Patent ID: 7296846

Claim:
A method of constructing a wall for a bulk commodity carrying truck or trailer, said method comprising: providing a plurality of extruded aluminum hollow wall panels wherein each hollow wall panel comprises an inside wall and an outside wall connected to each other by a first end wall and a second end wall; abutting each of said plurality of hollow wall panels with at least another one of said plurality of hollow wall panels so that said plurality of abutted hollow wall panels define a wall section, said wall section comprising: (i) an inner surface defined by the inside walls of the abutted hollow wall panels; (ii) an outer surface defined by the outside walls of the abutted hollow wall panels; (iii) a plurality of seams defined respectively where each of said hollow wall panels is abutted with an adjacent one of said hollow wall panels; and, (iv) bottom and top edges, wherein said seams each extend between said bottom and top edges of said wall section; providing a bottom rail comprising a wall engaging region far abutting said bottom edge of said wall section; connecting said bottom rail to said bottom edge of said wall section by abutting said bottom edge of said wall section with said wall engaging region of said bottom rail and welding said bottom edge of wall section to said bottom rail; providing a top rail; connecting said top rail to said top edge of the wall section so that said top rail and said bottom rail are spaced-apart from each other and so that each of said hollow wall panels and each of said seams extends between said bottom and top rails; arranging said wall section vertically as a side wall of the bulk commodity carrying truck or trailer with said top rail vertically spaced above said bottom rail, and with each of said hollow wall panels and each of said seams extending vertically between said bottom and top rails.