Enjoying vacationing is made so much easier by owning an RV or camper, but it’s made even easier by owning a park model. You may know of park models and probably have seen them in your own neighborhood in an RV lot or campsite. Park models are also not to be confused with modular housing though as park models are intended more for recreational use and not as permanent residences. Modular homes can be lived in as a full-time residence because they pass the requirements for the HUD – the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The HUD requires people to have a home that is more than 500 square feet to live in as a permanent residence, while park model homes are usually only 400 square feet. In Canada, however, there are some park models that are 500 square feet and more, but similar rules still apply for most urban areas. The two types of housing do look very similar, but they are made for different purposes. The modular homes can be parked in a modular home community while park models are supposed to be parked in RV lots. Many people purchase a park model to use as a summer vacation house since purchasing cabins can get pretty expensive. A prefab park model is priced at $20,000 to start which is very affordable and approachable.
Park models are built onto what is called a single trailer chassis and are usually 8 to 13 feet wide, and loft and deck space is allowed to be added to the park model and doesn’t add to the square footage of the home. Both modular and park model homes are built by way of prefabricated construction indoors which avoids a lot of the problems that come with building a conventional stick frame house outdoors in the elements. Both of the styles of homes are made with vinyl lap siding, sheathing under the siding, and fiberglass exterior wall insulation.
They also both have a fiberglass shingled roof, roof sheathing, truss rafter system, ceiling insulation and ventilation. The buyer can choose the colors of the finishes like the vinyl siding and trim, as well as the interior cabinets, walls, floors and so on. People who purchase a park model will usually find an area that they enjoy traveling to and find a park model community to park it in. This way they don’t have to pay high campground fees, and only pay a lease. Campgrounds can sometimes cost up to $40 per night depending on where you travel, plus the gas it takes to drive around so traveling by RV or camper can cost more. Plus, it’s nice to go back to a familiar place every summer and enjoy the community around you.
There are many great park model companies who build prefab models and deliver them right to your lot. In Canada, some of the leading companies in the prefabricated construction of park models are Northlander Industries, a company in Ontario, and General Coach which has dealers in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec.
In the United States, a couple of the top companies building prefab park model cabins are Woodland Park Models with locations all over the U.S, and Kropf Park Model RVs who also has dealers all over the U.S. A park model home may be just the perfect style of home to purchase for you and your family to enjoy. There are also plenty of preexisting park models available for sale in various areas. So keep looking in the area you want to own one as another option instead of buying brand new.