The outside walls and the walls below the marriage-line of the two sections of a double-wide home are load bearing. Other interior walls can be removed  without creating a structural problem. A single-wide has no load bearing interior walls. However, remember that the wall you want to remove may contain electrical wiring, receptacle boxes, and plumbing that will have to be rerouted or relocated—which may complicate what seems at first like a simple job.

   It’s important to understand that the exterior walls of a manufactured home are tightly engineered with withstand multiple forces, and the weight of the roof bearing down on the top of the walls is just one of them. The walls must also resist lateral (sideways) loads from high winds, and it’s important that the corners remain intact to maintain the stiffness of the entire building shell. Plus, the exterior walls must withstand uplift forces in a windstorm, and creating new openings in the walls create new concentrated loads at locations around the perimeter of the home where they are not designed to receive them. So we recommend that you not mess with the exterior walls.

   Interior walls along the marriage line can possibly be removed or rearranged, but you should consult the manufacturer or a licensed structural engineer with manufactured home experience before attempting any wall removal there. Just because everything is still standing after you remove a wall along the marriage line does not mean that it’s alright. Again, the rigidity of the entire structure is partially dependent on having enough continuous wall in place at the marriage line to resist lateral forces. 

    Here’s an example below of what not to do. A homeowner decided to make two small bedrooms of his manufactured home into a single big one, and removed the marriage wall at the end of the home that separated the two rooms. This is the worst possible location to remove a wall. 

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manufactured/mobile homes? 
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Here’s links to a collection of our blog posts about MOBILE/MANUFACTURED HOMES:

• Where can I file a complaint if I have problems with my new or used manufactured/mobile home in Florida?

• What are the most common defects in mobile/manufactured home foundation piers?

• How do I determine the age of a very old mobile home?

• What is a "HUD label verification letter" for a mobile/manufactured home?  

• When did a ground cover vapor barrier (plastic sheet) become required under a mobile/manufactured home? 

• Is it safe to go under a mobile home? 

• Are older mobile homes unsafe? 

• What do I need to know about buying a foreclosed mobile home? 

• Does it make sense to buy an older mobile home and remodel it? 

• Where do I find the vehicle identification number (VIN) on a mobile home? 

• How do I find out how old a mobile home is and who manufactured it?

• What is the right price for a used mobile home?

• How energy efficient is a mobile home?

• When were the first double-wide mobile homes manufactured?

• How do I upgrade my old (pre-1976) mobile home to meet HUD standards?

• What size air conditioner is right for my mobile home? 

• Can you move an older mobile home in Florida? 

• What does the HUD tag look like and where do I find it on a mobile home? 

• Can you put a zone 1 mobile home in Florida?

• How can I remove water under my mobile home?

• What's the differences between a trailer, a mobile home, a manufactured home, and a modular home? 

• What is a D-sticker mobile home? 

• What are the tie-down requirements for a mobile home?

• How fireproof is a mobile home?  

• Can I install a mobile home myself?

• What is a Park Model mobile home?  

• Does an addition to a mobile home have to comply with the HUD Code? 

• What can I do to prevent dampness and mold in my mobile home? 

• How can I tell if a mobile home is well constructed?

• How can I tell the difference between a manufactured home and a modular home?

       Visit our MOBILE/MANUFACTURED HOMES  page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.