Fierro

Appeal by plaintiffs in a wrongful death action from a judgment in favor of defendant. We affirm.

International Harvester Company (International) builds, among other things, a vehicle known as the 1600 series Loadstar truck consisting of only an engine, cab and chassis. These skeleton vehicles are sold to commercial users who install a body or other additions according to their particular needs.

In 1969, International sold one of these units to Luer Packing Company (Luer). At the time of delivery the unit was equipped with three fuel tanks—one located under the cab and two auxiliary tanks located on either side of the unit, exterior of the cab.

Luer installed a Thermo-King refrigerator unit on the chassis, thus creating a completed refrigerator truck for the handling of meat products. It is undisputed that International had no involvement with the design, acquisition or installation of the Thermo-King unit. International simply contemplated that the unit would be modified in some fashion to make it commercially functional. The unit was not designed to, nor was it anticipated that it would be, operated in its unaltered configuration.

Some five years later, while in the…