Hi Chris:
I'm right in the middle of floor replacement on my 1955 Bubble and it's been
a real experience. There is a great deal of information in the archives, be
creative with your searches and you'll find out a lot. But I found some
surprises with my trailer that were not revealed in other's posts. Every
trailer seems to be different, and there also seems to be some variation
within a model year.
I debated between a "shell-off" and a "shell-on" replacement, and I chose
the former because it will allow me to easily update wiring and plumbing.
It also makes working on the frame a lot easier. I removed the entire
interior skin and here is where my first surprise came in. I found that the
interior end caps had been assembled outside the trailer with regular (not
"pop") rivets and then installed as a unit. This made removal of them much
easier, I didn't have to separate each one of those thirteen panels....
My biggest surprise came with the belly pan. Others have referred to
dropping the belly pan as if it is a simple matter of removing some rivets
and the pan drops off. Well, not with my trailer - the belly pan was
wrapped around the C-channel all the way around the trailer and the wrapping
continued behind the ribs so the belly pan couldn't be removed until the
outer shell was off. And it will have to go back on before I put the shell
back on.
But on the whole it's been a fairly simple operation so far. I haven't
started reassembling, but I know several other people who have done it
without problems.
Have fun!
Deborah