Preventive Maintenance Schedules for Mobile Home Park Common Areas

Reactive maintenance is the most expensive maintenance there is. A preventive schedule applied consistently reduces emergency calls 40%+ and extends the life of every common-area system in your park. Here's the calendar we use, broken out for cold-climate and Sunbelt operators.

The four quarterly anchors

Every park, every climate. These are the items that get checked four times a year regardless of geography.

• Q1 — Pre-spring water system
  Check for freeze damage, pressure-test main lines, identify leaks before bills come in.
• Q2 — Drainage and grading
  Walk the park after a heavy rain. Note pooling, erosion, drainage failures.
• Q3 — Pre-winter prep
  Insulate exposed pipes, test heat tape, stock salt and shovels.
• Q4 — Lighting and signage audit
  Walk the park at dusk. Replace any failed lights. Address signage that's faded.

Cold-climate additions

Snow plowing contracts signed in October, not December. Salt deliveries scheduled before the first hard freeze. Heat tape on exposed pipes inspected in November. Boilers (if you have shared utilities) serviced annually pre-season.

The preventive cost is 10% of what an emergency call costs at 11 PM on a Saturday in February.

Sunbelt additions

AC compressor inspections pre-summer. Roof inspections after hurricane season. Tree trimming twice annually — if you have mature trees, the roots and branches both want attention. Storm-drain clearance pre-monsoon if you're in the southwest.

Document, don't memorize

Even great managers forget the December heat-tape inspection when something else is on fire. The schedule lives in your park management software with reminders 14 days before. If the reminder pings and the work doesn't happen, escalate. The cost of skipping a PM cycle is always higher than the cost of running one.