Five Tips for Moving a Mobile Home Onto a Foundation Using a Hired Crane
If you have a mobile home and you want to lift it up and onto a concrete foundation, you need something to lift it with, and a crane can do the trick. If you are hiring a crane to move a mobile home, there are several things you should keep in mind. Take a look at these tips:
1. Estimate the weight of the mobile home with contents.
In most cases, if you have the manufacturer's weight of your mobile home, it doesn't include the contents of the home. In some cases, the weight may not even reflect appliances or flooring. To account for that, make sure that you hire a crane that can handle the base weight of your mobile home as well as the estimated weight of its contents. Leave some room for error as well.
2. Use two spreader bars.
Ideally, you want two spreader bars attached to your crane, and you want straps extended from the spreader bars. The bars should be an adequate distance apart so that when you dangle them over the mobile home, they hit roughly the first and last third of the mobile home. That ensures the weight is distributed relatively evenly when you attach the straps. Measure the length of the mobile home so you can let the hire company know exactly how far apart you want the spreader bars to be.
3. Make sure the spreader bars are about the same width as the mobile home.
Measure the length of the mobile home, and make sure that the spreader bars are roughly close to that length. If the spreader bars are too narrow, it can be hard to get the spreader straps in position, and if the bars are too wide, the straps may end up being too loose.
4. Run the straps under the trailer.
Once the crane is positioned over the mobile home, it's time to attach the straps. Someone will need to grab one end of each of the straps, crawl under the mobile home and join them together. If your mobile home is on piers and pads, you may want to raise them slightly to make it easier to get under the home.
5. Use pads and piers in the fondation.
When you have the mobile home strapped up, you simply need to lift it with the crane and bring it toward your foundation. So that you don't jar the home by setting it on the foundation too roughly, place the piers and pads in the cavity of the foundation, and raise the piers until they are slightly taller than the foundation. When you set your mobile home down, you can adjust its position slightly. Then, you can slowly lower it onto the foundation by crawling into the cavity and adjusting the piers.
Contact a heavy construction equipment business for more information.
