Crail Trucks Broken Baseplates

**Rain Shadow** · 02-16-2006 10:19 AM

I have a Motion DH Speedboard and I have so far broken two of the baseplates on the front truck. I am doing nothing special or especially sick to make these things fail. The only modification I have made is to put in some softer Khiro bushings as the stock Moogs were just way to stiff for me. The top bushing I am using is the one that has the washer glued right onto it. Any thoughts or similar experiences out there. I love the ride of these things but just am troubled when a piece of baseplate gets run over at 45 mph or even 20 mph. I have never slammed on either of the baseplates or done anything in my mind that should weaken them. I have better luck with my Randall DH 160's and my simple 180's on this deck. The Crail are attractive to me because they turn so well and I have another speedboard with 160's on it.

**K-Rimes** · 02-16-2006 11:24 AM

Crails have an odd design I've noticed. Lots of pointy bits inside the baseplate and this makes me wary of using them. But, that said, I really like the feel of them, they're fantastic trucks and if you're breaking them then it's Crails problem, not yours.

I've seen loads and loads of Crails pushed to the limits and they haven't broken yet. I'd say stick with your Crails and keep on pushing it unless you think you'll be breaking them more and more, cause then it's just costly.

Crails kick arse!

**boogaloo28** · 02-16-2006 01:49 PM

One thing that could be contributing is if the replacement bushings aren't the same size as the original moogs. This causes the hangar to sit at the wrong angle and puts undue stress on your kingpin and baseplate. My fix is to run an extra flat washer on the bottom when using a smaller bottom bushing then stock

**EBasil** · 02-16-2006 02:25 PM

Boogaloo, if that common problem were the issue, then I think even more baseplates would be breaking, since similar forces are caused by hitting divots or edges on the road.

From what I've seen, the breakages tend to be on drop-through boards. Is this right? That Crail baseplate is so light and thin in spots...I've been surmising that a drop-through hole that leaves the board in contact with the sides of the baseplate is putting stress on them they weren't anticipated to receive.

**serial5** · 02-16-2006 06:50 PM

Rain Shadow, you should contact domATmotionlongboardsDOTcom - the North American distributor about this problem. Some photos and a description would be helpful. Dom is a very good representative for both Motion AND Crail and is always eager to make amends with problematic goods.

EBasil is correct in pointing out the fact that these baseplates are very thin. I'm not exactly sure what the purpose of this is but my guess is it is a weight issue and Crail is trying to keep it to a minimum. While I'd like to see these baseplates come thicker in the future, I ride a cracked Crail baseplate (three pieces) on one of my setups and it is very difficult to move it - I'm totally comfortable ripping around on it. I'm riding it on a drop-thru board though so the pieces have nowhere to go, whereas with a topmounted board they could splay away if the hardware isn't cranked down.

I hope this info helps; remember, you can make a difference by pointing out flaws to the right people.