Customer Reviews

Wheel Estate: The Rise and Decline of Mobile Homes

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Wallis here presents an incredibly thorough, and amazingly respectful look at the history of the "mobile home". Well researched and masterfully integrated with the sociopolitical influences that have played such a large part in shaping the industry, this book is an incredible resource for those interested in the mobile home as a housing form, or for those researching some of its sister forms--modular and prefabricted housing.

From the introduction:

"The mobile home is the dream of the factory-built house come true, yet few advocates of that dream are proud to acknowledge its manifestation in the present form."

"...the mobile home as both an object and agent of change: as an addition to our inventory of housing options that must be brought into conformance with our expectations, but also as an option that forces us to reconsider what we understand about the character of American housing. Rather than prescribing ways in which mobile homes could become more acceptable, I consider how standards of acceptability are devised in a social and cultural context, then manifested in public policy."

"The basic thesis of this book is that two processes have shaped the use, form, and meaning of the mobile home. The first process is one of invention, or innovation, carried out by mobile home manufacturers, park developers, and the people who live in mobile homes....The second process affecting the mobile home has been one of regulation or categorization carried out primarily by institutions: zoning and building agencies, mortgage bankers, and insurance companies."

Since another reviewer said that this book wasn't what he expected. I thought I'd describe what I think this book is.

It describes the history of mobile homes and the mobile lifestyle (most commonly typified today with RVs).

I do think this book may have been incorrectly categorized. I would categorize it under history, not health. The copy I read was a library book and it was filed under economics, which I also consider to be a more accurate category than health.

This book describes the lack of acceptance of manufactured housing in its various forms in the US. It also shows the history behind our collective biases and impressions regarding manufactured housing and mobile living.

I would recommend this book to people who live in a mobile home or are a full-time RVer. People who don't have a particular interest in this mode of housing will probably find little of interest here.

This book is not what I thought it was. It's a boring read. I couldn't finish it, it was that boring.