[nocoldiron]

I have read that trailers are unsafe in tornado area's,why are there so many in a state known for tornado's? I am in Oregon (which is very pricey!!) and have not been back to OK in years.It seems that building a brick house is not that expensive in OK.

[peggydavis]

That is a good question. I think part of the answer is that trailers are just faster and easier than houses. If you buy an acreage, building a house can be a long drawn out process, dealing with a builder and subcontractors. A trailer can be on the property and livable in much less time. Trailer financing is generally more lenient than house financing.

I think trailers should be illegal in Oklahoma. But, I do live in a trailer.

[Goodpasture]

Conventional housing costs are rising rapidly, just like in the other parts of the country. This has a lot to do with material shortage. Katrina, Rita, the wildfires, etc have all contributed to the material shortage.

As to the relative safety of a MH, the only real risk is in a direct hit which will take out a conventional house as well. Near misses can get under a MH and toss them like the big unit they are.......they are relatively lightweight compared to their volume. One of the reason there seems to be so much damage it MH's as compared to conventional housing, is that MH parks are packed a lot denser than conventional houses, but when you get a wide tornado hitting dense subdivisions, then the damage is nearly equal or worse. Look at the F5 that hit Moore a few years ago. The destruction could not have been worse if it had been a MH park, as everything was destroyed. The primary reason MH's need to be evacuated is the same reason cars and trucks need to be. The wind gets under them and lifts them up and tosses them around. A $3500 storm shelter will take care of survival, but the house itself, regardless of type of construction, will generally not survive a hit.

[karibear]

Originally Posted by nocoldiron

I have read that trailers are unsafe in tornado area's,why are there so many in a state known for tornado's? I am in Oregon (which is very pricey!!) and have not been back to OK in years.It seems that building a brick house is not that expensive in OK.

It also has to do with how well the trailer is installed. Anchors should be required, and they may be with regard to newer homes, but older ones don't necessarily have them. I don't think any companies will insure them now without having anchors.

As for potential destruction, there was a major one, or maybe several smaller ones, around St Louis in the later '50s. There was major destruction of all kinds, from one of the tv broadcasting towers being toppled onto the roof of one of the biggest sports arenas, and a lot of neighborhoods trashed. One of the more spectacular areas of damage was a particular street that was more or less lined with new car dealers - all the windows blew out and a whole lot of brand new cars trashed from flying glass. There was a several block area a few blocks from the house where I lived near the airport that was demolished - all that was left was a lot of rubble and the cement slabs the houses had been built on. They weren't brick, but they were woodframe construction and solidly built. When a big enough twister touches down, it doesn't matter what the buildings are made of.

[peggydavis]

St Louis must have been a great place to live in the 50s, Karibear. Did that tornado make you more or less afraid of tornadoes?

My trailer has anchors, and it had a big deck roof built on 3 sides that will hold the trailer in place.

In any house or trailer, you do need an underground shelter of some sort, whether a public one nearby or your own hidey-hole.

[Synopsis]

The two certainly don't mix..

[nocoldiron]

My husband contends that anything made elsewhere and transported is a trailer-the only difference is whether the wheels get left on.I assume both are anchored in the same way?I know some steel outbuildings claim they are hurricane proof,why can't they do the same for trailers?

[peggydavis]

I have seen some manufactured homes that were definitely better than trailers. These were made with a thicker stronger wood frame, while cheap trailers are built poorly. To make a trailer hurricane proof would just be too expensive.

I have seen ads about steel framed houses that are much more tornado resistant than wood frame houses.

[Goodpasture]

the real problem with MH and wind is the uplift factor when a wind blows under it. Remember, these units traveled down the highway at F1 speeds for hours at a time without suffering damage. If they were as attached to the ground, and as low to the ground, as a conventional house, they would be no more prone to damage than a conventional house. In fact, with the clips, the kind of siding, the hurricane straps, as a unit they are probably more secure than a conventional house. It is when they are picked up and thrown 200' that they tend to come apart. A well built MH is as secure as a typical conventional house. An economy MH is not.....but again, that has more to do with being set on loose blocks with auger tiedowns.

[karibear]

Originally Posted by nocoldiron

My husband contends that anything made elsewhere and transported is a trailer-the only difference is whether the wheels get left on.I assume both are anchored in the same way?I know some steel outbuildings claim they are hurricane proof,why can't they do the same for trailers?

That isn't exactly the only difference. Some prefabs are transported in sections on axles, but once they are installed, the axles stay and the wheels don't - but they can also be uninstalled, the wheels replaced, and moved again. The 'trailer' I live in has axles but no wheels, anchors, and is shake sided. It looks like a cabin, not a mobile home. There isn't even a place to put the required inspection stickers.

If you really want a place that's as tornado-proof as is possible, buy land, half-bury a quonset, cover that with a layer of dirt, and plant kudzu. There was a rather extensive discussion of this many years ago on one of the rural newsgroups. The only trouble with the kudzu thing, though, is that once it takes hold, there's no way to get rid of it again!

Alternatively, find a place with a bomb shelter - remember those in the '50s? - but I don't think I'd care to live underground, though I know people who have done so while building their homes a room or a floor at a time.