Can You Put a Walk-In Tub in a Mobile or Manufactured Home?

Yes, you can put a walk-in tub in a mobile or manufactured home, and many Ella owners have done exactly that. The tub is the same one that goes into any house. What changes is the planning, because the hardest part is usually getting the tub through the doors and hallway and into the bathroom. The wider guide, Installing in Mobile Homes, Condos, Upper Floors, and on Concrete Slabs, covers every setting, and this page stays with the mobile home question from the front door to the first bath.

Start with the Route, Not the Bathroom

In a mobile home the bathroom itself is rarely the obstacle. The doorways and the hallway leading to it are. You need a door opening larger than 26 inches to fit the narrowest tub in the Ella line, and every other model needs more. Manufactured, prefab and modular homes usually have doors wide enough. RVs, campers and small trailers often do not.

Ella tubs ship fully assembled and cannot be taken apart to fit, so the tape measure decides the answer. Walk the whole path and write down each figure:

• The exterior door the tub will come through.
• Every interior doorway between that door and the bathroom, including the bathroom door.
• The hallway width, which matters as much as the doorways.
• Each corner and turn, since a tub that clears a doorway still has to swing around the bend after it.

Each spec sheet prints two sets of numbers. Shipping size is the crated dimension, and it applies from the curb to wherever the crate is opened. Actual size is the tub itself, and it applies to every opening the bare tub passes after that. Where the crate will not clear, the tub is uncrated outside and carried in by its frame, so the actual width becomes the figure that matters at your tightest doorway. The passage must be wider than that actual width. More on applying both figures is in Will a Crated Walk-In Tub Fit Up Stairs, Through Doorways or in an Elevator?

Compact Models and the Sizes to Compare

The models recommended most often for mobile homes are the Elite, Petite, Mobile and Front Entry. The Capri and the Flow are also compact choices, and the Monaco suits a home with a wider passage. Never plan from the rounded model name. Use the actual size below, then confirm it on the current spec sheet for the model you choose.

The differences look small on paper, and they decide everything at a narrow door. The Mobile is the one that fits where nothing else will. The Petite, sold as a 28 inch tub, is actually 27.5 inches wide, which leaves more to spare at a doorway than the 30 inch Elite. Packaging adds a good deal too. The Petite weighs 200 lbs on its own and ships at 305 lbs in a crate several inches larger in every direction, which is why so many mobile home installations open the crate outside.

Door swing matters as much as width. The Mobile, Capri, Monaco and Front Entry all have outward-swinging doors, and an outward-swing door needs clear floor in front of the tub. A compact mobile home bathroom may not have that room, so measure the space where the door will open as well as the space where the tub will sit. The Mobile model video shows that door in use, with its three latch gear and shaft mechanism, the low threshold and the textured floor, so you can picture how much room the swing takes.

What the Floor, Plumbing and Power Need to Provide

Once the tub is in the room, a mobile home has to offer the same things as any other home. The full list is in What you need before installing your Ella walk-in tub: a planning checklist, and these are the points worth checking early in a manufactured home:

• Floor. The subfloor must be sound, level and rated for the tub plus the water plus the bather. Have your contractor look at the floor structure before the old tub comes out.
• Hot water and drainage. Verify that the existing plumbing can supply enough hot water for a full tub and can handle the drainage. A two-inch house drain is recommended for the dual drain system, and the fast-fill faucets connect with 3/4 inch supply lines.
• Power. Tubs with therapy systems need one or more dedicated GFCI protected circuits, and a licensed electrician makes those connections.
• Service access. Plan for access to the plumbing and electrical after the walls are finished. In a small bathroom this is easy to overlook.
• Local rules. Local mobile home guidelines may apply, so ask your contractor to check them before work begins.

Every Ella walk-in tub arrives factory tested and factory leveled. Your installer still levels it on your floor and checks each foot, because door alignment and a watertight seal depend on the tub sitting level.

Who Does the Installation

Ella's Bubbles manufactures and supports the tub. The installation is done by your own licensed local contractor, and for a mobile home a local plumber or general contractor can complete it, with a licensed electrician for the electrical connections. Ella's technical support helps installers for free by phone, email and live video.

A few habits from the installation guidance are especially useful when space is tight:

1. Check the tub's dimensions against your measurements and inspect it for shipping damage when it arrives.
2. Fill the tub outside to check for transit leaks before it is carried in.
3. Remove all the panels before moving the tub through the home.
4. After it is set, level it and run an extended fill test with the pumps running.

If your clearance is tight, send your measurements to your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, or through ellasbubbles.com/support, before your order is placed. A few minutes spent comparing your doorways with the spec sheet is the simplest way to be sure the tub you love is the tub that fits.

Condos, Apartments and Upper Floors

The same thinking applies to a condo, an apartment or an upper-floor unit, and Ella walk-in tubs go into those settings regularly. Two things change. First, the freight driver brings the crate to the curb or the loading area and does not carry it into the building or up to your unit, so your installer or helpers handle the move inside. Second, an elevator becomes one more opening to measure, with the crated shipping size and the tub's actual width both in hand. Delivery details for buildings with a dock are in Can my walk-in tub be delivered to a condo loading dock instead?

Watch: Mobile Acrylic Walk-In Tub with Outward Swing Door & Seat, Easy Entry Bathing | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Will it fit through my doorway? How to measure your home for a walk-in tub
• Ella Mobile 26x45 vs Flow 28x48: which fits through a narrow doorway?
• Will it fit my alcove? Extension panels, end panels, and 60 inch spaces

Related Videos

Common Questions