Caravan and trailer chassis (AL-KO) maintenance schedule

Covers: AL-KO caravan and trailer chassis and axles (UK handbook), plus the rear axle on AL-KO AMC motorhome chassis (2024 handbook). Last checked: 3 November 2026.

AL-KO is a chassis and axle maker, and its handbook for caravan and trailer chassis asks for two checks every 10,000 km or 12 months. Look at the brake linings through the inspection hole, and on axles with taper roller bearings, check the hub grease. Those axles also get their hub bearing play checked after the first 1,500 km or 6 months. Newer Euro axles have sealed-for-life bearings, so the grease and bearing checks do not apply to them. On AL-KO's motorhome (AMC) chassis, the rear axle is greased every 20,000 km, or at least every 12 months.

Always check your owner's manual. This page sums up the manufacturer's published schedule in our own words. Your vehicle's year, engine, country and the way you drive can all change the intervals.

Service intervals

Service	Distance (km)	Time
Wheel bolts: re-check the torque after any wheel has been refittedAL-KO gives 110 Nm for alloy wheels and 88 Nm for steel wheels, for M12 bolts, using a calibrated torque wrench. It says never to lubricate wheel bolts.	After 50 km	Not stated
Hub bearing: check the play and adjust if neededStandard axles with taper roller bearings only. Euro-Plus, Euro-Compact and Euro-Delta axles have sealed-for-life bearings that need no adjustment.	After 1,500 km	After 6 months
Hub bearing: check the amount and condition of the grease, and renew it if neededStandard axles with taper roller bearings only. AL-KO does not say how often to repeat it. For a boat trailer driven into fresh or salt water, AL-KO says to regrease the hub bearing soon after, unless the hubs are waterproof.	After 10,000 km	After 12 months
Wheel brake linings: check the wear through the inspection hole, and adjust if neededAL-KO says hilly routes or high mileage may need an earlier check. It gives no figure for that.	Every 10,000 km	Every 12 months
Chassis and components: wash off with a pressure washerEspecially after winter use. AL-KO says to wash road salt off straight away, because salt keeps the galvanised surface wet.	Not stated	Every year
AKS 3004 stabiliser: friction padsAL-KO says the pads last about this long if they are kept free of grease and dirt. Pads that get contaminated should be replaced, not cleaned. It also asks you to clean the towball regularly.	About 30,000 miles of service life≈ 48,000 km	Not stated
Coupling head (AK7, AK10/2, AK252): clean the towball, and lightly grease or oil the ball socket, joints and bearing points	Not stated	Not stated
AL-KO AMC motorhome chassis: grease the rear axleOnly for axles with grease nipples. AL-KO says axles with its air suspension, or marked "CA" on the type plate, are maintenance-free. Grease with the rear axle unloaded. AL-KO asks you to record the work in the vehicle manual for warranty claims.	Every 20,000 km	At least every 12 months

Whichever comes first, distance or time. Metric figures are rounded conversions, not the manufacturer's own.

Heavy use and tough conditions

Hills, high mileage and water

AL-KO says continuous travel in hilly regions, or high mileage, may call for earlier brake lining checks and adjustment. It does not say how much earlier. For boat trailers, it asks for a hub regrease soon after the hubs go into fresh or salt water.

Who should do the work

AL-KO says repairs to its AMC chassis and axles should only be done by qualified workshops. For its stabiliser, it says maintenance should be done by AL-KO approved workshops. It also says damaged chassis members must be replaced, not straightened or welded.

Regional differences

The UK handbook counts in kilometres, with the stabiliser pad life in miles. AL-KO writes "10,000 km or 12 months" and does not say which one counts first, so it is safest to act on whichever you reach first. The motorhome figures come from AL-KO's 2024 handbook for the AMC chassis on the Fiat base vehicle, and the base vehicle's own service schedule still applies on top.

This page covers AL-KO parts only. It does not cover other makers' axles and brakes (Dexter, BPW, Knott and others), which have their own intervals. It also leaves out tyres, gas, water and electrics, damp checks, and the engine service on a motorhome, plus your caravan or trailer maker's own service book. The UK handbook file we used shows a 2012 date in its properties, so check AL-KO for a newer edition.

How to track this in Loggy

Loggy is a free maintenance logbook app for iOS and Android. Add your caravan or trailer and log the odometer reading at each check, with the receipt from the workshop. If you tow with several vehicles, give the trailer its own record. Loggy's reminders work by date for now, so set a yearly date reminder for the brake and bearing checks and use your log to see the distance since the last one.

Log each service with its date, reading, cost, receipt and photos.
Set a reminder for the next service. Loggy reminders go off on a date, not at an odometer reading, so pick the date from how much you usually drive.
Add your old paper records so the whole history is in one place.
Export the history as a PDF or transfer it to the next owner when you sell.

The free plan has unlimited vehicles, reminders, PDF export and vehicle transfer, and no ads.

Frequently asked questions

How often should a caravan chassis be serviced?

AL-KO's handbook asks for the wheel brake linings to be checked every 10,000 km or 12 months. On axles with taper roller bearings it also asks for a hub grease check at 10,000 km or 12 months. Your caravan maker may set its own service schedule as well.

When do caravan wheel bolts need re-tightening?

AL-KO says to re-check the torque after 50 km once a wheel has been refitted. It gives 110 Nm for alloy wheels and 88 Nm for steel wheels with M12 bolts, and says not to lubricate the bolts.

Do caravan wheel bearings need greasing?

It depends on the axle. AL-KO's Euro-Plus, Euro-Compact and Euro-Delta axles have sealed-for-life bearings and need no adjustment. Standard axles with taper roller bearings need the play checked after 1,500 km or 6 months and the grease checked after 10,000 km or 12 months.

How often should a motorhome rear axle be greased?

For AL-KO's AMC chassis, the handbook says every 20,000 km, or at least every 12 months. Axles with AL-KO air suspension, or marked "CA", are maintenance-free and have no grease nipples.

Does this page cover every caravan or trailer?

No. It covers AL-KO chassis and axles. Other axle makers publish their own schedules, and your caravan or trailer maker may add its own checks.

Other maintenance schedules

Sources

AL-KO, Handbook for vehicles on the AL-KO caravan chassis (UK handbook, 47 pages; copy hosted on retrailer.ru) (AL-KO caravan and trailer chassis and axles)
AL-KO, Vehicle manual for vehicles on AL-KO chassis, AMC (2-/3-axle), Fiat, 2024 (AMC motorhome chassis rear axle)