New owner of Vagabond

I am in the process of buying a 30+ year old home that I will be using as a rental property. The only info I have right now is that it was made by the Vagabond Corp in New Hudson, Michigan. I am adept at home improvement, but this is foreign to me. I ripped up the carpet in the living room yesterday, to be replaced by laminate. I discovered there was mold around the outside walls(baseboards)and the outside edges of the carpet were wet. The windows are the jalousie? style. It appears it has been this way for a while. I am assuming that the windows leak, and the moisture is running on the INSIDE of the walls, the insulation is wet, can't dry out, and water is sitting at the floor line. Which I find hard to believe given that we have had a drought this past year, although as I said, it appears to have been there a while. Question - on this old of a home, is the framing steel or wood? I have a bad feeling that I need to tear out the paneling, let it dry, and replace the insulation. Can the leaky windows be fixed with caulk? I appreciate any info. Thank you in advance.

 

Welcome to the forums

I have no info specific to your MH but most all of them are constructed similiarly. The exterior walls should be 2x4 construction and the floor is usually 2x6s supported on 2 steel frame rails.

MHs are bad to have leaks along the ext walls. Sometimes it is caused by window leaks but often it is a direct cause of the MH not having an overhang. The little channel that acts as a gutter is usually ineffective, so the water off the roof plus any driving rain runs down the ext alum just looking for a way in. Caulking can usually fix the problem but you have to be deligent in addressing all possible places for leaks.

Jalousie windows are the type that have several narrow [aprox 4"] panes of glass with no actual frame for each pane [just a little on each end]. Seldom used anywhere since the 50's. What you probably have are awning type windows which usually consist of 2-3 panes of glass each with a small alum frame holding the glass. They often don't roll in and out very well when they get some age on them. You can buy repair parts for them - sometimes at big box or hardware - if not a MH supplier will have parts.

hope this helps

 

Nope, I believe he has Jalousie windows. I just bought the same style trailer, all but two of the windows are original, 4" glass pains with not frame, just like they used in the 50's. You have to remember that these are very old trailers, mine uses hardwood throughout.

Heck, I might even have THE SAME trailer. Someone in the process of repairs abandoned this one shortly after the guy made that post, and I bought it from the park.

The guy who left it redid the plumbing under the trailer and didn't add a vent, now my toilet and tub burp...

I fixed the wall. It needed two new studs and a few crossbraces. The other walls are fine.