Delivering manufactured homes requires the close coordination of its site preparation and construction crew, analyzing the delivery route and obtaining all necessary permits. If possible, have all these organized by your home center or by contacts they personally recommend. A walkthrough of your manufactured home at the factory and another check after installation on site are required for final client approval.
If you’re deep in the process, I recommend reading this in tandem with our piece on, “What Land Preparation is Needed for a Manufactured Home?”. or our pieces on Manufactured Home Foundations. Site preparation and delivery are two operations so closely intertwined and need to be closely coordinated for a smooth delivery process. Ensure that before your home leaves the factory, you’ve done a walkthrough and personal inspection to fix any problems or inconsistencies before shipping the home out..
First clarify if delivery and installation of your home are included. This varies per home center. If not included, this means the homebuyer has to look for transporters and movers themselves, also known as FOB or “Freight on Board” pricing. This also means the transport cost is not included.(1)
If sourcing the services yourself, ensure your home transporters are licensed and government regulated, so that they’ll be compliant with all laws being licensed by your local government agencies of Transportation, say for America, it’s the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The delivery can be included in the price purchase of your manufactured home, but only up to a certain distance, for example 50-100 miles radius from the factory. Beyond their range is covered by the homebuyer.
Your home dealer should even perform a site check to ensure the site is compliant to local building codes as well as their company safety standards and specifications. This also helps them advise which models work best for your site. (2)
If the home center does not have a transport and move company included, ask for a list of contacts they recommend and have worked with.
In choosing a land route to your homesite. Ensure your contractor is aware of any of the following site conditions: (2,3,4)
- Trees, fences or other obstacles on site
- Low hanging power lines, tunnels or underpasses
- Low bridges
- Curvy winding roads
- Narrow roads or tight corner turns
- Steep hills
- Scheduling of when oversized loads are allowed to be transported (dependent on area)
- Needing to cross another person’s land to access yours.
Think of the long truck and how it’ll have to make the journey to your site, considering lane width, turns and height clearance. Thoroughly check the route to see what could be a potential obstacle for the truck carrying your home. Maybe your city or county can block off your transportation route for a scheduled time and date. Be sure to also check if there are any extra charges should they encounter extreme weather or bad traffic.
Pilot cars may also accompany your truck as a lead or tail with flashing lights or yellow caution signs saying, “oversize load” or “wide load”. The number of pilot cars will also depend on your route. (1)
Ultimately the homeowner (or representative) needs to make sure the house arrives on site safely and inspected for turnover approval. Should any problems arise, these should be reported to the home center immediately to have resolved. You need to take account of all loose parts included. If you’re getting a double-triple wide, ensure all sections arrive alright. If your house will come in multiple sections, have them parked close to one another with a plastic cover to prevent theft or damage. (1)
As an overview on what to expect with your home delivery, your installation crew with perform the following: (3)
- Connect and test all utilities
- Install appliances and home equipment not already installed
- Retouch interiors
- Install exterior skirting (if part of your design)
References:
- Nelms, B. (2013, April 30). Delivery and installation – what you need to know. Manufactured Homes. Retrieved May 2022, from https://www.manufacturedhomes.com/blog/delivery-and-installation/
- Black’s Home Sales. (2018, April 18). Manufactured Home Delivery and assembly –. Blacks Home Sales. Retrieved May 2022, from https://www.blackshomesales.com/blog/manufactured-home-delivery-and-assembly/
- Y, K. (2019, April 22). Manufactured home delivery. Clayton Studio. Retrieved May 2022, from https://www.claytonhomes.com/studio/manufactured-home-delivery-and-site-preparation/
- Jaco Sales LCC. (2021, June 5). Understanding the manufactured home delivery process. Jaco Sales, LLC. has the best manufactured home value in Alabama. Retrieved May 2022, from https://www.jacomobilehomes.com/understanding-the-manufactured-home-delivery-process
