Imagine you’re a downhill longboarder. Cool wind in your face as you start your descent down some remote peakway in Hawaii. Beautiful day, as usual. You start to lean in for your first slide, then…you’re board starts to shake like crazy… and…BAM! You do a superman onto the pavement and get your visor all scratched up on the asphalt.
What the HELL happened?!? I’ll tell you what happened: your front truck kingpin was loose as FECK!

Sound a TOO real? Well, in full disclosure: It happened to me just like that a couple years back. I skipped my standard protocol for a downhill run and forgot to check my trucks. Which brings me to the point of the article: Proper truck maintenance.

Completing regular maintenance on all your trucks is the key for keeping your skateboard in peak shape and ready to perform. You may find that as you adapt your skating style, you may benefit by adjusting your trucks. Fortunately, any maintenance that you could possibly want to do to your truck can be completed using only one tool: the skateboard tool.

Tighten Your Kingpin

It’s a relatively simple process to tighten your kingpin. You’ll need your skateboard tool, and you’ll want to be sure to apply the same tightness to both trucks. Start by unscrewing the kingpins completely. Reinsert them, and then count your rotations as you tighten them back on until you’ve reached your desired level of tightness. Follow the same procedures for the other truck, using the same number of rotations that you used on the first one.

Replace A Broken Kingpin

The process to replace a broken kingpin is a bit more complicated, but still able to be done by a novice. Remove the trucks using the skateboard tool. Most likely, the broken kingpin will be stuck in the base of the truck. Tap on it lightly with a hammer, but avoid hitting it hard. Sometimes this is easiest to do by inserting a screwdriver into the base and tapping it with the hammer to dislodge the kingpin. Lightly hammer the replacement kingpin into place, and follow the instructions for tightening the kingpin above.

Replace The Bushings

It’s very simple to replace the bushings, which can be done in only a matter of minutes. Remove the kingpin nut and washer with the skateboard tool, then remove the entire wheel assembly. Pull off the used bushing, and slide the new one into the base plate. Reverse the process that you used to remove the hardware from your board, and you’ll be good to go.