What would you use, 3/8" or 1/2" standard or 1/2" Lite drywall?

[ChuckS59]

I'll be starting my first real renovation project in mobile home very soon. I plan to strip the interior walls down to the studs, removing the existing 1/4" paneling and replacing it with drywall. I don't want to simply cover the existing paneling over because I know there was some termite damage prior to my buying the home and I want to see how extensive it was. I also want to repair/support any badly damaged studs. Still one more thought was that if I had the room I could possibly add both a thin foam board between the studs and over the existing and also a plastic vapor barrier to the walls for better insulation before I close them back up. I'm not sure if that's all overkill???
For the rebuild I've gotten several opinions on what to use including 3 different types of drywall. I realize that a thicker board will give me a little more soundproofing but I'm not overly concerned about noise because the homes are spaced out fairly well, it is quiet here, and I'll still get sound through the windows anyway. The choices that I've been tossing around are 3/8", 1/2" standard or 1/2" Lite drywall. I've heard that 3/8" may not be good because it's too thin. And I've heard that the 1/2" lite drywall cracks far too easy because of the many air bubbles that are inside of it. Yet I'm concerned about the weight of standard 1/2" drywall assuming that I have 2x3 studs at best on the exterior walls. I seriously doubt that I've anything like a standard 2x4 in there, lol. I haven't torn down the paneling yet, just the trim. I didn't want to open the walls until I was ready to close them up within a reasonable amount of time so as not to lose either heat or air conditioning through them. I'm in SW Florida and this time of year you can have 30 degree swings in temperature over 12 hours very easily making both the heat and the A/C work briefly each day.
I'd like to hear everyone's opinion on both the idea of beefing up the insulation as well as drywall choices and why. The tear down will start next weekend...
Thanks in advance,
Chuck

[Greg]

I use the standard 1/2" drywall on walls and 3/8" on ceilings. Remember that weight is ALWAYS an issue in mobile homes. If excessive weight is added to outside walls (including extra weight on the roof and large doors like sliders) perimeter blocking should be added to help support the added weight. As far as insulation, I would go with basic fiberglass w/vapor barrier.
You will need to redo your door & window sills and trim to fit the new thicker walls.
Once you open up the first wall you will have a better idea of what you are up against, and that one usually takes the the longest.

Greg

[ChuckS59]

I appreciate your input Greg. I neglected to mention that I won't have to touch the ceilings, the panels are in great shape and will only need painting. I have yet to figure out exactly how I'm going to tackle the window sills as far as what material and method but the doorway is going to be easy. I'm just going to remove the jamb, sheetrock the opening and add a barn door type sliding door. I think that'll look nice as well as allow for a slightly wider opening.