How to loosen skateboard trucks
- Ed Riley
- November 29, 2022
Have you been facing problems while gliding on the sandy skatepark on your skateboard??
Cruising through the cement pavement or bumping against your favorite ramp, the ride doesn’t feel smooth & comfortable enough?
The reason is the tight trucks & it might be time to loosen your skateboard trucks a bit!
Why Should We Loosen Skateboard Trucks
Skating is all fun and exciting. From kids to youngsters to young adults – the game doesn’t discriminate when it comes to bestowing one with a crazy good time. Loosening your trucks will make your rides more comfortable, resulting in a safe & smoother ride. Besides, you can have quick curves and an incredible ride downhill if you have loosened your board trucks.Stay tuned & glide through our article to know more about what to do & what not to do to loosen your skateboard trucks, step by step!
6 Steps On How To Loosen Skateboard Trucks
Here’s the task in 6 easy steps. Notice that, we have added sneaky tips too for you!
Step 1: Arranging the Essentials
If you have ever tighten skateboard trucks, you would know loosening them is just the opposite. Loosening the skateboard/longboard trucks is very easy if you are following the guide attentively. You might need to read, do and recheck on the first few times but we hope you will be a pro at this as you DIY your way into the skating world. Here’s what you might need:
- A Skate tool
- Your skateboard or longboard (obviously)
- A flat surface ( a table, counter, or floor)
- A wrench (optional)
Step 2: Get To Know Your Skateboard
We are going to use a skate tool to loosen the skateboard trucks. You can use the same tool to tighten skateboard trucks too. It is a small tool that is provided with the plaything when you purchase it.Trucks are the metal axles under your skateboard deck in the front and back both. It holds the two pairs of wheels in place with bushings in the middle joint. While you twist and turn the axle nut, you are tightening or loosening the bushings mainly.
Tips: you may also use an adjustable wrench or a socket wrench for the job. Oftentimes, the 14mm wrench suits a truck bolts. You may also use the giant pliers which just fit the skateboard bushings & nuts.
Step 3: Laying Your Board Correctly
Get your skateboard laid upside down on a clean, flat surface. You may use the floor, or you may use a countertop according to your comfort of working, turn your board over and follow step 3!
Tips: using an extra sheet under your skateboard deck, if you are using the floor of your pavement, will save you any scar on the ramp of the board. Less friction, fewer scratches!
Step 4: Begin the Work
In this step, you place the skate tool right inside the big nut that is in the middle of the axle of the truck. It’s called the kingpin. Twist the tool anti-clockwise. This will simply loosen the truck. Now twist it as much lose you want it to be.
Tips: don’t loosen the truck too much or you will sway away while riding on it and shake off the board. You might also not get a good grip.
Step 5: Loosen the Second Truck too
Now rotate the board once so that the second is facing you. Simply follow step 4 again to loosen the second truck on your skateboard.
Tips: don’t forget to match the two loosenesses otherwise you will lack balance. Weigh and check if they are equally loose.
Step 6: Try Your Skateboard
Time to take a quick carve and check if you like your work. Just step on the board and make a few glides as if you are test driving it. Retouch steps 4 & 5 if something feels wrong!
Tips: you can also check the truck tightness by tilting it with your foot. If it feels hard to tilt, consider it tight. If it tilts too much then it is too loose.
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
How to loosen Skateboard Trucks Without A Skate Tool?
You can loosen your board truck by using a wrench or a pair of pliers from your toolbox at home. You can use an adjustable wrench but the 14mm wrench suits the truck mostly.
- Hold the axle but with the 14mm wrench and twist the wrench anti-clockwise.
- To lessen looseness, twist it clockwise.
Again, a giant plier can loosen the nuts and bushings on a truck just as a skate tool.
Should I loosen my skateboard trucks?
Whether you want loose trucks or tighter ones, on your board wheels, is completely a personal choice. A board with tighter trucks is suitable for beginners as it provides a good grip. On the other hand, loosening the truck gives you the ease of using the board to do tricks and drifts and also increases flow. The choice is always yours!
Why won't my skateboard truck loosen?
It may be that you have harder bushings or your axle nuts are too tightened the last time you did and now they are jammed. Drop a few points of oil in your area and wait for it to soak up. Try again.If you still fail, you should get it checked at a skates shop.
Can you loosen skateboard trucks with pliers?
As I said before, you can always use a pair of pliers to get the job done. Hold the nuts and bushings with the plier and twist anti-clockwise to loosen the grip on the truck axle.
How loose skateboard trucks should be?
This question can never be answered as it completely depends on the person who rides the board regularly. If the user thinks he can handle a bit of smoothness and control the board from any kind of imbalance, then loosening it will give him smoother rides and ease at trying new tricks.
In the end…..
Tightening skateboard trucks is a very easy job so it can be done without any professional help. As you read the article here, I hope you have learned the trick!You will be able to loosen your skateboard trucks without anyone’s help. Carry your skate tool with you in the first few rides and make necessary adjustments here & there. Gradually, you will learn how to handle the toy to your amusement. Happy Skating!
Ed Riley
Hey there! I am Ed. Skating is my way to find solace in an uncertain world.Skating is more than just a hobby or sport to me, it's everything that I am and want to be
I hope to share my knowledge and experiences with you all, in order to help others find the same joy that skating has given me.
