How To Put Trucks On A Skateboard [Complete Guide]

If you’re looking to replace or install new skateboard trucks on your existing board, then you’ve come to the right place. Here is detailed guidance on how to put trucks on a skateboard.

This guide will help you replace trucks on any skateboard, whether you assembled it yourself or purchased it preassembled.

Attaching trucks to a skateboard is a very simple and easy process. Skaters who assemble a full skateboard themselves still enjoy it, and you just have to assemble the truck, which is easy to do if you have the right guide, such as this one. So be calm and get the job done effortlessly.

How To Put Trucks On A Skateboard

In case you haven’t purchased a new skateboard truck yet or are in need of a good one, check out our list of the best skateboard trucks.

So, you need to first buy the necessary hardware for assembling the trucks. There are several ways to accomplish the task, but the one we’ll show you is the easiest.

The first thing you need is two trucks, and make sure you choose a high-quality one to avoid replacing it repeatedly.

The trucks usually come with assembled kingpins and hangers, but you need to purchase the hardware separately, including nuts, bolts, washers, and bushings. You can easily find this truck mounting hardware at a skateboard shop or on Amazon. 

You can now see the six holes in the truck’s baseplate, which are divided into four smaller ones and two larger ones. Then your next step is to slide the hanger and put it in two larger holes.

Once you’ve made it to this point, ensure you’ve added washers and bushings to both ends of the hanger. After this, tighten the trucks through which the kingpin passes by using nuts and bolts.

After that, slide the kingpin into the hole on the baseplate, and make sure that the bushings and washers are near the hanger. The bushings play a vital role in the behavior of the truck when it is turning. Furthermore, adding tapered or conical cone-shaped bushings makes turning easier, whereas flat or barrel-shaped bushings make it difficult. 

Now you have to tighten the trucks using a skate tool or wrench. The tightness will determine the performance of the truck, so this step is quite challenging compared to other steps. When tightening the kingpin nuts, use a light hand and remember that a small amount of overtightening will alter your skateboard’s performance and ruin the bushings. In order to avoid such problems, you can tighten the trucks and take a test ride. Depending on your comfort and riding style requirements, you can adjust the tightness easily because there is no fixed tightness rule.

Additionally, make sure the trucks are not too loose. When riding a skateboard at high speeds, it may be dangerous since it makes the board unstable.

As of now, you have put trucks on skateboards on one side, and you can add second trucks by repeating the same steps.

Tips To Make It Perfect

1. If you have just installed grip tape, then you need to drill eight holes on each side of the deck to attach the truck. Also, don’t worry about where to make a hole; the deck already has one. You’ll have to take the exact measurements and apply them to grip tape. You don’t need to make a hole if you’re just replacing trucks on an existing skateboard since they are already there.

2. Tighten the screws on the trucks in a crisscross pattern using a skate tool or wrench to get the best result.

3. If you are a skater, you should always have a skate tool and check the trucks for tightness after every ride. It is risky to ride with loose nuts.

See Also: How to take trucks off a skateboard

Conclusion

We have finally provided you with a complete guide on how to put trucks on a skateboard. All of the steps are very easy; just concentrate on the last one, which is measuring the tightness of trucks. An adjustment bolt at the intersection of the trucks controls tightness.

Now that you’ve read and understood the above guidelines, you need to follow them, and everything will be done easily. Please let us know if you have any problems in the comment section.