About Mobile Homes

Mobile homes are prefabricated living structures built in factories and moved to locations on tractor-trailers. Trailer frames, axles and towing hitches are left intact so the mobile home can be moved to a new location if the need arises. Because of prefabrication, mobile homes are less expensive than traditional stick-built homes per square foot.

Size

Mobile homes come in various sizes. Single-wide mobile homes are up to 18 feet in width and no more than 90 feet long. Double-wide mobile homes are up to 40 feet wide and 90 feet in length. Mobile homes also come in triple wide and other formations with size, depending on specifications.

Considerations

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regulates standards for mobile home construction. Some laws cover all mobile homes, while others are state-specific, such as windzone ability.

Misconceptions

Mobile homes are often confused with modular homes. Modular-built homes come in sections and are transported by flatbed trucks. A crane places the home on the permanent foundation. Modular-built homes have their own set of rules under HUD code. They resemble stick-built homes more so than mobile homes.

Features

Mobile homes now offer 16-inch studs in walls, sheet rock wall coverings, ceramic floors, insulated windows and other options formerly only associated with stick-built homes.

Additionally, mobile home retailers sometimes include all appliances with the purchase of a new home. Name brands such as Maytag and Whirlpool are available.

The outside appearance of mobile homes has much improved. There are options available now that more closely mimic a regular house. The same shingles used on stick-built homes are available for mobile homes. Home sections are no longer only straight but can be put together to form other shapes. All these improvements make a mobile home more comparable to a stick-built structure.

Benefits

One benefit of choosing a mobile home is that you can pick almost everything yourself. Cabinet colors and styles, flooring types, paint or wallpaper and siding options are all up to the individual purchaser. Other cosmetic items are also interchangeable such as lighting fixtures, faucets and window decorations.

Mobile home retailers will also often include the furniture that is featured in on-site homes in the sale.

Warning

Mobile home construction is stronger than in the past, but it's still not perfect. Mobile homes are destroyed by tornadoes frequently. It's best to have a storm shelter of some kind when living in a mobile home.