i can't say that i have anything to compare ours to (this is my first "manufactured" home), but i have been quite happy with our home. it is made by Colony Factory Crafted Homes. i am not sure if they make single wide homes, i glanced around their website and couldn't really find any, but i might not have been looking in the right place.

i know that when i go into a lot of our neighbor's homes, theirs seem kind of cheesey compared to the amenities and quality of our home. if i were to purchase another mobile, i would certainly buy another Colony.

:) jiggreen

Here is a link that might be useful: Colony Factory Crafted Homes

Can't answer your rather subjective question, except to ask if Cadillac is the "Cadillac" of automobiles?

:)

I don't live in one but I have seen them at the home shows...I would say a Karsten or a Fuqua. From the outside they are very impressive, and on the inside, at the homeshow, the thing looked like a model home you'd see in a subdivision

Palm Harbor, Jacobson, Homes of Merit.

Silvercrest is tops, then Karsten.

Having lived in as well as having been a MH sales person, in my opinion, the best built MH, (also one of the lest expensive per square foot), is without question, Nashua. Nashua is built in Idaho using only 6' thick walls, totally sheet rocked thru out, and they use screws-not staples to put the home together. The Nashua website is: www.nashuahomesofidaho.com. If you would like more information from me, please contact me via email. Thanks.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nashua Homes of Idaho

We have a 2001 Nashua also and are very happy with it.

I will say, based on our conversations with other homeowners in our park, that with today's standards, they are all pretty well manufactured, but what people complain about are the dealers who sell them to you and have them put together. You'd be amazed at the carelessness that goes on and things that don't get installed correctly, and the difficulty in getting your dealer to get workers back out to make corrections.

We are the second owners of our Nashua. The first owner had it extended four feet in length in the living room, kitchen and dining room areas, and boy are we happy with that extra length.

Another thing we are happy about is that two bedrooms are at one end with a bathroom, and the master suite is at the opposite end. It's nice when we have overnight guests that everybody has plenty of sleeping privacy, i.e., no snoring competitions!

We also have, and prefer, the side decking which extends almost the total length of the home. At one time we had thought we would like the front deck, but after having a chance to see how they are utilized, we are very happy to have the side. For one thing, the front decks are not roomy enough to sit really comfortably if you have a couple of guests. Ours is covered and partially surrounded by latticed fencing which gives us lots of privacy from our side neighbor.

If this will be your only home, you may want to consider a little wider unit. 80' is very long, maybe you might want to consider a little shorter but add to the width.

We were also impressed with the Karsten. It does look to be well made. Since we bought a pre-owned, we didn't have the option, but nevertheless, we're quite happy with what we do have.

Nick

Don't buy a Cavco. They fall apart. The manufacturer does not uphold their warranty. as far a a "cadillac". There is not such thing in the mobile home industry. They are all put together very poorly. If you think your is a good home. You will find out within 7 years how well the home will hold up. Your mortgage is probably 20-30 yrs. Sell now.

Palm Harbor..

Have owned stick built houses in the past. Going on 6 years in a Palm Harbor. Got great service for 2 minor problems... a very small plaster imperfection and a leak around the skylight. In both cases someone came out within 2 days to fix the problem. The company also came out to replace roofing vents due to a recall.

Actually, I'm completely satisfied with the performance of this home.

Also, beware of disgruntled consumers who go on a crusade.
I once had a co-worker who had a house built and was constantly getting repair work done on it.

>. as far a a "cadillac". There is not such thing in the mobile home industry. They are all put together very poorly.

OK, alviec, I think we got your point. Should we expect this to be your reply to every post in this forum?

Wayne

"...as far a a "cadillac". There is not such thing in the mobile home industry. They are all put together very poorly..."
*************

Only when consumers fail to do any homework do they soon realize they are totally clueless about something and will always blame someone else for their failures.

This guy obviously either bought his home based on price or some other factor. But he failed to do any research, so he got what he paid for.

There are many examples of excellent products out there! And there are some shoddy ones as well. But it's up to YOU, the consumer, to sort it all out to your satisfaction.

Get one of John Grissim's Books, it's invaluable.
One is a ratings guide of manufacturers. He is top notch!

Every one I've ever seen is in one way or another poorly built. Either they are made of crap materials or they have no watershed protection, the wiring is stretched to far or the plumbing is inadequate, the subfloor is MDF or the windows are crappy etc.....but on a brighter note so are most stick builts. Compare several manufacturers homes...look for OSB/plywood exterior sheathing all over, minimum of 1/2 sheetrock, house wrap, flashed windows/doors, proper floor joist lumber dimensions(2x8/2x10) hurricane clips of roof sheathing, minimum 7/16's roof sheathing on 16" center rafters, 5/8's on 24", 30 yr. shingles atleast, double hung windows, OSB/plywood subfloor glued and screwed, right insulation values for your area, furnace/ac quality, sink and faucet quality, tub/shower and shower door quality, etc....do some homework on construction practices and go from there. You will not regret a manu. home purchase if you do your homework.,..the must be a quality builder out there and they will not be the cheap one.

Oh yea, look for minimum 2x4 walls framing exterior and interior, true interior house doors, quality exterior doors...not those crappy mobile home doors, 12ga. wiring atleast in the kitchen and circuits that don't carry half the home alone, air ducts that don't blow half the air between the insulation and subfloor(seen many do this), and so many other things...just do your homework or you will regret it.

HI Wayne. Work for the industry?
The key is to educate the consumer. Not have the industry butter up the consumer to get them to buy one.

I agree with the advice on getting the John Grissim books. We're starting to seriously plan our retirement and are exploring all options. The books have great information.

>HI Wayne. Work for the industry?
The key is to educate the consumer. Not have the industry butter up the consumer to get them to buy one.

By that question, you are asking if I work in the mobile home industry, the anser is no. I've worked for over 20 years in the modular home industry and in general architecture. I do freelance design for builders and production drawings and CAD programming for modular home companies. I haven't had the opportunity to work for a manufactured housing company yet.

When I answer a question here or anywhere about mobile homes, it is because I'm interested in the product and because I see a need for it and because I see many thousands of satisfied buyers, including many here who can argue the merits better than I.

I also see a few disgruntled buyers who have had bad experiences and offer at every turn their opinion that all mobile homes are junk. As far as I'm concerned, those opinions are as simplistic as they are wrong, count for nothing and are less than helpful to the discussion.

Thanks for asking, though.

Wayne

Hi. Read how they are supposed to be built. Inspect them and then decide what the cadillac is. You'll find mostly "lemons".

24 CFR 3280
And
24 CFR 3282

An educated consumer is a safe consumer.

Respectfully, ;-)

>You'll find mostly "lemons".

Not worth debating. Simple consumer research will prove otherwise.

>An educated consumer is a safe consumer.

Agreed. Again, this will prove the first statement to be the ill-informed opinion of this poster.

Wayne

Boy, you guys hate hearing that don't you.

Now, you have answered the question of "what is the Cadillac of MH manfs.?" Please tell me what is the Yugo of MH manfs?

I am leaning toward Pine Grove Manufactured homes. If you go to there site and read the standards specs. Seem like they are made well. If anyone has had any experience with this company please let me know. There sister company makes modulars.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pine Grove

The same as the cadillac.

alviec - Must you crap on everyone's threads? You hate manufactured homes, we get it. Move on already or start your own thread.

In answer to the question in this thread: I found after extensive research that the only brands I would consider owning were Marlette and Palm Harbor. Something to look out for is 2x3 interior construction, this lends itself to moisture warping the wood over time, which is a real problem in some parts of the country. Marlette in this region uses 2x6 exterior walls and 2x4 interior walls for everything, which is a requirement in my opinion. Palm Harbor was willing to upgrade the walls to those standards on a model if I was willing to pay the difference. I'd *definatly* look into that especially living in the south which tends to be humid.

The other major issue to be certain on is not to get a compressed floor. It needs to be real plywood or the treated water resistant stuff they use on newer homes. The pressboard will come apart when there is an inevitable leak.

I saw a few Champion style homes and they seemed very nice. Nice layout and whatnot. I have looked at the pinegrove site and I thought they seem to offer good quality. I haven't purchased one but would love to at some point. Land is just way too expensive were I live.

Heres a website I used when looking around.

Here is a link that might be useful: Top 25

"...Something to look out for is 2x3 interior construction, this lends itself to moisture warping the wood over time, which is a real problem in some parts of the country..."

There are many states where 2x3s would be illegal. This construction does not meet local codes where I live. 2x4 16" OC is the minimum here.
***********************

"...Marlette in this region uses 2x6 exterior walls and 2x4 interior walls for everything, which is a requirement in my opinion..."
99% of newer homes have this around here. And it makes no difference whether it's manufactured, site built or modular. When it gets as cold as it does, we want insulation!

christopherh - Champion, Fleetwood, Nashua and some Palm Harbor models all used 2x3 interiors and some used 2x4 exteriors. Its probable WA state does not regulate 2x4/2x6 construction, obviously. I listed this issue since I do not know the regulations in the state that the original poster lives in, so its something he needs to make certain of.

We had a triple wide Schult home built and we love it. We ordered it with plywood roof deck, floors and outside walls rather than the osb that most home builders use. Even the site built homes here I notice use the OSB on homes that cost 200 and 300,000. The outside walls are 2x6. The walls in the living room, family room and master bedroom are regular drywall with texture just like a site built home, the ceilings are textured just like a site built home. The spare bedrooms, kitchen and bathrooms have the vinyl board in them. We love it!!

There's nothing wrong with OSB. The manufacturing processes have come a long way since the "chipboard" days. Today they are using OSB to make "I beams" for longer spans in homes. In many cases it's superior to plywood as it doesn't warp or delaminate.
15 years ago it was a far different story.

Most OSB sheathing should be fine as long as it remains dry, isn't exposed to continued high humidity and cut edges are sealed. I've used plywood & AdvenTech for most builds, but have used OSB on cheaper jobs. Some people mistake Adventech for cheap OSB.

Several years ago I rebuilt the entire roof on a manufactured home. The OSB was in bad shape because of poor quality of the roofing job and materials. Snow sat on the relatively flat roof, blocking the vents, and water penetrated around the vents, plumbing vents and furnace roof jack. I increased the roof pitch, sheathed it with plywood, installed an extra width of Grace Ice & Water Shield, dimensional shingles, installed a ridge vent, extended the plumbing vents, and installed a new furnace roof jack.

Most of the water damage I've seen is due to poor construction practices, cheap materials, poor ventilation and lack of maintenance.

I just installed a Miller trailer furnace and roof jack in a doublewide recently. The roof was fairly new, but incredibly soft. I laid my extension ladders across the roof so I didn't fall through. People rarely maintain their roofs and some only repair them when it's absolutely necessary.

Check out Deer Valley in the So. KY area... We are in Middle Tennessee and have looked all over God's creation at different Mfg HOmes.. My husband retired from the building trade and he liked them very much.

We are planning on listing our home to sell next spring and getting a Deer Valley.. They really are lovely.. and well built.. Hubby liked the 2 x 6 exterior especially.. and drywall interiors through out..

PVP

anyone know about oakwood homes? We bought one and have been in it 7 years now with no problems..It has 2x4 studded exterior walls on 16" centers. Anyone know how these oakwoods rank?
thanks

I'm not aware of any real "rankings," only reports from people like you who pass along your own real world experiences.

Reports like yours, from someone with personal experience who doesn't try to pass him or herself off as the only "truthful" expert are a far cry more important and certainly a far sight more credible than the "all mobile homes suck and are poorly made to no codes" guy.

Thanks for your comment.

Wayne

I bought a 2005 Palm Harbor (The Hathaway) well it's nice with double pane windows all around, Moem facets, came with GE appliances etc, it's OK but you know they built these homes in a factories real quick so they tend to be slopply, cut out holes for the wall outlets etc and just push all the ebris inside the walls the top vents to all the rooms where all cut hastley leaving all the dust etc above top cabinets all kinds of crap, under drawers found electrical wire trash hidden. Make sure you do a through cleaning, and yes most use cheap ass material like compress cardboard, etc. But for $89K for new and cheap rent space, sure beats stick built any day well for me it does.

My Mom bought a modular home in 1979 and it is still in excellent condition. Its an Evergreen they are based in Washington state. When my husband and I decided to build we looked at all the options and we decided to go the modular route. Ours is an Evergreen as well, it is 15 years old and is in great condition, we've had zero problems. If we decide to build again, I'd buy another modular. I love my house!

Some of the best ones I have seen around here are made by Horton. I have looked at several of their models and noticed that they use real wood house type cabinets (not the cheap trailer ones) and house type doors and windows. I also noticed some of them have the air vents in the ceiling rather than the floor, and finished sheetrock walls. Down here near the coast the code requires that only wind zone II homes can be sold. Zone II homes have 2x4 16" on center studs, plywood under the siding, and shingle roof. I haven't seen 2x3's used in a mobile home since the 70's.

Here is a link that might be useful: Horton Homes

Well I don't know about "Cadillac".....but our Deer Valley I think is the HUMMER of manufactured homes....BUILT TOUGH but not alot of "Bling" like a "Cadillac"...I'll stick with my "HUM VEE"....it's built like a "TANK".