Trailer work

[K. L. McReynolds]

Built in 1977---it ain't a mobile home! It's a trailer, much like the one we lived in for 20+ years. This one probably was set in place in 1978---and has not moved since.


Grandson/GF bought it---needs some work.


 

Flooring is pretty solid(unusual, unless replaced). Entry doors suck(normal), plumbing is plastic(but has some copper) and the thing does not leak.

Electrical is a whole 'nother story.

  Lighting inoperable, duplex  receptacles inoperable, switches wired with non fused wiring(turn off the main breaker and the wiring is still hot

). Lots of old wiring no longer used, but still in place. New fixtures wired into light fixtures instead of switches/new circuits---really a normal abnormal situation.
 

Got the duplexes working(disconnected neutral). Determined two of the problems were not easily repairable with out rewiring(they can deal with the situation). Could not get a hall light working---no idea why. Did get the other hall light working.

First trailer I have dealt with that needed a stacking washer/dryer. The dryer vent exhaust was solid tubing(instead of flex tubing--- a HUGE problem!!), but exits under the floor---I don't want to see that mess!!!!!

Brings back memories of LOML/myself when we first set up house keeping---make do, scrimp/save, and learn how to do lots of stuff ourselves.

But---trailers SUCK!!!!!

[Roly]

Electrical is a whole 'nother story.

  Lighting inoperable, duplex  receptacles inoperable, switches wired with non fused wiring(turn off the main breaker and the wiring is still hot

). Lots of old wiring no longer used, but still in place. New fixtures wired into light fixtures instead of switches/new circuits---really a normal abnormal situation.
 

 This sounds like it could be theft of electric.   If this trailer was bought in place it could be connected ahead of the meter or a neighboring trailer.   See if the meter turns when using the electric.   If it is wired ahead of the meter the only protection for a short is one for the transformer.   It will not protect any of the wiring.   It will burn until it burns in the clear.     You rarely see a partially burnt trailer.    Get it fixed before they move in.  
 Creative wiring is the worse to try and figure out, normally you just rip it out and rewire.   Roly
PS if you find it is ahead of the meter call the electric company, they can do it safely and are somewhat used to this situation.
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[EricU]

that does sound like a trailer fire waiting to happen.  I don't like wiring that doesn't work, it just scares me too much.

[K. L. McReynolds]

 This sounds like it could be theft of electric.   If this trailer was bought in place it could be connected ahead of the meter or a neighboring trailer.   See if the meter turns when using the electric.   If it is wired ahead of the meter the only protection for a short is one for the transformer.   It will not protect any of the wiring.   It will burn until it burns in the clear.     You rarely see a partially burnt trailer.    Get it fixed before they move in.  
 Creative wiring is the worse to try and figure out, normally you just rip it out and rewire.   Roly  
PS if you find it is ahead of the meter call the electric company, they can do it safely and are somewhat used to this situation.
Save

Two things. This is a very old trailer park. There are three separate feed setups for this trailer, two are unused(according to the park/electrician) and one is in use. The two unused are previous stands(above ground facilities for the meters and main breakers) and the current in use system of eight panels in one area(not on the actual lots) with no way to determine which underground feed is still hot. There is all kinds of non compliant wiring---again, a completely normal situation.

Added to all that is how trailers are wired in the first place. No rhyme of reason I can determine.
Example: The 1978 model trailer we had. I bought it in 1987. At that time, it had been moved onto the lot in the park where it sat when I bought it. No one locally had lived in it. I quickly found there were numerous electrical problems. The main breaker on the stand(park property) kept burning the buss bar to the point the service would not work inside. The stand had aluminum buss bars(cheaper). I had the park electrician/power company trouble shooters out at least 10 times in two years for no/reduced power situations. The trailer was not hard wired to the stand, plugged in(normal).

Turns out there were two problems. The stand ground was disconnected(none of the 'pro's' checked that) and almost every circuit in the trailer was connected on one leg of the two inputs. I could start in one end turning on lights and by the time I got to the other end, the lights were so dim as to be useless(some room lighting was lamps since there were no overhead lighting, but the plugs were switch operated). Luckily, I worked for an electrical utility, so one of their trouble shooters found the ground problem and loaned me a Tong meter(tests amperage) and I discovered the real problem. The wiring was done at the factory---folks who lived in the trailer for 9 years just lived with the problem because no one ever found it. Once I balanced the loads, no more problems.

Trailers are built different. Frame is set, floor joists added, subfloor installed, finished flooring installed, then walls installed. Wiring is so haphazard as to be criminal. Overhead lighting on a circuit with wall plugs three rooms away---on a 15 amp breaker. From the factory. Reason? Building codes for trailers are pretty much non existent, since they are moved around all over.

I could go on and on(worked on a lot of trailers), but none of what I wrote is a surprise to folks with experience in trailer repair/remodeling.

[daddo]

I thought about fixing up an old trailer years ago- still thinking about it, and will keep thinking about it until I quit thinking about it, then I will realize it was a bad thought.

[Cooler]

My first selling job was back in 1971.  The company I worked for made structural insulated panels from aluminum skins and honeycomb cores.   In addition to selling the product, part of my job was instructing the installers on how to install the insulated rooms.

The first time I was called to a trailer install I knew I was in trouble.  The rule of thumb was to drive the lag screws for the ceiling extrusions 2" into the stud.  So for a normal house, you had about 1/2" of siding and 1/2" of sheathing, so you needed 3" lags.  On a mobile home that would mean coat hooks inside the trailer 16" on center.  

So we decided to peel back some of the siding to see where the studs were located.  What we discovered was that all the electrical connections were made with extension cords!  They would branch off the first extension cord  (with four outlets) and then wire the ends to the wall outlets.    We were all wide eyed with amazement.

We ended up mounting a 2 x 4 inside the trailer (painted) and lag bolting through the trailer into the 2" x  4".  It was just a large patio cover and not an enclosed room.  My concern was that wind would get under the patio cover and lift it off.  The installer said not to worry.  The trailer was on cinder blocks and probably would be blown over too.

It turns out that trailer homes back then only had to meet DOT standards (which had little in the way of 110 volt rules).  

And the studs were just furring strips (1" x 2" nominal).  I would hope the modern ones are built to a higher standard.