Newbie Questions on Skateboard Board Quality and Maintenance?

[Anthony Clark]

About a month ago, knowing very little about skateboarding, I bought a board from what was not exactly a skate shop, but the only store in a large radius that would sell a non pre-made board. They offered a limited number of choices and I took all-around basic parts. I have enjoyed skateboarding greatly and did not regret my choice to drop the $100 on the board at all until last night.

I had not gone skating for at least half a week, but when I got onto my board I could feel something was wrong. After some examination and some time spent surfing the internet, I believe my board has the following problems:
1- The wheels, with the exception of one, resist spinning. After I rode the board about last night, it seemed to work fine again, but they are against resisting spinning. I am not sure what is causing this?

2 - The hanger on the truck is cracked. I have no idea how this hapenned since the only trick I have ever attempted is an ollie, largely unsuccessfully. Unless the sheer weight of my body cracked it, I can offer no explanation as to how this crack came to be.

3. The bolts and nuts are rusty. In retrospect, this makes since; I am skating in the midwest where melting snow often made my board wet and I stored it in the back of my car in below freezing weather. These will, I suppose, have to be replaced with stainless steel variations.

4. According to the internet, the squeaking that is coming from one wheel is most likely due to a broken ball bearing.

After one month, my board is trashed. Bearing in mind that the only thing I did with the board was ride it (and attempt ollies), I can see no justification for this level of disrepair. My questions are as follows:

1) What general explanation can be given for this? Are the wheels perhaps caked with rust or dust impeding spinning? Are my parts sub-par? In the case of the trucks, would my being a heavy rider (I weigh approx 240lbs) lead to cracking? What would break a ball bearing?

2) Can you give any suggestions as to fixing these problems? The wheels I cannot fix until I know what is wrong. It has been suggested to me that I fix the hanger with a soldering iron and poxy; is this a good idea? In the case of the nuts and bolts, I'm just going to have to replace them I suppose. Same with the ball bearing.

3) What can I do to prevent these things from hapenning in the future? If my parts are junky, what can I do to get better parts in the future? We have no skate shops in quite a distance; I bought the board from the only place that sells boards within an hour's travel, and this is not exclusively a skate shop. I have no dedicated skaters to consult, so any advice is much appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your advice.