The Manufactured Housing Forums

Hi, I'm in the process of redoing all of my exterior walls in an older (early 1970"s) Marlette.My idea is to take off the paneling, make the 2x3 walls into 2x4 walls by wood glueing and screwing 1 inch strips to my studs, insulating with R-13 then drywall it.The existing walls are 1/4 inch heavy duty paneling , a thin insulation (looks like no more than an inch) and the aluminum siding..... no vapor barier at all. Doing the work is no problem for me, but many important questions arise. (1)By taking off the paneling and replacing it with sheetrock, am i weakening the structure of the home ? I assume the 1/4" paneling is stopping my home from racking , but have to get rid of it (2)Would glueing and screwing 1/2 or 5/8 rock give my walls enough stability? (3) Is 5/8 rock too heavy for the exterior walls in weight , or will 1/2" work? (4)Will I need a vapor barrier even tho I intend to use insulation with paper barrier facing inward? If so, how would i do this? I am trying to do this without disturbing the exterior aluminum siding of the home......saveing up money for that for a later date. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

The paneling is important to the structure of this home, and most of it should be glued in place. I would leave the paneling in place and add 3/8 or 1/2" drywall over it. certainly not 5/8". That is just too much weight.
Even then, it would be an excellent idea to add perimeter piers under the home to handle the additional weight. The most effective and easiest way to insulate will be to wait until you re-side the home. At that time you can insulate the existing cavity and wrap the house with rigid insulation(styrofoam). That is about the only way you will keep the house rigid enough to keep your drywall from cracking.