Build 42 Vehicles — Work Vans, Trade Trucks, and What's in Every Trunk

Build 42 turned vehicles into progression: business vans now spawn loaded with the tools and materials of their trade, so a blacksmith van is worth more than a sports car to a base that's mid-chain. The official feature overview says it plainly — work vans come "each loaded with its own special and specific loot." This guide catalogs the confirmed variants from PZwiki's Vehicles page (42.16.0 stamp), what the veterans' guide reports they carry, and the B42 changes to fueling and towing. Checked 2026-08-04.

The work-van roster

Three chassis carry most of the trade variants:

Beyond these, dozens of B41-era business liveries persist, and the official notes add town-specific liveries — local sheriff and police cars, sponsored race cars — plus environmental storytelling through fliers, newspapers, and decals.

What each trade vehicle is good for

Community-reported from the veterans' guide, and matching the loot-identity design B42 ships:

Rule of thumb: open every weird business vehicle you see — a florist step van is a container roll, not scenery. Per-container loot tables aren't published, so treat themes as strong hints, not guarantees.

Trailers: logistics and livestock

The Animal size stat is new in B42 and is what makes ranch relocation practical: lead animals into the trailer at the pen, tow home, zone them. Note there is no propane trailer — propane logistics ride the Step Van chassis.

B42 vehicle system changes

• Fuel is a fluid. Siphoning needs a hose, jerry cans hold 20 L, gasoline evaporates from open containers, and gas pumps need power to dispense — plan fuel runs around generator access (generator guide).
• Vans, pickups, step vans, and trailers are the hauling backbone for the new heavy economy: stone blocks for furnaces, clay for pottery, logs for charcoal, carcasses to the butcher hook (blacksmithing supply chain).
• Vehicles now come with built-in lighters (small but real), and towing behavior factors in tire pressure, weight, and traits.
• Special-vehicle trunk loot had bugs early in the unstable cycle; those were fixed later — if a trade van seems empty on 42.20, that's bad luck, not a known bug.

Choosing a base vehicle

For a crafting-focused run, storage beats speed:

1. Step van — 210 total capacity, the heaviest legal trunk; ideal for stone and metal runs.
2. Valuline — 180 capacity, lighter, better fuel economy; the all-rounder.
3. Pickup + trailer — flexible for logs and towable livestock; watch tire condition.

Keep one scavenged sedan as a fast scout alongside a hauler, and remember the muscle-strain era punishes fighting from a car trunk in a crowd (combat pacing).

Verified on 42.20 · Last checked 2026-08-04

Chassis variants, storage stats, and trailer types come from PZwiki's Vehicles page (42.16.0 stamp); the work-van loot principle and town liveries from the official Build 42.20 feature overview. Cargo expectations per theme are community-reported via the B41 veterans' guide. Omitted: exact loot tables per variant (undocumented), propane-trailer claims (no such vehicle confirmed), and spawn-rate differences between presets.