My Mini-Lite 2304 has AL-CO axles and Ultralube hubs. So while I was checking the AL-CO Owner's Manual in preparation to grease the hubs, I came across a section specific to the "Rubber Torsion Suspension" that is becoming common to most all the "light weight" travel trailers that are being built now, including the Mini-Lites. It was interesting to read: "the AL-CO rubber torsion suspension requires no maintenance and will provide years of reliable service". The very next paragraph, however, goes on to direct the owner to check the axle mount bolts at least every 12,000 miles or 12 months and ensure the torque is at the proper values. Sounds like maintenance to me, but I suppose it can be construed as a moot point.
So, with my trusty torque wrench in hand I crawled under the trailer to "check the torque" only to find all but one of the eight bolts were loose. Not finger loose but certainly not anyway near the 110-120 ft/lbs required for the 1/2 in bolts holding the 2200 lb axles to the 2304 frame.
Now that I'm happy that the axles are all torqued and will not fall off or get out of alignment due to being loose I began to wonder about the rest of the folks that are blissfully running around not suspecting to have "loose " axles. Might be an idea to check your axle torques while you're greasing up the hubs before heading out for that first trip this season.
Happy trails to all this season.