Mobile homes don't appreciate and are not RE asset.

Houses are capital projects (long-term assets) and should be evaluated short-term but with an emphasis on long-term.  

This is my first rental and it use to be my home, I am trying to rememeber that this is a business and to not have emotional connection to it, but it still is my asset and i don't want to see it go down the drain.

buy quality assets look for capital preservation over return..  

Obtaining a $40k loan will have P&S in spades.

I can probably put down up to $20k, but I like having a little more liquid assets in the bank since almost every time I've received orders to move, I've had less than a month's notice and there are quite a bit of expenses in moving...However, since I'm "guaranteed" to be in NY for two years, I think I can afford to keep less money in my checking/savings accounts and put down a large down payment. 

It cash flows well and is a great asset, although that was 2010 so deals were abundant back then! 

In poking around initially here there seemed to be an outstanding question of the asset being owned by an LLC being an issue? 

I think @Lane Kawaoka may have missed the posts where your original intent was to buy a fixed asset and later convert it to a primary residence. 

I personally believe the Series LLC coupled with trust funds can provide a great level of anonymity and asset protection.