Ronnie Beams carefully pulls over to the side of a narrow two-lane road to allow the driver pulling a 14×70 mobile home a few inches to navigate past the one half of a doublewide home he is transporting.

Tommy Kizziah of Gordo, Ala., who owns the mobile home toter Beams is driving, follows him while an escort in front warns him of oncoming traffic and potential hazards along the route such as close mailboxes. Beams and Kizziah pull into a mobile home park that is still under development, with the first half of the doublewide home unscathed. Beams pilots the half-a-house over a curb and parks it near where it will be set up. After unhooking, the 29-year-old Cottondale, Ala., driver returns to a Tuscaloosa, Ala., mobile home dealership for the other half of what will be a 28-foot-wide home.

“I love the thrill of pulling mobile homes,” Beams says. “I get an adrenaline rush. I like being able to put the home in a tight spot safely.”

Mobile home traffic has been heavy in recent months along this stretch of Bear Creek Road in Tuscaloosa. In December, a powerful tornado swept through the area, killing 12 people and destroying numerous homes, including many manufactured homes in a nearby mobile home park.

Weather is a constant factor in the mobile home transport business. In many states, you can’t pull mobile homes in the rain. David Crowder, owner of Dave’s Mobile Home Transport in Tuscaloosa, is racing against the clock to try to get hooked to a mobile home in advance of the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry, which is dumping heavy rains as it spreads north from the Gulf of Mexico into Alabama. Crowder, 35, is also restricted by 6-8 a.m. and 3-6 p.m. city curfews. “It’s not a job for everybody,” Crowder says. “It’s hard work.”

The hard work begins long before a mobile home can be pulled onto any highway. Mobile homes must be “flagged out” according to the regulations of states where they are being transported. Most include red flags on the corners of the mobile home, “wide load” signs on the back and attached strobe or revolving amber lights. Beams says the most important things a driver must check are tires and axles. “You’ve got to check them,” he says. “Lugs can get loose and the tires will start spinning and they can come off. I try to tighten all the lugs myself to make sure they are tight. One of my biggest fears is to have a tire to come off and hit someone.”