My wife and I are in our late sixties. We have lived in our house for 33 years. But it still has a mortgage because we refinanced over the years to pay for remodeling and upgrades. We lost most of our IRAs to the falling stock market in 2000. Our biggest asset is our home equity. We are thinking of selling our house and buying in a senior mobile home community. We could buy a mobile home and still have enough money to meet our expenses. Is this a good thing to do? – Robert E.

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Developers in Huntington Township are seeking permits they need to build a 275-unit mobile home park next to Route 94 and Idaville-York Springs Road.

Before the developer, CACO ThreeInc., can start building its proposed Peakview Mobile Home Park, final plans for the development must be approved by township supervisors.

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Clint Miller has a job, teeth and he doesn’t date relatives.

His mornings before working the nightshift often involve mowing the small patch of grass in front of his home of 20 years and keeping his tall hibiscus bushes neatly trimmed.

His neighbors include construction workers, housekeepers, truckers and others who help keep Palm Beach County’s service industries running.

Yet, he still can’t shake the mobile home park stereotypes.

“Most people when I tell them I live in a trailer park, they think it’s scary — toothless inbreds fighting,” said Miller, 44, an electrical technician. “But this is a nice community.”

Miller’s landlord, developers and the county officials who regulate them might take that community away from residents at the Meadowbrook mobile home park west of West Palm Beach.

Meadowbrook residents have spent a year fighting plans to replace their homes with new, high-priced town houses, saying even with relocation help from developers they will end up priced out of Palm Beach County.

County officials contend the property rights of the park’s owner and the developers planning to buy the land trump the relocation concerns of Meadowbrook residents.

While Meadowbrook residents face losing their homes, the county faces losing a place where a wide range of blue-collar and other moderate-income workers can afford to live.

Postal workers, teachers’ aides, exterminators and landscapers are among those who could be forced out along with retirees and the disabled if Meadowbrook closes, residents said.

That could be a sign of a greater exodus to come as Palm Beach County home prices continue to soar, said Linda Kartell, a social worker and longtime Meadowbrook resident.

“What is most upsetting is the assumption that we are all trailer trash,” Kartell said. “We have a cross section of working class people … We are going to see a loss of service workers. Where are [companies] going to find folks?”

Centex Homes plans to build 588 townhomes on the 83-acre mobile home park on Drexel Road, south of Okeechobee Boulevard near Florida’s Turnpike.

Centex has agreed to provide $2 million to help relocate about 300 residents, in addition to making state-required relocation payments of between $1,375 and $6,000 to help them move.

Dozens of residents of a mobile home park in Keene were forced to evacuate their homes last night amid flooding concerns.
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We moved to a new home a couple of months ago, and it’s been fun telling friends about it.

I like to imitate Chris Farley’s motivational speaker Matt Foley on “Saturday Night Live” reruns. Good ol’ Matt Foley, you may recall, would hitch up his pants and proudly proclaim how he lived in a van down by the river.

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Fleetwood RV, a leading manufacturer of recreational vehicles, today announced its AX6 premium
fifth-wheel product line with the 2006 Prowler Regal AX6, Wilderness Advantage
AX6 and Terry Quantum AX6 models. The 2006 models include three new interior
designs and upgraded exterior graphics, driving them into the new year with
style and strength.

Fleetwood’s AX6 fifth-wheel trailers are towable trailers with welded
aluminum construction on all six sides, forming a frame that enhances strength
and durability. The AX6 models boast a luxurious environment loaded with
top-of-the-line brand name appliances and other amenities such as a bathroom
skylight, elegant galley and bedroom environments and under-the-bed storage.
Previous optional features that now come standard include custom chrome
16″ wheels, an eight-cubic-foot refrigerator, and day/night shades. The 2006
models also feature interior enhancements such as upgraded carpets, vinyl
flooring and new valance design. Three new interior decors are also
available, with a new “ash” wood offering and exclusive fabric designs
bringing the number of available interior decors for each model to six.
Exterior upgrades include all new eye-catching, sleek and colorful graphics
packages, a new molded fiberglass front cap, security lighting, an exterior
shower and an exterior ice chest and tool box.
“The upgrades to our premium fifth-wheel floor plans emphasize Fleetwood’s
dedication to providing our customers with innovative product offerings,” said
Chris Braun, Executive Vice President of Fleetwood RV. “By standardizing
previously optional features and offering new interior decors, we’re providing
additional value while enhancing our customers’ travel experiences.”
Base MSRP for 2006 AX6 premium fifth-wheel models ranges from
$41,557-$56,970. For more information on Fleetwood’s AX6 fifth-wheels or any
other Fleetwood products, please call 877-308-7644 or visit
http://www.fleetwoodrv.com.

About Fleetwood Enterprises
Fleetwood RV is a division of Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: FLE), a
leading manufacturer of recreational vehicles and a leading producer of
manufactured housing. Fleetwood’s recreational vehicle line includes motor
homes, travel trailers, fifth wheels and folding trailers. Fleetwood RV
products are distributed through a nationwide network of more than 1,200
dealers. For more information on Fleetwood Enterprises, visit our website at
http://www.fleetwood.com or call 1-800-322-8216.

Winnebago Industries Inc. on Thursday said earnings for the fourth quarter fell almost 20 percent as sales of its recreational motor homes fell amid an industrywide downturn that has been induced mostly by higher gasoline prices.

Net income slipped to $15.4 million, or 46 cents per share, for the three months ended Aug. 27 from $19 million, or 55 cents per share, a year earlier. Despite the decline, the result was 4 cents better than the mean estimate of 42 cents from a survey of analysts by Thomson Financial.
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With past due rent and bills mounting, Darneil Kinney knew he had to do something.

But the solution he picked landed the 21-year-old Plymouth man in prison for the next two years, after he pleaded guilty to a burglary charge for his role in multiple thefts at an area campground last winter.
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A group of volunteers plans to travel around Wyoming in a recreational vehicle to tell seniors about Medicare’s prescription drug coverage.

“This bus is going to have smooth tires by the time it ends this campaign,” Carolyn Paseneaux, a volunteer with AARP and former state legislator, said Tuesday.

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Emergency responders had their first chance Thursday to see Clark County’s new mobile disaster command center.

Local police and fire departments and elected officials inspected the adapted 34-foot RV made possible by a Department of Homeland Security grant.

“This is to use in situations where we know there will be a multiple-day response,” said Harold Plummer, director of the Clark County Emergency Planning Agency. “In worse cases, it will be where local, state and national officials can monitor and direct activities. We will also be able to use it to coordinate operations around major public events, like Thunder Over Louisville.”
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