Has anyone remodeled a mobile home?

roosterstraw

5 year old buck +
I have some property with a single wide trailer on it. The inside is in pretty rough shape. I’ve thought about hauling it off but it would be an absolute pia to get it hauled off and likely cost a pretty penny. I’ve also thought about gutting it and turning it into a hunting cabin but I know absolutely nothing about trailers and wonder if it’s even worth it (investors mind set). All the walls, flooring, exterior doors, windows would have to be replaced. It’s a pretty big trailer 70ishx12ish, so could I tear down all the interior walls and leave the entire inside open besides a bathroom? Or does the structural integrity of trailers require interior walls for support? If I let it rot and decide to sell the property in the future it may devalue the property some. There’s electric and septic tank on the property but no water so I would have to figure out a cistern for it as well.
 
The only thing you're really talking about reusing is the skeleton, and the skeleton on a trailer house isn't great. I wouldn't do it, I almost guarantee you'll regret it if you start digging in. You'll be time and money ahead to build a new cabin.
 
My neighbors burned thiers down and buried the remains. But it was on leased land so there was really no risk to them.
 
One mans junk is another mans treasure. Put it on marketplace for free, they haul it away. Had a friend with one that was pretty bad. Went pretty fast, it’s worth a try
 
too bad you're not next door. I'd love to have it. I'd tear it down to the frame and use the frame as a bridge frame for one of my ditches..
 
too bad you're not next door. I'd love to have it. I'd tear it down to the frame and use the frame as a bridge frame for one of my ditches..
Yes! About the only thing that’s worth anything in my mind. I also could use this for that very reason.
 
The only thing you're really talking about reusing is the skeleton, and the skeleton on a trailer house isn't great. I wouldn't do it, I almost guarantee you'll regret it if you start digging in. You'll be time and money ahead to build a new cabin.
I’d say you’re right. But getting it hauled off would likely cost me a few grand as it sits on top of a long, steep hill. Would probably have to burn it.
 
One mans junk is another mans treasure. Put it on marketplace for free, they haul it away. Had a friend with one that was pretty bad. Went pretty fast, it’s worth a try
That’s a good idea.
 
I wouldn’t put any money into fixing it if it was me. See if someone will drag it away or burn it down and then run an ad for free scrap metal some local scraper will come haul the metal away. Price it up right now it would be a good time to get rid of it.
 
I have helped make a few different mobile homes into hunting camps, what seems to make or break the builds is a few things, with one being HOW structurally sound is the home to start with
what type of roof is on it, as they were made in many forms and they are not all up to the same quality
MY question to you is, HOW Much time and what skills do you have to do a rebuild?

mobile homes, most of the older one's pre say 1980, were put together with a lot of weak parts, not that they are terrible, but like I said, how much repair and upgrading you have tyo do will be the scale of what its worth to YOU to save or not

on the other side of things, mobile homes can be torn down pretty easy, , most can fit into two large sized dumpsters with easy and most folks that will come and tear it down for you will be glad to take the steel frame to a scrap yard!, as most will use a skidsteer/compact excavator to tear down adn that means they have a trailer to haul the frame, and not much to cutting up a frame to fit on a equipment trailer!
if you want to see how easy a mobile home can be torn down and fitted into dumpsters here is a nice video



NOW some mroe food for thought
if you GUT the whole inside, and as for needing supports besides roof rafters
the answer will sort of come down to again what BUILD is in thing, many different designs on mobile homes ca make the difference on if other supports are needed or Snow lad on roof

This past summer I helped redo roof rafters in a mobile home, due to snow load broke some(50+ yr old mobile home!
the roof rafters were made out of 2x2x12 ft boards and had cardboard shoved in ,. in places to make a rafter have a BOW In things, I am amazed they lasted as long as they did LOL
replaced with custom cut rafters with bows in cut into them out of 2x8x12, HUGE structurally difference in what load the roof can now support as to before!

but again, this all comes down to when the home was built, as they changed rules and designs on how they did roofs, walls and so on!

ask yourself, if you have the time to rebuild it all, do some math, add up costs of materials, add 30% for things you will find as you gut! and be honest with what skills you have and time to commit to the project
its not that hard to figure out the costs, when you put it all down on Paper(well minus the crazy changing costs of materials, right now??)

then ask yourself, when it all done, is it something you really want on your property!
over say, something like a custom pole barn, that you can set up as you like?, where you want it(well mobile homes can be moved pretty easy too)

another bit of food for thought or to consider is, ZONING rights, can you move a mobile home on land, some places won't let you, and will ONLY allow repair of current location on land(thats why we fixed the one we did this summer, zoning wouldn;t let him tear down and replace with something else)

but they can be rebuilt and once done , if done right can be not so bad a place to have
a few hunting amps we redid are down right very very nice!

and LAST , LOL
many times mobile homes can be had FREE< if you go get em!
known a few young guys that used to do that often, get them, rebuild and flip them for hunting cabins and seasonal places in more remote area's, due to being fast easy set ups!
 
also, dumpsters can be dragged to sites that are harder to get truck into
so even if your is ion top of a steep hill, it really isn't that hard to get someone to come in with equipment and tear down, a single guy with skills and equipment, and good work ethic can do so in a day , be in and out of there!
no fire needed!
 
Trailers are very poorly made, this is what makes them so cheap to buy compared to a house. Everything in a trailer is made to provide as much space as possible while keeping costs down. The trailer I helped a friend repair had 2x4 walls which is encouraging but they were turned sideways which didn't leave much room for insulation, these are the corners cut to save money on building it. His trailer was OLD though, it had Adsorption AC unit in it that used a standing pilot light instead of a compressor which is ancient AC tech.
My 2 cents? If it is in that rough of shape, I would tear it apart and use what materials I could, scrap the metal and buy the rest of the necessary materials and build what you want. It is difficult to call from here not knowing exactly what you are looking to build or the condition of the trailer, but if you know you need to replace the windows its probably beyond rehabbing even just for a camp.
 
There were two old mobile homes with some poor folks living in them when I bought my place. I never stepped inside as they didn't have money to move until I closed. Turned out a LOT rougher than I had imagined. NO way was I going to spend a dime on them. I gave them to two guys to scrap them out in place. This was back when scrap metal was worth something. They did leave a bit of a mess but I later had a dozer there building a pond and I had them scrape the site and bury the remains.
 
I have helped make a few different mobile homes into hunting camps, what seems to make or break the builds is a few things, with one being HOW structurally sound is the home to start with
what type of roof is on it, as they were made in many forms and they are not all up to the same quality
MY question to you is, HOW Much time and what skills do you have to do a rebuild?

mobile homes, most of the older one's pre say 1980, were put together with a lot of weak parts, not that they are terrible, but like I said, how much repair and upgrading you have tyo do will be the scale of what its worth to YOU to save or not

on the other side of things, mobile homes can be torn down pretty easy, , most can fit into two large sized dumpsters with easy and most folks that will come and tear it down for you will be glad to take the steel frame to a scrap yard!, as most will use a skidsteer/compact excavator to tear down adn that means they have a trailer to haul the frame, and not much to cutting up a frame to fit on a equipment trailer!
if you want to see how easy a mobile home can be torn down and fitted into dumpsters here is a nice video



NOW some mroe food for thought
if you GUT the whole inside, and as for needing supports besides roof rafters
the answer will sort of come down to again what BUILD is in thing, many different designs on mobile homes ca make the difference on if other supports are needed or Snow lad on roof

This past summer I helped redo roof rafters in a mobile home, due to snow load broke some(50+ yr old mobile home!
the roof rafters were made out of 2x2x12 ft boards and had cardboard shoved in ,. in places to make a rafter have a BOW In things, I am amazed they lasted as long as they did LOL
replaced with custom cut rafters with bows in cut into them out of 2x8x12, HUGE structurally difference in what load the roof can now support as to before!

but again, this all comes down to when the home was built, as they changed rules and designs on how they did roofs, walls and so on!

ask yourself, if you have the time to rebuild it all, do some math, add up costs of materials, add 30% for things you will find as you gut! and be honest with what skills you have and time to commit to the project
its not that hard to figure out the costs, when you put it all down on Paper(well minus the crazy changing costs of materials, right now??)

then ask yourself, when it all done, is it something you really want on your property!
over say, something like a custom pole barn, that you can set up as you like?, where you want it(well mobile homes can be moved pretty easy too)

another bit of food for thought or to consider is, ZONING rights, can you move a mobile home on land, some places won't let you, and will ONLY allow repair of current location on land(thats why we fixed the one we did this summer, zoning wouldn;t let him tear down and replace with something else)

but they can be rebuilt and once done , if done right can be not so bad a place to have
a few hunting amps we redid are down right very very nice!

and LAST , LOL
many times mobile homes can be had FREE< if you go get em!
known a few young guys that used to do that often, get them, rebuild and flip them for hunting cabins and seasonal places in more remote area's, due to being fast easy set ups!
That video looks like way too much fun. Roosterstraw if you decide you want that thing down let me know, I don't know what the hell I'm doing with a skidsteer but I'm willing to give it a try!
 
Prior to HUD changes that came about in the late 70's (Or there about) Many mobile homes were made with 2x2" walls and foam core (sandwich cardboard/ foam) sheathing. Bowstring 2x2" rafters were the standard way of doing things. 1x2" interior studs and 1/8" paneling were part of the deal too. In the mid 70's you could buy a NEW Skyline 14x70 home for about $4500 complete with carpeting, appliances and furniture. Crazy times.....factories would build as many as 20 homes / day. ....then along came HUD and the energy crisis of the 70's and 80''s....and things changed in a big way. Many of those era homes are still standing.....gotta say.....lotsa bang for the buck.

I sold lots of materials to the RV industry for travel trailers and motorhomes back then.....and some materials to the Mobile home industry back then too....including about 90% of the galvanized steel roofing in about 6 states and Western Canada. Mobile homes were on a tear for many years. Many millions of lbs of 30 gauge, #90 spangle galvanized roofing with a corrugated cleat to connect 3' wide sheets. We made 12', 14', and 16' rolls up to 300 feet long. Truckloads every day. Very automated assembly. Soooo......when you see those old tires up there on the roofs to stop the rattling....please think of me. Grin.

As said.....your just dealing with a big hollow box....you can break it down to pretty small size with ordinary machines. I'd think the aluminum and steel could give you some money for your efforts if you keep it separated. Scrap prices are pretty good.
 
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We stripped one down one time thought we could use the frame.When we took the last of the walls off the joices that come off the main frame just went every direction.I would scrap and sell axles or give to someone
 
I lived in an older one about 15 years ago for a while. The floor was starting to rot out and everything else in it was starting to have problems. Trying to fix it was fun because most of it was specialized for mobile homes and you paid for it.
 
I have some property with a single wide trailer on it. The inside is in pretty rough shape. I’ve thought about hauling it off but it would be an absolute pia to get it hauled off and likely cost a pretty penny. I’ve also thought about gutting it and turning it into a hunting cabin but I know absolutely nothing about trailers and wonder if it’s even worth it (investors mind set). All the walls, flooring, exterior doors, windows would have to be replaced. It’s a pretty big trailer 70ishx12ish, so could I tear down all the interior walls and leave the entire inside open besides a bathroom? Or does the structural integrity of trailers require interior walls for support? If I let it rot and decide to sell the property in the future it may devalue the property some. There’s electric and septic tank on the property but no water so I would have to figure out a cistern for it as well.

Many years ago (over 30) I had a single wide as my first home. It was old and had a plumbing leak. I had to cut out the floor and replace plumbing and the toilet. Floor was pressboard so it swelled up when wet. I lived in it for a few years before buying my first single family home. I got about what I paid for it. If it were me, I would not bother trying to remodel an old one if it were me.

Thanks,

Jack
 
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