Marathon is unlikely to be alone in the pressure to go over the top in what is offered on a coach, and then having to support it. I think lithium ion batteries are a perfect example of how to tip a line of dominos.

As buyers have asked for more and more in a coach the weights have risen. My first coach which had all the features available when it was built weighed 41,000. Ten years later my current coach had grown 5 feet and weighed 46,600. At roughly 1000 pounds per foot the two similarly equipped coaches were at weights that were well within the range for the vintage.

As coaches got slides, wider use of heavy materials such as granite, and more and larger components such as a 20KW generator instead of the 12.5KW on my first coach, weights started climbing rapidly. Prevost responded by building coaches with greated gross and axle weights. The current steer axle rating on the X3-45 is now 19,000. Tires have gone from 12.00 to 315 to 365. Some have 385 tires. Now converters are forced to look at weight reduction in addition to all the technology the buyers want. I think Liberty has gone to multiplex wiring which if similar to what Prevost has done will eliminate many pounds of wiring and related components. The point being that for buyers to get the quality of materials, the many features, multiple slides, no stone is being unturned in efforts to keep the weights below the limits and lithium ion batteries are just one of the expensive ways to accomplish that. We cannot have power windows, power awnings, power shades, power TV lifts, 4 or 5 TVs, double door house sized refrigerators, entertainment centers, joey beds, apartment sized washers and dryers, etc. without being able to accomodate or offset the extra weight.

As buyers I don't think we realize the risk our converters are taking to provide the weight saving technologies. These technologies have to offer more value than what they replace. If owners of the new technologies start having troubles this small bus community we are in will know it in a nanosecond and it puts future sales in an already distressed market at risk. Add to that complex problem the expectations of owners to get unparalleled support from the converter. We have had that high level of support for years and as the coaches have gotten more complex that support becomes even more important, but it doesn't put a penny in the pocket of the converter. Talk about converters being between a rock and a hard place.

I see some rough roads ahead.