Trucks connected under the deck, has axles for the wheels, and controls turning. Also the second most expensive component. Trucks vary in styles, widths, weight, brands, and colors.

Width: This can also be confusing, and for a good reason it’s different per company. The axle width on a standard full size truck is 7 1/2” – 7 3/4”. The standard truck size will be referred to by the measurement of the hanger not including the axle.

For Example a 5.0 Truck, is 5” hanger, with a 7 1/2” – 7 3/4” axle, this is what is considered the standard. Some companies such as Independent do it in metric, their standard is a 129. Just to be confusing Krux does it 3.5 being their standard.  To summarize: 5.0, 129, 3.5 are all the same size, and that is the current standard.

Smaller sizes, such as minis will be less, such a 4.75, or 3.0. Larger used for longboarding and wider decks sizes will be a 6.0, 149, or 4.5.

Below is a basic chart of the some of the more popular brands and sizes.
 

Core - 4.75 - 7 1/2”
Core  - 5.0  - 7 5/8”
Core   - 6.0  - 8 5/8”
Core  - 7.0  - 9 5/8”
Destructo  - 5.0 - 7 5/8”
Grind King - 5.0 - 7 5/8”
Independent - 129 - 7 5/8”
Independent - 149 - 8 1/2”
Independent - 215 - 10”
Krux  - 3.5 - 7 5/8”
Royal  - 5.0 - 7 5/8”
Randal  - 150 - 8 5/8”
Randal  - 180 - 9 5/8”
Silver  - 5.0 - 7 1/2”
Tensor  - 5.0 - 7 5/8”
Thunder  - 145 - 7 5/8”
Titan  - 127 - 7 1/2”
Tracker  - 129 - 7 5/8”
Venture  - 5.0 - 7 5/8”
Venture  - 5.25 - 8”

Brands: You’ll see many brands of trucks on the market. While most are very similar some vary slightly, I would research them a little bit if your concern.

Bushings: These are the urethane cushions in the truck that control the resistance of turning.  Most stock bushing on trucks is around a medium hardness (95A), which should accommodate most. Bushings are available after market in many different colors and hardness’s. A softer bushing makes it easier to turn leaving very little resistance (aka loose), and a harder bushing makes it to turn (aka tight). The rider’s weight does influence the amount of resistance, smaller kids will have trouble turning on harder bushings, and larger riders will damage soft bushings. The stock bushings on trucks may need to replaced with softer ones for small riders.