What to do with old mobile home?

Matt-AL · #1 08/18/04, 10:54 AM

I recently purchased 5 acres with an old mobile home on it. The home has been sitting there vacant around 4 years. The previous owners moved it out there and did not live in it so it is not hooked up to any septic or power/water lines. I would like to get rid of this thing as I want to produce market veggies on this land.

Not knowing much about them I wondered if the landfills would even take it. One person I talked with suggested burning it to the ground but no telling what kind of toxins would leach into the soil so that is out

I have no idea what kind of condition it is in as I havent looked inside it yet so it may not even be roadworthy.

I plan to go check it out this weekend. (with a can or two wasp spray)

This is such a hassle, no wonder the previous owners wanted it to stay lol.

Thanks for any advice or suggestions,

Matt

caroline00 · #2 08/18/04, 10:59 AM

does it have wheels? can you move it to a place where it cannot be seen? WE have one that we use for a storage shed.

countrygrrrl · #3 08/18/04, 11:07 AM

If it's in relatively good shape, you can probably sell it for the cost of taking it off the property.

Also, check local community, church and charitable organizations --- around here, a lot of people don't have homeowners insurance and, if they lose their home to a fire or catastrophe, they're out of luck. Various community organizations, however, *gather* up old mobiles to give to people like this, so they can have something til they get on their feet again.

Ken Scharabok · #4 08/18/04, 11:12 AM

If it is watertight, you might consider having it moved out of the way and use it as a storage. Basically low-cost storage. You will have to block it level and perhaps take out some interior walls to make it usable, but neither are high cost activities.

A place in the local area recycles these old singlewides. All of the aluminum is stripped off the outside and windows. After that about the only remains of value are the metal in the ductwork and the frame and axles (if still there). You will need a torch to cut up the frame into haulable pieces, but they are fairly light.

If you start to strip it, you might make a couple of piles. Aluminum, fiberglass insulation, fiberglas fixures (such as the tub), burnables, scrap metal and everythng else. Aluminum goes to a recycling center for sale. Scrap metal to a yard for the same. What isn't readily burnable would go to the landfill.

Ken Scharabok

SteveD(TX) · #5 08/18/04, 11:19 AM

I was faced with exactly the same situation a few years ago when I bought my place. Except the 10'x50' MH, which was from the 50's (complete with pink tub and sinks), had been sitting open and vacant for at least 10 years. Racoons had taken over, water and animals had wreaked havoc on it.

I called the mover who moved my good MH onto the land, and asked him if he knew anyone who would want it. No charge; just get it out of there. Within a week, he had brought a young Hispanic couple over to look at it. A week later, it was gone.

countrygrrrl · #6 08/18/04, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveD(TX)

I called the mover who moved my good MH onto the land, and asked him if he knew anyone who would want it. No charge; just get it out of there. Within a week, he had brought a young Hispanic couple over to look at it. A week later, it was gone.

Yup. For someone who just needs a home but is barely surviving, these kinds of mobiles are a real step up, and a lot of people are VERY happy to get them.

bethlaf · #7 08/18/04, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt-AL

I recently purchased 5 acres with an old mobile home on it. The home has been sitting there vacant around 4 years. The previous owners moved it out there and did not live in it so it is not hooked up to any septic or power/water lines. I would like to get rid of this thing as I want to produce market veggies on this land.

Not knowing much about them I wondered if the landfills would even take it. One person I talked with suggested burning it to the ground but no telling what kind of toxins would leach into the soil so that is out

I have no idea what kind of condition it is in as I havent looked inside it yet so it may not even be roadworthy.

I plan to go check it out this weekend. (with a can or two wasp spray)

This is such a hassle, no wonder the previous owners wanted it to stay lol.

Thanks for any advice or suggestions,

Matt

put an ad in the paper, free mobile, MUST be moved ,
if you cant get rid of it like that, ocntact the shelters , and all, see what you can do , we had a burnt out one that we got rid of , the person who got it felt it was well worth the price we asked for it, they are stripping it for thier place they are building

local phone in show, most local areas have a small phonei n show in saturdays, call in and mention it there , might get a taker
Good luck, otherwise, scrap it out

Beth

mightybooboo · #8 08/18/04, 11:58 AM

A bit OT,but i knew a fellow who take old travel trailers to the dump and give the heavy equipment guy a few bucks to scrape off the home,leaving the trailer.then he made motorcycle trailers and such from them.Might not help in this case,but may be food for thought for some others.
BooBoo

Ken Scharabok · #9 08/18/04, 12:28 PM

Not sure of details, but one neighbor said he made a mobile pig growing pen out of one. Basically stripped it down to the frame, put slotted wire over it and then built shade over it and pens inside. When the ground under it was covered, it hooked his tractor to it and pulled it forward one trailer length. Said he could tell for years afterwards where it had been parked by the lush, green grass growth.

Ken Scharabok

#10 08/18/04, 01:35 PM

If it has axles under it, these make great agricultural trailers for hauling hay, flatbeds, etc. You chould have no trouble at all getting rid of it. Or strip off all the top junk & make a trailer of it yourself. Most get cut down to 20' or less.

Different states have different DOT laws about all this - my state does not require licencing of ag trailers, so this is common. It may be more difficult to licence a home-made mobil trailer, as the tires for sure are not DOT, and some states have issue with the rims & axles as well.

--->Paul

Blu3duk · #11 08/18/04, 01:47 PM

My portable sawmiull sets on the frame of an old mobile home and axles..... they are usefull once in awhile.

I agree putting the word out via paper, posteers, radio, bulletin boards might get you a taker for free to move it.....

William

PonderosaQ · #12 08/18/04, 04:57 PM

My neighbor used to strip them down and sell anything he could from them . Then he'd use the money for the grandkids Christmas gifts!

PQ

Lt. Wombat · #13 08/18/04, 07:41 PM

People making houseboats want the frames to build onto.

Fire departments like them for training purposes.

They make great chicken coops / goat houses.

Bury it in the ground for an emergency shelter.

#14 08/18/04, 07:59 PM

Believe it or not people make haunted houses out of several of these in a row.Try to sell it on Hauntworld.com

OUVickie · #15 08/18/04, 08:51 PM

We have one on our north pasture. At the moment a friend uses it when he hunts. You can easily get rid of them by finding someone who buys scrap metal or by advertising it in the paper. People fix them up and live in them or sell them all the time. Our neighbor has actually bought two and fixed them up to live in. You shouldn't have a problem finding a new "home" for it.

Ken Scharabok · #16 08/19/04, 07:29 AM

When I was moving from OH to TN I looked for a good used 16' x 80' as temporary housing (which is going on ten years now). Probably 80% of the ones I saw would need to be virtually gutted and redone to be nice. These older ones were so flimsy it didn't take much to tear them up. Some may have little, if any, insulation. Rotting flooring around the laundry area was common.

I suspect if you just have it moved out of you way for a while you will eventually find a use for it.

Ken Scharabok

Matt-AL · #17 08/19/04, 12:25 PM

Thanks for all of your suggestions everyone. You have given me hope that there might actually be some value in it.

Is there a standard spot on trailers where information might be? Like Manufacturer, Date, Size, Serial Number etc? Knowing where to look would help me save time (and perhaps wasp stings).

Thanks,

Matt

Ken Scharabok · #18 08/19/04, 03:56 PM

Really the only information of importance (since you don't have a title for it) is the length and width. Width is outside to outside. Length is from fartherest point in back to the end of the hitch. Then number of bedrooms and baths. In an old trailer manufacturer and year mean little as it is more size and condition.

Ken Scharabok

#19 08/20/04, 02:00 PM

try posting it at freecycle on yahoo. tear it down and use the frame and axels for a hay trailer if it has the running gear still on it. salvage the metal burn the wood and fiberglass then haul the ashes to the dump in one pickup load. One man can disassemble one by hand in a week or two if you are realy slow. Salvage metal is as high now as it has ever been so it is great timing to dispose of old metal.