A Brief History of Tracker Trucks
The first production Tracker Fultrack 1975
A Brief History of Tracker
In 1973, fueled by the introduction of the Cadillac urethane skateboard wheel, a group of surfers from North San Diego County began skateboarding on the brand-new, barren asphalt hills of La Costa, the site of a future suburb. Two of these surfers, Dave Dominy and Larry Balma, forged a friendship that grew into a partnership when they founded Tracker Trucks. Dave, who was a framer and finish carpenter, and Larry, who was a commercial fisherman, machinist and fabricator, enlisted the skills of Gary Dodds, a pattern- and mold-maker. Together, they designed, developed and produced the Tracker Fultrack skateboard truck and launched sales in 1975. Measuring in at a full 4 ¼” between the wheels, the Fultrack was considered beefy and extremely wide during an era of weak, narrow roller skate trucks, which Tracker made obsolete overnight. Cast out of heat-treated aluminum to make it strong and stable, the Fultrack also introduced the four-hole mounting pattern, the fixed kingpin, the triangle truss face and aircraft grade locknuts to the industry.
1971 Larry Balma surfing in Hawaii
1976 Dave Dominy skating at the Escondido Reservoir.
Dave Dominy shows off a Rockit Deck shape cira 1977,
1979 Larry Balma, Gary Dodds and Dave Dominy in Carlsbad
1975 Tracker Fultrack mold.
An evolutionary and revolutionary step in skateboard design, the Tracker Fultrack was nothing less than the debut of the modern skateboard truck. Introduced at the same time as Bahne and Bennett trucks, Tracker’s sales experienced a slower start, until word-of-mouth spread about the truck’s superior design and build. To meet the demand, Tracker increased production, and by the Summer of 1976, became the largest producer of skateboard trucks for the next 15 years. Tracker went on to pioneer many products, like the first magnesium truck, the first Gnarly pivot, the first coned outer grommets, the first Copers, the first laminated hardwood skateboard deck (the Rockit) and the first pro model street deck (GSD). Forty years later, most skateboard trucks look surprisingly similar to the original Tracker Fultrack. While Dave went on to successfully apply his innovative designs to sailboards, Gary created a custom-molding business, and Larry, who was also the co-founder of TransWorld Media, continues to produce Tracker Trucks and many other skateboard brands to this day.
1990 Tracker Trucks ad that pretty much tells it all.
A list of some of the firsts that Tracker contributed to skateboarding design.
The full history of Tracker is all in the book Tracker-Forty Years of Skateboard History.
