Manufactured Homes in Topeka, Indiana: What to Check on Delivery Day

Topeka, in LaGrange County, is where Champion builds the homes we sell — the plant is about 30 miles from our Auburn showroom. We order your home to spec, quote it line by line, arrange delivery and stay your point of contact after move-in. This post is about the day the home arrives, which is the part of the process nobody prepares you for.

From the plant to your site

Once your order is placed, Champion builds the home indoors in about 6 to 8 weeks. While that happens, your own contractor prepares the site — foundation, utilities, driveway approach. When both are ready, the home travels from the plant to your site, and your set-up contractor places it, levels it, joins the sections on a multi-section home, and connects it. We arrange the transport; site work and setup are yours to contract, and we never perform them. The delivery and set-up guide walks through the day hour by hour.

What to check when it arrives

A home that has travelled on a highway deserves a careful look before you sign off on anything. Walk it slowly, with a notebook and your phone’s camera:

• Every door and window. Open and close each one. Sticking can mean the home still needs levelling.
• Walls and ceilings. Look for cracks at corners and along the marriage line where sections join.
• Floors. Walk every room; note soft spots or seams that do not sit flat.
• Water. Once plumbing is connected, run every tap and shower and look underneath sinks for drips.
• Appliances and systems. Confirm the furnace, water heater and each appliance start, and keep the paperwork that came with them.

Write down each item with a photo and the date. Some things are for your set-up contractor — levelling, a door that needs adjustment after the home settles, connections. Others are manufacturer items covered by Champion’s limited warranty, and appliances and equipment carry their own makers’ warranties. Send the list to us in writing; we stay your point of contact and help you file warranty items with Champion.

Give the home a few weeks

A new home settles on its foundation. Small adjustments in the first month or two — a door, a trim piece — are normal. Keep adding to your list rather than calling about each one, and send it in together.

Common questions

Does being close to the plant lower delivery cost?

Freight is quoted per route as its own line on your sheet, and a short run from Topeka is about as short as it gets.

Where to next?

See our LaGrange County page, browse the floor plans, or ask for a quote.