3 ms·

> It's incredibly popular to hate "trailer homes" - which tells me that most people's vision of them is a 1970s single wide, 50 years of limited maintenance lat

> It's incredibly popular to hate "trailer homes" - which tells me that most people's vision of them is a 1970s single wide, 50 years of limited maintenance later. Modern manufactured homes have nearly nothing to do with that How do you actually find these? How can you tell the difference? Every 1970's-era trailer house manufacturer has rebranded themselves as "Modular, not Mobile". For non-experts, it's hard to tell the difference, which might be why everyone lumps them all together. I would love to buy a well-designed actually-good factory-standardized home. Every thing I've seen that claims such, is just a rebranded trailer house.

Syonyk 5y ago
In the 80s, the standards changed so you can't have the old newspaper and spit style manufactured homes anymore. But I'm not sure what exactly you're looking for. Our house is absolutely a "trailer" - it came in two pieces, has long I-beams under the floor, and still has axles down in the crawlspace. I believe one can get the "modular" version which is the same thing, same factory, and doesn't keep the axles (with perhaps a few other changes - it didn't matter to me and was more money for the same end result). Despite that, it's a solid drywall based house, 2x6 exterior walls, etc. But if you want more details, you'll have to find someone in your area who sells them and go find out more - my regional knowledge probably isn't applicable to your situation.
dangrossman 5y ago
> Every 1970's-era trailer house manufacturer has rebranded themselves as "Modular, not Mobile". This isn't just branding. The Housing Act of 1980 required the term "manufactured" be used in place of "mobile" in all federal laws about homes built after 1976. If you look at a "mobile" home, it's one built before modern standards, where if you look at a "manufactured" or "modular" home, it's one that conforms to the National Mobile Home Construction and Safety Act (1974) and HUD Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (1976). Now "manufactured" vs "modular" is whether it's built just to the federal HUD standards, or also built to the same local codes as a site-built home. All three (mobile, manufactured, modular) are terms for factory-built pre-fab homes, i.e. "trailer homes".

Syonyk 5y ago

In the 80s, the standards changed so you can't have the old newspaper and spit style manufactured homes anymore. But I'm not sure what exactly you're looking for. Our house is absolutely a "trailer" - it came in two pieces, has long I-beams under the floor, and still has axles down in the crawlspace. I believe one can get the "modular" version which is the same thing, same factory, and doesn't keep the axles (with perhaps a few other changes - it didn't matter to me and was more money for the same end result). Despite that, it's a solid drywall based house, 2x6 exterior walls, etc. But if you want more details, you'll have to find someone in your area who sells them and go find out more - my regional knowledge probably isn't applicable to your situation.

dangrossman 5y ago

> Every 1970's-era trailer house manufacturer has rebranded themselves as "Modular, not Mobile". This isn't just branding. The Housing Act of 1980 required the term "manufactured" be used in place of "mobile" in all federal laws about homes built after 1976. If you look at a "mobile" home, it's one built before modern standards, where if you look at a "manufactured" or "modular" home, it's one that conforms to the National Mobile Home Construction and Safety Act (1974) and HUD Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (1976). Now "manufactured" vs "modular" is whether it's built just to the federal HUD standards, or also built to the same local codes as a site-built home. All three (mobile, manufactured, modular) are terms for factory-built pre-fab homes, i.e. "trailer homes".