Has Anyone Worked in a Mobilehome Plant?

Ken Scharabok · #1 03/06/08, 02:43 PM

Especially in the wiring department.

I bought land which there is a 16x80 singlewide. Sat abandoned for several years. During that time someone went in and stripped out most of wiring to wall receptacles. Nothing under electrical panel, just hole in floor. In looking at it, it appears to me from the panel box wiring went under the floor to some point, then came up in a wall to the top, center of the unit. May lay on top of ceiling insulation. From there, junctioned off to various wall receptacles, down and then back up. Is this accurate? If so, am guessing it would be in the bedroom with the panel box on the outside wall, and in the wall towards the front of the unit.

marvella · #2 03/06/08, 02:50 PM

from trying to deal with various electrical malfunctions in a repo'd DW, it seems that there is no rhyme or reason in the wiring. the outlet in the small bedroom may share with the bathroom at the other end.

Rocky Fields · #3 03/06/08, 04:36 PM

Ken,

When I viewed an older trailer that had a ceiling fire (due to faulty light wiring), the wiring was above the 2x2 framing and insulation in the ceiling. The wires dropped down to the electrical boxes in the walls from above.

Now that copper is valuable as scrap, theives are even trying to steal it from electrical power plants!

agmantoo · #4 03/06/08, 05:08 PM

I have worked on a few of these. The only thing that I have observed coming from below to the panel is the service entrance. The distribution of power is as Rocky Fields described. What baffled me was the use of 3 conductor wires and the manner that power was distributed to various rooms. It was not uncommon to get a single hot from the 1 of the 3 wires and for the common to be picked up from a common out of another 2 conductor wire. I think/guess that this was done to have lights in a room where the receptacle breaker for that room may have tripped or where if the overhead light had tripped the breaker to enable the room to still have light from a lamp in the receptacle for safety reasons. Most of the rooms had dual feeds is what I was trying to state in that last sentence.

Oldcountryboy · #5 03/07/08, 11:41 PM

If you ever get those trailer houses figured out, become a electrician. You would make a lot of money repairing them as many electricians will not even take on a service call from a trailer house owner. I have about a 50/50 record on trouble shooting trailer houses. When I get a call I tell the owner/renter I'll give it a try but there won't be any guarantee I can fix their problem.

rambler · #6 03/08/08, 01:25 AM

Thought a lot of them were wired with aluminum wire in the first place, not copper.

--->Paul

Scrounger · #7 03/08/08, 06:56 AM

What brand and how old of house is it? It makes a HUGE difference.

I was a Factory Service Tech for Champion Homes for several years. Our wiring cam into the home under the box and was distributed throughout the home around the sidewalls. The wiring was installed about 16" off of the floor. It was run up and over the wad to the lights. On double wides, it was connected to the other side underneath the floor. You would not have an outlet at one end of the house connected to one at the other, but you might have one on the same curciut as a GFCI outside the home. It all still has to meet the same code as stick-built homes.

If the manufacturer of the home is still around, give them a call and they will have a wire diagram for it. They might have to search, but they are required to keep them. If I was closer, I'd come look at it myself. It's not that big of problem.

Johnny Dolittle · #8 03/08/08, 08:07 AM

The electricians in factories around here get paid on a piece work basis and the amount is based on the square footage of the floor plan. So the electricians and plumbers (who also get paid in this manner) usually hurry to get their work finished so they can leave the plant before the eight hour shift is over. So you have electricians rushing through their work so they can leave after six hours! Makes you wonder about the quality of their work???

It may be difficult to rewire that thing now that the walls are covered up and there is no space (attic) above the ceiling. The floor joist is probably a trussed system which would allow easy passage of wiring even if the initial supply was routed overhead.

Sounds like alot of fun