Chapter 18 of 20
Transportation and setup
What it takes to get a home to its site and properly installed, and why setup quality outlasts everything.
1 min read
If you are buying a new home, or moving an existing one, transport and setup are a substantial project with substantial cost. Transport needs permits from every jurisdiction on the route, a licensed transporter, often escort vehicles, and sometimes utility crews to lift lines.
Setup covers everything between delivery and habitability: preparing the pad or foundation, positioning and levelling, joining multi-section homes along the marriage line, installing anchoring, connecting utilities, and completing the skirting. It is not a formality. Setup quality determines how the home performs for its entire life.
The failures are consistent and they compound. A home that was never levelled correctly develops sticking doors, cracked drywall, sloping floors, and drainage problems. A poorly sealed marriage line leaks. Inadequate anchoring is a safety issue and an insurance problem. These are not defects that announce themselves at handover; they emerge over years and are expensive to correct.
Most states license manufactured-home installers and require an inspection. Use a licensed installer, get the inspection, and keep the paperwork, you will want it for your insurer, and your eventual buyer will want it too.
Get every element itemized in writing before you agree to anything: transport, permits, foundation or pad, setup, levelling, anchoring, skirting, steps and landings, and each utility connection. The gap between a home's advertised price and its installed cost is where quotes stop being comparable.
Key points
- Transport requires permits, a licensed transporter, and often escorts.
- Setup quality determines the home's performance for its whole life.
- Use a licensed installer and keep the inspection paperwork.
- Get transport, foundation, setup, anchoring, skirting, steps, and utilities itemized.
Watch out
Moving an existing home is far more expensive and risky than most owners expect, and older homes do not always survive it undamaged. Many communities also refuse homes over a certain age. Get firm quotes before assuming a move is viable.