Trailer houses like this meet building codes even though they are unsafe and very poorly built.
Trailer houses typically suffer massive damages after hurricanes and tornadoes like this trailer park that got hit by Hurricane Andrew.
I’ve been writing about the problems with building codes for a while now. Just for the record, I’m not 100% against codes. Limited codes can be beneficial, but the current situation is way over the top. This fact is well illustrated by comparing trailer houses (also called mobile homes) to buildings made of earthbags. A trailer house like the one in the photo above is — how can I put it politely — a piece of junk. They are not built to any reasonable level of strength or durability. For instance, it would be easy to kick your foot through the flimsy 2×2 stick frame walls. Just look what happens to trailer houses in tornadoes and hurricanes. Most of us have watched scenes of trailer parks on TV that have been completely wiped out (flattened) after natural disasters. The same scenes are repeated over and over, year after year, because building officials say trailer houses meet current building standards.
I remember one of my friends who got married and bought a trailer house right out of high school. It was just a matter of months before problems started. In less than a year the particle board cabinets started to fall off the wall and the front door broke. Unlike most houses than typically gain value over time (except in a deflationary housing market), trailer houses rapidly depreciate in value. They make no sense financially.
One time I toured some model trailer homes for sale even though I knew they were a piece of junk. My real intent was to secretly study why trailer houses are popular and how they utilized small spaces. The biggest thing I remember from the visit is the awful smell of formaldehyde in the trailer houses. There was even a warning sign with the required government disclosure about the high levels of formaldehyde inside! (Think about it. They come right out and warn you of the toxicity and yet people still buy this crap.)
The FEMA trailers purchased for hurricane Katrina victims is a perfect example of the hazards of formaldehyde. You can google the articles about this scandal/tragedy by searching for phrases like “banned trailers”, “tainted trailers”, “toxic tin cans” and “FEMA trailers formaldehyde”. Here’s a quote from ToxicTrailers.com http://www.toxictrailers.com/ who’s working to spread the warning about these trailers: “ToxicTrailers.com is dedicated to providing information about formaldehyde poisoning, and advocating effective government regulations. The government spent more than $2 billion on FEMA trailers with hazardous levels of formaldehyde, and now has dumped more than 103,000 former FEMA trailers on the market despite proven problems with formaldehyde, mold and even gas leaks. The FEMA trailer tragedy exposed what is a widespread problem in RVs, mobile homes, modular buildings and even conventional homes and offices. If you are having symptoms such as burning eyes, congestion, sore throat, coughing, breathing difficulties, frequent sinus infections or rashes, and difficulties concentrating, you may have a formaldehyde problem. For questions or to share your story, write 4becky@cox.net.” (Sounds like a big ‘ol class action lawsuit is heating up.)
Not only do trailer houses rapidly deteriorate and offgas poisonous fumes, they’re also poorly insulated. They get unbearably hot in the summer and freezing cold in winter. Trailer houses are also widely known for electrical fires. So keep all this in mind as you ponder why trailer houses are readily accepted by building officials. It’s easy to get a building permit for a trailer house. Now approach these same building officials with plans for an earthbag house that’s practically as strong as an army bunker and see what happens. Yes, you can get a building permit if you jump through enough hoops and spend thousands of extra dollars. But why do they make it so difficult? That’s why we routinely advise people to move to rural areas with few or no building codes if possible.
Image source: Reddit
Related:
American Housing Ripoff
How to Build a House That Will Self Destruct and Burn Like Crazy
Yep theyre junk! All the glue in the paneling makes them burn like crazy.
The only upside is theyre cheap. Id actually rather own a junker free n clear than pay forever on a home like slave. You cant even get financed on an older trailer.I owned one and it was like a tin can.
Toxic and expensive. I build my earthbag house for around $4,000 and it is as strong as a castle. New doublewides start around $50,000. Pretty simple math, eh?
Only $50,000? What a deal! Just kidding.
Good job on your house. Please send us photos and project summary if you want.
Travel trailers (RV’s) are built much sturdier, are easily moved, more affordable, easier to maintain, and most cities will not allow them even in a mobile home park…go figure…
You’re right. There’s even more evidence of their twisted logic.
We have a round house built into a hill with electric, septic, etc on six acres. The largest obstacle to building is fascist, urban building codes that are meant to maximize the taxes collected on the structure and extract unnecessary permit building fees. Individuals who want to build sustainable, earth friendly structures and become stewards of the land must become active on local town boards and in local government. Americans must take back their rights from a corporatized, statist elite that use institutions like the EPA to enslave us, rather than protect the environment.
Morgan,
How big is your earthbag house, do you have any pictures?
Owen,
I’ll borrow this from your post, “I remember one of my friends who got married and bought a trailer house right out of high school.” Ditto here… the first time I visited my friend’s trailer house, which was brand new, I had to leave after less than 5 minutes because I had a violent allergic reaction after going inside. I was sick for a few days after. I could never visit her there again. That was 35 years ago, before I knew about such things as offgassing and the dangers of formaldehyde. Good post.
It’s amazing how people can tolerate living inside. Maybe I’m just more sensitive to the smell and chemicals? But how can you not notice??? Maybe people like this would sleep next to a gas pump and not notice the fumes?