Owning a skateboard means you need to know how to take care of it. If you don’t, it won’t last long and you will have to buy a new one if you are not careful enough. Furthermore, proper maintenance of the skateboard will lengthen the life of your skateboard. Without constantly checking the condition of your skateboard, it will break down sooner than you think.
However, maintenance does not only keep your skateboard from breaking down too fast, it can also improve the performance of the skateboard itself. One part of the skateboard that you should pay close attention to is the truck. You might be wondering what a truck is. No, it’s not the big vehicle that you drive when you are carrying a heavy load. The truck that we are talking about is the skateboard truck that attaches the base of the skateboard to the wheels.
There are times when the wiring that connects the two important parts of the skateboard becomes loose especially if the skateboard is overused. It’s not that you are using it too much. It’s just that it becomes loose over time. It’s a normal occurrence and you shouldn’t be alarmed. You won’t have to buy a new skateboard if it happens. But you do have to tighten it up. You might get into an accident if you don’t securely tighten the skateboard truck.
In order to prevent that from happening, here’s a step by step instruction on how to tighten, and loosen if needed, skateboard trucks.
Step 1: Flip the Skateboard with the base lying on the ground.
You won’t be able to see whether the trucks are loose from the board if the ground is in contact with the wheels. Gently flip the skateboard on its back and position is where you can comfortably hold the wheels with both hands.
Step 2: Hold both wheels with both hands to see how loose or tight the trucks are.
First, you have to check how tight or how loose the trucks are. If it is too tight, you might have to loosen it up a bit. The trucks might give in if it’s screwed too tight to the board. If it is too loose, tighten it up a little until you feel that it is tight enough. There is no perfect tightness or looseness with this because it all depends on which you will be more comfortable to ride the skateboard in.
Step 3: Depending on how tight or loose you want the trucks to be, use a tool to screw it properly.
The tool that you are going to need in order to execute the previous step should be appropriate according to the screw. A screw tool will be good enough as long as it can fit. You don’t have to put a lot of force on it because you wouldn’t want to screw it too tight. At the same time, you shouldn’t leave any room for error because if it’s too loose and you didn’t notice, whoever rides it might get into an accident.
Step 4: Test it out.
After checking whether it is not too tight and not too loose, you can flip it back and have a test run. Of course, since it is the initial test run, you shouldn’t go at your regular speed. The screws might not be placed correctly or it might still be a bit tight or loose. Take it slow and try to eyeball whether it is good enough for you or not.
Step 5: Adjust accordingly.
If the answer to the last question from the previous step is not, then you should continue adjusting it. Go back to step one and continue following the steps that you did earlier until you get the right tightness or looseness.
At the end of the day, it really is up to what you think feels right. Some like it a little loose so that they can move freely, while others tend to tighten it so that they have complete control over their balance. Whatever you prefer, all you have to do is just follow the steps that were mentioned above and you will be able to tighten or loosen skateboard trucks without much difficulty.