will i be warm?

[bob]

i recently bought a 27 year old Parkwood 14X70 mobile home for $300.00 The furnace is the original one from the factory. The burner is a Beckett..Can anyone give me a rough idea if i will be able to keep warm in this old home and how much oil can i expect to use? Other mobile home owners around me with trailers the same age tell me they use 1 1/2 tanks of oil for a season. (275 gal. tank) they tell me i am worrying for nothing...they say it will keep the place cozy and warm...i dont know....i dont have any money to do any fixin' so it will have to do this heating season...anywhey it is located in a park in North Central Pennsylvania on the side of a hill with lots of wind.....

[mac]

Try the repair forum or mobilehomerepair.net. A lot of folks over there have experience with older homes.
Oil furnaces usually are reliable. 27 years old makes the house a 1977, yes? so should be HUD approved. My guess is that you have floor insulation and 2x4 walls with R-13 insulation in them. If the insulation is in good shape, you should be fine. Weatherstripping is inexpensive, if you find small leaks you want to seal.

[trmimo]

Parkwood was an energy efficient home for it's time. Not close to today's standards, but it will keep you warm. Most oil burning furnaces in manufactured homes of this age were an expensive upgrade, so you should have a decent furnace. Remember though, any furnace of this age should be professionally cleaned and inspected before winter. Your oil company should offer this service for a nominal charge.

good luck

[bob]

Thank You very much..It seems that from the way you talk that you know something about PARKWOOD mobile homes...If so, you are the first..I have been searching everywhere for anything on my old home and nobody can tell me anything and there is nothing on the net..If you have anything,, pictures of others, constructui info..or anything, it would be greatly appreciated...Thank Bob

[trmimo]

Parkwood homes are quite common in my area. I don't think I have any spec.s from homes as old yours, but I will get some pictures together and email to you. Parkwood filed bankrupcy and sold to the Sterling Corporation in the late eighties. The merged company was called homecorp. Homecorp only lasted 2 or 3 years and went out of business. Most Parkwood homes were built in Bristol, Indiana though years ago (60s and early 70s) they had a plant in Kansas. I believe at one point, they ran a plant in Pennsylvania, but only for a couple years. The two Indiana plants are still in use. One is used my Markline to build manufactured offices, the other is used by Hi-Tech housing to build ultra expensive custom manufactured and modular homes.

[bob]

Wow..Thank you so much...Finally somebody comes thru..I live in the Berwick Pa. area and am told that there are tons of Parkwood trailers in my area, but i just moved here and haven't seen any..I would really, really appreciate if you could send me some pictures...i am told these trailers were built like tanks with tons of quality. way ahead of the times and the more i live in this one i am findind out...2x4 walls , 2x6 floor on16" centers, 8 foot ceilings etc. The 8 foot ceilongs are remarkable.....and this one doesnt have a hall way..wow...and i only paid $300.00 for it.....thanks again and i wil lbe awaiting the photos...