Buying a Manufactured Home in 2023 (Part 2)

Mobile Home Sizes and Dimensions: How Big Are They?

It can be difficult to understand a manufactured home's size without seeing it in person or having a visual reference. However, the size of a manufactured home is critical information, as it affects how it is moved and fits onto its lot. There are also many mobile home sizes and floor plans on the market, meaning that the differences between one manufactured home and another can be substantial.

While it remains true that the best way to understand the size of a manufactured home is to see it with your own eyes, it can be important to conceptualize the position and layout of a mobile home before you can physically see it.

 

The Average Sizes and Dimensions of Mobile Homes

So, what is the average size of a mobile home? For a hypothetical “typical” single-wide manufactured home, the dimensions are as follows:

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A visual representation of these dimensions looks something like this:

On a basic level, the dimensions of a mobile home are limited by what can be safely transported on roads and highways. Thus, manufactured homes are generally not built above 13’6” due to bridge clearances, and double- and triple-wide manufactured homes must be transported in sections and assembled at the home site. 

However, the dimensions of a mobile home can vary considerably. As we’ll see shortly, manufactured and mobile homes can be modified in many ways to meet the housing needs of different homeowners. 

Manufactured Home Size Comparison by Type

A single, double, or triple-wide model is a major choice for manufactured home buyers. These three size categories create homes that are radically different in size.

How different? Take a look at these charts to see just how much of a size difference exists between single-wide, double-wide, and triple-wide manufactured home units:

What general dimensions can buyers expect from each different size of a manufactured home?

Here’s a guide to the basics:

Single Wide Dimensions

Single wides are the smallest types of manufactured homes. Single-wide homes are almost always rectangular in shape and are usually two or three-bedroom homes with one or two bathrooms. Homeowners often add a porch to create additional living space, square footage, and curb appeal.

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Double Wide Dimensions

Double wides are the most popular type of manufactured home, as they provide substantially more space than single wides while remaining affordable. Double wides are moved in sections and attached together at the home site, and they offer many floor plan options that single wides can’t, including the open mobile home floor plans popular with many of today’s buyers.

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Triple Wide Dimensions

Triple-wide mobile homes are shipped in three sections and offer the most incredible variety of home configuration options, including many options that give the appearance of a site-built home. They offer the most significant space and are great for large families, folks with lots of pets, or anyone who likes to live big.

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For even larger homes, quadruple-wide mobile homes offer many of the same benefits as triple-wide homes, just on a larger scale.

Many manufactured home builders also offer additions such as garages and carports that can be attached to manufactured homes. These can add considerable square footage and potentially increase the value of your manufactured home.

Mobile Home Ceiling Heights

Ceiling height can also be a major factor in making a house feel like a home. High ceilings tend to feel roomier and more comfortable and are considered a desirable feature in almost any kind of home, whether site-built or factory-built.

The original mobile homes, including models built before the introduction of the HUD Manufactured Housing Code in 1976, often had ceilings as low as seven feet. Today, manufactured home ceilings are much higher, typically around eight feet, and many models include a vaulted ceiling section that can reach nine feet.

However, the height of any manufactured home is limited by what can be safely transported on a highway, so you won’t find many manufactured homes with ceilings above nine feet apart from modular homes. A manufactured home’s maximum transportable height—i.e., the distance from the ground to its highest point, including its attic and roof height—can be no higher than 13 feet, 6 inches. Thus, in most cases, nine feet limits how high a manufactured home ceiling can be.

Mobile Home Floor Plans

The size of a manufactured home is only one factor affecting its livability. The floor plan is also tremendously important to creating a space that meets each homeowner’s needs. The number of bedrooms and bathrooms, kitchen size, and the layout and flow of the home’s interior are all common points manufactured home buyers look for.

Although most manufactured home builders don’t offer fully custom floor plans, a wide variety of mobile home floor plan options are now available from popular home manufacturers. Today’s floor plan options often include the open, spacious floor plans that are currently popular with many home buyers. These plans also offer far more bedroom and bathroom space than would be available in a comparably priced site-built home.

Many manufactured home dealers offer walk-through models, usually the preferred option for evaluating a floor plan. But looking at a floor plan and imagining yourself and your family living in a mobile home with those dimensions can also be helpful. The following sample mobile home floor plans will give manufactured home buyers an idea of what to expect from the floor plans of single-wide, double-wide, and triple-wide manufactured homes.

Mobile Home Lot Sizes

For those purchasing a new manufactured home to be delivered to a home site, it is important to ensure that your lot can accommodate the home you buy. Manufactured homes need a great deal of flat, clear space on each side of their intended site so that delivery personnel have enough room to maneuver the home into position.

Mobile home lot sizes vary greatly. Small lots, maybe 20′ x 60′, and would typically accommodate smaller single-wide homes. Larger lots may run 60′ x 120′ or even more significant and accommodate any size home would typically accommodate smaller single-wide homes. Larger lots may run 60′ x 120′ or even larger. Buyers should be sure that their home will fit on their lot and that the lot gives enough room to maneuver.

Lots in manufactured home communities are created to offer sufficient space for a home to be transported and installed, although there will likely be restrictions on the size of the home. On the other hand, buyers placing manufactured homes on private land may need extensive manufactured home site preparation–like grading and clearing–before the lot is ready to receive a home. In either case, it’s also crucial for buyers to check local zoning restrictions and ensure they understand any limits imposed on lot and/or home size.

Make sure that your lot also includes sufficient space for any features you plan to add, including:

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By determining which features their lot will need room to add and which manufacturer’s requirements will need to be met, a buyer can find a manufactured home site that more closely suits their needs.