I have a demolition job coming up with 4 Mobile homes under a pole barn (with just a roof no tin on the sides of barn) How would you go about getting the single wide trailers out from under the pole barn without demoing the barn? They have no axles or tires just frames sitting on gravel. The 1 end of the barn has no poles so i thought about dragging them out with the big hoe id also use to demo them with. Thoughts? Thanks!
if you have the wiggle room that would work OK.
What size of hoe do you think I need to drag out single wide trailers ? And just wrap chain around frame?
a 200 would make short work of that.
You think the frame will hold out if I drag them with a chain ? Or just rip out the frame
Round up several straight lengths of 2" pipe that are a couple of feet wider than the mobile homes. Lift one end and roll some sections of pipe under the frames. Do the same the other end (room permitting). Hook onto homes and pull, then as the pipes roll out at the rear, bring them around to the front of the homes. This will only work of course, if the ground is firm enough for the pipes to roll on without digging in.
I moved a shed like that. @OzDozer , if you put down 2x6 runners in the direction of travel things move easily. Maybe 4 of them across. That's a lot of surface area. @Luthi LLC The frame has no reason to tear off the house, unless the house is dragging on stuff that is sticking up higher. It will come along for the ride. If you go the pipe route a smaller machine can drag it, but I see your desire to get a 9 ton machine and demo loading with something that small is miserable. Rent a 120 at least for that. If there is not enough money for that then to heck with that job. if you cant make money renting for a few days or a week then the price is too low.
I'd round up some 5-6" round wood fence posts if you're in a livestock area, or round logs if they're easier to find. Even if they won't roll, the frame will slide better on wood than dragging in the gravel. If you can lift one end enough to get under the middle, then lifting one end and adding blocks 4' front of middle, then lifting the other end and raising the blocks 4' rear of middle, will lift with much less weight. If you can't lift with the equipment, get under with a hydraulic jack to get the center on blocks.
I moved a 20,000 gallon (91,000 litre) concrete water tank in the late 1960's, with my D6C, by dragging it on two big logs. The tank had become useless because the bore near it, had run dry. So the farmer wanted to move it about a mile (1.6kms) to a new location where he could use it. I prepared a new pad for it at the new location, then we cut a couple of nice big whitegum logs and took them to the tank. I slipped a corner of the blade gingerly under the outside lower section of the tank and slowly raised it off the ground. This tank had been constructed in-situ with forms and was only about 3"-4" (75-100mm) thick concrete. I fully expected the tank to collapse when I lifted it (and we'd considered that problem and the farmer didn't care if it fell apart, because it was relatively useless to him where it was) - but amazingly, it stayed in one piece (it was mesh reinforced) as I lifted it about 2' (600mm) off the ground. We rolled the logs under it in a V-fashion and we hooked 2 chains to the logs and coupled them to the ripper on the D6C. I set off steadily, dragging the tank across smooth hard paddocks (fields) for the entire distance (it was mid-Summer) and when I got to the new site, the tank was dragged onto the new pad, and the log installation procedure was reversed. We leveled the gouge marks made by the logs and shovelled some sand around under the tank to provide a satisfactory base, then lowered the tank down again. The operation was 100% successful, the farmer was very pleased, and I believe that tank is still in use.
If the trailers are sitting on the frames, there will still be welded tabs for the axle mount bolts hanging down. They will act like a rake dragging in, if you try to just pull them on gravel. I would do the pipes under the frame.
A buddy of mine bought a place were they had built a building/house around a single wide trailer . The trailer wasnt connected to the building . We cut it up with a sawzall and carried it out a small door.
Any pics? A 200 size hoe will handle it nicely. House trailer frames are surprisingly stout or at least the ones I have demo'd. I had a hell of a time splitting the frame with our 953 once, those cross members are tougher than I thought they would be. Are the trailers sitting on the ground or on blocks? Is there any tie down strapping? Do they still have the tongues? If so then wrap a heavy chain around the tongue and attach to a clevis on the bucket. Go slow and easy dragging them out. You also need a spotter or two, 1 on either side to watch as you slowly drag it out.
What size machine do you have?
I usually fold the frames up with my hoe, and drop it in the dump truck. A bigger (Newer) mobile home frame might need to get cut in a couple places, I use a gas concrete saw with a metal blade.
You also are destroying the mobile homes? Knock it in a heap, then separate steel from trash. I once demolished a mobile home in two seconds with a backhoe. Just swing the hoe. In that case I wasted valuable time trying to save the steel frame. It too was so frail I inadvertently bent it to scrap. You want a thumb to make the job efficient, as little air in the dumpster as possible. Size of the excavator only affects time on the job.
That was back in '07 or '08 using our 953 as it was the only machine capable we could put on the tag trailer and truck it down a narrow driveway. Made easy work of it but the frame was stronger than I expected it to be. Haven't had the opportunity to demo another one since. A 320 hoe would slay one.
I did this very job on my place years ago. Old telephone poles, 8-10 inch diameter. The Case 580K had no trouble dragging it out from under the canopy, or smashing it into the rolloff.
Find, borrow a mobile home axel and a spring set (any axel could work). Lift one end with your hoe and a chain. Use a couple of blocks , lift one end and sea saw if you need to get enough height to get the axel under. Bolt one end of the spring hanger to the axel mounting point and drag it out. Worked for me to move one. Cam
I had a buddy back in college that did something similar. Due to zoning or some other permitting issue they wouldn’t let him build a new house on the lot, but it had a mobile home on it. They did allow him to build a ‘structure’ over/around it to protect the failing mobile home. The structure was basically framed out as you would a house and eventually he tore the mobile home down inside, and framed out his new house. It was done very nicely and now you couldn’t tell it from an all new construction stick built home, inside or out. Not sure about his standing with the local govt after that stunt however...
My buddy saved the structure we dug out around it and poured a footer. It is a very nice home now. Its far away from any one telling you what you can and cant do.
I've took them apart with every type equipment made almost. Putting roller logs under them will make the job a lot easier. I'd be afraid just dragging them you might build up a lot of load. Trailer house frames are fairly stout till they get some kind of bend in them. How much room is there between the trailers?
I did a short stint of moving and setting up mobile homes in the late 70's into the early 80's. Some of the junkers were just dragged with a winch off the pads or runners they were setting on and busted up in the parking lot. We had a JI Case 580B TLB with a manual thumb and with an experienced operator, didn't take long to tear it apart and pack it into a roll off container. Once the body was off the frame was cut up and salvaged. We too found old telephone poles were great "rolls" for when the axles were no longer under the trailers.
Ok so I tried pulling them out from under the pole barn and it lifted the 1 end but just ripped the frame when I tried pulling with a 135g. Does anyone have any new ideas?? Looking to get done asap as I am renting equipment
Can you lift one end up? You need to separate the frame from the ground with some kind of poles otherwise it's going to dig in
I lifted 1 end with a chain wrapped around frame and lifted with excavator bucket then drove backwards
I would guess the other end dug I to the ground and there's not enough strength in the frame to pull it. I would pick one end up and put something down that the frame can slide on. Get all the frame off the ground if you can and pick it up just enough it slides so the back end doesn't dig in.
What do I do now that the frame is already ripped off at the end though?
Your junking the trailers right? How far in did the frame rip?
Yeah junking. The end plate ripped off
Just go father in and wrap it around the frame, might have to cut some insulation so you can go between the 2x6 joists and around the frame, might need two chains for each frame rail. The end plate might be weak I don't think I ever had seen one of those so you might get more pull from the frame.
3 or 4" PVC pipe works well over uneven ground. I moved this jewel out on sewer pipe. Guy ruined a lot of good lumber building this.
A lot of those are trying to do tax evasion. Build 50% or less of square footage of trailer for addition and won't be taxed as a house, don't need building permits either. A lot of that across the US I have seen. Me I used 4 propane tanks to roll the frame on, but I was pulling with my own two hands and a chain fall. Even got a video of it.
Got an axel under it and away it went. That was a 40' 1949 Casa Manana by Hensley of Texas. Imagine that thing behind your 56 Buick 4 holer chugging up the mountain to that spot. It was sitting on blocks here and then the house built around it. When I bought it.
Pray for a Tornado---those do a right fine job on trailer trashing.
I smashed one up to pieces small enough to fit in a single axle dump truck. A single swing with a backhoe knocked one whole wall out so the roof collapsed. That one was studded with 1-1/2 X 1-1/2 studs, aluminum skin out, 3/16 Masonite with Mylar "wall paper" inside. Fiberglass insulation about 3/4" thick, I could see through it. Rafters were 11/16 x 2-1/2" strapping, upper chord of the truss was bent, a series of 1/4" plywood scraps stapled between them. More effort to keep fewer pieces for easier loading. Separated the sheet metal & the frame for scrap. That one was empty, all the landfill stuff added up to about 8 cubic yards, not a full load for the old dump truck.
Someday, you guys who love smashing things up, will cry at how you smashed up a highly collectable trailer home, that now sells for $100K!! LOL
"There are strange things done..... by the men who......" I'm thinking there will never be value in a derelict mobile home.
Oh, I must disagree with you.
These one couple put them on a u pattern and made a house, they really sucked at execution since they didn't know much about construction and only paid bottom dollar for help. Done right you could make a really cool spread for cheap using home made after the 80's or 90's
There are some very stylish 50's mobile homes with aluminum work, jalousie windows, and nice cabinets inside. That doesn't mean they all need to be saved. I've crushed plenty of sports cars, scouts, really unique vehicles, and lots of dodge faux woody wagons also.
The best thing about those old dilapidated mobile homes is that I can make a pocket full of money in a half day loading one out in dumpsters . . .