Talk:Trailer park

Untitled
"Squatted land" is very poor English. I suggest "placed on land without the permission of the land-owner".

JohnC (talk) 04:11, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

What is a "disputed" trailer park?

JohnC (talk) 04:10, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

My understanding was that trailer park was more a negative stereotype of people espousing certain political views rather than a sterotype of poor people. JesseG 21:31, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

I haven't encountered any use of the term in a political manner. It is, however, considered very insulting when applied to mobilehome parks in California. Since new homes may cost in the range of $160,000, are on permanent foundations and appear the same as other single family housing the term no longer has a proper application to mobilehome parks. In most communities the same homes may be built in any neighborhood with homes of a similar size. Larry B 21:19, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

disamb move
It looks like it worked out ok. Reasons as given in edit summary; there was no way for a reader, searching, to find the album Trailer Park unless they were careful to capitalize both letters. Kasreyn 16:11, 27 May 2006 (UTC)
 * You should have just simply added the dab link, moving the page was unnecessary. I'll try to fix it up for you. Ewlyahoocom 16:34, 27 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Ahh, I see. You're right, this way is more economical with pages.  This was my first stab at disambiguation, and I was basically copying from the guts of another disambig page.  Thanks! Kasreyn 16:59, 27 May 2006 (UTC)lol

Trailer Parks, homelessness
"In some countries living in a trailer is the cheapest independent living accommodation, only a step above homelessness. As a result many stereotypes have developed regarding people who live in trailer parks, which are similar to stereotypes of the poor or people espousing certain political beliefs in general."

I can certainly understand the stereotype. But this statement is incorrect, if only in the United States. I am currently employed in the real estate industry, and live in a trailer park in New England. While trailer parks pale in comparison to the luxury condos one might find in Boston or NYC, it is hardly a step above homelessness. For example, I currently pay $450 for lot rent, on a monthly basis. However, I own my trailer. If I had to both pay for the trailer and lot rent, it would cost around $1,000 - $1,200 monthly. This is the going rate for at good apartment in my area. While it isn't luxury, it is by far not a step above homelessness. A trailer is most often than not purchased in the same manner one would purchase a home or a condo, this implies a decent credit score, something someone very near homelessness would be unable to afford. --Edward Godbois 01:01, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Trailer parks as a permanent/semi-permanent living place does seem to be a peculiarly American concept. Probably due to massive income inequalities and high property prices.

JohnC (talk) 04:12, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

Merge with 'RV park'
There is a topic called 'RV park' which recently merged with 'caravan park' - the brit term. Shouldn't this one be combined, too?

Technically, Trailer Parks and RV Parks (in the US) are two different things.

Prices & Insurances
How much does it cost to live in a trailer park? I am German and do live in an appartment, I don't have any idea how much the rent for such a trail accomodation is. Are these homes to rent or to buy? What about prices for water an electricity? Are these places connected to wired telephones? Here in Germany most sites do not have wired telephones, so it would be interesting if they are or not.--89.182.9.189 (talk) 08:48, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

Furthermore it would be interesting to know if people who live in trailer parks usually have the same insurances as people who live in common flats or houses, for example fire insurances or flood insurance. Are these insurances paid by the owner or the tennants?

How man trailer parks do exist in the US and Canada?

Here over in Germany some people believe living in trailer parks is sometimes more a way of living then a result of being poor. Is this correct? Are there really people in the U.S. who prefer to live in trailer parks because of the relaxed living? Are these people a significant number?--89.182.8.215 (talk) 16:07, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

"Not so desirable" people? According to whom?
This sentence should be removed entirely: "With the advent of bigger and better manufactured homes, trailer parks are no longer only a home to not-so-desirable folk." It says in the past "not so desirable" people lived in trailer parks, which in addition to being a value judgment that has no place here, is simply inaccurate and unfair. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.145.181.196 (talk) 01:06, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

10% living in trailer parks?
Is ist really true that 10% of US-citizen live in a trailer park? thats quite a high number. Can somebody prove that? Otherwise I would remove this part. --78.34.236.204 (talk) 11:22, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

Origins of trailer park?
Any idea of when trailer parks originated? They seem like a post WWII thing to me (at least, in their modern American form)? If trailer parks are a recent invention, does anyone know where the residents lived previously? Why do people choose trailers over traditional accommodations? Are trailers considered temporary or permanent housing? Do trailer parks have stable communities? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.98.40.57 (talk) 00:23, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

AI== AFRAID THERE ARE SOME TRaLER PARKS THAT DESERVE THE COONOTATION"TRAILER TRASH"! ==

Briefly. Imde the mistake of lving in a Subsidized 55 olde rTrailer park! The people were well STEROTYPES of Tariler Trash! Worse the manager and owner of this place Oak.... Were always and I feel illegally evicting the Seniors to Obatin their old trailers to resell or sell for scfrfap! Lots of hassles and outright crimnal behavior to do this I feel! My com,plaints to the large Southern Califronia City that this trailker park was located in. Brought no action Finally KI just elft! MY beloingings were taken and my trailer scrapped! Trailer Parks well this one was a doozy! The local goverments couldnt care less (in my case at least!) what goes on there!91040 SPQRANDRE (talk) 03:44, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

Germany
The author wrote there are trailer parks in Grmany which is not true. We have camping sites where people live through the summer, like snowbirds in Florida. But it is in fact illegal to live in a trailer permanently and you can't register the address with the authorities. Despite this of course some people live in trailers, and everybody ignores it but on a very small scale, like hippies living in the woods. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.129.217.1 (talk) 09:12, 7 April 2012 (UTC)


 * As of 2024: this is not correct (anymore?). Wagenplätze are legalized in several towns, with full access to water/plumbing/electricity, and people can register them as permanent address. Mantelmoewe (talk) 08:22, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

Reader feedback: Stereotype
83.84.56.155 posted this comment on 26 December 2011 (view all feedback).

"Seems more like an article about 'stereotypes regarding trailer parks'.... than about trailer parks? Unfortunately, very little actual information."

From what I have seen of the article, this strikes me as a fair comment. Any thoughts on what can be done to improve the article? —WFC— FL wishlist 23:55, 1 September 2013 (UTC)

Home is not a house (C)
Dear American ladies and gentlemen, "home" is your local marketing slang that is generally inappropriate in Wikipedia with regards to buildings. This article is about quasi-houses on wheels, with the word "home" only to be used "in quotation marks" and referring to the terms, not the subjects.

On an ironic side note, your stationary cardboard "homes" would barely be called "houses" in Europe either) Wishes, Ukrained2012 (talk) 09:11, 24 September 2013 (UTC)


 * Yes, Ukraine is clearly a much better nation than the US. That explains why Ukraine has so many more immigrants than emmigrants, while people are leaving the US in droves.


 * Oh, wait... do I have that backward?


 * People love to insult us (often on the basis of scanty or simply wrong information, such as above), but they love to move here even more. I guess we'll just have to learn to live with that.  :)  MrRK (talk) 15:34, 5 July 2017 (UTC)

Mobile homes aren't trailers
As always, please forgive me if this has come up before, but... :)

I think this article needs to make it clear that "trailer park" is typically a misnomer. I'm sure there really are parks full of trailers somewhere, but most so-called trailer parks that I've seen really contain mobile homes. A trailer has wheels, and can be pulled behind a vehicle without needing the special moving permit needed for transporting structures such as sheds, barns or small houses. A mobile home is bigger, made up of one or more sections that can be transported separately and assembled on the site. Some manufacturers (and residents) take pains to distinguish between "mobile homes" and "modular homes", but they are really the same idea, the latter typically being bigger, nicer and more customized, but really not very different conceptually.

Perhaps this is unique to southern California, but in the "trailer parks" that I've visited, I've never seen anyone living in a trailer. The only genuine trailers I've seen there were RVs parked in the driveways of the homes! A mobile home is a very different thing. As a personal observation, my own non-mobile house (wood frame construction on a concrete foundation) has a floor area of about 1400 square feet (130 square meters). Certainly not big, but not tiny. I have friends who live in "trailer parks", in homes that are substantially bigger than my "real" house, do not have wheels or any other hints of roadworthiness, and could not possibly be pulled behind a vehicle. Some of them are remarkably large and well-appointed, to the point of inspiring a touch of envy - their occupants' day-to-day home environment is better than mine! Try an image search for "double-wide" or "triple-wide" - those don't look much like trailers, do they? This is clearly quite a genuine distinction and not just realtor BS (uninformed comments above notwithstanding).

The downsides of course are 1) such homes are generally not as sturdy (though they tend to do well in earthquakes, which are a much bigger danger than tornadoes around here), 2) the lots are very small, and 3) the lots are rented; you may own the structure, but you're still subject to a landlord, and can even be evicted, which requires either dismantling the home and transporting the pieces, or (much more commonly, of course) selling it in place. For those reasons, I would never buy a mobile home if I could avoid it, but it's still quite a far cry from living in a trailer.

Is my experience at all common? If it is, I think this article needs work to make that clear.

Thoughts? MrRK (talk) 19:40, 4 July 2017 (UTC)

And no, my friends (unfortunately) did not live in Paradise Cove: http://hookedonhouses.net/2014/01/29/i-want-this-mobile-home-for-sale-in-malibu/

Some "trailer", isn't it? MrRK (talk) 20:08, 4 July 2017 (UTC)