“It is no secret about lifting HUD [Code manufactured] homes…[it’s] done all the time,” said industry installation expert, George Porter.
“There are some differences because of the [different kinds of HUD Code manufactured home’s] frame, but fairly similar,” Porter told the Daily Business News via a series of emailed statements.
In a separate statement, Danny Ghorbani – an engineer by trade and the founding president of the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) – agreed that multiple level manufactured housing was doable.
Ghorbani pointed out that plans for that type of structure have existed for decades.
“I do remember the Wisconsin manufacturer who toyed with the idea of placing single section mobile homes (it was in the early 1970s, and before the Federal law) in a cylindrical super structure,” Ghorbani told MHProNews.
That design Ghorbani described is in the diagram shown below.
The first point is simple.
The concept of multiple stories of manufactured homes in some form of superstructure capable of holding individual units has been done before.
So, it is doable again.
It’s a possible case of back to the future.
Why This Matters to HUD Code Builders, Communities, Developers, Retailers, and Others in Post-Production Today
There are several reasons this could be useful information for manufactured home industry professionals, and investors today.
One is because of the widely held – and misinformed – belief that only modular or other prefab housing units could be stacked beyond two levels.
The economies of scale found in HUD Code manufactured homes are capable of being deployed in units elevated and moved into place. There are a variety of tower-structures possible that would create greater density than manufactured homes on only ground-level.
In some urban, and other pricey land settings – such as scenic waterfronts – that high-rise potential could prove to be an advantage.
When an Aging Community “Needs to be Redeveloped”
The movie trailer, Ready Player One, reflects a kind of a put-down for this type of possible future. But that slam, as is true of many that face manufactured homes, is based upon ignorance, prejudices, or other agendas.
This process as shown could be done tastefully, and efficiently, per experts like those MHProNews has asked.
It may provide an option for those who have a community that needs to be redeveloped, due to aging and failing infrastructure.
It may also provide an option for certain metro infill scenarios.
Finally, it could provide a viable plan for a community of the future near a metro, where greater land density is desirable.
Certainly, the costs of the superstructure must be factored into the calculations, to test the viability vs. other options. But on the surface, there are reasons to believe that this could be a far less costly option.
But it is one of several ways that the manufactured housing of the future could take shape.
George Porter says he has used slides of a project like this in his classes and presentations. “I have the picture and have talked to the person who ran the community…I use it in some seminars.” Porter told MHProNews, adding, tongue-in-cheek, “How to triple your rental income.”
The designer of the Kasita modular ‘dumpsters design’ uses a metal rack system in their presentations. They are far costlier per unit than a HUD Code manufactured home. Why not use HUD Code homes instead?
As Ghorbani noted, this isn’t a production issue, it is a post-production opportunity. So, he says, it is yet another example of an arena that a robust, effective post-production association could prove useful. ## (News, analysis, and expert commentary.)
(Third party images, and cites are provided under fair use guidelines.)
Related Reports:
Reaching for the Sky, Multiple Level HUD Code Manufactured Homes
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Soheyla is a managing member of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
