Regarding the chains, you can mist them with metallic spray paint and/or apply fine glitter just to the part you want the light to catch. It's a little silly and low-budget, but it will catch the light. It might look less than great up close, but onstage under lights it should do the trick. You can also usually pick up leftover real metal chains from a junkyard, or borrow them from various friendly companies - a hardware store or construction company might be willing to lend them out for free. Ask around.
Working with trucks is not so complicated, really. You should use the best casters you can afford, and be sure your carp uses crazy casters (that can roll in any direction) or straight casters intelligently. This will make steering much more consistent and ultimately safer. Also, be sure the truck locks into place securely - this can be trickier than it sounds. You will also want to spike the offstage locations of the truck at its various placements. Spiking onstage is generally useless, as the truck will be pushed from offstage. Be sure that props and actors on the truck are secure. Giving the actors something to hold on to (a chair back, a secure shelf) will help them feel safe and look solid as they travel. Try securing any props and dressing (pictures, desk accessories) with putty or nails - they might not always roll, but at the worst possible time they will decide to jump off the wall/desk/whatever. These kinds of finishing touches will make the truck's movement look magical, not clumsy. Also, depending on your crew capabilities, be realistic about how fast the truck can travel. If the director wants it to disappear in 2.5 seconds, and you only have one wimpy crew dragging it off with all his might, practice until it's as fast as possible and then accept that it will not get a whole lot faster. Be safe!
It sounds like you've got the newspaper solved. You can usually get blank newsprint from a local printer or newspaper warehouse. You can then carefully run it through a xerox (not all machines can handle it, but most can these days).