Sandking

"It doesn't get any more American than this heavy-duty pick-up. Big, brash and loud, the Sandking blusters its way into any environment without a second thought."

- Southernsanandreassuperautos.com description.

The Vapid Sandking is an off-road utility vehicle first introduced in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and have made repeated appearances in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and Grand Theft Auto V. This car considered to be a successor of the Cartel Cruiser, gang car of the Colombian Cartel in Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. The Sandking is absent in Grand Theft Auto IV, assumed by some to be replaced by the Contender.

In the 3D Universe, it appears as a 2-door compact, sports-oriented custom SUV. The Sandking assumes the design either of a 2-door pickup truck dubbed the Sandking SWB or a 4-door crew cab pickup truck known as the Sandking XL in Grand Theft Auto V.

3D Universe
The Sandking appears to be a variant of the Rancher with customizations similar to a Bowler Wildcat. In all of its appearances, the Sandking is depicted with myriad modifications commonly associated with other customized off-road vehicles such as the Dune, Bandito and Injection. The Sandking boasts large MMT branded offroad wheels, a large spoiler, and several air scoops on the hood and roof. It has the words "Sand Masters Cup" written on the side and rear, and racing liveries, similar to the decals available in Wheel Arch Angels. The space for the racing number, however, is blank.

HD Universe
The Vapid Sandking is updated, now a full-size pickup, which is a lifted off-road variant of the Sadler. It comes in a short-wheelbase extended cab version called Sandking SWB as well as a long-wheelbase crew cab version called the Sandking XL (though the two share a similar wheelbase). The design, overall, is strongly related to that of a third-generation Ford Super Duty, with some design cues from the first and second generations, such as the taillights. The split headlights take cues from numerous generations of Chevrolet Silverado pickups. Unlike the Sadler, the Sandking does not feature the F-series signature "dip" along the beltline near the mirror.

The Sandking looks to have the equivalent of an 8' lift kit with 40" tires. All Sandkings come with extremely knobby tire treads, though the wheels can be changed to an array of comically massive wheels with very low profile tires.

Upgrades include (but are not limited to): a bed cap, large front "skid plate" with winch, and semi-truck style chrome or black extended fuel tanks. It can also be equipped with the usual upgrades such as different horns, bright HID (High-Intensity Discharge lamps) headlamps and armor. The Sandking can be painted in a multitude of color choices, being that there is a two-tone lower paint option with painted bed rails similar to the F-series King Ranch models.

3D Universe
The Sandking seems to be mechanically related to the Rancher, and shares its off-road credibility. Its acceleration is above par and is an improvement on the rather quick Rancher. The suspension is stiffer than the Rancher, sacrificing some of the ride, but it still has enough travel to go over rocks and other obstructions without rolling over easily. It does have a high center of gravity, which makes it prone to tipping over at high speeds, however. Its handling is a big improvement over the Rancher but the suspension is still pretty soft so it rolls and pitches respectively; but it's still very impresive for a vehicle at this size and height. In GTA San Andreas, it is sometimes available with hydraulics common in lowriders to further improve its off-roading capabilities. It fares well on road but it isn't the best due to its soft suspension and height but is still competitive. Like the Rancher, it only seats two. Some renditions have the same engine sound as its predecessor, while others have the same sound as the Rancher.

HD Universe
The Sandking has a high amount of ground clearance. The inline-6 turbodiesel provides it with good power and torque, allowing it to get over obstacles easily. A known glitch or design flaw in the game was that the truck did not feature full 4WD, so offroad traction on steep hills was limited. However, as of update 1.08, the truck now features fully functional 4WD, so it is now an extremely capable off-roader. In game, it acts almost like a monster truck and with proper speed the player can drive right over most low-profile cars. The truck has poor handling on the roads, offering fairly low levels of grip, due to the truck's heavy body. Off-road, the truck handles better, but the heavy weight of the truck and its long wheelbase contribute to its handling not being the best of the off-roaders, although suspension upgrades can make a noticeable difference. The short-wheelbase version has slightly better acceleration and better handling, making it the more desirable variant. Like the Rebel and other off-road vehicles, however, its exposed tires make an easy target to be shot, unless it is fitted with bulletproof tires.

Locations
GTA Vice City
 * Sunshine Autos award for completion of the third Sunshine Autos Import Garage list, on the second floor.

GTA San Andreas
 * Next to The Big Ear under the satellite in the fenced area.

GTA Vice City Stories
 * In Ocean Drive, across the street from the Ocean View Hotel.

GTA V
 * Seen driving on the trails in and around Blaine County.
 * Parked near the Del Perro Beach boardwalk on the beach where the triathlon starts.
 * Sometimes spawns next to a house just off on Joshua Road on the far west end of the Grand Senora Desert.
 * At the end of a dirt road near the Pacific Ocean in Palomino Highlands.
 * Spawns next to the Del Perro Pier near some trailers, a Sprunk ramp, four Seasharks and a Squalo

GTA Online
 * Seen rarely driving around Sandy Shores with its SWB counterpart.
 * Available on Southernsanandreassuperautos.com.
 * Commonly seen on Senora Way in north Los Santos County.

Trivia

 * In GTA San Andreas, the Sandking is a great choice for off-roading, street racing (although it is unstable and easy to flip), mountain climbing, cruising, launching off ramps and picking up girlfriends (as it boosts the player's sex appeal to about a 75% level, undamaged).
 * Due to missing alpha textures, the PC version of the GTA San Andreas Sandking features white squares in place of sponsorship stickers.
 * Like the PC versions of the Sadler, Dodo and Super GT, the Sandking is missing a sheen.
 * The Sandking plays the following radio stations by default when entered:
 * GTA San Andreas: K-DST.
 * GTA V: Rebel Radio and Vinewood Boulevard Radio, Los Santos Rock Radio and Radio Mirror Park for the XL version.
 * In GTA San Andreas, the Sandking sometimes has hydraulics installed.
 * Due to its high ground clearance, the GTA V Sandking's roof will scrape against the door when leaving some garages such as Franklin's new safehouse or various safehouses in GTA Online such as the Del Perro safehouse.
 * The taillights and headlights found on GTA V's Sandking resembles the ones found on the Granger.
 * It is possible to drive a Sandking with an Akuma in the bed on GTA Online, although power does greatly suffer.
 * Similarly, this can also be done with the Panto, but the latter would result the Panto to become stuck and end up performing a flip in the process.
 * After Patch 1.13, the Sandking XL and SWB has been changed from 4WD to 2WD. Responding to backlash from the GTA V community, Rockstar stated that the change in the Sandking XL and SWB was unintentional and are currently looking in to the issue.
 * The patch 1.14 reverted this unintentional change on both the Sandking, the SWB and other 4WD vehicles.
 * In Grand Theft Auto V, the Sandking is the only vehicle in the game that is able to carry the Nagasaki Blazer in its truck bed. Due to a glitch, loading a Blazer into any other vehicle, including the Sadler, which has similar characteristics to the Sandking, will result in the ATV smoking and eventually exploding. The Blazer can be loaded into the bed of the Sandking using a stunt jump ramp.
 * In GTA V, the cab lights will not work on the variant where these are present. The same error is seen on similar trucks like the Sadler, the Utility Truck and more.
 * In GTA V, the Sandking engine sounds very similar to that of a Detroit Diesel 6V92TA engine.