingle roof. We added a deck and a shed. It was a two-bed, two-bath. The bathrooms still had plastic sinks. The windows were very cheap and drafty. Rent was very reasonable for a ski town and we enjoyed the view of Aspen mountain. They had fireworks several times a year, and we watched right from our porch.

Quality of life depends on location

I noticed that my happiness did not depend on the structure I was living in but rather the location. My most unpleasant living experiences were in cities. I like a country, rural, forest setting. Quiet with good views. I actually like being in my camper most of all.

Park Models

Blue Mesa Rec Ranch, Gunnison, Colorado.

Park models are actually manufactured homes built to the RVIA building code instead of the HUD code. They are legal for part-time residence, like an RV, and will be found for rent in RV parks and campgrounds.

These trailers are nice-looking but built very cheaply, with a lot of plastics and to minimum standards. They can offer a family a nice vacation experience. Especially good for those who do not want the “roughing it” experience of deep woods camping, but still want to feel a little bit closer to nature.

Park models are usually smaller than mobile homes but larger than tiny homes. They have standard home style plumbing and are usually all on one floor. Most are more than eight feet wide.

Buying a Used Manufactured Home from E-Bay®

Used manufactured homes can be very reasonably priced. Be careful, however, and have it closely inspected. If you feel a squishy floor, you might have a roof leak. Look for water leaks below the windows.

Expect to replace carpet and vinyl flooring. You might even want to do a major remodel. Ask if the price includes appliances. Does it come with skirting?

Make sure your manufactured home has a proper insulation package for the climate you’ll be living in. Sometimes the walls can be pretty thin. Inspect the underside. Look for rodent droppings, bugs, and mold.

Look for a place to put it before you buy. Have it professionally moved. Mobile home moving companies will have fresh tires to put on for the trip and know how to set it up and level it when you arrive at your spot.

Manufactured Homes and Park Models Compared to Tiny Homes

Tiny homes, if done right, are way sturdier and better built. But at the time of this writing, there is a struggle to determine their place in the housing market. Will they be governed by HUD building codes or RVIA standards? Government agencies often bow out of offering any type of certification and just say no.

Sometimes the DMV will give a converted bus an RV classification. I have also seen tiny houses on wheels (THOWs) allowed to be registered as “trailers with a decorative load.”

Rules are beginning to shake out with building code changes like Appendix-Q. But we’re not quite there yet.

You can buy tiny home completely finished or used on E-Bay® and other sites.

Using an old mobile home trailer as a tiny home beginning

Mobile home trailers were specifically designed to just barely meet the design aspects of a mobile home. Tiny homes are built with much heavier building products and will easily surpass the gross vehicle weight of a mobile home trailer.

We recommend that you buy a trailer specifically made for tiny homes if you are going to build your own.

National Manufactured Homes is the manufacturer of the house shown at the top of the page. It’s their AU-14361A basic model that has the essential living room bathroom and bedroom. At 480 Sq/ft. it’s tiny but has what you need.

The floor plan is shown here. They have 36 models in their ADU line all under 1200 sq/ft. There are four other lines with double wide models with up to 5 bedrooms.

You’d need to write them for a quote on the price. I’m sure it would not include a foundation but might include delivery.