Mobile homes that are also known as trailers may be rather convenient for those who enjoy traveling and don’t like staying at the same place for long enough.
When living in a trailer, you can easily move from one place to another if you have a car that will pull the construction.
However, the owners of these wheeled homes often face quite a significant downside: strong winds.
Unlike regular houses, mobile homes are way less stable and wind-proof which means that, when a very strong wind is blowing, the entire construction can get badly damaged or even devastated!
Naturally, the owners would like to know how to avoid this scenario and what they can do in order to strengthen their homes at least somehow.
This is why we assume that this article will be very useful for you, especially if you are the owner of a mobile home and you live or you often travel around the windy area or the area that often suffers from hurricanes.
Today we will tell you how strong the wind shall be to cause damage to your mobile home, and what can be done in order to make the trailer more wind-proof.
In addition, you will learn more details about the construction of such movable homes, and also, we will teach you what actions to take to be able to get your mobile home ready for the approaching storm.
How Much Wind Can a Trailer Withstand?
If you want to know how strong the wind should be to be able to cause any damage to your mobile home or manufactured home, there is no one general answer to the “what wind speed can a mobile home withstand?” question.
However, in general, it depends on the type of construction of your mobile home.
In the majority of cases, it takes winds over 150 mph to blow away a single axle mobile home. A double axle mobile home can be damaged if the wind is around 175 mph, and a triplex construction will not withstand a wind that is blowing 225 mph or more.
At lower speeds of the wind though, things like rain or other extreme weather conditions can badly damage the structural integrity of your mobile home which will later lead to leaks, rot and even to the loss of interior space!
So can a mobile home withstand a hurricane?
Apparently it can’t. But what about other speeds of wind, you may be wondering? Well, we thought that you might be interested in that, so we have prepared some more information for you on that subject.
Below you can find information about different speeds of wind and how your mobile home will manage those potentially.
Like that, you will be able to predict what may happen if you learn that a bad storm is approaching the area where you live. And of course, being aware beforehand will allow you to take measures!
Is Your Mobile Home Able to Withstand a 50 MPH Wind?
Normally, a regular mobile home is able to withstand winds that are blowing with the speed of 50 mph.
Some trailers may even be subjected to more than that!
However, the majority of manufactured homes are constructed so that they can withstand close to the same wind speeds as site-built homes of similar size and weight can.
Of course, most of you know very well that a regular mobile home is not the best and the safest shelter during an emergency in most cases.
Tornadoes, for example, can become quite a threat, especially for those of you who live in the states where this natural phenomenon is quite common, unfortunately.
But what about hurricanes? Can you feel and be safe in your mobile home during hurricane-force winds?
Most manufacturers of mobile homes build their units with high load-bearing capacities.
It means that even on weak foundations, it is not likely that your trailer will be blown away unless you live near the ocean or coastal area where large waves could wash away your mobile home right where it sits!
Can Your Mobile Home Survive an 80 MPH Wind?
Mobile homes are usually built with the use of rather strong materials so that it is possible to hold the constructions in place even when the speed of the wind reaches 100 mph.
However, this is not the case if the trailer is exposed to winds with speeds over 150 mph. In this situation, such a strong wind will cause structural damage and even destruction if no precautions are taken in advance!
Speaking of winds that blow with the speed of 80 mph, they can be quite dangerous for your mobile home.
You should remember to never leave the construction exposed when such weather conditions arise simply because in this case, you take a risk of having leaks in your roof.
Also, an exposure to this strong wind can lead to broken windows and water entering into your structure leading to indoor damage, for example, wet carpets, ruined furniture and all the similar bad effects that would require repair work after the storm passes by or when it’s safe enough to enter your trailer again.
So if possible, it would be better to be prepared for this kind of weather in advance and thus have a plan or an escape route.
Like this, when such weather conditions do arrive, you will know what to do if you can’t get your mobile home secured by the time the wind hits.
In addition, we would like you to keep in mind that winds that blow at the speed of 80 mph can easily topple single axle mobile homes!
Such winds can also cause double axle trailers to get damaged because all mobile homes need to be fastened down to the ground.
Related: How Much Solar Power Do I Need For My RV?
Is It Possible For a Mobile Home to Withstand a Wind Of 100 MPH?
All right, so mobile homes can generally cope with the winds that blow at the speed of 50 and even 80 miles per hour.
But what if you know that you are going to have wind blowing at 100 miles per hour? Will your trailer survive that?
You might be very surprised, but mobile homes can actually withstand winds up to even 100 mph without taking any damage!
However, even if the wind speed doesn’t reach this rate, you should remember to take precautions and fasten your mobile home securely to the ground.
There are different methods of doing so. For example, you can make use of steel anchors and railings that can be attached to your trailer through cables or straps.
Also, you might want to consider using concrete footings that could be driven into the ground around your mobile home’s perimeter and other strategies depending on where exactly you’re situated.
But no matter what the construction of your mobile home is, and how strong the wind is going to be, always keep in mind one simple thing: high wind speeds usually bring heavy rainfall with them!
This increases the risk of floods when water enters your trailer. This is why you should consider these things before a storm even begins!
Related: How to Heat Under a Mobile Home?
How to Make Your Mobile Home More Stable During the Strong Wind? Ways to fasten the Construction
If you live in a mobile home, and you live in the area that tends to suffer from strong winds or even hurricanes, you might definitely want to fasten your trailer to the ground better somehow to prevent it from being blown away!
As you already know, mobile homes are initially less stable in comparison to regular houses.
All because houses have a foundation and mobile homes don’t.
This is the major reason why hurricane winds can bring havoc on mobile homes.
There is no foundation, in the traditional sense, and it is the foundation that anchors the entire construction to the ground.
As for the mobile homes, they only have wheels and a set of stabilizing cinder blocks underneath the floor framing and trailer frame.
Fortunately, it is still possible to anchor a mobile home’s frame to the ground to avoid a hurricane hazard for mobile homes!
To do this, consider using hurricane straps for trailers.
All mobile homes have the ability to be strapped and anchored to the ground with tie-downs.
Of course, these tie-downs are not as strong as traditional foundations, however, if you add metal strapping through the frame and then anchor the straps into the ground, it can help significantly.
These straps and tie-downs work by fortifying and strengthening a mobile home’s overall structure.
That will keep the entire construction from excessively flexing and even flying away during a hurricane!
Types Of Mobile Homes Constructions
As you know already, mobile homes can hardly be called hurricane or even wind-proof.
But have you ever wondered why?
Of course, the absence of the foundation that regular brick homes have matters a lot. But is this the only reason?
In fact, this is not! Another reason is the type of construction. See, in mobile homes construction, there are three different types of structures that you can find:
- single axle
- double axle
- triplex
Each type is built differently and each type has a different wind speed rating. For example, single axle mobile homes usually have no axles on both sides of the trailer.
These mobile homes normally have wheels that pull from one side to the other rather than being supported by axles on either side.
Because of this type of design, such mobile homes can be easily moved from one place to another with relatively little effort.
And also, their mobility is not impeded when the trailer is parked in one spot for a long period of time.
However, it is important to remember that this kind of structure does not have a rear wall on it.
It means that, if you park your mobile home on a beachfront property, for instance, it will be way more susceptible to strong winds!
Another type of trailers are called double axle homes.
These mobile homes are the most common type of trailer on the market today. Its significant feature is that it has an A-frame design with two axles on either end of the trailer that support it.
These types of mobile homes have a wall at one end, however, they still do not have protection from the wind coming in through the sides or underneath the building.
Finally, here comes the third kind of trailer called triplex. Unlike the previous two, this one offers significantly more strength and stability in comparison to single or double axle trailers.
The entire structure of the triplex is supported by three axles so they cannot be blown over by high winds like other types would be able to do.
However, triplex mobile homes have another drawback.
They tend to be less easy to move around in comparison to their single-axle variants. This is because all three axles require wheels which makes them less mobile.
How to Get My Mobile Home Ready For a Hurricane?
One of the most common and frequently asked questions that comes from the owners of mobile homes is how to get the trailer ready for the approaching storm.
One commonly used method of securing your mobile home against strong winds is to install steel anchors that are connected to your trailer’s foundation through cables.
By doing this, if strong winds do come, the anchor system will help and keep your mobile home in place right where it is.
Also, it will provide some protection from external elements, such as rain or floods, that often come along with hurricanes and can lead to damage to your home.
However, we want you to consider one thing.
This method will not work if wind speeds reach over 150 mph!
In this case, you will have to take additional precautions to secure your trailer.
For example, you can have shutters installed on your windows.
Also, strong sturdy doors with deadbolts can be helpful because they will be able to provide extra support for your walls so they don’t fall during really bad storms.
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