Sand & Stone Bins - Interior Supports

I purchased a used Zim mixer, and as with any used piece of equipment, there are always things that need attention or updating.
One of the things that I found odd, is that on the interior of the sand and stone bins, on the sloped sides, there are metal ribs (approx 2" in height) running vertically, top to bottom, on the sloped sides. The reason I say odd, is that I have owned sander bodies of similar construction, and the sloped sides have no ribs on the inside, providing a smooth interior surface.
I toyed with the idea of sheeting the interior of the sloped sides with some type of liner, similar to what is used for dump bodies, to aid in feeding the materials to the drive chains. Obviously, with these interior ribs, this is not very feasible. I thought of eliminating these ribs, but obviously they are there for rigidity.
Was just wondering if anyone else has given much thought to this, or made any such modifications.
One of the things that I found odd, is that on the interior of the sand and stone bins, on the sloped sides, there are metal ribs (approx 2" in height) running vertically, top to bottom, on the sloped sides. The reason I say odd, is that I have owned sander bodies of similar construction, and the sloped sides have no ribs on the inside, providing a smooth interior surface.
I toyed with the idea of sheeting the interior of the sloped sides with some type of liner, similar to what is used for dump bodies, to aid in feeding the materials to the drive chains. Obviously, with these interior ribs, this is not very feasible. I thought of eliminating these ribs, but obviously they are there for rigidity.
Was just wondering if anyone else has given much thought to this, or made any such modifications.