Anyone ever move a doublewide?

[whocares]

I have a chance to get a used older doublewide, I am not sure how much work they are taking apart and setting up again, and if it would be worth it...

We want to move it to our new property on the other side of the 2 acres we own so one of our children can live there.

Any advice would be helpful, THanks

[Karenrbw]

You might want to check your local regulations. I have lived in counties where mobile homes older than 10 years old were not allowed to be moved unless they were going out of county.

[Walt K. in SW PA]

Judging from what I watched my neighbors go through (They sold a single wide to a man who got some friends to help him move it out) I would say to definitely leave it to the pros. This guy I just mentioned ended up spending thousands more than he needed to because of all the bungles.

[KIT.S]

We just did this. Knowing now... I wouldn't do it again, unless:
1: Only do it if you don't need financing, and can't imagine EVER needing financing - the vast majority of companies won't finance a mfg home that has been moved.
2: Get a very recent mfg home - no one will finance one that is over 12 years old
3: In our location, we were required to use a licensed mfg home mover, however they are not created equal! We had to build custom door frames on the marriage line because the top was 1/2 inch off, although the bottom matched exactly.
4: We expected to re-do everything: bathrooms, flooring, tape-and-texture walls, and eventually, the kitchen. However, I was amazed at the construction of the house. Nothing was standard size, including the stopper in the kitchen sink! Walls were not built of 2x4's, doors had to be cut down or built up, as the frames were either too deep, or too shallow. Tons more hand-work than we expected, everywhere, and we've bought-fixed-and-sold many houses.

Would we do it again? Wellll, ... probably. But I certainly wish I had understood the problems we would encounter. Under the circumstances, this was the only way we could afford to buy 5+ acres and move the entire extended family there (with a hardship permit for a second house). I would seriously consider stretching the budget to buy a new mfg home instead, though, and have it professionally placed. We've got several more months of work to do, to bring it up to where we expected to be before now.

Anyway, good luck!

Kit
Oregon

[crobar]

10 years ago it cost me $6000 to move one 30 miles. Mine sure wasn't worth it. the installer had jacks that had rollers on them, after halves were aligned, jacked one side up & used winches to pull them together, the jack rollers let it roll toward other half. I don't know how a do it yourselfer would do it. The halves were then lag bolted together. Incidently in many places in our area, double wides are exempt from the 10 year rule on mobile homes.

[CountryWannabe]

I just recently enquired about this. I had seen a nice enough 10 acre tract that I thought would work for me. So I figured that I would get almost as much for *this* property without the 10 year old double wide as I would with it and save the expense of buying/building a new home... YIKES! The cheapest quote was $11,000 for tear-down, moving 45 miles, and set-up.

Mary

[Old Vet]

Unless you have the equipment to do it it will not go smoth. Have a crew to come in and move iit for you. they have the equipment to do it along with the experance. I would move a single wide but a double wide is another thing altogeather.

[firegirl969]

I got a housemover to move mine and he did not have to take it apart. I even got to leave everything (except important breakables) in the cabinets and the furniture in its places. Very easy move. I think it was about $5000 to move it and set it up, but well worth in IMHO.

[Sawmill Jim]

Yep buddy of mine got a house mover too worked great He moved it early one Sunday morning don't think he told anyone either

[fantasymaker]

tractors,cables, jacks and comealongs,levels...have lots of each! Take it easy, be gentle but firm, have a firm site to move to. wait for good weather. dont rush.

[tyusclan]

You can hardly give away a used double-wide down here. The cost to move one is more than the house is usually worth. A licensed mover has to do the move and set-up, and it's just too expensive.

I moved and set up a single-wide myself back before a pro was required. That wasn't so bad, but I wouldn't even attempt to move and set up a double-wide myself.

[michiganfarmer]

Ive moved a few single wides with a farm tractor, but never a double wide

[Gary in ohio]

KNOW YOUR COST UP FRONT, get a quote based on a complete move not a by the hour move. Cost will also vary by home age, how well (or had badly) it was setup in the first place. Some simply have concrete at support points some have full poured bases.
If there is MUD involved in the move your cost and chance of damage go up.

Make sure the mover provides you a copy of the proof of insurance.

[PhilJohnson]

I have an older mobile home that I have moved 4 times in the last three years. Going to move it again. The cost are going to be much much cheaper if you do most of the grunt work yourself, ie jacking the house up, splitting it, putting the wheels on it. Few things that helped me out, lots of cribbing, a few 20 ton jacks, chains, tractor, and a 4x4 pickup. Once you get the stuff disconnected jacking it up isn't that big of a deal. Just make sure you have plenty of blocking underneath the puppy so it won't crush you. Also most mfg home frames are real thin, so make sure your square on the frame rail. I bent mine a little bit in a few different places. With a couple of helpers I can get my mobile home ready to move in half a day. I would imagine a double wide would be harder. The last time I moved it I had to go about 11 miles. The mover charged me 350 bucks. All he had to to do was hook up and go. Had I not done any of the grunt work the cost would have been thousands of dollars instead of hundreds.

[whocares]

Thanks for all the advice, If we decided to do it the mover will do everything, We own so much property now, Hubby just does not have time or energy to do it...