Park model transport is the moving of a compact, single-chassis factory-built unit — a park model home or park model RV — from one site to another, and it sits right between a recreational-vehicle move and a full manufactured-home haul. Our crew at Mobile Home Mover Pro relocates these units across North Carolina and South Carolina the same way we move a single-wide: on the unit's own steel frame and axles, behind a heavy-duty toter truck, under an oversize-load permit. We also set, level, and anchor the unit on the far end, and when a tired old park model isn't worth relocating, we tear it down and haul it off instead. This is the definitive page for that exact job — what a park model is, the codes that govern its tie-down and setup, the rig it rides on, the permits it needs, real Carolinas cost bands, and why you want a crew that does this every week.
What counts as a park model — and which code applies
A park model is a factory-built unit with a single living section, typically 399 square feet or less of floor area, designed for campgrounds, RV resorts, seasonal lots, and small homesteads. Most are built as park model RVs to the ANSI A119.5 recreational-vehicle standard and titled like an RV; a smaller share of "destination" or "cottage" units are built closer to a HUD-Code manufactured home. That distinction matters for titling and taxes, but for the haul it barely changes anything — the unit rides on its own chassis either way. Where it matters is the set: if a unit is installed as a permanent dwelling, the installation falls under the manufactured-home setup standard (ANSI A225.1) and the state's set-up licensing, and the tie-downs are sized to the HUD wind zone the way any manufactured home would be. Our crew sorts the classification before we file anything, because it decides whether the destination county treats the unit as personal property, an RV, or a real-property dwelling.
The toter, the axles, and the rig that pulls it
A park model doesn't go on a flatbed. It moves the way a mobile home moves — on its own tandem or triple steel axles, with a hitch and a kingpin, pulled by a toter (a heavy single-cab truck built for hauling manufactured homes). Before we commit to a road move, our crew inspects the running gear: tires that have sat in the weather for years dry-rot and blow out, bearings seize, and brakes hang up. If the axles and tires won't survive the trip, we swap in a transport dolly or a fresh set of axles rather than gamble on a roadside failure with an oversize load. We block and brace the interior, secure the hitch, and confirm the unit's actual width and height — a park model that the brochure calls 12 feet wide can measure wider at the eaves, and that one measurement decides the escort count and the legal travel window. This is the same discipline we bring to every mobile home transport haul.
Permits, escorts, and the legal travel window
A park model is an oversize load the moment it's on the road, so it can't move on a hand-shake. In North Carolina the haul runs under the NCDOT Publication MH-2 mobile and modular home permit, which fixes the approved routing, the escort-vehicle requirement, and the daylight travel window for the unit's dimensions. In South Carolina the move is governed by SC Code § 31-17-360, and before a unit leaves a North Carolina parcel the county tax-clearance step under NCGS Chapter 105, Article 18 has to be cleared. The good news is that most park models are narrow enough to need fewer escorts than a 16-foot-wide single-wide, which trims the cost — but the permit and routing are filed every time, and our crew handles that paperwork and dispatches NCDOT-certified escort vehicle operators so you don't have to. The full chain is laid out on our mobile home moving permit page.
Set, level, and anchor on the far end
Dropping a park model on the lot is the start of the job, not the end. Our crew blocks and levels the unit to a tight tolerance on piers or a pad so doors swing true and the floor doesn't telegraph every step, then we tie it down. Even though many park models are titled as RVs, we anchor them like manufactured homes: galvanized auger ground anchors screwed into undisturbed soil, diagonal frame ties bolted to the chassis, and on coastal or wider units a full set of over-the-top straps that arc across the roof. The strap count and spacing come straight from the HUD wind zone — HUD 24 CFR 3280 Subpart G drives the tie-down schedule, and a Wind Zone II coastal site in Brunswick, New Hanover, or Horry County needs noticeably more anchor points than an inland Wind Zone I lot. If the unit is installed as a dwelling, the setup itself is done to the ANSI A225.1 installation standard and the state's set-up licensing. See mobile home setup, mobile home anchoring, and mobile home skirting for how the set, tie-down, and crawl-space close-in carry over from manufactured homes.
When haul-off beats relocation
Not every park model should be moved. These units take weather hard — the floors are thin, the framing is light, and a unit that's sat unused on a seasonal lot for fifteen years can have a soft floor, a racked frame, or hidden water damage that will pull apart on the highway. When we walk a unit and the structure is sound, we relocate it. When it isn't, the honest answer is demolition and haul-off: our crew strips the salvageable value first — road-worthy axles, appliances, aluminum siding, and copper wiring all have resale or scrap value that offsets the cost — then tears down the shell and clears the site to bare ground. For a lot turnover, a campground clean-out, or an estate where the unit is a liability rather than an asset, demo-and-disposal is usually faster and cheaper than a relocation that ends with a unit that still needs repairs. Our mobile home demolition page covers the tear-down and disposal process in full.
Real Carolinas cost bands
For a sound, single-section park model, our crew quotes most transport-only moves in the $3,000–$7,000 range in-state, and a full move with set, level, and anchor in the $5,000–$11,000 range — lighter than a double-wide because there's one section, no marriage-line bolt-up, and often fewer escorts. The drivers are route miles, the condition of the axles and tires (a dolly or new axles adds cost), escort count for the unit's width, the destination county's wind zone (Zone II anchoring runs more), and whether you add skirting. A demolition-and-haul-off, by contrast, is usually a flat clearing job and lands well below a relocation. Whichever direction the numbers point, we put the exact figure in writing within 24 business hours after a quick look at the unit — put the make, the dimensions, the current site, and the destination on the form and our crew takes it from there. For broader pricing context, see how much it costs to move a mobile home.
Why our crew
Mobile Home Mover Pro runs its own crew across North Carolina and South Carolina, and park models are squarely in our lane — small enough that a generalist hauler underestimates them, specialized enough that a stick-built mover won't touch them. We file the North Carolina and South Carolina permits, dispatch certified escorts, run the toter, set and anchor the unit to wind-zone spec, and clean up the old site — one crew, one written quote, one point of contact for the whole job. Whether you're delivering a brand-new park model to a campground lot, relocating a seasonal cottage across the state line, or clearing a tired unit off a parcel, our crew quotes it inside 24 business hours and does it to code.