I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn last night and I did not engineer a Prevost coach, but I think when the manufacturer of the shell says that an axle limit is XXXX, they did not just make up that number.

There is no doubt in my mind that you can overload our axles and unless the amount is extreme, the coach will handle that extra weight. But the minute an owner chooses to exceed the limits he becomes a test pilot. His problems may be as simple as shortened bearing life, or poor tire wear. Or more seriously his overloaded condition may compromise the coach's braking. There are likely a few hundred conversions going up and down the highway with a front axle overloaded so whatever bad is happening, it is not so bad there is any widespread concern.

But the minute we start looking at axle limits as nothing more than suggestions, then I see us going down a slippery slope in which temperature limits, maintenance requirements, and other limits are also tossed out the window.

If I were ever involved in an accident with a coach that had an overloaded axle, I will certainly use that to try to extract the largest amount of money I could from the owner and the converter.