Doing the (d)rucks

Hi guys,

For my next build I am planning to do my own CNC machined trucks. My current build uses Caliber II trucks which I don’t like so much. The narrow hanger and hence distance between wheels make me feel unsafe at higher speed. Over the past days I did a basic model of a CNC machined truck with hanger width of 230-250 mm. The thing is I am not an expert skater and I don’t have proper knowledge what arrangement feels right. Going with the Caliber II truck design and extend bits here and there would be the safest option, however, I would like to have a little more compact truck since I would like to use a drop through deck + 7" wheels.

I am particularly not sure about:

  • pivot size and shape
  • pivot cup (off-the-shelf thing, maybe from Caliber II)
  • axle (e.g. Aera Titanium Axle)
  • material (e.g. AL 7075?)
  • kingpin location w.r.t. truck axle (inline or offset???)
  • stability increase/decrease with longer/shorter distance between pivot and kingpin???

These axle stubs have a relatively short thread which worries me a bit!?

Lot’s of things to decide and I am not an expert.

Cheers!

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Looking forward to seeing how this develops!

Not a skater neither an Expert in this matter, but how do you Plan putting inside the aluminum the Rod that keeps your wheels? I mean, the Trucks in a regular Longobard are a composite , not just One big chunk, right?

Threads on either side of the truck. (Most) cast trucks do have an axle throughout the hanger but CNC trucks often use these axle stubs which will be screwed in.

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Nice post on the Aera axles. I didn’t know they make these. You can do FEA on your trucks to know if what you make will work. The hangers made of 7075 aluminum is a good choice. Just for comparison, I have milled out a 10" width hanger, not including the axles, out of 2024-T3 aluminum. Works to my specification.

Thanks for your reply. I will run an FE analysis but this won’t tell me whether the truck feels right or not. Let’s see. Do you have a pic of you DIY truck?

I posted this a while back. I do get a wider turning radius because of my mistake, but this works well for stability. I used a grade 8 bolt as the axle.

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How are you doing your motor mounts, because if your trucks are wider it would be really cool to put 2 sk3 6374 motors and get a lot of tork and speed, could I buy some trucks from you?

I haven’t made a new mount for the milled truck yet. I only have it for the stock Caliber hangers. I have zero plans to sell any only because I prefer CNC and it’s not a cheap process.

torqueboards just came out with a super wide caliber ii style trucks:

diy-electric-skateboard-kits-parts/torqueboards-218mm-trucks/

So are the hangers 218 mm wide, not including the axles?

@Chuttney1 218mm without the axles. Axles are also 10mm longer than a typical axle.

yep.

axel tip to tip apprx 312mm

I know, but I don’t like stuff that isn’t parallel. And I would like to have as wide as the Evolve trucks.

Modified the trucks a little but still have to do a proper FE analysis (currently static only). Made the hanger 240 mm wide which fits easily two 6384 motors. Motor mounts are just generic.

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Could you tell me what the mistake was?

The mistake was the “10-inch truck” marketing term associated with selling longboard trucks. The thought kind of stuck with me that I made the hangers exactly 10 inches wide. The hanger was supposed to be 8 inches wide. Glad I made them wider.

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Made some progress in the project development. Hanger and base material will be Al 6061-T6 and 17-4 PH (AISI 630) for the axle stubs.

So, there will be enough space for two 6384 :slight_smile:

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Printed the hanger to have a feel how big it will be. Cross-section might be a little too large. Base plate will be custom made too.

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Looks nice large. Light aluminum anyway. Stronger . why doesn’t anyone add the mount to the truck? One piece machined or even cast? Simplify and strengthen things. Less parts. Could look nice. Cast would be cheaper I guess and likely more diy-able. Maybe ur into doing it but making the baseplate seems overkill.

Casting hanger w mount sounds fun. Maybe. Lost wax casting. Or some kind of permenant mold and u could pop them out cast the axle in. Seems a LOT easier. Unless u have a mill or bucks.