Mobile Homes.. Yes or no?

[oddballsandinverts]

To make a very long story short… my partner and I may be in the position to get a camper. We don’t plan to live on the move, it’s going to be parked and remain parked. Can they even support a tank? This is, obviously, a very good offer we have but.. would it mean the end of having a a tank? All the answers I find are regarding living on the go, not staying in a parked mobile home.

I have a 65 but could downsize

 

[Fishfur]

To make a very long story short… my partner and I may be in the position to get a camper. We don’t plan to live on the move, it’s going to be parked and remain parked. Can they even support a tank? This is, obviously, a very good offer we have but.. would it mean the end of having a a tank? All the answers I find are regarding living on the go, not staying in a parked mobile home.

I have a 65 but could downsize

Not sure how much it will help but I used to see posts on another forum from someone living in a rental mobile home in a mobile home park.
One of the grumbles that came up regularly was the inability of the trailer to support fish tanks that were more than maybe 10-15 gallons. She said she didn’t dare try anything larger than a 10 gallon, I think, if memory serves.
I have no idea what condition the place was in but mobile homes really aren’t built with the enthusiastic fish hobbyist in mind, at least not if the ones I’ve been in are any guide.

 

[oddballsandinverts]

Not sure how much it will help but I used to see posts on another forum from someone living in a rental mobile home in a mobile home park.

One of the grumbles that came up regularly was the inability of the trailer to support fish tanks that were more than maybe 10-15 gallons. She said she didn’t dare try anything larger than a 10 gallon, I think, if memory serves.

I have no idea what condition the place was in but mobile homes really aren’t built with the enthusiastic fish hobbyist in mind, at least not if the ones I’ve been in are any guide.

Yeah that’s been the worry I’ve had . I’ve got a very sturdy stand for my tanks currently, and I could manage to downsize into a 20g (of course removing some fish along the way as there would never be enough room for all of them). But at the end of the day, if the floor boards can’t support even that… well.

It’s hard. I love my fish, I’m so proud of how far I’ve come in my tank. Having to weigh the odds— an easy home, my hobby.. of course I know I can come back to the hobby any day, but

It seems like, based off other camping forums, when you get to 200+lbs you’re going to be looking at installing extra support.

 

[John58ford]

There is a way if you do the rig with the wheels off. Pretty common when you see mobile homes with skirts and fascia if that's the kind of situation you're going to be living in. You can pour a slab under it where you need to hold extra weight and use screw jacks and 4x8 lumber or better an old steel "I" beam or two for places you need extra support, taking the weight off of the trailer frame. I've seen hot tubs and all kinds of fun things in mobile homes supported this way. Even in a stick built home with a pier and beam style foundation (like mine) this can be needed for tanks over 120 gallons unless your against the outside walls and sitting across the joists. There's math and stuff involved, I'm pretty certain I figured out I would need that with a 120 tall as the footprint of the stand wouldn't cross enough joists. If you can pour a slab and take the load off the framing, just remember to get creative with the insulation so you don't get a cold/hot spot and lose your heating efficiency.

 

[BPSabelhaus]

The floor needs to support at least one human. The kitchen table bed vanity can barely support bacon AND eggs lol

 

[fishywoo]

I know this doesn't solve the problem, but if you were to move and findt that the flooring could not hold the weight of a tank, instead of giving up on the hobby perhaps you could do a "pond" in a tub outside. (I'd love to do something like that myself, but live in an apartment and no area that I'd be about to do that in). There's a variety of ways you could do this, from metal tubs, plastic pond tubs, to large flower pots.

Other than that though just find out the weight capacity. A 10 gallon is around 100 pounds if remember correctly? Consider the weight of your couch too. If it can handle a couch with people sitting in it then I would think you could put a tank along a different wall without issue.

 

[Lakefish]

I live in a 1973 single wide cabled to slabs. I've had two 25 G tanks in the living room for six years now. No issue. One is a little off level, but that could be the bookshelf it's on. If you have your tank across the joists rather than along one or two, I doubt you'd have a problem. Joists in mine run cross-wise, and are steel. Always good to have a look underneath before you do anything.

 

[cdr63corv]

Is it a camper or a mobile home? Trailer house yes, camper no way. The moisture given off would destroy it. The ones I've owned had particle board floors, not good for any kind of spilled water.

 

[FishDin]

I recently dismantled a large camper with a friend. We were stunned at how little structural integrity there was.

 

[Sewerrat]

If not moving can build concrete support under the floor to bear the load wouldn't go Over 29 gallon in most trailers without reinforcement. Never tried it for a camper.

 

[coralbandit]

I had a 135g in my trailer back in the 80's.
Never had one issue.
The trailer was nothing special at all [ 1972 I believe].