wow, thanks for all the great info so far. i had planned on marine plywood as a back-up. i'll stick with that. what thickness is the wood? 3/4"?
also, thanks '59 for all the great tips. in fact, i have drilled out the rivets for the front belly pan, and it didn't drop. i assumed it was sealant of some kind. tell me more about these hidden rivets, and how the heck i can get to them! frustrating to say the least.
the welding the nut to the frame idea came to me when i tried to understand how these shells were attached. i assumed the belly-pan needed to go on before the body? (let me know if this is wrong). anyway, with the floor in it, as well as the belly pan, i didn't know how to attach the shell, other than to have the floor pre-drilled over the frame outriggers, and have the nut welded to the frame. then i wouldn't need access to the underside to tighten them. it could all be done from above. i'm not sure i understood where the aluminum piece would go that you mentioned?
then i looked at my trailer a little closer, and it SEEMS like when i take out all the rivets at the bottom of the shell, top of the belly pan, the channel that supports the base of the wall comes out. now this opens up another option for me. can i drop that channel, and fasten it to the sub-floor, and THEN drop the shell over the channel and rivet it back on?
good tip on removing all the interior. i just have the lower interior removed at this point. i am planning on replacing all the insulation for certain, but i left it all together thinking it would make the shell a bit stiffer when i remove it. lighter works for me, though.
speaking of lifting the shell, as i understand it, i attach my wooden braces directly to the internal ribs with screws. i had planned on supporting the footer of each side on another 2X4, but if that lower channel piece needs to come off, i guess i could lift the shell by the 2X4s. will the ribs be strong enough to support the entire weight of the shell with just wood-screws in the sides? how much should a totally stripped 15 foot shell weigh?
finally, i haven't started drilling out the wheel wells. that was on my list of stuff to do after work today.other than the 25 rivets i can see from the outside, are there others i shoudl watch out for? i'll attach a pic.
as for the cross-members, i had 2 made already, and 4 outriggers (still need to radius the ends). i think that will be enough, but something tells me when i sand-blast the frame, i'm going to find other sections of weakened metel that will need attention. always gotta plan for the worst.
thanks again for all the info! i don't know HOW i would figure all this stuff out on my own! ha!
jordan