PORTABLE LEVITTOWN

The circa-1969 "single-wide" mobile home has a house type exterior door, with its second entrance being on the back side of the unit. Widths of 12 or 14 feet -and lengths of 65- provide more living space than ever before. Prices for newly-built rigs begin around $5,000 and end at $18,000.

As in the 1950s, the standard mobile home of the 1970s would have come fully-furnished. However, the quality of articles used had fallen drastically. Interiors were often done in gaudy "Mediterranean" decor and furnished with cheaply made accessories, such as this "Spanish" -style sofa. The only thing missing from such an interior decorating scheme might be a tacky "Velvet Elvis" painting.

The newly-built mobile home of the late 1960s and early '70s was a far cry from one manufactured in the 1950s. Obviously, trailers were now much longer and wider. The incentive to build larger rigs economically probably led to an overall decline in the quality of the finished product.

In order for manufacturers to keep selling new trailers, the purchase price needed to be kept as low as possible; this in an incredibly inflationary economy, where prices for nearly everything were soaring upward by the minute. 

Inevitably, lots of corners were cut. The tight-fitting, narrow-slot jalousie windows of the late 1950s had been replaced by large-pane crank-out models, which quickly lost tension and would not shut tightly. 

Precision-made -all-wood- cabinetry of bygone days was now typified by cabinets made of cheap plastic and pressed board. Poorly-fitting drawers might fall out when opened. Moreover, flimsy sliding closet doors (made of wood paneling) would never stay on track.

Quality-crafted mobile homes were still being manufactured, but these were also sold at a premium price. The lower-to-medium price mobile home of the early 1970s was often floored with low quality "shag" carpeting. Garish shades of red & black, orange or green were common. 

Quality issues and dubious features, such as cheap (and potentially dangerous) aluminum electrical wiring, caused the US Congress to pass stricter standards for construction in 1974. The National Mobile Home Construction & Safety Standards Act became law in June 1976. To get away from all of the negativity associated with house trailers or mobile homes in general, the product name was changed to "Manufactured Home."