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Shortlist of vehicles that are well suited for endgame, updated as of Season 7.
Best trucks for endgame offroad
Base game maps can be completed with pretty much any vehicle. Moreover, if you’re having fun driving a certain truck – great, doesn’t matter if it’s effective, fun is what we’re here for.
However, I bumped into Amur very early and hit a brick wall: most trucks performed very poorly.
Here are a few hard-learned lessons:
1. Compact cranes are very useful. Self-explaining for hardmode, yet even on normal it (a) allows to recover from a mistake instead of sending a potentially very time-consuming rescue operation and (b) allows you to use the same truck in different types of mission without going back to the garage, simplifying logistics.
As a workaround, Loadstar can be winched to your trailer as a “compact” crane.
2. Tire size matters A LOT. All things equal, every extra inch makes the truck progressively better in hard terrain. There’s a world of difference between pushing your bumper through snow and gracefully carrying it over, especially with sticks and stones littering said snow, not to mention the extra grip/stability/approach and departure angles from larger tires.
3. Always-on diff lock saves time and fuel. While everything struggles on hard terrain, trucks with perma-locks traverse light to moderate off-road faster, which also helps preserve fuel by cutting time and engine strain.
Fine-tune transmissions are highly recommended for trucks with switchable diff locks, as you can emulate “always on” mode at least occasionally with low ++ gear.
That said, the list below aims to highlight trucks that remain useful in harsh environments.
As a note, it ignores support vehicles, as you’ll generally drive them on “highways” before parking on some crossing, so pretty much any truck with terrain-fitting tires and a combination of fuel/service modules and trailers depending on map needs will do. Crocodile and Ford F750 can also be used for it, as they’re smaller, faster and easier to drive on-road.
In the list below “fuel endurance” refers to the distance the truck can be expected to cover without refueling. For instance, Kolobs have scary consumption figures per minute, yet they are rarely slowed down by terrain, so the distance you can expect to cover is still respectable. Roof racks are also taken into account where applicable.
II. Sideboard + sideboard + crane trucks
Feel free to use flatbeds if you’re confident and/or need a bit more power.
5. Voron D-53233
Starter truck
Tires: 6×50`
Difflock: always on
Stability: moderate
Fuel endurance: poor
Acquisition: purchasable in Russia from day 1
Upgrades: Taymyr
Vorons are good non-heavies in general; this version has slightly less power and an unchangeable off-road transmission, yet can comfortably mount the much desired ssc combo.
Notable loadouts: sideboard + sideboard + crane, low saddle + crane, high saddle + crane.
4. Tayga 6455B
Best 6-wheeler out there
Tires: 6×50`, balloon mudtires
Difflock: always on
Stability: good
Fuel endurance: moderate
Acquisition: Season 6 DLC, acquired for free in Maine after quite a few contracts
Upgrades: Taymyr, Maine
Longer wheelbase than the standard Tayga, allowing for ssc loadout and even better stability, although in rare situations it can get bottomed out, and wheels got smaller. The only real downside is acquisition difficulty: you will have access to better heavies by the time you unlock this one. Nevertheless, it’s still useful in endgame for more speed on relatively simple trails.
Notable loadouts: sideboard + sideboard + crane, low saddle + crane, high saddle + crane.
3. Paystar 5600TS
Heavy 3-slot, long logger
Tires: 10×50`
Difflock: switchable
Stability: moderate
Fuel endurance: poor
Acquisition: Season 3 DLC, acquired for free in Wisconsin
Upgrades: Michigan, Wisconsin
There are more pleasant heavies to drive, this thing is long and could use a bit more power and a lot more fuel. However, it’s the only truck out there that can mount a 3-slot frame along with a crane, and it doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses. Also great as a logger.
Notable loadouts: 3-slot-sideboard + sideboard + crane, low saddle + crane (not recommended), long log + log crane, short log + medium log + log crane, service module + low saddle.
2. Azov 73210
Fast workhorse, heavy crane
Tires: 10×50`, countersteer
Difflock: always on
Stability: superb
Fuel endurance: good
Acquisition: purchasable in Russia from level 20
Upgrades: Taymyr, Amur for suspension (must have)
It’s fast for a heavy, with always on lock, good grip from the sheer number of tires and great turning radius further increasing your effective speed. Has a lot of frame options, including 3-slot beds (won’t fit with crane, though). Also pretty great as a heavy crane thanks to its stability. My default truck for non-masochistic routes.
HOWEVER! The truck has a low-hanging nose, making vertical off-roading problematic. Active suspension (raised on the screenshot) helps a lot, but does not alleviate the issue, and the upgrade is a pain to get.
Notable loadouts: sideboard + sideboard + crane, low saddle + crane, long log + log crane, 3-slot-sideboard+sideboard, heavy maintenance, heavy crane.
1. Tatra FORCE T815-7
Sturdy workhorse
Tires: 8×50`, individual suspension
Difflock: switchable
Stability: superb
Fuel endurance: superb
Acquisition: Season 5 DLC, acquired for free in Rostov
Upgrades: Taymyr, Rostov
Has roof rack, low fuel consumption, great suspension, rarely takes any damage – and comes with a unique powerful compact crane. It ain’t fast, though, despite having enough power; fine-tune gearbox is highly recommended. Frame options are also somewhat limited.
Watch out for crane anchors sticking out when driving through trees. Also keep in mind that using the crane on a heavy trailer might require you to detach and drive back a bit first, especially with long cargo.
Notable loadouts: sideboard + sideboard + stronger crane, high saddle + stronger crane.
Why no Bandit? Well, while perfect on paper, Bandit has stupidly vulnerable suspension that blows up every time you sneeze while driving. Also it can barely turn with sideboard + sideboard + crane loadout, is surprisingly unstable and has almost no grip until you load a concrete slab onto it.
III. Other notable crane trucks
Aramatsu Forester
Medium logger
Tires: 8×52`, mudtires only, articulated truck
Difflock: switchable
Stability: moderate
Fuel endurance: moderate
Acquisition: Season 6 DLC, acquired for free in Maine
Upgrades: Taymyr, Maine
Not much to see here, only vehicle capable of mounting medium log + medium log + log crane combo. Could also carry short + medium, yet you’re better off using Paystar for that.
Has no snorkel and no chain tires, so careful with water in any form.
Underpowered and very slow, but gets the job done; let’s hope it receives an engine upgrade some day.
Notable loadouts: medium log + medium log + log crane, short log + medium log + log crane (not recommended).
Tayga 6436
Free starter truck
Tires: 6×51`, balloon mudtires
Difflock: always on
Stability: good
Fuel endurance: moderate
Acquisition: acquired in Taymyr for free
Upgrades: Taymyr
Great starter truck. Doesn’t excel at anything, yet is pretty good in every aspect – and can be acquired very easily. Still useful late game to speed up easier contracts.
Notable loadouts: low saddle + crane, high saddle + crane.
Azov 5319
Sprinter
Tires: 8×50`
Difflock: always on
Stability: good
Fuel endurance: poor
Acquisition: purchaseable in Russia from level 14
Upgrades: Taymyr
Compared to the heavy Azov, this thing is slightly inferior in most respects, but faster thanks to being in the off-road class, and has no nose problems. Useful to speed up simpler contracts, just watch the fuel.
Notable loadouts: low saddle + crane, high saddle + crane.
IV. Big tire trucks
Overkill for most maps, as they come with downsides utility-wise, yet in harder regions quite a few routes are not feasible without them.
5. Pacific P12
Heavy maintenance, heavy crane
Tires: 6×57`
Difflock: always on
Stability: good
Fuel endurance: good
Acquisition: purchasable in USA from day 1
Upgrades: Alaska
Cargo-wise can only mount high saddle, plus both power and grip are not the best. However, it is pretty stable, and long enough to mount heavy support modules, making it a great choice as a rescue or crane vehicle.
Notable loadouts: heavy crane, heavy maintenance, large fuel.
4. BOAR 45318
Swap-in ice tug
Tires: 6×58`, no mudtires
Difflock: switchable
Stability: moderate
Fuel endurance: moderate
Acquisition: purchasable in Russia from day 1
Upgrades: Taymyr
Really fast. Not that good off-road, and is limited to high saddle or long log, but still useful as a swap-in tractor to drag a heavy trailer over an icy overpass in hard maps before switching back to a truck with mudtires.
Notable loadouts: high saddle.
3. Azov 42-20 Antarctic
Ice breaker
Tires: 6×71`, mudtires only, articulated truck
Difflock: switchable
Stability: moderate once you’ve learnt counter-articulation, otherwise poor, especially with heavy/tall cargo
Fuel endurance: moderate
Acquisition: purchasable in Russia from level 26
Upgrades: Taymyr
High centre of mass and lacking frame options make it a very situational vehicle. Can be rather useful for pulling cargo through ice (usually you can and should go around, though) or across very deep mud/snow.
Notable loadouts: sideboard + sideboard.
2. Kolob brothers
Heavy trailer tugs
Tires: 8×59`, mudtires only
Difflock: switchable (worse one) or always on (better one)
Stability: superb
Fuel endurance: good
Acquisition: purchasable in Russia from day 1 (worse one) or level 22 (better one)
Upgrades: Taymyr, Yukon for active suspension
The ultimate trucks for heavy trailers, especially with suspension upgrade. Very good grip thanks to weight and tire size, fairly comfortable with rocky terrains.
Notable loadouts: high saddle only.
1. ZiKZ 650R
Ultimate truck, heavy scout
Tires: 8×61`, mudtires only
Difflock: always on
Stability: good
Fuel endurance: superb
Acquisition: Season 4 DLC, acquired for free in Amur
Upgrades: Taymyr
Tatra on steroids. Lacks crane and frame options, yet has an always-on lock and huge tires. Pretty much the best option for getting through the hardest terrain with cargo. By the time you get to it you’ll realize how much you need it.
Be mindful of trailer clipping on the truck’s cargo bed during vertical off-roading.
Notable loadouts: sideboard + sideboard.
Why no Twinsteer? Well, tires are great, but it’s tippy as hell, not to mention constant issues with fitting into turns and bottoming out. If you can complete the route on a Twinsteer, you can do it with a superheavy trailer snatched to a Kolob, and that’s double the cargo capacity.
VI. Scouts
In harder maps you may want to scout with a big tire truck and/or tug a scout along to the narrow trail that it has to climb, as even the best scout vehicles tend to suck in deep ice/snow/mud.
Fuel and stability are less important for these, as they all have roof racks and autonomous winches.
International Loadstar 1700
Early scout, ice scout
Tires: 4×41`, no mudtires
Difflock: always on
Acquisition: purchasable from day 1 in US
Upgrades: Michigan, suspension in Alaska
You may want to rush to the suspension upgrade.
Easy to drive small vehicle with lots of power. Can mount a compact crane, doing pickup missions with a scout trailer or getting winched to a Kolob+trailer combo as a compensator for its lack of crane options.
Chevrolet Apache
Starter scout
Tires: 6×44`
Difflock: always on
Acquisition: vehicle DLC
Upgrades: very first zone in Michigan
Don’t get excited with the wheels, Apache uses unique tires with horrible grip coefficients as a means to balance it out. Also cannot use any trailers.
Slow but steady, with considerable amount of repair parts and 360 lamps. Will serve you just fine until you can upgrade to YAR.
YAR 87
Ultimate scout
Tires: 6×49`, semi-balloon mudtires
Difflock: always on
Acquisition: purchasable in Russia from level 10
Upgrades: Taymyr
Decent roof rack, largest scout tires in the game, can use scout trailers. Somewhat large and tippy, if you need a smaller vehicle – unpack the Loadstar and winch it to the destination.
TUZ 420 Tatarin
Mud dweller
Tires: 8×47`, mudtires only
Difflock: always on
Acquisition: acquired for free in Taymyr
Upgrades: Taymyr
Uses cheat-tires with stupidly high mud grip, allowing it to swim in mud and snow with no issues.
Nevertheless, it’s a situational exploration-only vehicle: small roof rack and no trailer options, large turning radius, no snorkel (although the default intake is fairly high), no chain tires.
It can, however, tow much larger trucks through mud and snow if needed.
TUZ 16 Actaeon
Get-things-done scout
Tires: 4×47`, balloon mudtires
Difflock: switchable
Acquisition: Season 1 DLC, found for free in Kola Peninsula
Upgrades: Taymyr, Kola Peninsula
Drive carefully, short wheelbase and low mass get this truck thrown around a lot. While inferior to YAR as a scout, and harder to get, it’s nevertheless worth mentioning as a small vehicle with a lot of utility:
- autonomous medium (!) winch;
- stupid amount of power;
- roof rack that fits with any frame option;
- service module option, allowing to carry around more parts than even F750;
- can use normal trailers (not scout ones);
- can equip 1-slot sideboard + sideboard + crane.
But we love driving the F750! True, long wheelbase makes it easy to control, and the amount of utility is nice. However, 4*45` with no mudtires won’t get you far on harder maps, not to mention constant bottoming out, and if you have to winch it anyway – better grab the smaller and relatively more powerful Loadstar.