panel box and meter

[Gena]

We are in the process of setting up or 2003 Clayton Home, Riverwood, and are at the point of the outside power box. We have received muliple responses. Some say that the newer homes are reinforced for the box to be mounted on the side of the house and others say that because it is a mobile, manufactured home it has to be on a power pole beside the house. Can anyone provide any insight to this situation? Thank you for your time.

[Kurt]

Have you checked with your local manufactured home code department to find out what they require? If the power is totally underground, I would sink a pressure treated 6 X 6 in the ground in an unobtrusive spot and mount the meter base to it. If you are planning to put up a garage or some sort of outbuilding, it might even be better to put the post here and run the service wire underground to your house. That way when you put up your other building, the power would be readily available. If the power is above ground, I would sink a regular power pole to mount the base to and run the service wire underground to the house. I did it the first way for my place and it worked out great.

[rmurray]

eI would suggest a local electrician to do this complex job..One skilled in manufactured homes will know the local code and local power company requirements..

Almost all areas where I do business allows the power box and meter base on the home...but last month I had 2 customers in an area where the power company required a letter from the factory's engineer saying it was OK...Enjoy your home..

[admin]

The answer depends on local building code regulations. All manufactured homes are able to hold the box and panel on the exterior wall. In some parts of the country, mostly where MH are considered permanent installations, local code requires that they be set on the exterior wall. In other areas the code is concerted about the portable nature of manufactured homes and insists that the box and panel are fixed on the pole or on a pedestal so in the event the home is moved the improvements stay with the real-estate.