To most of the world, trailer trash is what you call someone who lives in a mobile home community. And some homes (and families) deserve the moniker. But in this day and age, the cheap tin box has come a long way. Add to that the skyrocketing cost of a place to live, and I for one am perfectly happy with our tin box, for which we’ve got no mortgage!
For the record, not all mobiles are the same skinny profile most people think of – even the double-wide has undergone design shifts. And I’ve been inside mobiles where there’s no way you could tell from the inside you were in a mobile or modular building. Wood paneling bit the dust long ago. While there are still cheaper homes with vinyl covered finishes and faux wood, there are also a few truly gorgeous places, including some you’d never guess were mobiles even from the outside.
This is my new goal, on a piece of land I own – one without an HOA, thanks. Click the itty bitty image to embiggen it.
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See what I mean? This exact model probably isn’t available where I live, darn it, but it just shows how far the industry has come. This model is called The Greystone, and is sold through Norris Homes.
This is another personal favorite: the LaLinda from Palm Harbor Homes. That page shows the floorplan. This is the video tour:
Now I’ll grant you, these mobile palaces don’t come cheap. Based on what I know about the market, the homes I love most are probably $150K-200K plus transportation costs. You can get stripped-down models under $25K, but for the ones that are truly home-like, most will start around $75K and up.
There’s a park in California where a mobile home sold for $4 million. You read right: that’s four MILLION bucks. Now I’ll grant you, it’s been customized as shit, but it’s still a mobile home in a park. So on top of paying top price for a mobile, you get to pay space rent and live by somebody else’s rules. Then again, if you visit that page and look at the view and surroundings, you’ll start to understand why more people are beginning to appreciate mobile homes, and not just in sky-high communities. On top of everything else, a stick-built home can take a year or more to complete. A custom ordered mobile usually ranges about half that, start to finish.
Yes, you can design your own mobile home. I used to think I wanted to design my own, but after seeing the pictures and floor plan above, I think I’m game for letting somebody else handle the design. Just let me move in when you’re done, m’kay?
If it comes down to it, I’d love a manufactured place. I could get much closer to what I want for a layout, heh. And, knowing my husband, HOA is out of the question. He’d flip at the strictures.
There are some really CUTE mobiles out there. A lot of the newer ones are nearly indistinguishable from site-built, at least inside. And if you build on an outside porch to give it some character, even some of the plainer exteriors aren’t half bad. I belong to a couple of FB groups where people buy and fix up vintage mobiles, too – some of the transformations are amazing.
Looks like mobiles have come a long way!
A friend moved into a brand new mobile back in the 80s. It was nice by mobile standards with a fireplace and bay window but still had the linear floor plan. She and I looked at double wide models years later. Nicer and non linear.
Definitely a lot of changes over the years. Hubby and I live in an itty bitty linear model from 1978. It’s built like a tank, though, which is why we chose this one over a slightly newer vintage model also for sale in the same community. Glad we bought the one we did.
Wowwie! Lookit that kitchen! That fireplace! Those TREES GROWING INSIDE THE HOUSE!! Aaaaaaauuuuuuuugh!
Lol. Yeah, you know, that is nothing like what I was expecting. I’m trying to think if I’ve ever even seen a trailer home out here in NJ, so all I have to go on is all the joking references. But those look very, very nice. The rooms are perhaps more narrow than I would find comfortable, but they look very nicely appointed. I can see where you would be very happy living in one, and I hope you do someday 🙂
There are some humongous models where the rooms are 20 feet wide on the short end, but I don’t want anything that big. Both hubby and I are disabled and frankly I don’t want to take care of that much house. My ideal is under 2000sf. Around 1500sf would be perfect, IF I could find a floor plan I liked in that range.
I guess you would find dimensions like that much more manageable given your situation, yes. I do hope you’re able to realize it one of these days. Soon 🙂
I lived in a manufactured home and loved it. With the exception of some cheaply made interior doors in the bedrooms, everything else was great. I loved it in the winter because it stayed cozy and it was cool inside during the hotter months.
Our house is kept SUPER cool three by small window AC units. This is when it’s 110º+ outside. We usually have to turn off at least one overnight. (Overnight it drops into the high 80’s or mid-90’s.) Our electric bills some months drops to the range of $60-$70. It’s only that high because we’re electronics addicts, always have computers and other stuff plugged in and running.