The BF Surfer is a vintage camper van that appears in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online.
Influence[]
The design of the Surfer draws significant inspiration from the Volkswagen Transporter vans. The front end, bumpers, and roofline, along with the rear quarter, closely resemble the first-generation Transporter (T1), often referred to as "Splitscreen." The mid-section, featuring the (non-functional) "sliding doors," front wheel fenders, and rear fascia, appears to take cues from the second-generation Transporter (T2), known as "Bay Window," while still incorporating door handles from the original T1 produced between 1960 and 1964. It is important to highlight that between 1965 and 1967, the T1 underwent a rear redesign that was later adopted by the T2; however, the engine bay doors on the "Bay Window" variant are notably smaller, akin to those on the Surfer. Furthermore, the tail lights may be influenced by the 1960s Digue Caravette caravan, and the front headlights bear a resemblance to those of the late-40s Flxible Clipper. The wheels seem to be modeled after the Fuchs wheels.
Design[]
Grand Theft Auto V and Online[]
The Surfer is depicted with a seemingly wide bodywork and relatively short wheelbase, similar to the Grand Theft Auto: London rendition. The front end of the van is rather curved and features a small chrome bumper, fitted with a small guard and a license plate on the centre. Slightly above the bumper, there are dual chrome sections housing dual circular headlamps, with the inner ones placed further to the front than the outer ones, while the BF logo can be seen on the centre. Around the middle section, there are additional amber indicators with chrome detail around, while the upper area is occupied by the dual windscreen, the chrome rear-view mirrors and the black wipers mounted on the outer-lower sections below each windscreen glass.
On the sides, the van assumes a more simplistic profile, featuring a slightly flared profile on the rear arches. The doors are relatively large and feature chrome door handles, while the rear section has black door railings and vented sections for the engine. On the cabin area, the vehicle uses large rectangular windows and square-shaped windows on the portions beside the rear doors, as well as small inner separations on the front door windows.
On the rear end, the van features a large upper compartment door with a rectangular window on the upper half and a small chrome handle at the bottom, as well as a second compartment door apparently intended for the engine (though not visible when open), having a chrome handle and the badges at the bottom. Beside the engine compartment, there are chrome vertical sections housing circular tail lamps, with the upper ones being the main/brake lamps and the lower ones the indicators. The area below the lower compartment is occupied by the central license plate just below it, as well as the small chrome bumper at the bottom. A single exhaust tube can be seen on the driver side, just below the bumper.
The Surfer may spawn with an optional roof rack and, sometimes, a surfboard mounted on the same. In the enhanced version, the interior and dial set are similar to those used on vehicles like the first generation Burrito and the Boxville.
The stripes on the front end and the sides, the cabin area, the door hinges and the engine bay are painted with the primary colour, while the body is painted with the secondary colour.
Performance[]
Grand Theft Auto V and Online[]
The Surfer is very slow due to its small engine. However, acceleration is not that bad, and handling is average, but overall, it is sluggish and is not a good choice for pursuits due to its weak resistance against heavy collisions and struggles to evade cars that gets in the way.
The Surfer has a small engine on the rear that powers the rear wheels through a 4-speed gearbox. The engine sound is the same used on the Injection and the Dune Buggy, although it does not rev as high as the aforementioned vehicles, likely due to the limited engine power.
Variants[]
| Image | Vehicle | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 The Surfer in Grand Theft Auto V. |
Surfer (rusted) | A rusted variant of the Surfer. | |
 The Surfer Custom in Grand Theft Auto Online. |
Surfer Custom | A fully-customizable variant of the Surfer, with sliding doors. | Added in the Los Santos Drug Wars update for Grand Theft Auto Online. |
Modifications[]
Grand Theft Auto V and Online[]
| Category | Modification | Cost (GTA V) | Cost (GTA Online) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armor | No Armor | $100 | $200 | |
| Armor Upgrade 20% | $500 | $4,500 | ||
| Armor Upgrade 40% | $1,250 | $7,500 | ||
| Armor Upgrade 60% | $2,000 | $12,000 | ||
| Armor Upgrade 80% | $3,500 | $21,000 | ||
| Armor Upgrade 100% | $5,000 | $30,000 | ||
| Brakes | Stock Brakes | $100 | $200 | |
| Street Brakes | $2,000 | $4,000 | ||
| Sport Brakes | $2,700 | $5,400 | ||
| Race Brakes | $3,500 | $7,000 | ||
| Engine | EMS Upgrade, Level 1 | $900 | $1,800 | |
| EMS Upgrade, Level 2 | $1,250 | $2,500 | ||
| EMS Upgrade, Level 3 | $1,800 | $3,600 | ||
| EMS Upgrade, Level 4 | $3,350 | $6,700 | ||
| Explosives | Ignition Bomb | N/A | $5,000 | |
| Remote Bomb | N/A | $7,500 | ||
| Horns | Main article: Vehicle Customization in GTA V/Horns | - | - | |
| Lights | Headlights | Stock Lights | $100 | $200 |
| Xenon Lights | $300 | $3,000 | ||
| Neon Kits | Main article: Vehicle Customization in GTA V/Lights | - | - | |
| Loss/Theft Prevention | Tracker | N/A | $2,000 | |
| Full Coverage | N/A | $1,375 | ||
| Respray | Main article: Vehicle Customization in GTA V/Respray Colors | - | - | |
| Sell | Sell Vehicle | N/A | $1,100 | |
| Suspension | Stock Suspension | $100 | $200 | |
| Lowered Suspension | $500 | $1,000 | ||
| Street Suspension | $1,000 | $2,000 | ||
| Sport Suspension | $1,700 | $3,400 | ||
| Competition Suspension | $2,200 | $4,400 | ||
| Transmission | Stock Transmission | $100 | $200 | |
| Street Transmission | $2,950 | $5,900 | ||
| Sports Transmission | $3,250 | $6,500 | ||
| Race Transmission | $4,000 | $8,000 | ||
| Turbo | None | $500 | $1,000 | |
| Turbo Tuning | $2,500 | $30,000 | ||
| Wheels | Main article: Vehicle Customization in GTA V/Wheels | - | - | |
| Windows | None | $100 | $500 | |
| Light Smoke | $200 | $1,500 | ||
| Dark Smoke | $450 | $3,500 | ||
| Limo | $700 | $5,000 | ||
Gallery[]
Design[]
Images[]
Locations[]
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Grand Theft Auto V[]
- Spawns on the side of a road, along with a Radius in Blaine County.[vague]
- A uniquely colored Surfer is seen abandoned near the Sandy Shores Airfield on Smoke Tree Road in the Grand Senora Desert, near Harmony and Sandy Shores during the abandoned vehicle Random Event. When approaching on foot, an unknown man will hit the protagonist with a Stun Gun. The player can obtain this by either towing the van, or killing the enemy. As Trevor, using the special ability so the Stun Gun has no effect can make the latter option much easier.
- The Surfer's clean version can also be found randomly near the first bridge north of Fort Zancudo. Coming up from the south side of the map, drive through the tunnel under the fort, and the player will come to a right-left series of turns in the highway; after these turns will be the bridge. A dirt trail branches off the eastern side of the road, marked by a roadside parking lot and a shack. Turn down it, and follow the trail as it wraps around back under the bridge. The dirt path lets out onto a beach with a party going on. If no cars appear at first, keep driving and they should spawn. If the Surfer does not spawn, get back on the road and drive a good distance before returning. Repeat as many times as needed and one will show up. This is also a good way to get the Journey, the Sandking SWB and the Regina, which all spawn here more commonly than the Surfer.
| NPC-modified variants | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Vehicle | Description | Notes |
  The customized Surfer in Grand Theft Auto Online. |
Surfer | Customized Surfer, with an assortment of custom, unobtainable paint jobs. | NPC-modified clean Surfers may randomly spawn in the city (usually near beaches). |
  The unique Surfer in Grand Theft Auto Online. (Rear quarter view) |
Surfer | A uniquely colored Surfer scripted to spawn in Setup: Signal Intercepts, once at least one player has reached the first objective. | Unobtainable. |
Grand Theft Auto Online[]
- Can be bought at Southern San Andreas Super Autos for $11,000.
- Can be found near the Del Perro Beach, outside Burton's Los Santos Customs or at the beach in North Chumash, usually pre-modified (enhanced version only).
Rewards[]
Grand Theft Auto Online[]
- In the enhanced version, the NPC-modified Surfer nets the player a very small value of $2,850 in Los Santos Customs.
Rockstar Games Social Club[]
Grand Theft Auto V and Online[]
Oversights[]
- On the clean Surfer, the door hinges, door key holes and upper rear compartment handle do not move with the corresponding vehicle doors, due to these being assigned to the
chassisvehicle component, resulting in the hinges not moving with the doors and the key holes/upper rear handle to float mid-air. These issues are not present on the rusted variant. - The Surfer has a lowered suspension compared to the rusted Surfer. This causes the license plate to clip through the geometry on rough terrain.
Radio Stations[]
- In Grand Theft Auto V and Online, the default radio stations are grouped by genre. The Surfer uses the "Reggae" group which plays Blue Ark.
Specifications[]
Model[]
| Model name | Texture name | Handling name | Text label name | In-game name | Swankness | Flags | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA V and Online | surfer
|
surfer
|
SURFER
|
SURFER
|
Surfer | 2/5
|
|
Population[]
| Groups | Scenario sets | Frequency (%) | Driver model | License plates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA V and Online | Freeway |
None | 10 | None |
|
Handling[]
| Max velocity (kmh / mph) | Gears | Engine type | Drivetrain | Mass (kg / lbs) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA V and Online | 100 / 62 | 4 | N/A | RWD | 2500 / 5500 |
Language[]
| English | Chinese (Traditional) | Chinese (Simplified) | French | German | Italian | Japanese | Korean | Mexican | Polish | Portuguese | Russian | Spanish | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA V and Online | Surfer | 乘風 | 乘风 | Surfer | Surfer | Surfer | サーファー | 서퍼 | Surfer | Surfer | Surfer | Surfer | Surfer |
Traffic Default Colors[]
| GTA V and Online | Primary | Secondary | Pearlescent | Wheels | Trim | Accent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 111 Metallic White (Metallic) | 30 Metallic Blaze Red (Metallic) | 5 Metallic Blue Silver (Metallic) | 156 Default Alloy Color (Classic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | |
| 8 Metallic Stone Silver (Metallic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | 156 Default Alloy Color (Classic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | |
| 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | 4 Metallic Silver (Metallic) | 5 Metallic Blue Silver (Metallic) | 156 Default Alloy Color (Classic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | |
| 111 Metallic White (Metallic) | 8 Metallic Stone Silver (Metallic) | 4 Metallic Silver (Metallic) | 156 Default Alloy Color (Classic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | |
| 111 Metallic White (Metallic) | 52 Metallic Olive Green (Metallic) | 4 Metallic Silver (Metallic) | 156 Default Alloy Color (Classic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | |
| 111 Metallic White (Metallic) | 69 Metallic Nautical Blue (Metallic) | 4 Metallic Silver (Metallic) | 156 Default Alloy Color (Classic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | |
| 111 Metallic White (Metallic) | 68 Metallic Surf Blue (Metallic) | 68 Metallic Surf Blue (Metallic) | 156 Default Alloy Color (Classic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | |
| 29 Metallic Formula Red (Metallic) | 31 Metallic Grace Red (Metallic) | 28 Metallic Torino Red (Metallic) | 156 Default Alloy Color (Classic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | |
| 74 Metallic Bright Blue (Metallic) | 67 Metallic Diamond Blue (Metallic) | 4 Metallic Silver (Metallic) | 156 Default Alloy Color (Classic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) | 0 Metallic Black (Metallic) |
Trivia[]
General[]
- This vehicle is named "Surfer" because its inspiration, the Volkswagen T1, is famous for its association with the 1960s surf culture. In reference to this, it often spawns with a surfboard on the roof.
Grand Theft Auto V and Online[]
- When damaged enough, the sliding doors open outwards like normal doors, even though there are door railings on the sides. In addition, it cannot carry passengers on the back, similar to the Youga.
- Similar to the Journey and Youga Classic, the Surfer has an anachronistically modern interior, fitted with a plastic steering wheel and dash, even though it is a '60s van.
- The modified Surfer vans in lime green are likely a reference to the "chartreuse Microbus" mentioned in the C.W. McCall song "Convoy", which can be heard on Rebel Radio.
- During Signal Intercepts, after reaching the Deluxos a blue-and-white Surfer will drive past. This is a reference to the 1985 film Back to the Future, as in that film shortly after the DeLorean time machine is revealed the two main characters are attacked by Libyan terrorists driving a blue-and-white 2nd Gen Volkswagen T2.
- Curiously, despite the van and its driver not being marked as hostile, it is a valid target for homing missile lock-ons before Lester Crest orders missions to the player, and also counts for the "Number of enemies killed" statistics in the leaderboards screen.
See Also[]
- Love Wagon - Grand Theft Auto rendition based on Volkswagen Type 2.
- Camper – Grand Theft Auto: London and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas renditions based on Volkswagen Type 2-based vans.