Mobile Home Teardown and Prep in Mobile, AL

What teardown and transport prep include, and who does what

Alabama splits the job among four parties. A quote that blurs them is the first thing to question.

An owner may not tow the home. The rule lists who may haul: licensed manufacturers and retailers and firms under written contract with them, certified installers and federally certified motor carriers (AMHC rule 535-X-12T-.09). When a company says it will do everything, ask who holds the AMHC certificate and which licensed trades do the utility work. Mobile Mobile Home Movers is a referral service, not a mover or an installer. We connect you with one independent local company.

The state's nine tasks to prepare a used, lived-in home

For a used, occupied home with no licensed manufacturer or retailer involved, Alabama's rule names nine tasks. A new home may be prepared only by its licensed manufacturer or retailer. In plain words:

1. Anchoring systems removed carefully, in the reverse order they went in.
2. Ridge caps taken off multi-section homes.
3. Multi-section homes separated by reversing the way they were joined.
4. Furnishings and contents secured or removed.
5. Plumbing, electrical, heat-producing equipment and air conditioning disconnected by Alabama licensed or certified contractors.
6. Wheels and axles installed to the frame.
7. All piers removed.
8. The bottom board secured for movement.
9. The home secured to keep moisture and wind out of the inside.

Use this list when you compare quotes. If a quote does not say who does tasks 1, 3, 6, 7, 8 and 9, ask.

How much does teardown cost? Transport only versus full service

There is no published mobile home teardown cost to quote. We found no dated, reputable price for teardown, blocking and unblocking, tie-down removal, axle and tire fitting, hitch work or utility disconnects, in Alabama or nationally. HomeAdvisor's guide has no teardown or reassembly line. Do not add guessed parts into a total. The two sourced national ranges show what a quote may or may not include.

These are national figures, not Mobile prices. HomeAdvisor names these cost factors: distance, size and weight, age and condition, decks or porches, and permits and inspections. Ask each quote how it handles them. For the move itself, see single-wide mobile home movers.

Teardown in a full-service quote versus transport-only quote

HomeAdvisor describes a full-service move as including utility disconnection, permits and setup, and a transport-only move as leaving permits, disconnection, reconnection and setup to the owner. Neither description names teardown, so a transport-only quote may leave it to you: ask whether it is listed. If the owner arranges teardown, you hire an AMHC licensed or certified party for the prep, licensed trades for the utilities and a certified installer for setup, then add those quotes to the haul before you compare. With a full-service quote, ask that teardown be listed by name and that the nine tasks be assigned to the parties who do them.

Questions to ask before you accept a teardown and prep quote

• Who prepares the home, and what is the AMHC certificate or license number? Check installers in the AMHC installer search.
• Which of the nine tasks does the price cover, and which are left to me?
• Which licensed trades disconnect the utilities, and are they in the price?
• Who supplies and keeps the axles, tires and hitch?
• What happens to skirting, steps, decks, porches, awnings and sheds, and what does it cost?
• Does the price include both the county move permit and the ALDOT permit?
• What is the fix and cost if a problem turns up under the home?

Hiring an uncertified installer to install a home breaks state rules and can bring a fine of up to $500 per home (AMHC rules 535-X-12-.04 and .08).

Utility disconnection at the old site: power, gas, water, sewer and who may do it

Task 5 puts the disconnects in the hands of Alabama licensed or certified contractors. The AMHC adds that gas, electrical, central heat and air, sewer and water connections are made by contractors regulated by other laws (AMHC rule 535-X-12-.02). Ask those contractors and the utility who does what. In the city of Mobile, the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System (MAWSS) provides water and sewer service (City of Mobile Local Recovery Plan, 2024), and Alabama Power is the power company named in the county's mobile home checklist. Call your providers early to end or move service, and book the trade that does the disconnect before the move date, not on it.

The same trades are needed again at the new site. In unincorporated Mobile County, the plumbing rules require an Alabama Master Plumbing License for plumbing permits, or a general contractor's license for sewer and water lines (homeowners working on their own residence are excepted), and the county releases power only after its mobile home checklist is met (Mobile County building code amendments and Mobile Home Checklist). See mobile home setup for the reconnection side.

Skirting removal, steps, porches, decks, awnings and carports

Skirting, steps, porches, decks, awnings and window air conditioners are not in the nine tasks, so the rule does not say who takes them off. For mobile home skirting removal, ask who does it and write the answer into the quote. One national guide says to add $200 to $500 for removal and disposal of old skirting when replacing it (HomeAdvisor skirting guide, June 19, 2026). Use it only as a sense of scale.

Mobile home porch and deck removal for moving is a bigger decision. HomeAdvisor notes that homes with special features such as decks or porches may need additional materials and labor, which raises the cost. Awning removal works the same way: decide before the quote and have the answer in writing.

Sheds, carports and additions: who removes them

None of the nine tasks covers sheds, carports or additions. The rule does not say they are removed by the owner, and it names no crew or company to remove them. Ask, and put the answer and the cost in the quote. Settle this before the move date, and ask the same about awning and carport removal for moving.

Splitting a multi-section home: crossovers, roof cap, marriage line and open sides

A joined double-wide does not travel whole. ALDOT permits only loads that cannot be readily dismantled, and tasks 2 and 3 call for the roof cap (the rule calls it the ridge cap) to come off and the sections to be separated by reversing the joining procedure. Crossovers are the utility connections where the sections meet (24 CFR 3285.5); ask who handles them when the halves are separated. Alabama requires multi-section homes to be lagged and sealed together per the manufacturer (AMHC rule 535-X-13-.07). Ask which fasteners, bolts or straps, hold your halves and who removes them.

Each opened side must then be sealed. Task 9 requires the home to be secured against moisture and wind, so ask who seals the open sides and with what, and get it in the quote. At the new site the sections are rejoined, and the marriage line trim goes on only after the marriage line is inspected inside and out (AMHC rule 535-X-13-.11). The full process is on the double-wide mobile home movers page.

Securing the interior: valuables, heavy furniture, cabinets, doors, drawers, mirrors, refrigerator

Task 4 says furnishings and contents must be secured or removed, and it is the only Alabama rule we found about contents. It names no one to do it. Go through the list item by item (valuables, heavy furniture, cabinets, doors, drawers, mirrors, the refrigerator) and get in the quote whether each comes out or stays secured, and who does it.

The transporter is responsible for safety-related damage while the home is in its care (AMHC rule 535-X-12-.04). Ask in writing whether its insurance covers what is inside the home.

Things that slow a move or a teardown, and how to avoid them

• Title problems and unpaid taxes. The county move permit needs taxes and registration paid first, so unpaid taxes stop the move. Mobile County asks for a bill of sale for all homes and a title or Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin for homes 20 years old or newer.
• A lender. A lien holder moving a home must tell the county registration official in writing within ten days. Ask your lender before you book.
• A destination that is not ready. HUD recommends the site be prepared and utilities available before the home moves (24 CFR 3285.902).
• Park approvals. The AMHC does not regulate parks, so get the old park's move-out terms and the new park's acceptance in writing.
• Weather. Permitted loads stop when visibility drops under 500 feet or weather is unsafe. Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30 (City of Mobile Local Recovery Plan, 2024).
• A home that is not roadworthy. Where the AMHC inspection applies, a unit the inspector does not find fit gets no transport decal (AMHC rule 535-X-12T-.07).
• Permits. The county move permit and the ALDOT permit both come before the truck leaves, and the ALDOT permit allows five days.
• Pre-1976 homes. The AMHC letter-of-exception rule covers homes brought into Alabama; ask the AMHC about a pre-1976 home already here.

The road-ready check and mobile home pre-move inspection

Before the truck leaves, ask the party that prepared the home to confirm the lights, brakes, tires, hitch, bottom board and sealing. Where a federal motor carrier hauls the unit and is not a licensed manufacturer or retailer (or under contract with one) or a certified installer, the installer who prepared it must certify that nothing will fall off, that it can travel safely and that it is unlikely to be damaged on delivery. The installer notifies the AMHC at least 72 hours ahead, and an AMHC inspector who finds the unit fit issues a transport decal good for ten days (AMHC rule 535-X-12T-.07). When a certified installer does the hauling, the rule says the installer must ensure the same three conditions but states no notice, inspection or decal. The rule describes a federal motor carrier haul, so we do not know how the AMHC applies it to a short local move. Ask the AMHC before you set a date.

Other checks around it:

• Move permit. The Mobile County License Commission issues the county move permit for $11.25 per home, however many sections, and the state rule makes it good for 14 days. Taxes and registration must be paid first (Mobile County License Commission; Revenue rule 810-4-2-.09).
• ALDOT permit. A single-trip permit costs $10 up to 12 x 75 feet and $20 above that. It allows five days and one round trip (ALDOT fee schedule, March 2025; rule 450-3-1-.10).
• Lights and signs. The load carries an amber light, OVERSIZE LOAD signs front and rear and fluorescent flags (ALDOT rule 450-3-1-.04).
• Daylight only. Permitted loads do not travel at night, on Sundays or on listed holidays (ALDOT rule 450-3-1-.04).

Releasing tie-downs and anchors, jacking the home and removing blocking

Mobile and Baldwin counties are an AMHC Hurricane Zone, so the Wind Zone II tie-down table applies to installs here (AMHC rule 535-X-13-.02); ask what your home was set to. A home 41 to 60 feet long set to that table has 7 vertical and 7 diagonal ties on each side, 28 in all, before any extra ties for tall piers (AMHC rule 535-X-13-.07). Mobile home tie down removal means releasing every one, in the reverse order of installation. Ask whether the quote lists this step and who does it.

The piers come next. Alabama's minimum blocking puts piers under the main frame no more than 6 feet apart, on pads of at least 16 x 16 x 4 inches, with piers over 32 inches double-tiered (AMHC rule 535-X-13-.06). Task 7 says all of them come out. A carrier may block a unit only to the extent of removing wheels and axles (AMHC rule 535-X-12-.02). If a company offers to tear down, block and level the home in one visit, ask which part is done by a certified installer. Teardown is prep. Blocking beyond removing the wheels and axles counts as installation (AMHC rule 535-X-12-.02), which needs a certified installer, or an employee holding a current Commission certificate of training, present for the whole job (AMHC rule 535-X-12-.01).

Mobile home axles and tires: does a home need them to move?

Yes. A mobile home rides on its own running gear: springs, axles, bearings, wheels, hubs, tires and brakes (24 CFR 3280.902). Task 6 says wheels and axles must be installed to the frame as part of preparation. Some homes have no running gear; a carrier may remove wheels and axles after delivery (AMHC rule 535-X-12T-.08). If it was removed at the last setup, fitting running gear again falls under task 6. Homes with no hitch or axles need both fitted before they can be pulled. Ask each quote who supplies them, whether they are new or used, and who keeps them afterward.

Used running gear has limits. Before reuse, axles must be reconditioned. Used tires need at least 1/16 inch of tread and must pass a visual check for dry rot and sidewall splitting, and at least two axles must have brakes (24 CFR 3280.904). That standard is written for factory building, but it shows what to ask when the gear on your home is decades old.

Mobile home hitch: can a home move without one?

No, a home needs a drawbar and coupling to be pulled. The federal definition of a home's transportation system names four parts: the drawbar and coupling, the frame, the running gear and the lights (24 CFR 3280.902). If your home has no hitch, one has to be fitted before it goes on the road. The nine tasks do not name the hitch, so we cannot tell you who may weld or fit one. Ask the AMHC, and ask the company in writing who does it and what it costs. We found no dated, reputable price for hitch work.

Equipment: toter truck, Translift, Remote Trax or similar positioning machines for tight parks

A toter truck pulls a home by its drawbar; the home rolls on its own axles. Some parks and lots are hard for a truck to reach. If a quote names a Translift or another positioning machine, ask what it does on your site and what it adds to the price. Remote Trax is sold as a remote-control mover for hard-to-get places, and the Platypus is described by its maker as a tracked machine that lifts and moves housing units and can mate the halves of a double-wide. Those are the makers' own claims. Whether a company has such a machine is a quote question. Tell the company about the access to your site when you call. HUD's installation guidance also suggests confirming that the transport equipment can be routed to the site before the home is moved (24 CFR 3285.902).

Older homes: frame, outriggers, soft floors and loose panels

In the city of Mobile, 63.5% of occupied housing units were built before 1980, compared with 41.8% statewide, and 852 FEMA applications came from mobile homes after Hurricanes Sally and Zeta in 2020 (City of Mobile Local Recovery Plan, 2024). The first figure covers all housing, not only mobile homes. Before a prep quote is firm, ask whoever prepares the home to look at the frame and outriggers for rust and bends, the floor near doors and the bath for soft spots, loose roof and wall panels, and the age of the tires. If they find a problem, get the fix and its cost in writing before work starts.

Do not assume a pre-1976 home can or cannot move. Alabama will not let a home damaged by flood, wind or fire be brought in from another state without a letter of exception. That rule is written for homes brought into Alabama, and it does not say what applies inside the state, so ask the AMHC (AMHC rule 535-X-12T-.04).

FAQ: teardown and prep questions