Manufactured home AC and heat in Bastrop County, TX

How these homes are heated and cooled

Census figures put manufactured and mobile homes at 24.0% of housing in Bastrop County, 40.3% in ZIP code 78612 and 34.0% in 78662 (American Community Survey 2020–2024). Most are set up one of two ways.

A downflow furnace or air handler in a closet. The cabinet stands in a hall closet and blows down into a main duct that runs the length of the home inside the insulated belly under the floor. Heat comes from electric strips or a gas or propane burner; cooling comes from an outdoor AC or heat pump connected by refrigerant lines.

A package unit outside. One cabinet on the ground holds everything, connected to the home's duct by a large flexible crossover duct under the skirting.

Equipment has to be listed for manufactured homes

A furnace or air handler that goes into a manufactured home has to be a model built and listed for that use. Standard site-built furnaces do not qualify, which narrows the replacement options and sometimes means a longer wait for the right unit. Ask the contractor to confirm the listing of what they quote.

Faults that are typical here

• The crossover or belly duct. A crushed, torn or disconnected crossover under the home, or a split in the belly wrap, sends cooled air into the crawl space. Symptoms: weak airflow at the far end of the home, and a house that never cools on a hot afternoon.
• Closet airflow. The return is often a grille in the closet door. Blocking it, or a filter that is never changed, starves the unit.
• Outdoor unit faults. The same capacitors, contactors and fan motors as any AC; see AC repair.
• Heat strips. A downflow electric furnace has the same strips, sequencers and limit switches as any electric furnace.

Repair or replace

The same tests apply as for any home: age, which part failed, the refrigerant and how many times it has been opened. Two things are particular to manufactured homes. The indoor unit has to stay a listed model, and the duct under the floor is worth inspecting before new equipment goes in. A new system on a torn belly duct will not cool the far bedroom any better than the old one did.

Access matters for the appointment

Say whether the skirting has an access panel, whether the crossover is reachable, and whether the home sits on a rural lot with a long drive or a gate. Those details change how a contractor schedules the visit.

What to say when you call

• That it is a manufactured home, single-wide or double-wide, and its rough year
• Closet unit with an outdoor AC or heat pump, or a package unit outside
• Electric, gas or propane heat
• What happens, and which rooms are worst
• Your ZIP code, and access to the skirting and the unit

Common questions

Can a regular furnace go in a mobile home? It needs a model listed for manufactured homes. That is a question for the contractor quoting the job.

The far bedroom never cools. Often the duct under the floor rather than the equipment. A technician checks the crossover and the belly before blaming the AC.

Who does this work? A contractor with a Texas Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractor License. Check the number on the TDLR license search before work starts.