Eonline has likely done mainstream media, the RV and manufactured housing business a favor by visually depicting what a ‘trailer’ is in their recent story on Ashton Kutcher.  Kutcher has replaced Charlie Sheen on the set of Two and a Half Men. The 1000 square-foot, two level luxury trailer is said to cost $8750 a week. This Anderson Mobile Estate has two bathrooms, a kitchen with granite counter tops, a wireless touch screen that controls heat, air conditioning, brightness and the blinds, a conference area and seven 60-inch 3-D plasma TVs. For a cool $2 million each, you can understand how the second floor hydraulically emerges from the main body of the vehicle.  In terms of proper terminology, the word “trailer” think a towable (non-motorized) Recreational Vehicle or RV. “Mobile Home” think pre-HUD Code housing built before June 15,1976. Manufactured Homes are built to the HUD Code that went into effect June 15, 1976, with code updates since. Modular and prefabricated (prefab) construction is built to a local, state or other building code, such as the IRC.

Editors Note: For those who want to educate their local media on the proper use of Manufactured Housing terminology, please download and send them the free “Fact Sheet for Reporters” or email your local media this link.  We have to do our part to make sure that the media ‘gets the facts’ for them to properly do their jobs.

(Image credit: EOnline, Anderson Mobile Estate and Getty)