Packer

The Packer is a two-door industrial truck that has appeared in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online. It is manufactured by MTL in the HD Universe.

Designed as a car transporter in the 3D Universe, it has changed in the HD Universe, and was designed as a semi-truck trailer. In GTA V, it can tow any truck trailer, while in GTA IV it will appear with a ramp, a fuel tank or a flatbed.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City the Packer bears resemblance to the 1986 Peterbilt 379 Car Carrier and is an ideal portable ramp to set up for stunts as players usually approach it at speed to jump and clear walls, fences and low buildings and to drive onto rooftops (either by jumping from or driving up the ramp to climb said rooftops) and other high places. It can push small cars away without restraint, but it is slow and hard to control due to its long body and wheelbase.

Unlike future renditions, the Packer is unable to transport vehicles in Vice City, as they cannot be attached, and remain stationary while the Packer simply rolls out from beneath them.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, its appearance is similar to Vice City's rendition, except it has circular headlights. It is possible to safely store one car on the Packer due to its ability to move the upper ramp up and down; this is done by driving it onto the bottom ramp and slowly closing the top ramp down. If the ramp goes too far down, however, the car will get crushed and explode. It can transport up to three vehicles, due to the ability to elevate part of the ramp; however, cars can still roll off at sudden stops so the player must operate it with high sensitivity to keep the cars safely in place. The truck can unexpectedly suddenly stop as if were hit by the car(s) being carried.

Grand Theft Auto IV
The Packer in Grand Theft Auto IV has a cab over engine design and is manufactured by MTL. Its short wheelbase makes the truck slightly more maneuverable compared to the previous rendition, but does not make up for its still poor speed at 112 mph. In addition to the ramp that was available on previous versions of the Packer, it now comes with flatbed and tanker variations (the tanker's content is unknown). The ramp does not touch the ground, and as so, cannot be used for transporting cars, nor performing stunts. However, third-party trainers can be used to spawn in a variant with a ramp touching the ground, but performing a stunt with a non-motorcycle vehicle is nearly impossible. It is based on a Kenworth K-100.

It can be sold to Stevie for up to $4000.

Grand Theft Auto V
The Packer returns in Grand Theft Auto V. However, this time it is a normal tractor trailer resembling a 2004 Freightliner Century Class 112 or the 1999 International 9400i. Players must be careful, for there are two other trucks that resemble the GTA V Packer: the Pounder, which is a truck with a trailer longer than that of a Benson, yet shorter than any 18 wheeler trailers in the game, and the Flatbed, the Packer's flatbed version. Despite its new appearance, the GTA IV Packer reappears as the Hauler. The Packer, Hauler, Barracks Semi, and Phantom are the only 18 wheeler trucks that appear in the game. It is to note that Packers can appear tugging long trailers with business ads on them, tank trailers, or sometimes nothing at all.

Current Design Gallery
Second Generation (GTA V)=

First Generation (Flat) (GTA IV)=

First Generation (Ramp) (GTA IV)=

First Generation (Tanker) (GTA IV)=

3D Universe
The Packer has overall bad handling, and bad acceleration, but, unlike most other trucks, has a good durability, surviving many crashes, but not so many explosions.

Grand Theft Auto IV
The Packer returns in the HD Universe, albeit much faster and better handling. It is claimed to be powered by a supercharged engine, which sounds to be a 6-cylinder engine, making it faster and much more powerful. Having a good chassis, it can now withstand a fair amount of crashes, and at least 2 - 3 head on explosions before exploding. The vehicle has 7 gears, a considerably high-yet-accurate amount. The gear shifts are very low and ratios seem almost equal (apart from the last gear). Having a low top speed and heavy weight, the vehicle is very slow and isn't helped by its rear wheel drive layout, however, it is acceptable considering its load and purpose.

The 7 speed gearbox seems to be a rare use of an auxiliary gearbox in-game; a secondary gearbox working very similar to twin-geared bikes - the secondary gearbox having less gears than the primary gearbox, but giving the primary gearbox more potential by allowing a higher combination of gears. The exact same feature is found on the Phantom in GTA IV.

Grand Theft Auto V
The performance of the Packer this time is stellar. The top speed is above average and the acceleration is the best out of all semis. However, like a typical semi, handling requires some braking, but not as much as one would think. It is claimed to be a 24-valved supercharged engine, according to badging.

Hauler
Although the Hauler doesn't appear in GTA IV, the Hauler shares a similar flat-nose front design with the Packer in GTA IV.

Flatbed
In Grand Theft Auto V, the Flatbed returns with the Packer, sharing the GTA V Packer's front design, appearing as a flatbed recovery truck.

Pounder
The Pounder, just like the Flatbed, shares the entire front design with the GTA V Packer, appearing as a curtain box truck.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

 * Just Business - A full immune Packer (although tires can still be burst) appears sometimes during the mission's chase. It explodes all touched vehicles (except a Coach) and is destroyed by riding the BF-400 on the ramp.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

 * Parked at the InterGlobal Studios in Prawn Island.
 * In front of the Vice City Port Authority in Viceport.
 * Next to the eastern gate of Terminal A of Escobar International Airport.
 * Very rarely in Vice Point and very common in Viceport.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

 * Usually spawns in the countryside or desert.
 * Usually parked in a gas station on the western outskirts of Las Venturas near Octane Springs
 * Usually seen in Ocean Docks and its vicinity.
 * Parked behind a building in Spiny Bed, Las Venturas.

Grand Theft Auto IV

 * The Packer spawns at industrial areas.
 * Parked near the old Sprunk Factory on Niblick Street in Tudor, Alderney.

The Lost and Damned

 * Occasionally appears in Gang Wars in The Lost and Damned as a target vehicle to destroy, used by the Albanians. The truck usually appears with the ramp or tanker bed. Sometimes, during a glitch, it will generate with both tank and ramp on board.

Grand Theft Auto V

 * Spawns at the Harmony Truck Stop on Joshua Road in Harmony, Blaine County.
 * Commonly found on the Great Ocean Highway and eastern highways.
 * Always spawns in front of Beeker's Garage in Paleto Bay.

General

 * The Packer plays the following radio stations by default when entered:
 * K-DST in GTA San Andreas.
 * Liberty Rock Radio 97.8 in GTA IV.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

 * A unique light green colored Packer appears in the mission Cop Wheels in GTA San Andreas.


 * It is one of two vehicles to be referred to by its (in-game) name in a GTA San Andreas mission, the other being the Merit in 555 We Tip.
 * Additionally, of the six vehicles referred to by their respective names (if one counts the Blista Compact, Willard, Feltzer and the Romero in GTA IV), it is the only vehicle that is only referred to by its name by the protagonist (In this case, Carl Johnson) himself.
 * In GTA San Andreas, the Packer can be used as a mobile car crusher. Just park a car on the lower ramp, get in the Packer, and lower the top ramp. This will crush the car parked under it, causing it to explode.
 * Be careful not to place the car too close to the cab, or the Packer will explode, too. Also, be careful not to place the car too far back, as it might slide off, or cause many unexpected (and unwanted) glitches to occur.
 * Also, in GTA San Andreas, in multiplayer, the Packer can be used to transport massive waves of gunmen, with the help of the double-deck, one Packer can be used to devastate a whole street. Just crowd as many armed people on both decks, and drive. Be careful not to make any tight turns, as anyone standing on the back may fall off.
 * In GTA San Andreas, the player cannot transport motorcycles or SUVs on the lower ramp because it's too low.
 * During mission Just Business in GTA San Andreas, the Packer is explosion proof and has unlimited weight.
 * Cars being transported will flip out or fall when the player turns or brakes the truck too sharp. The reason is because the cars cannot be attached on the truck, unless using a mod. During the mission Just Business, the truck appears hauling Sultans and in the mission Cop Wheels, it can haul four HPV-1000s. They won't fall because they're attached and scripted.
 * Players can transport cars and unload them with the help of a Tractor either towing/prevent sharp turns when towing, or being carried by the Packer hooked to a car that is already on the Packer. To prevent cars from immediately rolling backwards when the Packer starts moving, the upper ramp can be used to clamp the cars in place. Click here to see how to load the cars onto the packer.

Grand Theft Auto IV

 * After collecting all thirty cars for Stevie in GTA IV, he agrees to purchase cars from Niko Bellic, with the Packer fetching $4,000.
 * A Packer with the ramp down exists in the TLAD game files, but doesn't spawn.
 * In GTA IV, there is a different unused ramp component for the flatbed Packer that exists in the game's internal files. This ramp component attaches to the back of the flatbed Packer, and it is able to be spawned using modifications. Although seemingly normal, it is quite odd, as the ramp's solid area does not match its physical appearance; Because of the fact that its collision detection does not properly line up with it, it is quite difficult to drive cars up the ramp and onto the Packer's flatbed. The ramp was scrapped during the game's development for unknown reasons, likely due to the mentioned issues.

Grand Theft Auto V

 * Despite the Packer's 2 person capacity, in the mission Pack Man it seats 3 (Franklin, Trevor, and Lamar).
 * The Packer's badges incorrectly refer to the engine as a "V24", where it actually means "24 valved", which is supposed to be written as "24v". This also applies to the Flatbed ,Brickade and Phantom.
 * The Packer has a CB radio attached, and occasional trucker chatter can be heard.
 * The Packer now has varied horns available in the enhanced version of GTA V.
 * Just like the Phantom, the engine model features 8 spark-plug textures, suggesting the truck is petrol, untypical for a vehicle of this kind. The 8 spark plugs suggests the engine could only be a petrol single-cam V8.

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