How Much Do Mobile Homes Weigh?
Thinking about moving your mobile home?
If so, you might be wondering, “How much does a typical mobile home weigh?”
Truth is, there are several factors that go into the weight of a mobile home and its frame, including the type of insulation used within it and the strength and thickness of the home’s walls.
How Much Do Mobile Homes Weigh?
Smaller mobile homes can weigh up to 11,000 pounds. Meanwhile, larger units might weigh closer to 17,500 pounds. If you’re moving your mobile home, this will impact the size of the trailer you use for transport.
How much does the average mobile home weigh, and how does the frame weight affect its overall weight?
What is the tongue weight of a mobile home anyway?
What might increase the weight of a mobile home?
How does this impact the way you move your mobile home?
Read on to learn more about the weights of mobile homes and what factors into their size and weight.
How much do mobile homes weigh?
Mobile home weights vary, but they do, of course, weigh less than the traditional homes that are built on solid foundations embedded into the ground.
This makes mobile homes all the easier to move, but make no mistake, moving even a mobile home is no easy (or cheap) feat.
Depending on their size and whether they are placed atop steel beams over the ground or concrete slabs, a mobile home can weigh anywhere between 10 and 20 tons.
How much does a typical mobile home weigh?
Let’s first talk frames.
How much does a 70 ft mobile home frame weight? A doublewide (16×80) will have a frame that weighs approximately 4,200 pounds.
When you’re trying to figure out what is the tongue weight of a mobile home, this should provide a good indicator of that.
Wondering how much your trailer’s kingpin box can handle? You’ll need to assess for 15 to 20 percent of the trailer’s total loaded weight (10-15 percent of each axle).
The average single-wide weighs somewhere around 11,000 pounds, give or take a little bit.
The typical doublewide will come in at about 17,500 pounds – again, give or take.
How much does a 14 70 mobile home weigh?
A 14×70 foot mobile home would weigh somewhere around 11,000 to 14,000 pounds depending on steel beams or a concrete slab.
Of course, anything inside of the mobile home can add weight to it, such as cabinetry.
But we will get to that in a minute.
What might increase a mobile home’s weight?
There are a few things that can increase the weight of a mobile home.
First of all, you have the trailer hitch.
Depending on the size and type of your mobile home, the trailer hitch could add somewhere around 400 to 1,500 pounds when you go to load your mobile home up onto the trailer.
Carpeting is another factor that can add weight to a mobile home.
The weight will vary depending on the carpet’s density and thickness.
However, unless the carpeting had padding beneath it (which will add roughly 50 pounds per square foot or slightly more depending on the material it is made from), it should not exceed a weight of 100 pounds per 1-inch layering of carpet.
Yet another factor that influences the mobile home’s weight is the appliances contained within it.
When you install a refrigerator, stove, washer and dryer, or dishwasher, you are adding potentially a few thousand pounds of weight.
For example, a 26 cubic feet refrigerator weighs about 650 pounds while an upright freezer that is the same size can weigh around 900 pounds.
Then, we have the cabinets.
Cabinets are just a common part of any home.
Installing them definitely adds quite a bit of weight though.
You should estimate that each cabinet you have installed in your mobile home weighs about 200 to 250 pounds depending on its size and the materials used in its construction.
Wood is going to weigh a lot more than particle board, so if your cabinets are made from real wood, they’re going to account for more weight.
Renting a Towing Vehicle
When you are thinking about moving your mobile home, you will want to have some reliable transportation.
You will be lugging a lot of weight around regardless of your mobile home’s size.
If you do not own a heavy-duty trailer tow with the right sized hitch, you will need to rent one.
And, if you rent one, you’re going to want to know the weight of your mobile home.
There are rental truck companies that offer towing vehicles that you can rent.
When you request a rental, you will need to ensure that you are renting the right size.
Otherwise, you might end up not being able to move your mobile home in a safe way.
Also, take note that a pickup truck with three axles is ideal for towing a trailer loaded up with a mobile home.
However, a two-axle truck properly equipped with the right trailer hitch can get the job done.
The Cost of Renting a Tow Vehicle
Your moving costs are going to be somewhat high since you will be moving a massive structure along with all of your stuff.
A short distance move could put you out $1,000 to $5,000, whereas a longer move could cost upward of $15,000.
Plan on paying about $5-$10 per mile that you have to move the mobile home.
You’ll also want to consider your fuel expenses since moving these heavy homes can take a lot of gas in your truck.
Remember that the tongue weight cannot be too heavy, otherwise it will result in trailer sway as you try to move the mobile home
You need to have a good weight estimate on the mobile home before you even call a truck rental company to get a trailer.
Bear in mind that every mobile home is slightly different due to differences in their construction.
You will need to thoughtfully plan your move in advance since mobile homes require a lot of care when they are in the process of being moved.
