Does My Mobile Home Need Releveling?

Twelve things that show up when a manufactured home has settled. Every one is visible from inside the home or on a walk around the outside, and none needs a tool you do not own. Tick what is true and the checker tells you where your home sits, including telling you that nothing is wrong if nothing is wrong.

The two tests worth doing first

The marble test. Set a marble on the floor in three different rooms and watch it. Consistent direction in every room means the frame is low on that side. One room behaving differently points at a soft spot rather than a whole-home tilt.

The door test. Open every interior door halfway and let go. Doors that swing open or closed on their own are telling you the frame has racked, and doors that drag on the jamb are telling you the same thing more emphatically.

Why this matters on Mohave County ground

The alluvium under Mohave County is dense, dry, and often lime-cemented, and on the whole it bears a pier well. Where it is not cemented it is loose: river valley soils here are sandy alluvium, and out toward Golden Valley you are on alluvial fans. Under a pier concentrating thousands of pounds on a pad a foot or two square, that looser ground consolidates unevenly, and the home twists rather than sinking. Monsoon runoff, which arrives faster than the ground can absorb it, carries material out from beside footing pads, and summer heat works on the shims.

That is not a defect in the home. Homes on old park lots that were never graded, on sandy fan ground near a wash, or on clay-loam subsoils move sooner, which is why a free check every few years, and after any big storm season, is worth having.

The damage also lags the cause. Runoff undercuts a pad during the monsoon, and the doors start sticking months later. People blame whatever happened that week rather than the storm season before it.

What the checker will not do

It will not tell you that you need us if you do not. The lowest band on the scale says exactly that, and a meaningful share of the people who run it land there.

What it also cannot see is the crawl. Crushed pads, a pier carrying nothing, standing water, or a torn belly are all found from underneath, which is what the free level check is for: about half an hour, pier-by-pier readings, and a written price, whether or not you book.

If you score high

Two other free things worth doing:

The cost calculator prices a relevel from the table on the pricing page so you know the budget before anyone visits.

The tie-downs and anchors service works out roughly how many anchors and straps your home should have, which is worth knowing separately because settling and anchoring are different problems that often arrive together.

Checks are available in Bullhead City, Fort Mohave, Mohave Valley, Golden Valley, Kingman, and Lake Havasu City.