Rotted frame under Fleetwood

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Acesfool
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Joined: Wed May 29, 2013 4:56 pm

Rotted frame under Fleetwood

Post by Acesfool » Wed May 29, 2013 5:13 pm

A few years ago we purchased a used 1995 3 bedroom 16x80 mobile home for my mother. We mainly purchased it because it was already located in the park we live in and since she requires some special care it was a very convenient option for us. As time went on we had to move in with her to take care of her.

Anyway, when we bought the home the seller had removed the porch cover and the A/C unit and told me he was going to move it out of the park if it didn't sell. Well, we recently decided to move to a new park because our rent here has jumped to a ridiculous amount. But when we tried to move it the mover said that it can't be moved because the beams underneath are completely rusted out. He said it was called a web beam and manufacturers had to quit using that type of beam because of this problem.

The frustrating part is that he knows the man who sold the home to us and when he spoke to him he said that he never had any intention of moving it because he knew the frame was rusted out. Sigh.

But the mover also told me that we can get a new frame fairly cheap ($1000 or less) and they're not very hard or expensive to install. Unfortunately he didn't have any information about where I could actually buy a frame. And I haven't had any luck finding any info about it online. Does anyone know anything about this? Or was he just blowing smoke?

David Oxhandler
Posts: 1459
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:37 am

Re: Rotted frame under Fleetwood

Post by David Oxhandler » Wed May 29, 2013 6:10 pm

I have never seen the steel frame under a MH totally replaced. How would one support the wood framed building while the steel frame was removed and replaced... Im sure it is not impossible but I'm just not sure how it could be done...

We have replaced parts of a steel frame but the home remained in place... I would try to find a welder that could repair or replace the rusted members... First look into the cost for relocating the home. You may be shocked at the price tag.
David Oxhandler
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Acesfool
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed May 29, 2013 4:56 pm

Re: Rotted frame under Fleetwood

Post by Acesfool » Mon Jun 03, 2013 5:58 am

Thanks for the response. I've been able to research the issue a bit more and it turns out that it can be done but it's not as cheap or easy as the mover told us it could be. A company can be hired that will bring several huge forklifts to raise your home and replace the frame. This process costs a minimum of $15k. There are also some moving companies that will simply do it with a bunch of jacks. This process will cost a minimum $5k.

We've had three separate welders check out our home and they've all told us that simply welding a ten foot long piece of 8" channel over the bad spot in our frame would be enough to fix the problem. But our psycho park manager has managed to convince our movers that the entire frame is going to crumble or snap in half if they try to move it and has threatened all kinds of legal action if something was to go wrong in her park during the move.

The thing is the park we're moving to is moving us for free. So the mover they use is a very small time, one truck, operation who has to take any legal or financial threats very serious. The goal of our park manager has been to force us to be here beyond June 1 so we have to pay another month of lot rent.And she has succeeded.

David Oxhandler
Posts: 1459
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:37 am

Re: Rotted frame under Fleetwood

Post by David Oxhandler » Mon Jun 03, 2013 8:39 am

Having a vacant spot is a problem for any park and some managers will go to extraordinary means to prevent it. Even a big time trucker would have to consider the type threats you describe. Fear of economic disaster is not easy to fight.

Here are a few possibilities.

Call the closest MH factory to you and find out who supplies their frames. Most frame builders offer repair services that will be structural sound.

You did not say where you are located. In some areas where there are lots of MHs there are companies that specialize in frame repair and will certify their work.

Bring in a few different certified, experienced welders for estimates and see if they can convince the mover that their repairs will be sound.

Find a licensed professional engineer to design and certify the repair.
David Oxhandler
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Acesfool
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed May 29, 2013 4:56 pm

Re: Rotted frame under Fleetwood

Post by Acesfool » Tue Jun 04, 2013 3:18 pm

One of the welders surprisingly made an unusual suggestion. He said instead of welding the frame just get some 2x12 lumber, which would fit perfectly over the web between the top and bottom of the beam, put it on both sides of the beam and run huge bolts through it. He said it would be a lot cheaper than the amount of steel we need and would be just as strong.

Have you ever heard of anyone doing something like that?

David Oxhandler
Posts: 1459
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:37 am

Re: Rotted frame under Fleetwood

Post by David Oxhandler » Wed Jun 05, 2013 8:08 am

Nope

It seems doubtful that the same width wood will be capable of supporting the load that steel would.

Replace what was there originally with the same material that was there before.
David Oxhandler
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Acesfool
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed May 29, 2013 4:56 pm

Re: Rotted frame under Fleetwood

Post by Acesfool » Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:03 pm

If anyone out there ever runs into this problem, here's the solution. For starters, just because something is rusty that doesn't mean it's ruined. For some reason our mover was convinced that anywhere he saw rust the frame was going to snap in half. Next, don't over think it. We finally contacted another mover who was willing to look at our home and tell us if it could be moved.

Basically all we needed to do was get some steel channel. We got 6" but he said we could use 3". Wherever you see any holes in the web you need to build a bridge across that area. We had about a 10' section of our frame that had some pin holes in it. We cut two pieces of channel 11 1/2 inches long and welded them about 12' apart from each other. We stood them up and welded them to the top and bottom of the beam. Then we cut a piece of channel 12' long and laid it between and welded it to the two smaller pieces.

So all of our frustration and panic was relieved in about 30 minutes. The mover was still being flaky about it. Every ten minutes or so he'd start talking about some nightmare scenario where the frame shatters or crumbles. But he finally moved it and everything went fine.

David Oxhandler
Posts: 1459
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 8:37 am

Re: Rotted frame under Fleetwood

Post by David Oxhandler » Sat Jun 15, 2013 8:37 am

Congratulations -

Sounds like logic and sound planning beat back scare tactics and induced panic. Good for you for sticking with the problem and having the determination to find the right man for the job.
David Oxhandler
[email protected]

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