So you’ve got a new setup and you’re ready to mount your trucks on your skateboard deck. Although the process is pretty straightforward, there are a few things you’ll want to do to ensure everything is installed correctly.
To put trucks on a skateboard, first, take the hardware bolts and place them through the pre-drilled holes on the deck. Now align the holes of the truck’s baseplate to the bolts in your deck to place the truck. Lastly, thread the nuts onto the bolts to secure the truck, tightening with a 3/8” socket.
Trucks are mounted onto every skateboard the same, using four screws and four bolts, also known as hardware. As for the orientation of the trucks, the kingpin should be faced inwards so both kingpins face each other.
If you’re still feeling a bit lost and want some more clarity, let’s get into these steps more in-depth.
Steps To Mount Trucks On A Skateboard
Before you can mount your trucks, you’re going to need a few things for all of this to work. Below is a quick list of components and tools needed:
- 2 Trucks, sized appropiately for your deck
- A Skate Tool
- A Pack Of Skate Hardware
A skate tool will make this process a lot easier, however, you can also use a few sockets and screwdrivers if you’d rather. To replace a skate tool, you’ll instead need a 3/8″ socket, a Phillips head screwdriver, and a 1/2″ socket.
For the size of your trucks, this will depend on the deck width you’re mounting them to. Ideally, the trucks are as wide as the deck, so the axles align to the outer edges of your board. Having too small or too wide of trucks will definitely change how well they perform, so sizing is important. I’ll break down some size recommendations later in this post.
For now, let’s mount some trucks!
Step 1: Place Bolts Through Pre-Drilled Holes In The Deck
Putting trucks on a skateboard is a lot easier when the bolts are already there to help align everything. These bolts come included in a pack of hardware that you can find at any local skate shop, or here on Amazon for a few bucks.
When placing the bolts, make sure the head of the bolt sits on the grip tape side of your deck. This way the nuts you use later will be beneath your board and leave the surface of your deck unobstructed.
If you have a fresh deck, the pre-drilled holes will be covered up with new grip tape. To fix this, take the tip of a knife and poke a small hole in the grip tape in line with each of the pre-dilled holes (there will be 8 total). With a small cut made, take the bolts and press them through the holes with your fingers.
This might take a bit of force but it will get the bolts through your grip tape without accidentally tearing it around the bolt holes.
At this point, you should have 4 bolts sticking through your board like this:
Step 2: Place Trucks Onto The Bolts With The Kingpin Facing Inwards
Taking your first truck, align the holes in the baseplate with the bolts in your deck. Make sure that the kingpin, aka the large nut in the middle of the truck, is faced inwards. If the kingpin is facing towards the nose or tail, you have it mounted the wrong way.
Step 3: Finger Tighten The Nuts To Hold The Truck
With the trucks in position, take the nuts from the hardware pack and thread them onto the bolts with your fingers. If you are using an old set of hardware, the first few threads may be a bit harder to tighten if the bolt is damaged. However, a new set of hardware will thread smooth as butter.
Now you will have one nut on all four bolts that are securing your truck. Since it’s easy for bolts to slide out while you’re tightening everything properly with a skate tool, I recommend finger tightening everything to make life a little easier before this next step.
Step 4: Secure The Nuts With A Skate Tool Or 3/8″ Socket
Using the smallest socket on your skate tool, place it over the nut and begin to tighten the bolt. As the nut becomes tighter, the bolt can rotate making it impossible to tighten. To fix this, take the Phillips head from your skate tool (or use a regular screwdriver) and place it in the head of the bolt. Holding the bolt still, you can continue to tighten the nut until you can no longer tighten it without excessive force.
Now repeat this same process for all of the bolts and nuts to secure your truck to the deck.
Step 5: Check Your Trucks Don’t Wiggle
After you feel that the bolts are nice and tight, grab your truck and give it a wiggle from side to side. If everything is mounted properly, there should be zero play in the truck. It should feel like your deck and trucks are one!
Then do a quick check of the bolts on the grip-tape side of your deck. Make sure the bolts are flush, or even slightly inset from the surface of your grip tape. If you notice them sticking out slightly, that means you should further tighten them, or one of the threads may be stuck against something.
A well-mounted truck will have flush bolts and feel extremely secure no matter how hard you try to move it.
Step 6: Repeat With Your Second Truck
Now that your first truck is mounted, repeat the same steps with your second truck. It doesn’t matter if you mount the front or back truck first since both trucks are exactly the same. Just make sure it’s secure when you try to wiggle it!
After your second truck is complete, you’re all done and it’s time to mount your wheels if they aren’t already. Mounting wheels is pretty straightforward, simply slide them onto an axle and tighten down the axle nut with a skate tool or a 1/2″ socket. In my case I am reusing a set of trucks, so I left my wheels mounted for the changeover. Life’s just easier that way!
Can You Put Any Trucks On A Skateboard?
Although skateboard trucks are largely the same, the one difference is the size. So really, you shouldn’t put just any set of trucks on your board.
The size of the truck indicates how wide it is from one tip of the axle to the other. Since trucks should be about equal to the width of your board, you will need to make sure you buy the right size of trucks for the deck width you skate.
Here is a chart to help you figure out if you have the right size of trucks for your skateboard:
| Truck Axle Width In Inches | Recommended Deck Width (IN) |
|---|---|
| 7.4″ | 7.25″ – 7.625″ |
| 7.6″ | 7.4″ – 7.875″ |
| 7.75″ / 7.8″ | 7.6″ – 8.0″ |
| 8.0″ | 7.75″ – 8.25″ |
| 8.125″ | 7.875″ – 8.375″ |
| 8.25″ | 8.0″ – 8.5″ |
| 8.4″ / 8.5″ | 8.25″ – 8.75″ |
| 8.75″ | 8.5″ – 9.25″ |
| 8.9″ / 9.0″ | 8.75″ – 10.0″ |
| 9.25″ | 9.0″ – 9.75″ |
| 9.5″ | 9.25″ – 10.0″ |
| 10.0″ | 9.75″ + |
| 10.5″ | 10.0″ + |
With truck sizes, there is a lot of overlap between deck sizes. The exact width of your truck comes down to personal preference, but ideally, you want a truck in the range of 0.25″ smaller or bigger than the deck you’re skating.
If you go for a truck that’s too small, you end up sacrificing stability and can feel more wobbly while you skate. However, if you have a truck that’s too big, you lose out on the turning radius making it harder to steer your board.
So by having a truck size that is suitable for your deck, you’ll have a much better experience overall.
How Tight Should Your Trucks Be?
When it came to mounting the bolts to your deck, you want those suckers to be as tight as possible. However, that’s definitely not the case when it comes to adjusting the tightness of your trucks kingpin nut.
By adjusting the tightness of your kingpin nut, you can make your trucks feel more “loose” or “stiff”. What this translates to in actual riding is how easily your board can turn from side to side.
With looser trucks, you gain the ability to turn much easier, but you sacrifice stability at high speeds and make wheel bite a lot more likely.
On the flip side, tight trucks make it a bit harder to turn by leaning side to side. However, your board will feel a lot more stable to ride, which is super helpful if you’re just learning.
To figure out what truck tightness is right for you, you’ll need to do some experimenting. Placing your board on a flat surface so it doesn’t roll anywhere, stand on the board and lean side to side to change the angle of your board. If your trucks are too loose, you’ll immediately feel off-balance or like your skateboard is too wobbly. In that case, you should tighten your trucks to something more comfortable.
Now if your trucks are too tight, you’ll likely feel limited by how much the board angles when you lean from side to side. In that case, loosening is likely a better option.
To adjust the tightness of your trucks, take your skate tool (or a 9/16″ socket), and tighten/loosen the kingpin nut. Rather than going crazy and loosening or tightening by a few rotations, just do a quarter or half turn and try standing on your board again. These small changes make a massive difference in the tightness of your trucks, so be sparing with it until you find the sweet spot for your skating.
So now that you’ve got your trucks mounted on your skateboard, it’s time to get out there and ride your new setup!
Happy Shredding!
– Brendan 🙂
