Mobile Home parts are getting hard to find and are EXPENSIVE!!!!

[VERN in IL]

We just had to replace the front door in a 1974 Suncrest Trailer.

Talk about YIKES! There isn't many stores selling "mobile home parts" anymore, and the only places I can find the parts are at the new home dealers, and even their service departments are on reduced hours!

Lowes could send out their doors and have it "cut down" to fit, but really it would be the same cost at the end!

Is the mobile home buisness being ran into the ground by those "modular home" folks?

It's tough out there folks! The local dealer can get a door for $600! I know that aluminum is high(the storm door) but still that is expensive.

Have mercy on me if I need to replace the bath tub!!!

[arabian knight]

If you have a Menards close. Check them out, as I have gotten a few parts for this old mobile I am in. And old is the word like a '65 model. I have been here for over 15 years now renting this trailer.
But one thing the person did that owns this old mobile was to GIT RID of those doors and put in Full sized Thermopane Patio doors, before I even started renting.
One in the side of the trailer, and one in the front with a nice deck also and BOY do I like those Patio Doors~!
Nice when I could just slide in a Upright freezer, or even get a full sized fridge in here. Say nothing about a 30 inch TV~!
Now of course I have a flat screen so that was easy to slide in. LOL
And even had a nice opening so I could bring in a miniature horse, or mini donkey at times. lol

[HermitJohn]

Originally Posted by VERN in IL

We just had to replace the front door in a 1974 Suncrest Trailer.

Talk about YIKES! There isn't many stores selling "mobile home parts" anymore, and the only places I can find the parts are at the new home dealers, and even their service departments are on reduced hours!

Lowes could send out their doors and have it "cut down" to fit, but really it would be the same cost at the end!

Is the mobile home buisness being ran into the ground by those "modular home" folks?

It's tough out there folks! The local dealer can get a door for $600! I know that aluminum is high(the storm door) but still that is expensive.

Have mercy on me if I need to replace the bath tub!!!

Not intending to be flippant, but couldnt you buy another 1974 Suncrest trailer (whole shebang) for around $600 delivered? Except for the scrappers now wanting the metal out of them, they were paying to have single wides hauled out of trailer courts.

I lived in a '67 something or other mobile home decades ago. The walls were 1 1/2 x 1 1/2, no sheathing, just thin aluminum on outside and cheap paneling on inside (at least it was old enough to be plywood paneling, not particle board). The doors were just 2x2 frame with thin aluminum on both sides and a little aluminum crank out window in middle of door. Door opened out, there was no storm door. If that is anywhere close to $600 door, the world has gone completely crazy.

Why not just go down to local habitat for humanity store, buy a solid wood door and cut it yourself. I wasnt impressed with prices at H4H here, but doors they had plenty of and ok price. Even if you had to go buy a new $30 Skil saw to cut it to size, still way ahead moneywise. Or you could buy couple sheets of 3/4 plywood, cut out size door you wanted from both pieces and screw them together. Either way be lot stronger than the original.

[amwitched]

I feel your pain! Lowes in our area has some supplies and a family owned hardware store has/can get even more.

Since DH is a homebuilder, our MH is slowly turning into a "real" home. When we had to replace our doors, he widened the door frame and we are now able to purchase real house doors. When we replaced the siding, he changed out the wall framing top accomodate real house windows. We were lucky when we had to replace our tub. Our bathroom had a false wall that the old tub butted up against. We removed that wall and the new tub fit right into the space.

[texican]

I think the key is, if one is livin in a mobile home, to gather/acquire every free mobile home that pops up, for extra parts. I've had half a dozen offered to me over the years... all before I widened my road... I 'could' move some in now, before the road work, nope. Craiglists has them on all the time...

I use to take some 'wart work' with a neighbors construction firm.... I'd get the cream jobs if I took the ones with warts... the warts were the mobile homes that were 20 years past their prime. I found that parts were hard to get/expensive, even back then. Solution was to put a deck over the door areas, and put a real door in.

[VERN in IL]

Not intending to be flippant, but couldnt you buy another 1974 Suncrest trailer (whole shebang) for around $600 delivered?

Yes, $100 for the trailer and $500 to move it. Yes, I DO have the Axles and tires.(if you are missing those, GOOD LUCK!)

[Ken Scharabok]

One of my sisters and B-I-Ls are in the final stages of rehabbing a 1990 16' x 80'. Everything came from a place like Lowe's. For example he tore out old front door jabs and then replaced with new to fit a standard house door. Most of the interior doors are sliding. From the outside it is obviously a mobilehome. Inside looks like a house.

[mrpink]

we have all kinds of mobile home parts dealers around here, of course we have mobile homes out the wazoo here too. I have two mobile homes, when I replace something then I just use stuff from Lowes and make it work. yes it can be extra work re-framing doors and windows but I just consider it upgrading.

[plowjockey]

I'd just frame in a regular door. Prabably a lot of work, but what isn't?

[Yvonne's hubby]

Originally Posted by plowjockey

I'd just frame in a regular door. Prabably a lot of work, but what isn't?

I think it'd be cheaper to just build a new door to fit the original framework.

[Rickstir]

There is a store in Columbia, MO that is dedicated to trailer home parts. But I don't know the name. Maybe Google can help.

[Beeman]

We've got a few local door and widow shops that sell pre framed interior and exterior doors and can add windows and such. Our back door was odd so we just made the opening standard and used a preframed door and a storm door from HD.

[HermitJohn]

I understand preframed doors for construction industry where they are trying to cut labor costs. But last time I bought a pre framed exterior door to put in customers house, I had to reframe the preframed door cause idiots that built it hadnt made it perfectly square. I was not amused, but less time to fix it than to make round trip to town to replace it. I guess in the $250k new houses they'd just install it as is and not worry. Maybe add some extra weather stripping or something to hide its faults.

[salmonslayer]

We have rehabed a 1997 Champion single wide on our farm for the MIL and one of the best things we did is replace all of the exterior doors and windows with regular insulated house windows and steel insulated exterior doors. We also got them at Lowes and just ordered the size we wanted and there was a minimal of re-framing required. The difference in the heating and cooling costs and sound deadening is amazing.

I think we paid about $190 for the doors and around $120 for the bigger windows and then we framed around the outside with the poly board trim and on the inside with regular wood trim. Personally, I would never buy anything designed for a trailer, those prices seem way to high to me and of lesser quality. If your even remotely familiar with a hammer and saw its not too hard to retro fit quality doors and windows.

Here is a couple of pictures of what we did this spring, before we re-roofed the place for her.


We ordered the low E thermal windows and got a tax break from the IRS (I think that is no longer available)


I hadnt finished the exterior trim on the window to the left in this pic but they look good outside..


And inside. We had some deterioration of the window frames (lots of particle board which had gotten wet) so we did have to do a little framing but it wasnt hard.

[farmgal]

Salmon that looks great. Changing the door and windows gave it a more stick built look. Very nice.

[salmonslayer]

Originally Posted by farmgal

Salmon that looks great. Changing the door and windows gave it a more stick built look. Very nice.

Thanks Farmgal, we want it to be nice for her as its her first place thats actually hers and she isnt renting (and she is 72). We put in two new toilets that are higher (those of you older folks know what I mean), rewired a good portion of it, wainscoting in one bathroom, new windows and doors, reroofed the place, put a back patio on and a covered front porch with a sidewalk out front. I used to not have much use for trailers but I will tell you its a homey place that I wouldnt mind living in.

The new windows and doors in particular make it quiet and its very tight...stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. We are going to put a pergola over the back patio and add green shutters to the outside and paint the place white next summer. Its been an enjoyable project for someone who expects and asks for nothing but is so happy with her own place its hard to describe. I think if I were rich I would spend all my money helping poor folks who are trying to help themselves.

[fantasymaker]

Yep most people would just move up to a standard door. if you wanna go with 30 year old cheepie construction its gonna cost ya!



(because cheep stuff just dosent last that long)

[mikec4193]

Hi Everyone

My current abode is half a mobile home and half a "real" house. I bought it because it had a great garage and almost 2 acres of land (I could also afford it to); now I believe the original trailer is a mid 1970's vintage, the walls were all 2x3 construction. I had to replace the rear door before I could even move it. I purchased a 32" wide outside door that was prehung. I had to open up the header on the top to make everything fit. A sawzall is a wonderful tool. With the purchase of the door I also bought a bunch of 2x4's. I had a table saw so I ripped them all down so they were basically 2x2's when we got done. I screwed them to the existing 2x3's and everything worked out. Now I had almost a full 4" thick "house" type wall and the standard jambs from the door fit also. The last part was insulate and sheetrock. Not easy but it all worked out.
Trying to get a mobile home door wasnt even in my mindset. Make due with what you can get your hands on.
Just my 2 cents thats all.
MikeC

[Gary in ohio]

IN my county new single wides are not even permitted anymore except in a few pre-exising mobile home parks and even then no new homes can go in. mobile homes must have a 5 year inspection done. Many single wide are condemned if they are more than 20 years old.

[HermitJohn]

Originally Posted by Gary in ohio

IN my county new single wides are not even permitted anymore except in a few pre-exising mobile home parks and even then no new homes can go in. mobile homes must have a 5 year inspection done. Many single wide are condemned if they are more than 20 years old.

Yep cant let the poor ever stop paying on their tar paper shacks.