Patent ID: 7100256

Claim:
A method for converting a dump truck body into an improved truck body, said dump truck body being configured for hauling a payload and having a canopy, a floor, two floor rail assemblies, two sidewalls, two sidewall top assemblies, and a front wall, said dump trunk body being supportable by a chassis having a front axle and a rear axle, said method comprising: removing the canopy; extending the floor and floor rail assemblies to the rear by adding a fabricated floor extension component; increasing the height of the sidewalls and the front wall by adding two fabricated sidewall attachment components and a fabricated front wall attachment component; reattaching the canopy to the top of the fabricated sidewall attachment components and the top of the front wall attachment component; and tying the fabricated sidewall attachment components into the rear of the fabricated floor extension component by adding a fabricated component; wherein a material dam is incorporated into the canopy forward of the front wall to form a shelf that is configured to retain the payload and facilitate balancing the payload when it is loaded into the improved truck body, so that about one-third of the weight of the payload is distributed over the front axle and about two-thirds of the weight of the payload is distributed over the rear axle.