Fixing a trailer. Ya. *That* kind of trailer.

[Pud]

IMG_0937.JPGIMG_0972.jpgIMG_0973.jpgIMG_0983.jpg

So, this is how it all started. A friend of mine purchased a trailer. It was built in 1980, and the bathroom looks it. Yes, that's vinyl flooring being used as the tub surround. Apparently, you got this luxury feature at no extra charge when purchasing your new trailer. Do you see the telltale rot behind the toilet? Stepping anywhere near the toilet resulted in a nice *crunching* noise. Not for the faint of heart. And why-oh-why are the washer/dryer sitting on raw plywood? Hmmm? Doesn't look too bad from the surface. How hard could it be to slap a new floor in there?

[SlimSkeeter]

I lived in a trailer like that once.....built in, I believe '72. My grandfather, so the story goes, walked on to the lot and told the salespeople in no uncertain terms, "I want the cheapest thing on this lot". And that is exactly what he got.

[Pud]

Anything with corrugated aluminum siding and Medium Density Fiberboard (a.k.a.: pressed sawdust) for sub-flooring is probably on the same quality continuum that your grandfather purchased. Here's what the floor looked like after I dug into it a bit...

IMG_0986.jpgIMG_0988.jpg

If you look in the lower right corner of the 2nd pic, you can see the 1/8" (!!) plywood I'm holding back with my knee to expose the carnage beneath. It's typical of trailer owners to use this sort of solution. It may look OK when the "repair" is finished, but 1/8" plywood won't keep a toilet from rocking back and forth on its mounting, PLUS it raises it an extra 1/8" away from the drain flange, which makes the wax ring seal much more likely to fail. Which it did, and the water simply continued leaking below the new "subfloor", soaking the old glued sawdust - er "MDF" - anew.

[Pud]

Hmmmm.... my images must be too large. The site prevents uploading anymore because I've exceeded my quota.

[SlimSkeeter]

Hmmmm.... my images must be too large. The site prevents uploading anymore because I've exceeded my quota.

hmm...upload them to a photo album here and link them from there, perhaps?

[CrAnIuM]

Hmmmm.... my images must be too large. The site prevents uploading anymore because I've exceeded my quota.

What is the file type and size ?


I made some adjustments recently and may have set that one too low.

[KommieKat]

Hmmmm.... my images must be too large. The site prevents uploading anymore because I've exceeded my quota.

Could you please visit my mother in Aiken, S.C.? She could use some help.
I'm sure your to get a nice glass of chilled lemon tea and southern hospitality! Is that enticing enough?

The only thing I can do from here is send her money each month, but alas, it's not enough.....

[Josie]

Lucky friend o' yours ;)

Ive seen the pics on facebook. Night and day difference :D

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G using Tapatalk

[Pud]

What is the file type and size ?


I made some adjustments recently and may have set that one too low.

It's a 1.2MB JPEG. I was assuming that I had exceeded a data total for posting within the thread because some of the previous JPEGs I posted were 1.4MB.

[Pud]

Lucky friend o' yours ;)

Yup -- ironic that this thread ties in with some points I was making to Cranium on your preggers thread. In return for her spanking new bathroom, I now have the right to use her spare (albeit tiny) 2nd bedroom at will. I'm even allowed to customize/personalize it to my liking. She is moving into a sparsely populated area but with a tight-knit community where everyone knows everyone and recognizes (and snoops on) outsiders. This may prove useful if TSHTF.

As money gets more scarce and possibly completely loses its utility, it will be necessary to rely on relationships and providing value to others in order to get things of value in return that I may not be able to provide myself. If I can keep things working smoothly for others, and help provide security to them, I'll be much better fed than one of those walking wads of jello that only know how to get to Level 1001 on the latest PS3 game.

[Pud]

hmm...upload them to a photo album here and link them from there, perhaps?

How is that done?

[SlimSkeeter]

How is that done?

Go to your profile, you should see along the left side a section titled Albums. With mine, there is a link that says "more". Click that, and at the new page there is a button to create a new album. Enter a title, perhaps a brief description, and make sure the album type is set to "public" or nobody will be able to see the pictures, then click "save changes". The next page has a button to upload pictures near the top right.

When done, you can get back into your albums through your profile page. Clicking on each individual picture will bring you to a page that shows you the full sized version of the pics, the direct URL for the picture, and the BB code (the last two being near the bottom right). Copy the BB code and paste it in the thread you wish you show it in.

OR, considering that the pictures originate from FB, near the top of the reply text box, to the right little globe is a button that you can use to put a picture in the reply. Copy the URL for the picture into the box that shows up when you click that button. and click ok.

[CrAnIuM]

It's a 1.2MB JPEG. I was assuming that I had exceeded a data total for posting within the thread because some of the previous JPEGs I posted were 1.4MB.

Yep.

1 + MB per pic is a bit much and you will quickly go over the limit for your user group. I suggest you install a quality photo editor and reduce your pics to 800x800 pixels and a file size averaging 300kb for optimal online usage.

Server space, like your computer hard disc, is finite. Also the amount of space and the pic size increases with your usergroup.

[Toao]

Back to the trailer, I've seen the soft floor thing a lot. Usually in the bathroom, but sometimes around the corners. We got fucked on a mobilehome we bought for my father in law. It would be a good way to quickly slap a dwelling onto a piece of land, but trailer parks are a nightmare.

This is a pretty cool park though

http://goo.gl/maps/xMRI

And one thing I like about it, besides the location obviously, is it's the first place where I saw people kick the wheels out from under them, and then just set them on the ground. Go to street view and you can see it.

Here is a perfect example.

http://goo.gl/maps/CzKH

Great way to fix the subflooring.

[Pud]

That looks like a "pit set" unit, which means they dig a hole in which to drop the wheels. It allows walk-in access without porches and stairs (which is popular with the elderly, infirm or just plain lazy).

Trailer parks are like neighborhoods, apartment complexes and condos. Some are awesome, some are nightmares.

Side note: Unless you own your whole local governing unit, you don't "own" your house. What you own is a set of rights to a parcel of land, so "buying" a piece of land on which to plop your trailer is akin to renting with a balloon payment due and payable up front.

I love the concept of factory manufactured housing because it offers efficiencies and waste reduction strategies not feasible for on-site building. But, somehow, it's been corrupted into a screw-the-working-poor enterprise. I'd like to find solutions, but it's such a systemic and complex issue ... and I'm just one guy.

[KommieKat]

I'm thinking of putting up a few trailers on my land and renting them out. There are folks who come to Aiken,S.C. to work on the Nuclear factory there on one or two year contracts.

Also looks like I have to have a water well drilled. I have NO idea what involves that. Any idea of costs? Thanks.

[Pud]

Kat -- need more info to answer the question, and it all has to do with zoning and how many "plats" you own. If it's one (i.e.: you own a 5-acre plat and it's the smallest divisible unit in the subdivision), then your zoning must be multi-family. Once you know that, you'll need to know how many wells & septics are required for a given number of units. Sometimes, it's a one-one ratio. Other areas let two units share one well, but require individual septics. Or, you could co-join all the trailers into a "single" multi-family unit via breezways, etc. It just all depends on where the land is, who governs your area and what sort of swag you need to spread around to get what you want.

[Toao]

That looks like a "pit set" unit, which means they dig a hole in which to drop the wheels.

I was going to use another example in a trashy park, because I was convinced it was a slab, but now I'm curious. How deep do they have to dig to do it that way?

Someone that worked for me lived in the trashy example. I looked at the bird's eye view, and it looks like they are doing some, but the whole looks like a foot tops. and the ground is hard as hell here, you really don't see basements.

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=pn0...28242392091301

And they feel solid, you can't stomp on the ground and knock shit out of cupboards.

And while the newport ones are beautiful, the Anahiem ones are like a shack in TJ. I looked up the newport ones. Average space rent is like $2700. That shouldn't even count as a trailer park.

[Josie]

stomp on the ground and knock shit out of cupboards.

lol

[Pud]

For $2700/mo I'd better get a massage with a happy ending every day.

In the aerial pic you linked to, that looks more like 4' to me, using the car driving by as a reference. And 3-4' is about right. It just needs to be enough to provide a crawl space to service the pipes.

I was going to use another example in a trashy park, because I was convinced it was a slab, but now I'm curious. How deep do they have to dig to do it that way?

Someone that worked for me lived in the trashy example. I looked at the bird's eye view, and it looks like they are doing some, but the whole looks like a foot tops. and the ground is hard as hell here, you really don't see basements.

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=pn0...28242392091301

And they feel solid, you can't stomp on the ground and knock shit out of cupboards.

And while the newport ones are beautiful, the Anahiem ones are like a shack in TJ. I looked up the newport ones. Average space rent is like $2700. That shouldn't even count as a trailer park.

[CrAnIuM]

just needs to be enough to provide a crawl space to service the pipes.

BAM !

[KommieKat]

Kat -- need more info to answer the question, and it all has to do with zoning and how many "plats" you own. If it's one (i.e.: you own a 5-acre plat and it's the smallest divisible unit in the subdivision), then your zoning must be multi-family. Once you know that, you'll need to know how many wells & septics are required for a given number of units. Sometimes, it's a one-one ratio. Other areas let two units share one well, but require individual septics. Or, you could co-join all the trailers into a "single" multi-family unit via breezways, etc. It just all depends on where the land is, who governs your area and what sort of swag you need to spread around to get what you want.

Thanks for your info.

Found out that a well would cost me about $4000 to set up.
The septic about another $2000 or more.
Would need to asphalt the driveway from the main road (now all dirt and the rains wash it out) about $10,000.
Not counting the cost of the trailer itself.

I'd probably get no more then $500 in rent per month.
Would take ages to pay off. End result: not worth it.

[Pud]

General rule of thumb for landlording: 12% annual return on your investment, net-net (after costs, fees, taxes deducted). You're not looking to "get your money back out" because when you buy capital improvements, they generally hold a constant value (adjusted for inflation). Keep in mind that this assumes you maintain your capital, which must be accounted for in annual costs of doing business.

It's like buying a bond. You're not looking to get your money back over any specific period of time because the bond itself can be sold for approximately what you purchased it for. You're looking for a return. These days, true hard capital improvements are about the only way to do that. The physical capital (land + well + driveway + structures) is a pretty damn good hedge against inflation (especially if you already own the land and have taken the hit from the RE meltdown). So by purchasing capital (well & other improvements), you're protecting the value of the dollars you've earned (the stored value of your past labor) from currency devaluation (a.k.a.: "quantitative easing" or "printing money"). Renting it merely provides a cash flow (annual return) from your investment.

For every $500 in rent that you can charge, if you invest $33k, you'll realize a 12% annual return, after accounting for 33% of rent for expenses. Of course, if you're OK with a 6% annual return (which is still way better than money market rates) you can double your investment. So, if you can stack 3 units, 14x70, and redo the interiors to allow 2 tenants each, your maximum advised investment would be around $200k.

Thanks for your info.

I'd probably get no more then $500 in rent per month.
Would take ages to pay off. End result: not worth it.

[Toao]

For $2700/mo I'd better get a massage with a happy ending every day.

To be honest, because of the location, I'd thought it would be more. At least in that neighborhood, there are happy endings walking around everywhere. I remember doing a job for a guy living on one of the walk streets that had just moved from France, and he wanted to know where Corona was. He said "when I'm outside, nice looking girls walk by, and they ask to use my bathroom. After they I let them in, they always want to hang around all day. And they're always from someplace called Corona, I want to see that place."


And what the hell is this, common sense on the internet? ROFL.

General rule of thumb for landlording: 12% annual return on your investment, net-net (after costs, fees, taxes deducted). You're not looking to "get your money back out" because when you buy capital improvements, they generally hold a constant value (adjusted for inflation). Keep in mind that this assumes you maintain your capital, which must be accounted for in annual costs of doing business.

I'd probably get no more then $500 in rent per month.
Would take ages to pay off. End result: not worth it.

Don't forget the appreciation of your original r.e. investment.

[KommieKat]

General rule of thumb for landlording: 12% annual return on your investment, net-net (after costs, fees, taxes deducted). You're not looking to "get your money back out" because when you buy capital improvements, they generally hold a constant value (adjusted for inflation). Keep in mind that this assumes you maintain your capital, which must be accounted for in annual costs of doing business.

It's like buying a bond. You're not looking to get your money back over any specific period of time because the bond itself can be sold for approximately what you purchased it for. You're looking for a return. These days, true hard capital improvements are about the only way to do that. The physical capital (land + well + driveway + structures) is a pretty damn good hedge against inflation (especially if you already own the land and have taken the hit from the RE meltdown). So by purchasing capital (well & other improvements), you're protecting the value of the dollars you've earned (the stored value of your past labor) from currency devaluation (a.k.a.: "quantitative easing" or "printing money"). Renting it merely provides a cash flow (annual return) from your investment.

For every $500 in rent that you can charge, if you invest $33k, you'll realize a 12% annual return, after accounting for 33% of rent for expenses. Of course, if you're OK with a 6% annual return (which is still way better than money market rates) you can double your investment. So, if you can stack 3 units, 14x70, and redo the interiors to allow 2 tenants each, your maximum advised investment would be around $200k.

That's a tremedous amount of info and I really appreciate it.

I've got to pass it on to dad and see what he has to say.

One thing you may have missed though, is the tax. I do understand that any damn thing a person does to make their home more livable will mean higher taxes.
The Gov just doesn't want to see people happy in their lives.