Whether you’ve mounted a fresh set of trucks or are just wanting to change up the feel of your board, learning how to tighten skateboard trucks is a skill you’ll use a lot. Luckily there’s nothing complicated about doing this, and it can be done in literally a few seconds.
To tighten your skateboard trucks, follow these steps:
- Grab a skate tool or 9/16″ socket.
- Place the socket over the kingpin nut (the large nut on the middle of the truck).
- Rotate the bolt left to loosen or right to tighten.
- Repeat on the second truck.
- Stand on your skateboard to check the new truck tightness.
- Repeat as necessary until the truck tightness feels good to you.
Since it’s just one bolt that controls the tightness of your trucks, it’s super easy to adjust it. Even if you’re in the middle of a skate session you can fine-tune the tightness with the help of a skate tool.
Now although tightening your trucks is pretty easy, figuring out exactly how tight they should be is a bit of a different story. Although it’s all personal preference, let’s get into some tips to help you figure out how much you should adjust your trucks.
How To Tighten Or Loosen A Skateboard Truck
All of the tightening adjustments to your truck are done with the kingpin bolt, also known as that giant bolt in the middle of your truck. The reason this affects the tightness of your trucks is that it applies pressure on your bushings. As more pressure is applied, the entire truck has less flexibility to move from side to side. As pressure is released (loosening the truck), it then has more room to move and rotate under your weight.
Although I already mentioned how to tighten the truck, what’s important to note is that you don’t need to go crazy with this. Often times a quarter turn or a half-turn of the kingpin bolt will make a noticeable change in the tightness of your trucks.
Using a skate tool or a 9/16″ socket, try to make small adjustments at a time, then test it out to see how it feels. By standing on your board and leaning from side to side you can quickly get an idea of how comfortable it feels.
With that said, if you have tightened your trucks a lot already and still feel like it’s too wobbly, there comes a point when continuing to tighten probably isn’t a good idea. For example, if you notice the bushing look to be bulging or begin to show signs of cracking, it’s safe to say you shouldn’t continue to tighten.
Instead, you should consider getting a more stiff set of bushings for your truck to make it feel more secure without having to crank down the kingpin nut. Bushing kits are sold at local skate shops or on Amazon, typically to match the brand of truck you have; although some are universal. For the most stiffness, I would suggest a 95a durometer bushing.
How Tight Should You Tighten Skateboard Trucks?
The tightness of your skateboard trucks comes down to personal preference. Although I prefer tighter trucks, many of my friends prefer extremely loose ones. As you spend more time on your board you’ll eventually build a preference for one or the other.
With that said, there are a few pros and cons to having tight or loose trucks.
Loose Trucks Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Much easier to turn
- Better for carving
- Some tricks may feel easier, especially pivots
- Reduces strain on your bushings
Cons:
- Can feel more wobbly
- Less stable at high speeds
- More likely to get wheel bite
Tight Trucks Pros & Cons
Pros:
- More stable to ride
- Less likely to get wheel bite
- Landing tricks takes less balance
- Much more stable at high speeds
Cons:
- Harder to turn
- Can wear out bushings fasters
So How Tight Should Skateboard Trucks Be For Beginners?
For a beginner skater, tighter trucks are always the way to go. Especially as you’re just learning to push and balance, tighter trucks will make things a lot easier. By offering that added stability, it will build your confidence a lot faster than skating really loose trucks that you can barely balance on.
Although the bushings in most trucks are adequate from the start, changing out the bushings for something that’s stiffer can help as you’re learning to ride. With that said, before you go running to buy a new set of bushings, try your best to get used to the trucks you have after you’ve tightened them up.
I remember when I started that my board felt way too wobbly, but after a bunch of time riding that same board, I ended up getting used to it and even thinking they were too tight.
So that’s why I recommended tightening your trucks to a point that feels stable enough, then spending time on your board to get used to the side-to-side movement.
No matter how tight you make your trucks, your board will still have some side-to-side movement but it will feel less significant over time.
How To Tighten Your Trucks Evenly
Now obviously there are two trucks to tighten, so trying to make sure both trucks are tightened evenly might stress you out. I remember worrying about if they were exactly the same in fear that it would throw off my skating otherwise.
In reality, your trucks probably won’t be identical in tightness and that’s okay. What matters is that they are somewhat close which is pretty easy to do.
To keep both of your trucks around the same level of tightness, just remember how much you tightened one truck and do the same to the other. For example, if you loosened your first truck by 1 and a quarter turns, turn the second kingpin nut by the same amount.
Once you stand on your board to test it out, both trucks should feel like they are taking equal weight when you lean side to side.
If one truck is super tight and the other is loose, it feels like one truck is almost lagging when you lean. That’s because there’s a lot more force required to move the tighter truck than the loose one, which becomes noticeable when you test them out.
In that case, simply adjust the side of your board that feels off until both trucks seem to be evenly tight. At the end of the day, it’s all about feeling it out and there’s no exact rule. If your trucks don’t match in tightness exactly, it really isn’t the end of the world.
What Tools Can You Use To Tighten Skateboard Trucks?
To tighten your trucks there are three different tools you can use.
1. A Skate Tool
Skate tools are the best way to tighten your trucks since they’re easy to fit in your pocket or leave in your backpack when you go to the skatepark. On a skate tool, you have three different sized sockets for your trucks, axles, and hardware, along with a Phillips head and Allen key.
Since they have literally everything you need to adjust your skateboard, they’re the most streamlined tool for the job. I talk about the advantages of using skate tools in another post.
2. A 9/16″ Socket
The next best option is to use a 9/16″ socket since it does literally the exact same thing as a skate tool, and you probably already own one. Although less compact to carry around during a skate session, it will get the job done if needed.
3. A 9/16″ Crescent Wrench
The final option to tighten your trucks is with a 9/16″ crescent wrench. Although it works, it’s the least effective of the three options simply because you can’t rotate as far without becoming restricted by the hanger of the truck. Rather than continuing to adjust with a skate tool or socket, you’ll have to reposition the wrench a few times as you adjust the stiffness. This certainly isn’t a big deal, so if you have the option, definitely choose a socket.
Once your trucks are tightened, it’s time to get back to riding and get a feel for the new stiffness. Assuming you’re skating on metal trucks and not plastic Walmart brand ones, they will hold their tightness without you needing to adjust them.
Happy Shredding!
– Brendan 🙂
