At launch this column deliberately printed no upgrade prices, because no reliable price list existed: the upgrades guide and the Pebbles guide both said so in plain words. That premise is now out of date. Since October, several independent community sources have published the same price table, stage for stage, and they agree on the totals too. This guide prints that table, shows the arithmetic, and says plainly where the sources still disagree, so you can budget a whole vehicle instead of guessing at the merchant.
At a glance
Every first purchasable stage costs 25 Pebbles, every second stage costs 50, and only winch and tool slots have a third stage at 75.
Fully upgrading one vehicle costs 675 Pebbles across 16 stages in 7 systems. Fully upgrading all 21 vehicles costs 14,175.
Upgrades are bought from Crazy Gunther the Mechanic, in order within each system, for one vehicle only: they do not transfer and are not refunded.
First finishes of all 23 challenge trails pay 680 Pebbles in total, almost exactly one maxed vehicle. The arithmetic is shown below.
If a number here differs from the card in your own merchant menu, trust your menu: one source itself warns that its table should be checked against the in-game card.
The price table: all 7 systems, all 16 stages
Swipe horizontally to view all columns.
| System | Purchasable stages | Cost per stage (Pebbles) | Cost to max |
|---|---|---|---|
Engine | Stage 2, Stage 3 | 25, 50 | 75 |
Tires | Stage 2, Stage 3 | 25, 50 | 75 |
Suspension | Level 2, Level 3 | 25, 50 | 75 |
Water resistance | Stage 2, Stage 3 | 25, 50 | 75 |
Protection | Stage 2, Stage 3 | 25, 50 | 75 |
Winch | Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4 | 25, 50, 75 | 150 |
Tool slots | Three purchases | 25, 50, 75 | 150 |
Stage names start at 2 because the stock part counts as the first level, and the merchant menu always shows the exact price before you confirm. The total is simple to check: five two-stage systems at 75 each make 375, plus two three-stage systems at 150 each make 300, and 375 plus 300 is
675. The sources agree on every line of this table, which is what makes it printable now when the launch-week version of this column refused to print any price at all.
What each stage actually buys
Engine stages raise torque, power and top speed, and the gain depends on the vehicle class. Community release-build data puts the torque steps at: Trail class 100 to 106 to 112, Wagon 125 to 138 to 151, Workhorse 175 to 190 to 207, and Expedition 200 to 227 to 256 Newton-metres. Treat those class numbers as community data and the in-game card as final, but the shape is consistent across sources: the engine is the gradient answer. Tires add grip in two steps, 0.08 then 0.16 over stock, and they are the only line that answers wet rock, mud, sand and snow together. Suspension adds ride height in two steps, 0.08 then 0.16 metres. Protection cuts damage taken, to 85 percent of stock at the first purchased stage and 70 percent at the second. Water resistance raises the engine intake position in two steps, so the motor survives deeper and longer crossings. Winch stages extend winch range, and tool slot purchases expand the carried kit capacity that the recovery system runs on.
Where you buy, and the rules that make prices hurt
All upgrades are bought from the Mechanic, Crazy Gunther, at his camp on the map: open the Upgrade tab, pick a system, and pay Pebbles. Three rules turn this table from a shopping list into a budget problem. First, stages unlock in order, so you cannot buy a second stage until you own the first on that same vehicle. Second, upgrades are bought on one vehicle and stay there: switching trucks means that truck has its own upgrade ladder, and the 675 figure is per vehicle, not per garage. Third, there is no refund, so a stage bought on a truck you abandon is Pebbles that truck keeps. The same sources also note the free second supply chain from the official description: upgrades and equipment are also found in the world, so a thorough explorer regularly avoids buying what the map was about to hand over.
Paying for it: the earning arithmetic
The cleanest earning figure is the challenge-trail first finishes, because the trail table is fully cross-checked: 3 trails pay 15 Pebbles each, 11 pay 25 each, and 9 pay 40 each, which is 45 plus 275 plus 360, or 680 in total. Clearing every first finish therefore almost exactly pays for one fully upgraded vehicle, with 5 Pebbles to spare, and the trail-by-trail table lives in the companion region guide. Repeat trail finishes pay a smaller amount: one community source puts repeats at 3 to 8 Pebbles, and another states that exact repeat payouts are not established, so treat the repeat figure as indicative, not bankable.
Beyond trails, two figures come from a single source family and are flagged as such: meteorites pay 15 to 80 Pebbles each, and a first Mechanic visit in an area pays
10. The community estimates for all one-time rewards in the game do not fully agree: one source totals roughly 3,240 Pebbles, another totals 3,285 including 2,565 from map locations. The honest reading is a range, 3,240 to 3,285, which covers about four and three-quarter maxed vehicles, and the gap between that and the 14,175 full-garage figure is exactly why the long game runs on repeatable trails and meteorites rather than first-time objectives. Cabins, viewpoints, landmarks, recoveries and wildlife photos all pay along the way, but their per-item figures are not published in any current guide, so the reward panel on the objective itself is the figure to trust.
Three budget plans
First 75 Pebbles: one stage 1 in three different systems, for example tool slot, winch and tires at 25 each. Three separate weaknesses covered beats one line deepened, and this is the value play several guides converge on.
First vehicle, capability order: follow the terrain logic of the upgrades guide instead, engine and tires first, because the wall you hit first is usually a climb, then a surface. Prices do not change that order; they only tell you how long each step takes to save for.
The garage reality: 675 per vehicle times 21 is 14,175, against roughly 3,240 to 3,285 in one-time rewards. Max the truck you actually drive, keep the rest of the fleet at stage 1 where it matters, and let repeat trails and meteorites fund the long tail.
FAQ
Why did this column refuse to print prices at launch? Because no reliable price list existed then. The price table in this guide exists because several independent sources now agree on it, stage for stage.
Does a stage bought on one truck help my other trucks? No. Upgrades stay on the vehicle that bought them and do not transfer, and there is no refund.
What if the in-game card shows a different number? Trust the card. One source itself warns that its table should be checked against the merchant menu.
Is 680 Pebbles from trails enough to max a vehicle? Yes, just barely: 680 covers the 675 full-upgrade cost with 5 to spare, before any other income.
Do I have to spend at all? No, in the sense that upgrades and equipment are also found in the world. Exploration is a genuine second supply chain, and a found stage is a stage you never need to buy.