Okay, you’ve probably heard someone mention flipping their trucks before. Let’s talk about what that is, and, more importantly, what it is not. So, first, trucks are the metal bits under your skateboard that help you turn. There are two main designs, reverse kingpin trucks (RKP) and traditional kingpin trucks (TKP). The difference is in the baseplate, kingpin angle, and hanger (or hangar). On a TKP truck, the hanger effectively has a lot of rake on a low angle. The result is something that turns very quickly. On a reverse kingpin truck, you have a more simple design, but more lean for your turn, increasing stability.
Because the hanger is mostly symmetrical on a RKP truck, you can often flip them. On some designs, this will do nothing, but, on others, like the Bear 852 trucks, flipping the hanger will increase stability. So, let’s take a look at how to do that and what it does.
Flipping the Hanger
Flipping your trucks is easy. First of all, you are not changing the baseplate at all. There’s only one nut to unscrew here. You’ll want to remove the kingpin nut, washer, and first bushing. Then, remove the hanger, flip it around, and put it back on the kingpin and baseplate. Put the bushing and washer back on, and tighten to your heart’s content. If your truck had positive rake before, you’ve effectively reduced the baseplate angle with negative rake. Your truck will lean more than turn now, giving you more stability at speed.
What did this do?
I said it effectively reduces the baseplate angle on some trucks, but that’s not necessarily accurate. It turns positive rake into negative rake. The axle and the center of your wheels go from being in front of the pivot point to behind it. This reduces the area that they move as you lean, but it’s slightly different than a lower baseplate angle. Both will make your trucks more stable. If you’re a beginner or downhilling, you may want to flip your trucks for increased stability. However, many trucks feature symmetrical hangers now. There’s no rake either way. Therefore, you can’t flip them. They’re designed to face only one way. My Paris V3 and Gullwing Charger trucks are like this.
I recommend checking online or asking a local skate shop if you’re unsure if it’ll make a difference. Basically, if you can draw a straight line from a 90º angle off the pivot cup and it lines up with the axles of your truck, flipping will do nothing. However, if there’s positive or negative rake, flipping the trucks will change their feel, sometimes dramatically.
