Have we Overlooked Trailer Parks as a Solution to Affordable Housing? [View all]

By Rich Wandschneider

My grandmother was over 80 when she moved out of our house. My youngest sister was off to college in 1970, and that left grandma with not much work—and only older folks, my folks, around the house. She moved into a very nice trailer park between Oceanside and South Oceanside in Southern California.

Hers was a singlewide and could not have been more than 500 square feet. She soon had a small but bountiful garden, and when we all went down for her 100th, she made a huge fried chicken dinner and baked two pies.

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My first a-ha! was in McCall, Idaho, where houses sell for $800,000 and working folks live in two RV parks a few miles on either side of the expensive town. The RV parks are a riot of old singlewides, a few actual RVs, and maybe a fancier doublewide or two. Many have gardens, and there are one or two rigs of various vintages at the doors. It’s a close drive into the hotel, restaurant, or construction company for work. They are not RV campers!

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There’s a pattern here. People using what we once thought of as temporary housing or vacation housing as full-time housing. We talked about places in Halfway, and Steve pointed to a few older singlewides that have peaked roofs and small stick-built additions that have been added over the years.

https://www.postalley.org/2025/08/14/have-we-overlooked-trailer-parks-as-a-solution-to-affordable-housing/

The downside is obviously you don't own the land your mobile home is parked on. Trailer Park owners may decide to sell or redevelop the property especially when it becomes more lucrative for them to do so.