Jim Bigelow is the all-American single dad raising his five sons, ranging in age 7 to 16. The Bigelow Six live in a two-bedroom, two-bath mobile home in Palmdale, Calif. The guys are a tight knit bunch, but there's one big problem. There's nowhere for 10-year-old Jake to sleep, so he has to spend nights at his grandma's. Jim recently changed careers to become a teacher so he could be closer to his boys. He even coaches them in sports. Jim's dream is to one day be able to give his sons a home they can all live in together -- a log cabin.
The Tylers are a family of three living in Sylmar, California -- mom, her fiancé, Ken and her son, Tim. Angela has a house full of antiques, but Ken and young Tim would rather use the china cabinet to store Harley Davidson parts and Hot Wheels. As Angela puts it, they are stuck ... in a world of inherited furniture and a 1973 mobile home that's falling apart.
The Schmidts are a blended family building a life in a multi-colored mobile home that once served as a daycare center. Lisa is mother to Alex and Melanie, and Gary is the father to son Andrew. When Gary and Lisa met, it was love at first sight and soon after, they married. They can't say the same about their mobile home. The home still has the original daycare colors and wallpaper. There is even a chalk-drawn hopscotch court under one of the carpets. It's a true embarrassment for the family. Lisa and Gary have strived to make a better life for their kids. After Lisa was laid off from her job, she decided to go back to school. She worked hard and eventually earned her master's in geography. She now teaches at the local community college.
The Fricks are big advocates of living green. They insist energy-efficient mobile homes are the wave of the future. Andreas and Katie met on Match.com. Their compatibility drew them together. Both grew up on chicken farms, both broke their shoulders horse-riding and love hiking and other outdoor activities. The two moved in together and shortly after, Andreas' daughter Kimberly moved in with them. The three never imagined they'd be living in a mobile home but were drawn to the Palisades Bowl after responding to a misleading ad about a condo for sale. Andreas is an architect who saw potential. He gutted the mobile home and has now run out of money to finish it. The Fricks live out of the master bedroom. Katie has no kitchen and does dishes in the bathtub, and Kimberly uses it as the living room to watch TV and do school work.
The Furrers are a funny, quirky, upbeat family. Their mobile home is 40 years old, but when they moved in 21 years ago, they never dreamed they'd be sharing it with a former owner. The woman who used to live in the home died there, and according to the Furrers, she's never left.
Bonnie Talcott bought what she could afford -- a mobile home in Thousand Oaks, Calif. She has a long-term boyfriend who stays with the family part time, but it's tough because there is a real lack of space. Bonnie's daughter doesn't have her own bedroom. She shares a bed with her mother. Like their mom, the Talcott kids are passionate about giving back to the community. They work with foster care kids and participate in church youth group activities. All of the Talcotts sing, and one of Bonnie's dreams is to become the real Partridge Family and travel the country singing Christian music.
This blended family consists of Kim, her boyfriend Jon, her older daughter Shadi, Jon's two young kids, Kim's mother's boyfriend and nine animals. They all live in a 1978 mobile home. They are funny, country music lovin', colorful and deserving. Oh yeah. They're also former carnies.
Sabrina and her husband Donald have been married 10 years but have been separated by the sea for nearly five years because Donald is in the Navy. He hasn't seen his wife and two children in almost a year. Realizing that his family desperately needs him, Donald is finally coming home. But right now there is no home to come home to. Sabrina and Donald bought their dream home a year ago and shortly after, he was shipped off. Unfortunately, while renovating, Sabrina ran out of money. She and the kids were forced to move in with her parents. To top it off, Sabrina's parents are emotionally tapped out and yearn for the day when their daughter and grandkids can move into their own home. And if that's not bad enough, even though Donald passed the LAPD exams with flying colors, he failed the eye test, can't afford to pay for the corrective surgery and his dreams of becoming an LAPD officer are completely shot. Without money in the bank and no job on the horizon, this military family doesn't stand a fighting chance of ever renovating their dream home.