What Skateboard Truck Size Should You Get? In-Dept Guide

Picking the right size skateboard truck is pretty easy. Just make sure they fit your deck or you could get some issues with responsiveness and balance. The hight of skateboard trucks is a personal preference, low, medium, or high trucks it’s really up to you.

The width of your truck should match the width of your skateboard deck. This data table shows exactly what size you need.

Deck size	Axle width	Hangar width
7.75 inch to 8.0 inch	7.75 inch / 197 mm	5.0 inch / 129 mm
8 inch to 8.5 inch	8.0 inch / 203 mm	5.25 inch / 139 mm
8.5 inch to 9.0 inch	8.5 inch / 216 mm	5.75 inch / 149 mm
9.0 inch to 10.0 inch	9.0 inch / 229 mm	6.5 inch / 169 mm
10 inch or more	10.0 inch / 254 mm	8.5 inch / 215 mm

Picking the Right Truck Width

Make sure the trucks you pick are the right size for your deck. The axles shouldn’t stick out and your deck shouldn’t be wider than your trucks. Now, it doesn’t really matter if they don’t match your deck perfectly. Some people actually like trucks that don’t match their board size.

A couple of pros skate narrow trucks that don’t fit their board because it improves flip speed. Others like wider trucks because it provides a more stable ride. In general, just makes sure the axle width matches your deck’s width.

Wide vs Narrow Trucks

Wider trucks provide more stability because you cover a larger surface. They are less responsive than narrow trucks resulting in a larger turning radius compared to narrow trucks. Narrow trucks weigh less, are smaller, and have a lower moment of inertia. Because of this, it makes it kickflips a little bit easier. The thing is if you master flips, you’ll probably don’t have any problems on a wider board.

In general, you want trucks to be proportional to your deck’s width. You should also take your wheel size into consideration. When you ride a wider board, let’s say 8.5 and above, you might consider bigger wheels.  That also means you’ll be needing a higher truck.

What Happens When Your Trucks Are Too Wide

The truth is that it isn’t a huge problem. Only when you advance to the more technical tricks they might get in the way. Aesthetically it bothers me, it just looks weird but that’s not really an argument. It also doesn’t really cause stability issues.

So what’s the problem then? Less comfort when riding and you also might have to push a bit wider because your feet could touch the wheels. Even more so when you also have large wheels. Your axle and axle nut will wear down faster because there’s a bigger chance of them hitting the ground when you flip your board for example.

When you are at a level that you can do some advanced slide tricks on the edge of your wheels, it really becomes a problem. There’s also less clearance, meaning less distance between your wheels and deck (wheel bite).

Some claim that they grind better with wider trucks and feel like they steer better.

What Happens When Your Trucks Are Too Narrow

When you’re trucks don’t match your board and aren’t wide enough you’ll get the carpet riding effect. You won’t be able to see your wheels, just your deck. Just a tad too small doesn’t really matter but at a certain point, you’ll run into trouble.

If you’re unsure if your trucks are too small, lay your skateboard on the side and see if it stands up straight. A few degrees to the left or right is fine, but when it’s in an almost diagonal angle you should either get a new deck or buy new trucks.

Hanger Width and Axles

What matters most is the total width of your truck so pay attention to the axle width. The axle is where you put your wheels and bearings. The hanger is like the core of your truck. It has the axle attached to it and your bushings. It allows for steering as it rotates in the pivot cup.

Axle width	Truck width
6.0″ to 7.25″	6.5″ to 7.25″
7.5″	7.25 to 7.5″
7.75″	7.5” to 8.0″
8.5″	8.5” to 9.o″
9.0″	9.0” to 10.0”
10.0″	10.o” and above

Difference Between High and Low Trucks

In general low trucks offer more stability, while this is heavily debated there are a few situations in which they perform better. Take circle rails, for example. 1 cm can actually make a difference. It can increase the angle and distance when it makes contact to the rail. High trucks tend to move more to the side of a rail and have less resistance. This is because the fulcrum between the rail and your foot is longer.

In theory, this would mean lower trucks provide more stability on circle rails. There’s more resistance between the rail and your truck so it’s less likely your trucks will slip and cause you to fall. Like always it comes down to your skill level, if you’re not ready to grind a rail you’ll fall just as much with high trucks.

To take it a step further, it’s not only the height of your trucks that matter. Hard or soft bushings or how much pressure you apply, affect stability. So in the case of rails, you might be better off using low trucks. Lastly, low trucks allow you to put more pressure without slipping compared to high trucks.

That’s nice to know, but it may not even apply to you. So what about high trucks?

High Trucks

High trucks are great for carving and allow you to skate loose. They allow you to ollie higher because there’s more distance between your tail and the ground. This also come down to skill so not everyone will notice a difference. Because of the height, you’ll have more room to pivot. High trucks are great for bowls, ramps, transition, and cruising.

Pros of high trucks:

• More room to pivot and tighter turning radius.
• More pop, your angle is bigger. While not everyone agrees on this there’s more distance between your tail and the ground providing more pop. You can snap the tail harder when you want to ollie from for example a tailslide.
• Great for transition skateboarding and tall people.
• You can skate looser trucks because of more clearance.
• Less wheel bite and they allow for bigger wheels.

Cons of high trucks:

• Less stability when griding, more so on circle rails.
• Heavier, but it doesn’t really matter.

Medium (Mid) Height Trucks

Medium height skateboard trucks are great for all-around skateboarding. Suitable for skate street, parks or bowl/ramps but don’t excel in any. You can slap averagely sized wheels on them around 53 millimeters and 56 millimeters, some like them smaller others bigger. Some brands sell their trucks as mid-sized while they are just as tall as a competitor’s high trucks, that kinda sucks.

Low Trucks

While I’ve already explained the benefits of low trucks there are some other benefits besides stability when grinding rails. Let’s look at the pros and cons of low trucks. This is all just theory, it makes sense but not everybody will agree. Most of the differences are hardly noticeable. Maybe when you go for trucks that weigh 50 grams less you might feel a difference. Wheel size should be around 53 mm depending on the brand.

Pros of low trucks:

• Provide more stability when grinding rails. You’re a bit closer to the ground but it’s just a couple of millimeters.
• Makes your board flip faster provided you also have small wheels. A narrow board also makes a difference.
• Less weight, but do a couple of grams really matter?
• Lower center of gravity, quicker pop, and more responsive.

Cons of low trucks:

• Increased chance of wheel bite when you ride larger wheels.
• The kingpin could stick out a bit meaning you could come in contact with the surface you grind or slide. Less clearance can be solved by scraping a bit off the bolt.
• Less turning radius, this is only a problem when you carve a lot.

So Which Trucks Are the Best?

When you browse the web you’ll see lots of discussions going on about which brand has the best trucks. People defend their brand and claim it’s just the best. I always wondered why that is.

As I dug a little deeper than average I think it’s just because of the different measurements brands use and what you’re used to. Let’s say for example you skated Thunders all your life and switched to Ventures recently. You buy a couple of mid trucks just like you’re used to but they somehow feel different. This could be because one brand claims their trucks are lows while compared to another brand the are mediums or even high.

So when you get used to a certain truck and switch brands it might feel different. People are just used to what they skate and any change can mean a big difference. Not all people though, some don’t even feel a difference. I don’t really favor one brand, I like Thunder, Venture, and Independent for different reasons. Some trucks are of higher quality than others, check out the best skateboard trucks we tested. It doesn’t even have to be expensive depending on what you need.

Independent VS Thunder VS Venture

Let’s take a look at the most popular brands and how they compare to each other. While most will vouch for their favorite brand, I sort of like them all.

Thunder trucks turn the quickest and indies turn the slowest. Thunders are great for grinding but tend to wear down faster than indies. This has probably to do with the fact that they grind so well. Indies last longer and weight more, though the hollows changed this a bit.

Venture trucks are great for stability, they aren’t too heavy or light and wear down in between Indies and Thunders. Independent is the most expensive where Ventures are the cheapest, leaving Thunder in the middle.

Go with Independent trucks when you skate bowl, vert, and ramps and like to grind a lot. Go for Thunder trucks when you skate a lot of street and like to shred rough edges. Pick ventures if you’re looking for more stability.

Different Brands and Inconsistent Measurements

Some brands won’t publish details like height or weight which makes it hard to find out if you’re buying what you want. Another problem is that some brands advertise their trucks as lows but when you hold them next to another brand mids there isn’t really a difference.

Independent and Thunder use the metric system to and name their trucks accordingly. The Thunder Titanium lights 149 is 144 mm wide.  For example, ‘129’ which refers to the hanger width in mm. Great! So that means the Indys 169 Titanium Forged are 169 mm!

Well, not really, they are 166 mm. Sigh. There’s always the possibility of some slight deviation that occurs during production in any truck, but the lack of standards is pretty frustrating.

Most brands manufacture trucks that start at 5.0 inches and increase them by 1/4 inch scale. Just check the chart at the top of the page to see what I mean. That’s not the case with Royal though, their 5.5 inch is actually about 5.8 inch and an 8.75-inch axle. To be honest, the slight deviations don’t really matter.

The truth is you won’t really feel a difference when you’re a new skateboarder, just make sure you pick the right width. Once you’ve been skating for a while you may want to switch and get something that suits your style. I recently switched from Thunders to Independent, but hardly felt any difference. And there are others that really can’t get used to a new brand.

Do Lighter Trucks Make a Difference?

The theory is that lighter trucks will make you pop higher, but when you’re out there it hardly makes any difference. It’s all about your technique and not so much the weight of your trucks. In most cases, it doesn’t really make sense to go for the lightest trucks.

I’m a was of a heavier skater myself and it would be better to lose a couple of pounds instead of saving a couple of grams on a truck.

Don’t Forget About the Wheel Size

Not all trucks fit every wheel so be careful not to get something that requires you to buy new wheels. There’s a maximum wheel size for trucks, although you can always consider adding riser pads. Here’s a chart to help you on your way:

Truck type	Truck height	Maximum wheel size
Low	46 mm	51 mm
47 mm	52 mm
48 mm	52 mm
49 mm	54 mm
Mid	50 mm	56 mm
52 mm	60 mm
High	53,5 mm	62 mm
55 mm	63 mm
56 mm	64 mm
58 mm	65 m

Skateboard Truck Size Chart

Here’s a guide with the most popular brands and their sizes. Note that measurements are in millimeters and grams. I’ll be sure to add more data soon.

Manufacturer	Model	Truck Size Class	Hanger width, mm	Axle width, mm	Weight, g	Height class	height, mm	Truck
Independent	Stage 11 – 129	5.0/129	x	x	367	x	52.5	Independent Stage 11 – 129
Independent	Stage 11 – 139	5.25/139	x	x	376	x	51.5	Independent Stage 11 – 139
Independent	Stage 11 – 149	5.75/149	150	215.9	394	High	55	Independent Stage 11 – 149
Independent	Stage 11 – 159	6.0/159	156	222.25	405	High	54.5	Independent Stage 11 – 159
Independent	Stage 11 – 159 on Gullwing baseplates	6.0/159	156	222.25	395	Mid	52.5	Independent Stage 11 – 159 on Gullwing baseplates
Independent	Stage 11 – 159 redrilled baseplate	6.0/159	156	222.25	405	High	54.5	Independent Stage 11 – 159 redrilled baseplate
Independent	Stage 11 – 159 with bones bushings	6.0/159	156	222.25	397	Mid	53	Independent Stage 11 – 159 with bones bushings
Independent	Stage 11 – 169	6.25/169	166	231.78	412.5	High	54.5	Independent Stage 11 – 169
Independent	Stage 11 – 169 Forged	6.25/169	166	231	382.5	High	53.5	Independent Stage 11 – 169 Forged
Independent	Stage 11 – 169 Titanium Forged	6.25/169	166	231.78	357	High	53.5	Independent Stage 11 – 169 Titanium Forged
Independent	Stage 11 – 215	7.25/189	187	253	426	Mid	51.5	Independent Stage 11 – 215
Tensor	R2 5.5 low raw magnesium	5.5/144	x	203.2	300	x	x	Tensor R2 5.5 low raw magnesium
Tensor	R2 5.75 low black magnesium	5.75/149	145	212	243	Low	46.5	Tensor R2 5.75 low black magnesium
Tensor	Response 5.25 Mid magnesium	5.25/139	133	200.03	280	Low	48	Tensor Response 5.25 Mid magnesium
Tensor	Ten 5.75 low	5.75/149	146	215.9	262	Low	45.5	Tensor Ten 5.75 low
Tensor	Ten 5.75 low 2nd measurement	5.75/149	146	215.9	262	Low	46.5	Tensor Ten 5.75 low 2nd measurement
Tensor	Ten 5.75 low with tall barrel bottom bushings	5.75/149	146	215.9	262	Low	47	Tensor Ten 5.75 low with tall barrel bottom bushings
Tensor	Ten 5.75 Mid	5.75/149	146	212.73	295	Mid	52	Tensor Ten 5.75 Mid
Tensor	Ten 6.0 mid	6.0/159	152.4	x	x	x	x	Tensor Ten 6.0 mid
Thunder	147 Hollow Light	5.25/139	x	x	306	x	x	Thunder 147 Hollow Light
Thunder	149 Hollow Lights	5.75/149	149	215.9	330	Low	49	Thunder 149 Hollow Lights
Thunder	149 II (2014 Drop 2)	5.75/149	149.225	215.9	x	Mid	52.3	Thunder 149 II (2014 Drop 2)
Thunder	149 Light	5.75/149	149	215.9	345	Low	49	Thunder 149 Light
Thunder	149 standard	5.75/149	149	215.9	362.5	Low	49	Thunder 149 standard
Thunder	151 Light	6.0/159	155	222.25	350	Mid	51.5	Thunder 151 Light
Thunder	151 standard	6.0/159	155	222.25	368	Mid	52.5	Thunder 151 standard
Thunder	Low	x	x	x	x	x	x	Thunder Low
Thunder	Titanium Lights 149	5.75/149	149	214.31	311	Low	48.5	Thunder Titanium Lights 149
Venture	5.2 High	5.25/139	137	203.2	355	High	53.5	Venture 5.2 High
Venture	5.2 Lo	5.25/139	136.5	203.2	352.5	Low	47.5	Venture 5.2 Lo
Venture	5.8 High	5.75/149	149	215.9	375	High	53.5	Venture 5.8 High
Venture	5.8 Light	5.75/149	150	215.9	350	Mid	53	Venture 5.8 Light
Venture V5	5.2 lo	5.25/139	136.5	203.2	326.33	Low	47.25	Venture V5 5.2 lo
Venture V5	5.2 lo with Bones Bushings and flat top washer	5.25/139	136.5	203.2	315	x	x	Venture V5 5.2 lo with Bones Bushings and flat top washer

Personal preference

The truth about width is that it comes down to personal preference. But as a beginner just buy something that fits your deck. You get used to what you skate, be it high or low trucks, wide or narrow, loose or tight. Bushings matter, not all trucks come with great bushings, they help you turn your board.

If you’re heavy or tall you need harder bushings. If your bushings are too soft, you’ll have a harder time stabilizing your skateboard. Most high-quality trucks have great bushings but you need to replace them if they are too hard or soft for your body type.