Mobile Homes-manufactured Homes

[cm-happy]

was wondering, if any one knows, why mobile or manufactured homes are not popular or even available in Thailand. They're in expensive and offer a good alternative as a weekend get away. Just get a small piece of land to put them on and set them up with elecricity, water, plumbing etc.

Thoughts??

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

Perhaps termites?

[cm-happy]

Perhaps termites?

don't think termites are an issue. They're usually constructed from aluminumon the exterior with the usual wooden fixtures in the inside.

[klikster]

I can see a lot of potential for someone to manufacture 'easily moveable' houses and at the same time set up a number of parks. You get tired of the beach, head for the mountains, etc.

Done right, it has lots of appeal. There are companies manufacturing houses from shipping containers.

No problems with land ownership.

[zorro1]

hmmm good idea but who would buy one? certainly not Thais and besides they got endless supply of farang to buy real house and then give away for free....tourists? how could they use one?

opening a park is an attractive option as already mentioned

Edited November 30, 2007 by zorro1

[lopburi3]

How many trailers would survive the annual floods? Even shipping containers are normally elevated when used as homes here. Cement/tile ground floors make sense here. A couple of days cleanup and everything is back to normal.

[chownah]

mobile homes aren't really very mobile (usually you need to get special permits to move them and you have to hire a big truck and put the wheels and lights on them too before moving) are you sure you are not thinking of RV's (recreational vehicles)?

[johnnyk]

Thai trailer parks... there's a thought.

Would't want to see the 'trailer trash' though....

[ProThaiExpat]

Since the only thing Thailand has that gives them an economic advantage and thereby price competition is cheap labor, a manufactured home would not be cheaper relative to the cost of a construction built home, where in the west, with labor costs so high, a manufactured home is relatively cheaper.

My experience is that manufactured items in Thailand are not appreciatively cheaper than in the west, only labor intensive made items are.

[david96]

The ATCO demountables widely used all over Australia, you can build a township with them.

Should be compulsory accomodation for United Nations staff. Very cost effective.

T bar ceiling is another wonder of the world.

[Khun Bob]

This is a very interesting topinc and not alot on this thread yet...

Portable homes I would have though are a unique solution to the single foreigner. Park up where you like, move on when you want - perfect and no rent to pay...

I have not seen any caravans in Thailand. Or many RV's. I have thought about converting a Thai bus into a home. Also there are some amazing things being done with containers, as already pointed out.

To have some sort of a vehicle that is easily movable and liveable in, I would have thought is particularly of interest to a foreigner wanting to live in Thailand.

[tiger50]

was wondering, if any one knows, why mobile or manufactured homes are not popular or even available in Thailand. They're in expensive and offer a good alternative as a weekend get away. Just get a small piece of land to put them on and set them up with elecricity, water, plumbing etc.

Thoughts??

dear sir try this company selling scandinavian wooden homes, i looked at one of their show homes sukhumvit soi 26 bkk, find them at www.baannatura.com

[Gary A]

A well constructed mobile home will be more expensive that a conventionally constructed Thai house. Hollow cement blocks and mortar are cheaper then steel studs and foam. Mobile home parks are a GREAT idea though.

[dutchrdam]

Last weekend were in the “Made in Thailand” fair at the Impact.

Beside the silk, t shirts, shoes, food and plants there were a company who show easy demountable houses on the base of a container like floor. The walls and roof were make from folded aluminium.

It all didn’t look all the well, a typical Thai problem is that they can’t make things straight, but the idea were born. It had many visitors and I think, if build well, there will be a market for it.

Regards

[klikster]

A well constructed mobile home will be more expensive that a conventionally constructed Thai house. Hollow cement blocks and mortar are cheaper then steel studs and foam. Mobile home parks are a GREAT idea though.

For me, portability and easy OWNERSHIP is more important than price. I'm not talking about 'mansion' size.

What makes the shipping container concept attractive is that the structural design is sound and that you can move them without permits. After living in a 30+ sq m condo, a 2 or 3 container house would seem spacious. A basic park needs pads, electric, water and (some common) septic tanks. Premium parks might have a pool and minimart ..

I see a money maker! JV anyone?

[Gary A]

A well constructed mobile home will be more expensive that a conventionally constructed Thai house. Hollow cement blocks and mortar are cheaper then steel studs and foam. Mobile home parks are a GREAT idea though.

For me, portability and easy OWNERSHIP is more important than price. I'm not talking about 'mansion' size.

What makes the shipping container concept attractive is that the structural design is sound and that you can move them without permits. After living in a 30+ sq m condo, a 2 or 3 container house would seem spacious. A basic park needs pads, electric, water and (some common) septic tanks. Premium parks might have a pool and minimart ..

I see a money maker! JV anyone?

Containers make great houses. Unfortunately they are only eight feet wide.

[klikster]

A well constructed mobile home will be more expensive that a conventionally constructed Thai house. Hollow cement blocks and mortar are cheaper then steel studs and foam. Mobile home parks are a GREAT idea though.

For me, portability and easy OWNERSHIP is more important than price. I'm not talking about 'mansion' size.

What makes the shipping container concept attractive is that the structural design is sound and that you can move them without permits. After living in a 30+ sq m condo, a 2 or 3 container house would seem spacious. A basic park needs pads, electric, water and (some common) septic tanks. Premium parks might have a pool and minimart ..

I see a money maker! JV anyone?

Containers make great houses. Unfortunately they are only eight feet wide.

That's outside dimension as well. Any interior insulation makes the space smaller.

I did quite a bit of surfing after my last post. Most of the information is about stationary container homes.

What seems to be a good alternative for a mobile and park concept would be a travel trailer with slides. I don't know what the import duty would be, but a 32-36 ft unit goes for about $30K retail. Very competitive with a 30 m condo.

Manufacturing them here under license might be a good alternative.

[klikster]

Since the only thing Thailand has that gives them an economic advantage and thereby price competition is cheap labor, a manufactured home would not be cheaper relative to the cost of a construction built home, where in the west, with labor costs so high, a manufactured home is relatively cheaper.

My experience is that manufactured items in Thailand are not appreciatively cheaper than in the west, only labor intensive made items are.

Your second comment tends to contradict your original premise when talking about the topic of mfg homes .. as they are labor intensive even though they are shop built.

Several difference between site built and shop built homes that can save $$.

* Longetivity - workers perform the same tasks a number of times and become more skilled or adept.

* Machinery - generally, in a shop, the material flows to the machinery, then to assembly. Much more efficient than taking the machinery to the assembly. That also means that machinery can be much more efficient, i.e. a metal shear rather than a sawsall.

* Tooling - jigs and fixtures are used to facilitate fabrication and assembly (site building would be greatly enhanced by permanent forms, but builders usually won't/can't pull it off)

* Organization - a well organized mfg plant will operate more efficiently than a building site.

* Waste - a shop has the advantage of working out ways of saving on waste (and pilferage) over time, where a one-time building project does not.

[ignis]

They make sort of pre fab homes here..

A Village not far from me have about a 100 so far, all are 3bed, 2bathroom semi detached, arrive on flatbed lorries and 2 big cranes lift them and fix them together. they look good and the price 799,000 baht with the land and normal wall and double gate around, appears to sell well that is around 1 million less then the same size normal Thai built house 1 km further along the road.

[gregb]

So can anyone recommend a Thai/import prefab housing manufacturer that can do the following:

3 bedroom, 3 bath, 120 sq. meter house. Maximum price 600k.

Why 600k? 5000 baht per sq. meter. That's the price point. More expensive than that and I'll just make it using standard construction techniques.

The Scandavian link above is interesting, but 20,000 baht per meter???? For what amounts to a wooden trailer?

Anyone with links to reasonably priced prefab homes lets hear it. I'm considering it. What have you got?

[Greenside]

I was looking at European style RV's a couple of months ago while in the UK with my Thai girlfriend. She was fascinated and loved the idea of travelling around Thailand in something like that - how come we don't see them at home, she asked.

My guess was that they would be very expensive to import here and that the relatively low cost of bungalow type accommodation work together to make them a less practical proposition (maybe also some concerns about security?) although actually driving your own little home around seems the main attraction for those people I know who have one in England. The amount of time and money that goes into keeping one certainly doesn't make it a cheap option.

I understand that it's a popular way for people to tour New Zealand - does anyone know if some enterprising person ever tried it here? This fits in with the trailer park idea in that there are plenty of people making good(ish) money out of providing facilities for RV's in Europe.

Edited December 10, 2007 by Greenside

[Khun ?]

The streets of past may be one of the reasons but seems now days could be possible.

Does sound like a great idea to have some exotic RV parks. ( wouldn't be cheap I would assume) I have a economical one back home and will be traveling north and south america soon. One problem is break ins and robbery and limited parking. Check out the Winnebago View or Navion ( they are same) mercedes diesel with great fuel mileage.

I thought about buying a few and put in RV park by my condo in Central America. We have about 50 meters of unused property that is in between the condo and beach. The only access is from our drive or beach as they recently built more 3 & 4 bdrm low rise condos next to us, very expensive ones.

Either way crime is the major drawback I would think!

[Big Guy]

I was looking at European style RV's a couple of months ago while in the UK with my Thai girlfriend. She was fascinated and loved the idea of travelling around Thailand in something like that - how come we don't see them at home, she asked.

My guess was that they would be very expensive to import here and that the relatively low cost of bungalow type accommodation work together to make them a less practical proposition (maybe also some concerns about security?) although actually driving your own little home around seems the main attraction for those people I know who have one in England. The amount of time and money that goes into keeping one certainly doesn't make it a cheap option.

I understand that it's a popular way for people to tour New Zealand - does anyone know if some enterprising person ever tried it here? This fits in with the trailer park idea in that there are plenty of people making good(ish) money out of providing facilities for RV's in Europe.

I don't see that it would ever catch on here as hotels upcountry are so cheap, the main reason for travelling that way at home is hotels and motels are so expensive. If you were to set up trailer parks here it would not be much cheaper than staying in a hotel.

[Khun ?]

I don't see that it would ever catch on here as hotels upcountry are so cheap, the main reason for travelling that way at home is hotels and motels are so expensive. If you were to set up trailer parks here it would not be much cheaper than staying in a hotel.

Staying in a hotel with suit case would not even be close to bringing your house with you.

It would not be an issue of cost but preferable living style. Try living out of hotel month to month in different places.

[chownah]

I don't see that it would ever catch on here as hotels upcountry are so cheap, the main reason for travelling that way at home is hotels and motels are so expensive. If you were to set up trailer parks here it would not be much cheaper than staying in a hotel.

Staying in a hotel with suit case would not even be close to bringing your house with you.

It would not be an issue of cost but preferable living style. Try living out of hotel month to month in different places.

I think you will find that Thai's who are rich enough to own, maintain, store a travel trailer, and BUY THE FUEL for a travel trailer type home.....those Thais....they would much rather stay either with their family members when they travel or in very very nice hotels.....any Thai that rich will stay in "luxury" hotels which are so nice that people PREFER them to having their own home travel with them.....also, are you going to have a travel trailer big enough so the maid and cook can come along too or is the wife going to have to do the dishes and wash the toilet?....you must be kidding?...is she going to prefer this?

Think "STATUS". Think "staying at posh hotel is NICER than staying at home". Think "rich Thais don't want to live a gypsy existence changing camp every nite". Think " almost anyplace in Thailand can be visited as a day trip when flying and renting vans".

Chownah

[Khun ?]

I of course had no thought of Thais lowering themselves to such life. Many western visa holders and tourist may though. Many RV travelers eat meals in restaurants but still sleep on their own bed each night. It is more the adventure and not the cheap living, kind of like sleeping under the stars or different beach area when ever you feel like it.

[gregb]

[also, are you going to have a travel trailer big enough so the maid and cook can come along too or is the wife going to have to do the dishes and wash the toilet?....you must be kidding?...is she going to prefer this?

Actually, I've been sketching out some 2 storey converted bus designs for the past few years that include 2 beds and separate bathroom in the front for the maid and the driver. Did some cost estimates and came out with a total price of about 5 million baht for the conversion, assuming 2 million baht for the frame.

My uncle is employed in the industry in the states, and they actually buy most of their RV furniture from Vietnam, so he helped me out with some pricing. It will be pretty posh if I ever get rich enough to do it.

I think there would be a big novelty value to it, but you absolutely *MUST* have a driver to do the ugly jobs like emptying the holding tank. (BTW, best way I came up with for this was a masticulating pump, a standard hose, and pray the bathroom at the gas station doesn't plug up. There aren't any places to dump like there are in the West.)

The only other area where RV's would be interesting in Thailand is off road camping. Rich Thai children do go camping believe it or not, and what spoiled rotten Thai kid would want to stay in a crumy tent when you can just throw the camper on the back of your 2 million baht 4 wheel drive pickup truck.

If you are seriously considering this as a business, the offroad camper strategy is the only one that I think could have any type of general appeal.

[stateman]

Done right, it has lots of appeal. There are companies manufacturing houses from shipping containers.

No problems with land ownership.

klikster:

Interested in houses manufactured from shipping containers you mentioned. Do you have more info?

[klikster]

Done right, it has lots of appeal. There are companies manufacturing houses from shipping containers.

No problems with land ownership.

klikster:

Interested in houses manufactured from shipping containers you mentioned. Do you have more info?

Here's a discussion forum >> fabprefab.net/smf/

If the mods remove the URL, just google for "containerbay" and" Container House Living" and find lots of links.

[capco1]

Getting back to the op re modular homes, I have been working on a very special concept that could prove to be very lucrative and might consider seeking a partner in the very near future. If anybody here would like to explore some avenues please send me a PM. Please understand that I cannot disclose all the details for fear this concept might be duplicated before hand but we can discuss some ideas. I will be arriving in Thailand within the next month to begin work and meet with investors or potential partners.