Anybody in a mobile home?

[joebuckmaster]

My wife and I are building a house, We sold our house that we are in now and we have to move into a trailer until our house is done. That is all we could find in a short notice. My question is will the floor hold a 75 gal with a 20 gal sump and about 100 lbs of rock. What really sucks is that i have to move my family and my tank two times within 5-6 months. Anyone live in a trailer with a fairly large tank with out any problems?

 

[jferrier]

Well I'm in almost the same situation. I'm getting married and moving into one until we can get a house. I've got a 58 plus 3 gallon refuge. I think as long as you put the tank perpendicular to the floor joists you'll be ok. Just make sure the tank is very level and that it is resting across a few floor joists. Just think, two average adults in a bathtub full of water probably weights about the same.

 

[jferrier]

O also how did you move everything? I was planning to do it all in one day and take about 2/3 of the water and replace 1/3. I'm concerned about stirring the sand bed up too much in the move though.

 

[fshhub]

i have a 75 in a trialer
first q how old is the trailer?
if not ancient, thenyou should be fine, just position the tank to span some of the cross members
if it is a single wide, the cross members run across the trialer side to side. If it is a double wide, an outside wall or the center wall. they too run across and the center wall is equally as strong
put the tank on an ouside wall, (not an end wall!) or if it is a double wide, the center adjoining wall is good too,and it will span at least 2, maybe 3. You should be safe there. PLUS the outside walls, the support under them also may put you on the edge of the frame itself, which is even much stronger and runs the length of the trailer
otherwise, if you position the tank, in another direction you could wind up being almost centerd between 2 of them if you are not careful

 

[jferrier]

That was just an analogy to spare you the load calculations of pounds per sq. inch exerted on the floor members. Of course a 75 gallon hex will exert more load per sq. inch than a standard long tank because the load force is concentrated on less surface area.
My point is that even trailers have to be built to withstand certain loads and as the previous guy said as long as you don't position the tank between to members and not across them you should be ok. And make damn sure its level so the load is evenly distributed.

 

[michelle13]

This may be obvious but remember to clean up water spills quickly! My cat managed to flood my bathroom by turning on the water in the bathtub and then she pushing the plug off plugging the tub. When this happened it wasn't cleaned up as quickly as it should've been and the particle board under the sheet vinyl swelled up and had to be replaced. I've also noticed that my floor looks like crap behind the tank. I guess this is from me spilling water (I'm very clumsy!) and not wiping it up in a timely manner (I think I'm used to living in a house with a concrete slab). Anyway now that I've rambled on, I just want to say remember to clean the water up quickly!!

 

[michaeltx]

i live in a 16 x 80 that is a couple years old.
i have a 100 and a 50 gallon in the LR
a 20 and a 45 gallon in the dinner room adjacent
and a 30 in the hall
a 5 gallon in the kitchen
all with no problems just make sure the floor ios solid before placeing the tank. and place it on a load bearing wall which is usually the wall just as you enter the trailer and it should be fine but there are no quarantees on it. if in doubt ask a trailer company to come take a look at it and they will be bale to tell ya.
Mike

 

[joebuckmaster]

Thanks, we have not moved yet we will be moving in about two weeks and then have to move again in four months. The trailer is very old but this is only temporary just until we get our NEW house built. I have not figured out how to move the tank yet. I have heard that the tank will have to be completely empty before it is moved. Any insight on this?

 

[michaeltx]

depends on the size of the tank I left the sand in mine and had a few friends come over and help move it. that way the DSB if you have one isnt disrupted. but all the water must go its way to heavy to try to move for one and the other the water shifting its pressure from side to side can bow out the sides of the tank.
Mike

 

[leigh]

Originally posted by kgrimes
Ahem.... why is this a standard gauge of a floor's sturdiness? How about three or four adults in a shower? Wouldn't that be the same weight only in a smaller footprint?
er...cause most of us can relate to having 2 adults in a bathtub...however most of us cannot relate to having 4 adults in a shower...if you weren't a pastor i'd make a crack wondering just how you knew such things... (just teasing you of course!)