A few dollars spent on a structural engineer would be money well spent. Even if the frame of the mobile home permits the spans you envision, your biggest concern may be horizonal wind loads and racking. Cross bracing against this will be essential. Concrete columns that high need steel reinforcing against lateral loads.

Wayne

I don't think I would want to be too high off the ground...unless you mean part of those columns would be underground. Many areas probably wouldn't allow it anyway and I believe a lot of banks won't give you a loan anymore unless the mobile home is done to certain specifications.

We live in PA and generally don't get a lot of huge wind gusts but we have from time to time and believe me, just sitting on the ground is scary enough! However, I think what makes it seem so scary is the tin roof and aluminum siding that buckles in the wind!

I bought some land in South Carolina. I want to have an above ground foundation/garage built of approx. 8 feet high. I would like to place a 28 x 76 double wide mobile home on top of it.A full deck all the way around it. No one will do it for me. Is there a major reason for this. I have done it with a modular home in the past. I want the extra car space and storage and I can not seem to find anyone to dig out a foundation either.....I live in the North East now and everyone has a basement. It seems to be rare in the south. Is there anyone that has done this and have pictures to share.

I can't imagine why you're having a problem finding someone to excavate the trench for the footings and build a simple, large block or concrete foundation and your huge deck. It is a sizeable job for a contractor. Is the market such that they are simply too busy or is there another reason?

How are you approaching the project? Are you just calling a contractor and explaining what you want them to do (which sounds simple enough) or are you asking for a bid based on a set of engineered drawings? As I said in my reply to the original poster, a few dollars spent on engineered drawings would be money well spent. Contractors (and their lawyers) would have a better level of comfort knowing they are not bidding only on the job but on the liability for the design should something go awry.

I do drawings all the time for modulars as you describe up here in the north but the structural requirements for a mobile home may be a little different. Having a local engineer examine the support requirements for the mobile home and design a simple structure will go a long way to lending credibility to the project. A local engineer will also likely have a list of contractors that he has worked with in the past and might direct you to some that may be interested in your project. When I worked for an architectural firm, we offered our clients help in finding a contractor and also in avoiding bad ones.

Often, in a busy market, it is hard for "outsiders" to get a local contractor interested in a project and having a set of prepared drawings in hand, no matter how simple, shows that you are serious.

Wayne