LB, I read about the lawsuits over removing the wheels and axles in an AARP publication and believe it was the truth, but I don't have absolute proof. I don't recall there being any distinction between double wides vs. single wides.
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( This probably happened with doublewides as usually the wheels tires and axles remain with single wides. Anyone would be foolish to purchase a single wide if they weren't permitted to keep the wheels tires and axles )</font>
I bought a new double wide in '97 and the contract I had to sign specifically stated that the tires, wheels, axles, and springs would be removed and were not included in the sale. However, I'm now living in a '97 single wide, in a mobile home park, that I bought about a year and a half ago and there are no wheels or axles under it. I have seen at least 3 single wides and one double wide moved out of the park in the past year, and at least 7 single wides moved into the park in that time (at least 5 of the ones moving into the park are new ones owned by the park - rental units) and none of them have the axles under them, but maybe that's because the lease agreement requires that the hitch and axles be removed.
When my parents bought a new single wide on the Texas coast in '91, the wheels and axles were left under it. It was in a park that had both mobile homes and RVs. And when we had it moved from the Texas coast to Navarro County 4 years later, the electric co-op said they would not provide electrical service unless the wheels and axles were removed because they'd done that in the past and too often the trailer didn't stay long enough for them to recoup their costs of doing the installation. It was admittedly one person at the co-op office who told me that so I can't prove that person didn't make a mistake. We had the axles removed, but kept them, so when I later sold the trailer, the buyer got them put back on to move it.
And when we moved it to Navarro County, my independent insurance agent said he could not get one insured with the axles still on it, and I did not shop with other agents because only 3 months before I had checked with 4 other insurance companies in the county who refused to insure mobile homes under any circumstances.
So you may be right; if you spend enough money I suppose you could get anything insured, and perhaps with a big enough deposit and/or installation fee, you could get electrical service.
So, I'll happily concede the fact that you may know more than I do about mobile homes, but I also know that there are state laws that vary in different parts of the country, so anyone buying a mobile home had better check with local licensed people instead of someone licensed in another state.
