The HVY Biff is a large multipurpose truck featured in Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online.
Contents
Design
Grand Theft Auto IV
The truck closely resembles a Kenworth T800 for the hood shape and cabin, with minor resemblence to mid-2000 models of the Freightliner 114SD, particularly in the headlight and grille areas.
The Biff is depicted as a conventional cab truck similar to the Flatbed in terms of size and base configuration. The front of the vehicle features a large heavy-duty bumper with an open section on the center and slightly-angled outer sections. The front of the nose is finished in silver/chrome and features a large grille with horizontal separations and a slanted top with a small intake near the windshield, while the sides of the nose have large rounded fenders for the front wheels, housing rectangular headlights, square-shaped amber indicators near the cabin and rear mudflaps. The same nose features the HVY logo above the grille.
The main cabin of the truck is very elevated and features large fuel tanks with steps on the lower sides, as well as long grab handles next to the doors and large exhaust stacks. The upper area features a flat windshield with a silver/chrome visor/panel on the front, large rear-view mirrors fitted with marker lights and two antenna on the upper mirror supports, along with circular marker lights and trumpet horns on the roof. The doors have silver "BIFF" badges.
The rear section consist of a flat grey section, featuring red-white warning stripes on either side and small mudflaps in front of the wheel set. The rear end has rectangular tail lights on the outer edges, a central panel protecting the rearmost axle and large mudflaps behind the wheel set. The HVY logo can be seen above the central panel.
The vehicle can spawn either as a flatbed or as a dump truck always filled with gravel, the latter having two different models: a short painted dump container or a large grey dump container with a dumper overhang, side marker lights and top-hinged rear door. The vehicle is normally set to spawn in a variety of single-tone colors, although it is revealed that the secondary color is applied on the short dump container. It also uses a set of industrial wheels similar to the Mule and the Phantom.
Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online
In Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online, the Biff returns with almost the same design as in GTA IV, albeit with various changes on the model. The front bumper is flat and has squared open sections and a central license plate, while the cabin has straighter exhaust stacks and no badges. The rear section is mostly identical, but features additional tanks on the right and box-shaped compartments on the left, typical for a truck of its type. The rear panel on the center also adds a license plate on the lower driver-side corner, while the badge above it is absent. The mudguards also have a brown-textured appearance.
Unlike in GTA IV, the truck is only available in a single configuration, a dump container with marker lights on the upper and lower sides, silver frames on the upper borders of the side walls and a pile of trash covered by a mesh screen tied to the side hooks of the container. It also bears a recycling logo on it.
The Biff is fitted with a CB radio, and occasional trucker chatter can be heard regardless of whether the main radio is turned on or off. The chatter will only play if playing as Trevor and in Blaine County.
The vehicle spawns in a rusty/worn appearance with a seemingly dirty dump container. It also spawns in a limited variety of primary colors for the cabin, with the dump container having two shades of green as the secondary color. The vehicle retains the same industrial wheels.
Current Design Gallery
Version History Gallery
Performance
Grand Theft Auto IV
Due to its size and weight, the Biff cannot reach very high top speeds. The truck tends to understeer badly, especially when throttling on corners and turning sharply. When driven around areas such as Star Junction and The Triangle, the Biff is easier to drive than the Flatbed, owing to the fact it has a more 'ergonomic' nose, this also improves driver visibility greatly.
The Biff is powered by what appears to be a V8, judging by its cover, which is coupled to a 5-speed gearbox in a front engine, rear wheel drive layout. Strangely, the model has a rather underscaled appearance, being smaller than those found on trucks like the Phantom and the Flatbed. It shares the engine sound with the Trashmaster and the Ripley, being not as smooth as the Mule's, but not as loud as the Phantom's.
GTA IV Overview
| Acceleration (0-60 mph in Seconds) |
Top Speed (mph / kmh) |
Gears | Engines | Drivetrain (FWD / RWD / AWD) |
Mass (kg / lbs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 68 / 110 | 5 | N/A | RWD | 9000 / 19842 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | 5 | FR V8 (Cover) | RWD (rear 4) | Cannot be observed |
Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online
Returning into GTA V and GTA Online, the Biff is much slower, both acceleration and top speeds are poor. Its durability it much better, however, and can take many head-on crashes for the truck to even start to burst into smoke. Its turning circle is much bigger than before, and can take up to 5 points to turn around in a basic 2 lane street. Its heavy weight results in all of these weaknesses effectively slower.
The engine model appears to be a double-overhead camshaft Inline-4, coupled to a 5-speed gearbox in a front engine, rear wheel drive layout. Unlike in GTA IV the engine model is more proportional to the rest of the vehicle, as expected from a truck of this size. The engine sound is the same from GTA IV, being also similar to the Trashmaster's and the Ripley's.
GTA V/GTA Online Overview
| Acceleration (0-60 mph in Seconds) |
Top Speed (mph / kmh) |
Gears | Engine | Drivetrain (FWD / RWD / AWD) |
Mass (kg / lbs) |
Fuel Tank Size (litres) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | 68 / 110 | 5 | N/A | RWD | 9000 / 19842 | 70 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 22.4 Seconds | 87 / 140 | 5 | FR DOHC Inline-4 (in-game model) | RWD (rear 4) | Cannot be observed | Cannot be observed |
 |
Speed | 59.020649% | ||||
| Acceleration | 29.999998% | |||||
| Braking | 10% | |||||
| Traction | 50% | |||||
Image Gallery
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online
Variants
MixerGrand Theft Auto V & Grand Theft Auto Online |
 (Rear quarter view) |
The Mixer is, as the name suggests, a cement mixing truck. It shares the 3-axle chassis and cab design with the Biff, with minor changes to the lights and wheel arches. |
Prominent Appearances in Missions
Grand Theft Auto IV
- A Biff can be seen blocking a street near the construction site where Ivan tries to escape in the mission "Ivan The Not So Terrible".
- In the mission "Tunnel of Death", Patrick and Niko use a Biff to block the tunnel.
Locations
Grand Theft Auto IV
- Two Biffs can be found in a construction site near Gainer Street, South Bohan, Bohan.
- The Biff can usually be found driving round Acter Industrial Park in Alderney.
- The Biff from the mission "Ivan The Not So Terrible" has no driver, so the player is able to easily take it if the player first enters it (to prevent it from despawning), then complete the mission and return to the same point.
- Sometimes driving in Algonquin.
- A Biff with a unique red paintjob is seen in the mission "Tunnel of Death", used by Patrick to block the convoy. This vehicle cannot be taken, as it is locked.
Grand Theft Auto V
- Can be seen driving on highways or freeways.
- Can be found commonly in Pillbox Hill and La Puerta. (enhanced version)
- May be seen driving in or out of the Alta Construction Site onto Power Street, Alta between 05:00 am and 11:00 pm (marker)[1].
- May also be parked in one of two spaces within the construction area on Power Street (marker)[2].
- May also be seen parked next to the construction cabin between 07:00 am and 18:00 pm.[3]
- May also be seen driving out onto Occupation Avenue between 11:00 am and 15:00 pm.[4]
- May be seen driving into Hardwood & Lumber Supply and parking at LT Weld Supply Co. between 05:00 am and 12:00 pm (marker)[5].
Rewards
Grand Theft Auto IV
- After collecting all thirty cars for Stevie, he agrees to purchase cars from Niko Bellic, with the Biff fetching $4,000.
Trivia
General
- The truck's name is a reference to the character Biff Tannen from the Back to the Future trilogy. In "Back to the Future", Biff's car slides and crashes into a dump truck filled with animal manure.
- Biff also means a violent [thing or person] characteristic.
Grand Theft Auto IV
- Despite being rear wheel drive and featuring a differential on each of the rear two axles, the Biff lacks a driveshaft from the engine to said differentials. This is also the case on some other similar-sized trucks. This is corrected in GTA V.
- The default radio station of the Biff is San Juan Sounds.
- During the mission, Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend, after getting ambushed, the diamonds are thrown into the back of one of these trucks.
- In The Lost and Damned, there are remains of unused coding of "
biff2" variant, cut before final release. It is unknown what could it have been.[6]
Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online
- In the enhanced version of the game, the Biff lets bits of loose paper fly out of the back.
- The rear waste container appears as a separate extra attached to the vehicle model, in the same manner as GTA IV's appearance, meaning that the truck's bed is textured if the container was removed. Despite this, the truck only ever appears with this extra attached.
See Also
- Mixer - A cement truck appearing in GTA V, where one of the variants uses the same front (albeit tweaks used from the Phantom) as the Biff.
- Tipper and Rubble - Similar dump trucks appearing in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online.
- Flatbed - Another truck with similar base configuration (flatbed) in Grand Theft Auto IV and its episodes.
References
- ↑ Ymap:
WORLD_VEHICLE_CONSTRUCTION_SOLO: CARS_CONSTRUCTION: 05:00 - 11:00 X:135.039 Y:-417.4039 Z:40.11452
- ↑ Ymap:
WORLD_VEHICLE_EMPTY: CARS_CONSTRUCTION: 00:00 - 24:00 X:121.2626 Y:-443.1058 Z:40.10854
- ↑ Ymap:
WORLD_VEHICLE_EMPTY: CARS_CONSTRUCTION: 07:00 - 18:00 X:146.3549 Y:-371.1594 Z:42.25698
- ↑ Ymap:
DRIVE: CARS_CONSTRUCTION: 05:00 - 12:00 X:1225.216 Y:-1359.663 Z:34.16637
- ↑ File Data:
Grand Theft Auto IV Episodes from Liberty City\EFLC\TLAD\common\data\vehoff.csv:VEHICLE biff2 FIELD BOOT_OPEN POS -2.279792 3.262764 0.301922 ANGLES 0.055220 -0.004396 -2.570155 FOV 55.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD BONNET_FWD POS -0.000366 1.507934 1.946780 ANGLES -0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 FOV 45.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD BONNET_BWD POS 0.000977 -0.250854 2.012159 ANGLES 0.001170 -0.000000 3.141546 FOV 45.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD CINEY_WHEEL POS -1.600952 -0.373840 0.822067 ANGLES -0.184230 0.034514 -0.029284 FOV 45.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD CINEY_UNDER POS 0.013616 2.092077 -0.786986 ANGLES -0.001601 0.001960 0.000457 FOV 55.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD CINEY_MISC_1 POS 2.414960 -6.304104 2.099867 ANGLES -0.219391 -0.145883 0.257656 FOV 45.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD CINEY_MISC_2 POS -1.135003 0.457512 1.899400 ANGLES -0.137659 -0.135630 -0.415045 FOV 45.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD JACKED POS -0.202729 2.400513 1.526733 ANGLES -0.808452 -0.000000 2.266417 FOV 55.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD BUSTED POS -0.414146 2.642944 1.076050 ANGLES 0.062566 -0.000000 2.514564 FOV 55.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD CARPHONE POS -0.466644 1.424475 1.980547 ANGLES -0.036858 0.000194 -0.000002 FOV 45.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD BONNET_L POS -0.544493 2.030640 1.195679 ANGLES -0.000081 -0.000000 1.574882 FOV 55.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD BONNET_R POS 0.504258 2.030640 1.195679 ANGLES -0.000081 0.000000 -1.570596 FOV 55.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD CINEY_WHEEL_2 POS 1.542805 -3.427979 -0.071045 ANGLES -0.048294 0.317538 0.219497 FOV 55.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD CINEY_BACK POS -1.298186 2.788330 1.239868 ANGLES -0.182738 0.267934 -2.843870 FOV 55.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD BUMPER POS 0.000000 3.842529 -0.522705 ANGLES -0.000000 0.000000 -0.000000 FOV 55.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD AIM_FR POS 0.012873 0.773972 2.454936 ANGLES -1.542663 3.120852 3.131416 FOV 45.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD CINEY_FAR_1 POS -2.402907 -6.853516 0.694824 ANGLES -0.177187 -0.178635 -0.284362 FOV 55.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD CINEY_FAR_2 POS 3.213127 -7.293701 2.412720 ANGLES -0.252077 0.182878 0.253558 FOV 55.000000 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD CINEY_FAR_3 POS 1.823212 4.696411 -0.583740 ANGLES 0.145002 -0.177734 2.475662 FOV 74.300003 VEHICLE biff2 FIELD CINEY_FAR_4 POS -2.125479 6.954712 1.637207 ANGLES -0.301915 0.113986 -2.811662 FOV 55.000000
