Mobile homes have been offering Americans an alternative way of living for over 150 years.
When compared to conventional homes, their reduced price point has meant that many working-class families, retired couples, and every demographic in-between have been able to find financial freedom and live a good life for less.
Mobile home living really took off in America after the Second World War as hundreds of thousands of soldiers returned home and needed an affordable way of raising their families.
These days, there are literally hundreds of mobile home parks in every state across the country.
With the cost of living only set to rise, the humble mobile home is going to play a vital role in allowing many Americans to take back control of their lives.
If the idea of owning a mobile home has tickled your fancy for a while, but you’re a little in the dark on the upfront and ongoing costs that are involved – well, let’s just say, that you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, we will dive right into finding out what exactly a triple-wide is likely to constitute in terms of size.
Then moving right on to their initial outlay costs, land costs and, the unavoidable pinch of transport.
This will give you the best idea of whether purchasing a triple-wide is the right choice for you.
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What Is Considered A Triple-Wide Mobile Home?
Triple-wide mobile homes are some of the largest mobile homes available to Americans today.
Their size is considered excessive for most people’s needs, which also means they are a lot less popular as a result.
They are manufactured in three individual sections that will each need to be hauled separately – subsequently incurring a hefty transport fee as a result.
Triple-wides generally have 2,000 to 3,000+ square feet of liveable space, allowing them to offer incredibly luxurious living spaces and bedrooms to boot.
It’s not uncommon to see up to six bedrooms and four bathrooms in a full-sized triple-wide.
In 2020, the average house size in America came in at 2,400 square feet, which helps to highlight the incredible size of these beasts of the mobile-home market.
Once put together, their total width is quite impressive, with some of the larger types easily reaching 40ft in width.
As far as length goes, just like double wides, a fair proportion of triple wides are made in the 75ft range, with the biggest of the lot tapping out at a staggering 90 ft in length.
How Much Does A Triple-Wide Mobile Home Cost?
You might, by now, be thinking, how much exactly is all this space going to cost me?
And you would be right for doing so, as triple-wides, unfortunately, don’t come cheap.
However, if you cross-check their prices against conventional homes of the same square footage, then you start to understand that they can offer very good value for money.
Brand new basic triple-wides can be found, depending on location, for as little as $100,000.
For the more extravagant types that are large in size and high in spec, you could be paying upwards of $250,000.
Thankfully this is considered the top-end and most well-equipped triple-wides come in around the $150,000 mark.
Like most people, if you don’t have a cool $150,000 sitting in the bank and you would rather not go down the road of a large mortgage, then there’s always the option to pick up a second-hand triple-wide instead.
These well-loved triple-wides offer people looking to buy outright a chance to do so.
They are also great for people looking to acquire a small mortgage and pay it back confidently.
Generally, for second-hand triple-wides in good condition, the bidding starts at $50,000, with like-new ones quite easily fetching $75,000.
Where you are looking to buy your mobile home can influence its overall cost as well.
For instance, states where mobile homes are in demand like California and Colorado are also linked to an excessively high price point for such homes.
In states like Texas where mobile home production is extensive, it is a far easier task to pick up a good deal on a mobile home.
What Can I Expect To Pay For My Mobile Home’s Land?
Buying A Plot Of Land
Of course, a triple-wide mobile home will require a large plot of land to set it on.
More often than not, a triple-wide will need a plot of land so big that you’ll be looking exclusively in the private land sector and not in a more established mobile home park.
This is great because it means you could be the proud owner of your own plot of land, free to do whatever you want to it, with a brand new mobile home that’s ready to be lived in as soon as it arrives.
Location, location, location is key to finding a good plot of land that’s within your price range.
California and Hawaii have some of the highest land prices in America, with a slice of the Californian ocean-side dream setting you back a cool $2.5million.
Three of the cheapest states to purchase land in the US are Arkansas, Tennessee, and West Virginia, where you can pick up an acre of decent land for under $15,000.
So, if you’re thinking about purchasing land for your triple-wide, you really need to factor in your preferred location against your budget and see if they match up first.
Leasing A Lot In A Mobile Home Park
Leasing a lot in a mobile home park does become more limiting when dealing with triple-wides, but certainly not impossible.
When we’re talking about mobile homes as a whole, leasing is the means that more people turn to, to realize their mobile home dreams.
This is the case because leasing has significantly fewer upfront costs than buying a plot of land does.
It also gives mobile home owners the enticing opportunity to not be held down by land ownership, allowing them more freedoms in where, when, and how they move their mobile home around.
However, and very much just like land prices, leasing costs vary tremendously depending on which city or state you’re looking to lease in.
Some of the cheapest lot leasing can be found in states like Arizona, where you may be able to pay as little as $100 per month.
This will likely exclude utility costs and park amenities, but still, you get the picture – it’s cheap.
At more exclusive parks in California, Florida, and other prime locations around the country, this number could rise to well beyond $800 per month.
Luckily though the average across America is just $400, which is thankfully quite reasonable and affordable for most people.
What Is The Cost Of Transporting And Setting Up A Triple-Wide Mobile Home?
Requiring three heavy-duty trucks, or three separate trips by the same truck – logistically, transporting a triple-wide mobile home isn’t the easiest or cheapest thing to do.
Leaving it to a professional transport company that deals in mobile-home haulage is your safest bet.
These specialist companies will take the stress out of the equation by organizing the transport, permits, and the pack down and set up of all your home’s utilities.
Of course, such a hands-off service doesn’t exactly come cheap.
You’ll find the complete package to move a triple-wide within a 50-mile radius will set you back $10,000 at a minimum and upwards of $14,000.
This discrepancy will depend greatly on the size of your home as well as the location that you’re looking to live in.
A big benefit of buying directly from a mobile-home manufacturer is they may have a free transport service (within a certain mile radius).
If you live beyond their free service range, then most of the time they will at least have a reduced price per mile to get your home, well, home.
Of course, this transport cost may have already been factored into the mobile home’s cost.
But it is still nice to know that if you’re happy with the listed price, that there won’t be any additional costs on their end.
Summary
Mobile homes don’t just offer people a very affordable means of living with less debt to their name, they also offer a new way of life.
The freedom to buy a cheap plot of land in the countryside of states like Arizona and New Mexico.
Places with wide and open spaces and plenty of sunshine.
Then having your new home transported to your land, and, slowly but surely, converting it to renewable energy – that kind of sustainable living is catching on for a reason.
While mobile home parks offer people a more social lifestyle and quite often create tight-knit communities where people actually know their neighbors.
So, whatever your reason is for being interested in a triple-wide mobile home, we hope this article has helped you price your idea and you get to realize your mobile home dream soon.
