# It's official! We're trailer trash! OT



## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Put the downpayment down this afternoon on a 14 x 70 rent to own fixer upper.... Beats the heck out of 'the projects' (except they don't call them that here) No more landlord's secretary's office right outside the door handing us a lease violation every time one of us farts in our sleep! No more human cockroaches for neighbors - now we'll have ********! (You might not think it an improvement, but trust me, it's a BIG one!)

I can have a garden RR again, and a workshop/shed (10x14 max), and Kim can have her bulgy-eyed rat-dogs who climb on people's heads, and.... Oh, happy day!!!!


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## hawkfanjohn (Nov 17, 2009)

congrats~ I'm trailer trash in 2 places now~ got enough room in colorado springs to put in some track~ which I plan on doing as soon as its too hot here in Az~ here I only have 2 ft of clearance~ and ya can't turn a train in 2ft!


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Welcome to the future of home ownership.


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Out here...rent to own....means YOU do all the maintenance and fix all the broken stuff...and the owner don't pay squat...but, it gives you a way to "own" without dealing with the damn bankers. Given all the hassle you'vbe had with landlords...this sounds like a good move Allen...I think you'll like it if you get along with the "neighbors...and getting to have your GRR...well, how can ya beat that?


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Nothing wrong with living in YOUR OWN trailer, especially if that means you can develop your own outdoor large-scale model railroad. I know something about that . . . Heck, I liked it so much, I BOUGHT the trailer park !


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By rlvette on 21 Jan 2010 07:06 PM 
Welcome to the future of home ownership. 

Hmmm. I don't think I'd want to live in one down there in hurricane country (or tornado country for that matter).


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

I guess now we will call you Mr ******* Allen.............


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey, I lived in one from grade 4-12. First one was 33' for 5 of us, then a BIG 44'. 8' wide. Dad was a construction worker and we moved all over following the Holy Grail of 'OVERTIME'. Didn't matter if we moved 3 times a year. Now you know why I'm so weird!


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## pimanjc (Jan 2, 2008)

Allen, Kim, & girls,
Congratulations on the new home. May you "Live Long and Prosper" in your new home.
JimC.


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Mik: Good for you buddy. Home ownership. That's the way to go. To heck with landlords.


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Friend of mine runs a small trailer park. The place is a cross between a mini United Nations and a Fox soap opera....


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Welcome to the Trailer Trash Society. I have a 28 x 64 3 bed 2 bath Cavco on 2.5 acers


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## paperbender1960 (Jan 3, 2008)

It ain't a trailer, it is a Mobile Estate... 

Glen


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## Ray Dunakin (Jan 6, 2008)

Congrats!


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

Lessee...by unwritten ironclad law, all trailer parks are *required* to have at least one of the following: 

1) The Mechanic - this guys trailer can be a tad difficult to approach, and so can his neighbors trailers for that matter, because of all the dying or dead cars parked along the front and sides...most awaiting parts that apparently have to be special ordered from outer mongolia. 

2) The drug dealer. Usually has a vicious dog chained up front. Lots of traffic at all hours. Almost never busted by the cops. 

3) The alcoholic. This guy hasn't been really sober in years. 

4) The hooker. Might try pass herself off as a hairstylist or bartender. 

5) The gun nut. This guy might be a table top dealer or a collecter...but either way he probably has enough in the way of firearms to outfit an infantry squad or three. Might also take to paranoid rants about the 'New World Order' and like topics. 

6) The criminal(s). Very simply - these guys out of jail, there be lots of burglaries, grand theft auto's and the like. These guys in jail, there be vastly fewer crimes of this sort. Sometimes, the local law seems to have great difficulty grasping this point. Their trailer gets frequent visits from local cops, though. 

7) The crazy guy (or gal). This tenant lives in a drug induced haze, and has a tenuous grasp on reality at best. Meds, beds, and halfway houses a key elements here. 

In smaller parks, some of these character types might have to do double duty - alcoholic/mechanic for example. 

Is Mics court in compliance?


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

Oh...ain't it a tad cold to have a G scale railroad outdoors there in the winter? Maybe put the railroad inside this new shed of yours? Or maybe through up one of those long semi enclosed porch deals along one side of the trailer....


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Hmmm. Sounds only too familiar. I _knew_ there was a reason I proceeded to close down my Twin Spruce Trailer Park shortly after I bought the property (one space rental left out of 12 original) ! Posted By ThinkerT on 22 Jan 2010 01:04 AM 
Lessee...by unwritten ironclad law, all trailer parks are *required* to have at least one of the following: 

1) The Mechanic - this guys trailer can be a tad difficult to approach, and so can his neighbors trailers for that matter, because of all the dying or dead cars parked along the front and sides...most awaiting parts that apparently have to be special ordered from outer mongolia. 

2) The drug dealer. Usually has a vicious dog chained up front. Lots of traffic at all hours. Almost never busted by the cops. 

3) The alcoholic. This guy hasn't been really sober in years. 

4) The hooker. Might try pass herself off as a hairstylist or bartender. 

5) The gun nut. This guy might be a table top dealer or a collecter...but either way he probably has enough in the way of firearms to outfit an infantry squad or three. Might also take to paranoid rants about the 'New World Order' and like topics. 

6) The criminal(s). Very simply - these guys out of jail, there be lots of burglaries, grand theft auto's and the like. These guys in jail, there be vastly fewer crimes of this sort. Sometimes, the local law seems to have great difficulty grasping this point. Their trailer gets frequent visits from local cops, though. 

7) The crazy guy (or gal). This tenant lives in a drug induced haze, and has a tenuous grasp on reality at best. Meds, beds, and halfway houses a key elements here. 

In smaller parks, some of these character types might have to do double duty - alcoholic/mechanic for example. 

Is Mics court in compliance?


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Winter? Yeah, it gets a bit brisk, but Kim sez I HAVE to put a ceiling loop around the livingroom, and wire it so she can just flip a lightswitch to make it go, too....

I'm just worried about where we're gonna PUT everything until we GET the shed. Those mobile home bedrooms are so spacious that you have to go outside to change your mind.


We have to be out of HERE by the 6th, and can't start painting or moving stuff THERE until this Saturday.... "Busy as a one legged man at a butt kicking contest" about covers the next 2 weeks. And somewhere in there I have to get a few parts (like 2 door hinges) on my van so it will pass inspection and we can use it to move stuff. Found out the hard way if you forget to oil the hinges before winter starts the pins seize and break, and simply driving or drilling the old pins out is wishful thinking....


We met a couple neighbors. The mechanic guy was out with his mastiff (in a TRAILER?) working on his Camaro (with a busted windshield), and an older guy with a nice doublewide and 2 border collies was bringing in a 3 month seige worth of groceries. The owner just bought the park 2 years ago, and decide to lower middle (working) class the place. The worst of the 'white trash' have been sent down the road, leaving the ********. Which is still better than the 'just released from the state mental hospital and already off their meds' creeps, gangsta wannabes and the landlord's attack secretary here. 

Your list forgot the nosy old lady who spends all day peering out her curtains and clucking her tongue over the shameless antics of her neighbors so she has someting to gossip about with her sewing circle. We saw her and waved.

We got this place because the guy who was supposed to move in got sent to jail for nonpayment of child support. And the police and fire stations are a whole 4 minutes away...


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

I spent a decade plus living in a trailer park, saving my pennies (sometimes literally) so I could build the house. Also put in a couple years rebuilding mobile homes when I was younger... 

but Kim sez I HAVE to put a ceiling loop around the livingroom, and wire it so she can just flip a lightswitch to make it go, too.... 

Hope you can find decent wall studs here...and as for the ceiling...the one trailer I rebuilt in my younger days had ceiling 'joists' that were basically 1x2 slats kinda tied together. On seeing that, I was astonished I hadn't fallen through the bloody roof. (You might want to look into putting a few inches of verithane (sp?) foam on the roof and painting it over with a good sealant- or simply putting a shed roof over the whole trailer, held up by posts on the sides. 

Those mobile home bedrooms are so spacious that you have to go outside to change your mind. About sums it up. Your current layout is almost certainly too big to fit in one of the small 'side' bedrooms. Does your trailer have the larger bedrooms at either end, or one at the end and two to the side? 

As to how much you can fit in a trailer...when I went to move out of my former 10x50 palace (with an arctic entry and a 8x10 leanto), I decided I'd start by getting rid of the obvious trash and and the stuff I did not want to lug to the new house only to throw away. So...I started bagging stuff up, tossing it in the truck. Eventually, the truck looked like a giant trashbag on wheels...and I'd barely made a dent in the stuff to be thrown away. (fortunately, the dump was very close by). As to the stuff I kept...that almost completely filled a 11x14 room at the house, with just enough room left for my bed, not counting the likes of the fridge and stove. 

I do recommend you look into buying or building a leanto at first opportunity. Quite possibly the landlord or one of your neighbors has one they'll let go. 

As to the trailer park archetypes - you only think your park is free of some of them. 

Oh...might want to take a peek underneath the trailer, check for leaking pipes, insulation problems with the skirting (you can loose a lot of heat that way and end up with frozen pipes). Also, cats often take up residence under trailers. Cats *love* trailer parks...


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

The layout is: Huge bow window across the 'front', (not so) great room that turns into the kitchenette, narrowish hallway with rooms on the left... two broom closet bedrooms, closet for the furnace followed by a bathroom where you could pretty much 'sh#$ shower and shave - all at the same time', an alcove for the washer and dryer, then the 'master suite', full width and maybe 8-9 feet deep. To access the water heater you've got an outside hatch... which kind of limits where I can put a shed close to the house. (easier to electrify) He SAID it was a 14x70... It sure looks more like a 12.5x60 to me... but it will do. 

And yes, there are probably still dregs there. As long as they leave us along, it'll be fine. If not.... me, them, and Mr Ruger .44 might have a little negotiating session. He speaks 'cockroach' pretty well.


As for finding the wall studs... isn't that what boy scout compasses are good for?...unless they glued the inside panelling on.


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Mik on 22 Jan 2010 03:31 AM 

And yes, there are probably still dregs there. As long as they leave us along, it'll be fine. If not.... me, them, and Mr Ruger .44 might have a little negotiating session. He speaks 'cockroach' pretty well.


As for finding the wall studs... isn't that what boy scout compasses are good for?...unless they glued the inside panelling on. 



A lot of that depends on the manager, if you have a good one, you may not have too many problems. Ditto with the neighbors. 

I have watched them build house trailers from start to finish, it is a VERY interesting process. They can complete one in 8 hours in assembly line fashon. First the frame, then the floor, then the floor covering, then ALL the pre-assembled plumbing.....you get the idea.

Best wishes and good luck on your move!


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## Bob Pero (Jan 13, 2008)

Sold my 4-3-3 in October. Looking for a piece of land to put a double wide on, and room to build a decent layout!!! Have you bought your "wife beater" T-shirts yet?


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

When you buy a trailer and they move it to your spot. You can take comfort in the knowledge that your roof shingles are good for 60 MPS winds


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Glade to hear you got a home. Just hope it's not in Tornado alley cause they sure like trailers. Later RJD


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Studs? Underscale 2 x 3's.... is more like it! Measure the outside, live in the inner... 

JJ? 60 MPS? per Second????... I've seen my neighbor's peel back in less than 40 mph But thats after several good summer's baking! 

Out here in wildcat country we have no park and when they started selling off ranch land, prime spots were offered with open spaces in between. We are only close enough to share utilities. Manufactured homes were the quickest way to populate the area. 

Dollar for dollar it was a better purchase than old cracked foundations in town, water table keeps shrinking.... plus room for a railroad that grows.... and no fences! 

John


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Sorry that is a typo. Should read 60mph. When they delivered my double wide they came down the free way at 65 MPH. No shingles came off. So they must be good for 60MPH winds


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## Santafe 2343 (Jan 2, 2008)

Mik,
You know what they say: *You know your a ******* if your house has wheels and your car doesn't* So if your car has wheels, you are not a *******. Congrat on having your own place to call home.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

The guy who had it before 'remodeled'...... if you call taking out the inside of the thermal windows, building drunken shelves and cupboards out of chipboard (rough side out) - then driving nails through the walls and bending them over to 'anchor' them, and using odd crookedly cut scraps of 2x4 everywhere remodeling. It's going to take at least 6 months to undo his 'craftsmanship' before I'll even consider it livable.....


First step is to get rid of the soft spots on the floor...(everywhere his 'fixing' let in moisture) Since we don't have a couple months we're going to have to just seal the windows as best we can until we can get new ones, and overlay the existing floor with plywood, then recarpet when we can (I found a 12 x 12 remnant for $100, but didn't buy it yet). Guess it's a good thing my dad taught me which end of a hammer to hold and Kim was a tomboy.


If anybody near Slippery Rock, Pa has old kitchen cabinets (or even just doors) and half decent windows that they want rid of......


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

Welll...now Mik knows which trailer was occupied by the alcoholic... 

taking out the *inside* of thermal windows??? The guy would have had to have been really wasted to have seen any benefit in that. Overlaying the floor is probably your best bet, though I remember a couple of the trailers I worked on the floor had actually started to 'ripple' with the moisture. Ended up cutting groves in them so we could get them to flatten out. Might also want to take a good hard look at the bathroom floor; almost all the trailers I worked on had serious soft spots there.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Bathroom floor is shot... soft in about 6 places (nice trick in what amounts to a 5 x 5 room).... and I'm STILL trying to figure out how he managed to burn and blister the enamel on the bottom of an iron tub... Lay a lit torch down and wander off for a sammich? $200-300 for a new tub, or $65 to try to refinish it... depends on whether there's anything left actually holding it up which way we'll go there.


I'd post pix, but then you guys would wonder about MY sanity in taking it at all... (Short answer, everything else we could afford was WORSE, or smaller) 


On a positive note, Kim's mom has 2 boxes of new unused vinyl siding in her basement that she said we can have... might be enough to cover the side facing the highway.... 


I knew I went to 2 different trade schools for 2 different trades for a reason.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Was the fire maybe UNDER the tub... trying to make it a "hot tub"... and he let it boil dry?


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Mik on 21 Jan 2010 06:19 PM 
Put the downpayment down this afternoon on a 14 x 70 rent to own fixer upper....

I can have a garden RR again, and a workshop/shed.... Oh, happy day!!!!







Have you figured out how large an area you will have available for your new future outdoor large-scale model railroad ?


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Have you figured out how large an area you will have available for your new future outdoor large-scale model railroad? 


Pretty much. Going to try for an L shaped area wrapping one end of the house... The east end is a bit smaller,and has the hitch in the way, but also has the big windows so we can look out on it. The west end would be larger, but has a tree.... and a nice view of the neighbor's junk storage area (bicycles, mower, sleds, piled up whatever.

I think I can live with smaller... and cover the hitch with a big coal breaker type structure or something  So I have about 10 feet out in each direction to work with (roughly 10 x 22, plus another 8 x 10


I'm posting this pic, but you all need to promise not to laugh... (Yes it's a 12 x 60... I paced it off) RR would run from about the end of the porch where the can is and around the corner.


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Hmmm. If that setup were mine, I'd seriously consider raising the whole model railroad layout that does not yet exist to trailer floor level. I would look for a place somewhere along that trailer where I could run the train INSIDE when it is not in use--probably the back end where the master bedroom probably is located. I know it is not much space, but I would at least consider it. Beats having to manually carry the rolling stock inside, which you're going to end up doing anyway.  I would also probably build an outside rolling stock shed that is connected by tunnel to the trailer's interior. You don't need much track inside--just enough to pull each piece of rolling stock inside and then pick them up from there for safe storage when it is needed. Or you can set up to lay down temporary track inside when it is needed. Just a thought. You can do quite a lot with that set up you have there with some patience and careful planning.


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Carrying rolling stock in and out isn't too bad with what little I have. The secret is called a commercial bun tray or shallow tote. That porch is in 2 sections, so the part with the stairs is going 'round to the back door and we'll build another section as long as the railed part and (hopefully) put an awning over the larger porch.... might take a summer or two to get that far. Right now, we've got our work cut out getting essential stuff fixed and our junk shovelled from this place to there by the 6th.


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

You go with what you can afford and figure out how to manage from there. 

Initial thoughts - you almost certainly have critters living underneath the trailer, given the way the skirtin looks. Probably a condo for cats. 

Future thought - might want to consider ditching the porch there altogether, and throwing up a 10x12 or 12x20 leanto where it is at. Yes, it would cost you the view out the first window behind the current porch - but it would gain you some badly needed interior space. Part of the leanto would be the entryway to the trailer with space for coats, shoes, shovels, ect, the rest...maybe the train room? Or alternatively, just slide the leanto along the back door, no windows, closer to the furnace. That way you could make part or all of it into a new bedroom and take out the wall between the two oversized closets, giving you three bedrooms of decent size. 

Blackburn probably has the right idea about raising the layout up to at least floor level for the trailer - maybe a 14 or 18 inches above that - and running the track indoors at one point. That way you'd seriously save your back some strain on the out door end, anyhow. It would also put you above floor level on the inside, so your track don't get stepped on or kicked. 

Does look like you get satelite tv, though...


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## Ralph Berg (Jun 2, 2009)

Mik,
I'd fix the skirting and run some track underneath the MH for storage.

That burn in the tub...........probably where he cooked his meth.

Be very careful attaching anything to the walls. A MH that age probably has 2x2 "studs". I use the term "studs" loosely,as back then they didn't usually run floor to ceiling. They'd run halfway up to a "header", then go from the header to the ceiling.

Check your wiring too. They used aluminum wiring around that time. Check all the connections at the outlets and switches.
Ralph


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

We all had to start some where. I had a house in ILL that had no insulation in it. I had to tear all the paleling off the wall and insulate itl. Your yong and your talented You will do well


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

The fun task will be sorting out what we can do without needing to submit for a building permit. The last code revisions in Pa were a boon for contractors... especially electricians... And there's a bloody township commish who already has a bug up his behind about the park being an 'eyesore' who lives just across the highway (park was there first, so it's kind of like city folks who move to the country then wage war on tractors and cows) 

I've dealt with aluminum wiring before (and even bare steel wires strung through the ceiling on ceramic insulators)... but even though I KNOW what I'm doing, and did it many times. I'm not 'certified'... (I'm not even gonna start on the REAL value of a piece of paper and an insurance policy vs being able to do the job right and yet economically) 


Right now I could sure use a buddy with a pickup. But then I would probably would not have a buddy afterwards.... (Ain it funny how that works? And the guys who volunteered themselves (without being asked) to help usually gripe the most, too.)


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By ThinkerT on 24 Jan 2010 02:37 AM 
Initial thoughts - you almost certainly have critters living underneath the trailer, given the way the skirtin looks. Probably a condo for cats. 


Honestly, considering the area... better cats than copperheads or *****. At least poking a cat with a broomhandle might yield positive results.


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

The fun task will be sorting out what we can do without needing to submit for a building permit. The last code revisions in Pa were a boon for contractors... especially electricians... And there's a bloody township commish who already has a bug up his behind about the park being an 'eyesore' who lives just across the highway (park was there first, so it's kind of like city folks who move to the country then wage war on tractors and cows) 

Somehow, this makes me suspect you won't be long term denizens of the trailer park. Might want to consider paying that sucker off as fast as possible while keeping an eye out for a cheap patch of land you can legally move it to. Probably take you a good couple years, though. 

I also have to second the bit about the studs. If you are very lucky you might have 2x3 studs running the full height of the walls...but it could just as easily be 2x2's. You might want to pull off a few pieces of paneling and check. Also check the inside ceiling for water damage or discolored spots; if you find any you probably got a leaky roof on top of everything else. Most of the ones I worked on long ago had leakage problems near the vent pipes. 

Still, all in all, what you have shouldn't be that bad a place. (I'm hoping you didn't pay too much for it; around here a trailer in that size and condition would go for $2500 - $4500). Best guess - probably another $1500 - $2000 to get it habitable, and another couple grand past that to get it fixed up *nice*.


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