Stripping a Viking roof

[CJH]

Looking for tips from anyone who's stripped a Viking roof, perhaps to change the canvas.

It looks like the lower edge is fastened to the metal roof using small rivets every few inches through a plastic strip. The top seems to be screwed through a frame into battens held captive in the fibreglass. What else will I have to disconnect in order to strip out the canvas and the beds? Any 'gotchas'?

Thanks
Chris

[CJH]

I got the roof stripped out today, and removed the canvas, in preparation for some welding in the roof and a bit of a general 'upstairs refurb'. No real 'gotchas' - one issue was how to hold the roof up after all four gas struts were removed. I made a pole long enough to fit between the pull-down bracket in the centre of the fibreglass roof and the table bracket in the floor. The roof wasn't as heavy as I'd thought (I could never tell with the gas struts in place).

I've decided the woodwork upstairs needs to be replaced completely. The bed base pieces in mine are 5/8" white-faced chip board - no idea if they're original. All the edges are a little swollen, probably from condensation, there are various cracks, and the wider (rear) bed base has a noticeable sag.

So what would people recommend for replacement wood? I'm thinking of waterproof MDF - what thickness would give the same strength as 5/8" chipboard? I'm reluctant to use the same thickness of MDF, as I'm assuming the greater density will make the whole thing a lot heavier. Would marine ply be stronger? It would be good to 'add lightness' (even if I can't 'simplify').