You’re probably tired of being broke in Los Santos. We’ve all been there, staring at a luxury apartment we can't afford while some teenager in an Oppressor Mk II blows up our delivery van. But there is a weird, quiet way to make easy money that most people just sort of forget about after their first week. I'm talking about the daily treasure hunt. It’s simple. Every single day, a wooden scrap of a boat washes up somewhere on the coastline of San Andreas. If you find these shipwreck locations GTA 5 offers up, you get a decent chunk of change and, eventually, a pretty cool outfit that makes you look like a 18th-century frontier man.
It’s easy money. Honestly.
The whole thing started back with the Los Santos Tuners update. Rockstar added these daily collectibles to keep people exploring the map, and while they aren't as flashy as a Cayo Perico heist, they are way less stressful. You just show up, grab a chest, and walk away $25,000 richer. Do that seven times? You unlock the Frontier Outfit. It's a rugged, buckskin-heavy look that feels totally out of place in a city full of neon supercars, which is exactly why people want it.
How the Daily Cycle Actually Works
Here is the thing about the shipwreck locations GTA 5 uses: they aren't random in the way you might think. There are 30 possible spots where the wreck can appear. However, only one is active at any given time. This active spot resets every day at 06:00 UTC. If you go to a spot you saw on a YouTube video from three days ago, you’re going to find nothing but sand and disappointment.
You need to know where to look today.
The wreck itself looks like a pile of bleached, broken wooden planks. It’s small. If you're flying over in a Buzzard or a Sparrow, you might miss it if you aren't looking closely. Look for a small wooden treasure chest sitting right next to the debris. When you get close, your controller will vibrate—assuming you haven't turned that off to save battery—and you'll hear a faint, ghostly jingle. It sounds a bit like wind chimes mixed with a pirate's fever dream.
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Tracking Down the 30 Potential Spots
Most of the wrecks are clustered along the eastern and western shores. You’ve got a lot of them near the Palomino Highlands and up toward Mount Gordo. Some are tucked away in the tiny coves of the Pacific Bluffs.
If you're hunting these down, a sea vehicle is your best friend. Seriously, don't try to drive a Pegassi Toreador over the mountains for every single one of these. Use a Longfin or just call in a Dinghy. Better yet, use the Oppressor Mk II or a Sea Sparrow if you have one. Being able to hop from beach to beach saves you twenty minutes of mindless driving through the Vinewood Hills.
Let's talk geography. A lot of players get confused near the Zancudo River. There are a couple of spots right where the river meets the ocean. If the daily location is there, it’s usually tucked behind some marsh grass. You’ll be squinting at your screen trying to figure out if that’s a rock or the boat. It's usually the boat.
The Western Coastline
The west side of the map is a bit of a trek. You have spots near the Chumash bunkers and further up by the North Chumash beach. There’s one specific location near the Hookies burger joint that is notoriously annoying because the tide sometimes makes the chest look like it’s underwater. It isn't. Just walk into the surf and you'll find it.
The Paleto Bay Run
Paleto Bay is quiet. Too quiet. But it holds about four or five of the possible shipwreck locations GTA 5 cycles through. These are usually the easiest to find because the beaches are flat and wide. No cliffs to climb. No jagged rocks to get your boat stuck on. If the wreck is in Paleto, consider it a lucky day.
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The Eastern Bluffs and Islands
This is where it gets tricky. The eastern side of San Andreas is a nightmare of jagged rocks and tiny islands. There are spots near the El Burro Heights scrap yard and further north by the power station. If you’re searching the islands near the Palomino Highlands, stay in the air as long as possible. Trying to navigate those tiny channels in a boat is a recipe for frustration.
The Reward: Is the Frontier Outfit Worth It?
Let's be real. $25,000 isn't going to buy you a yacht. It won't even buy you a decent set of tires for a high-end car. But $175,000 over a week? That's not bad for five minutes of work a day. Plus, you get 2,000 RP every time you open a chest. If you're a lower-level player trying to hit Rank 100, this is a consistent way to chip away at that bar without having to deal with the chaos of public lobbies.
Then there’s the outfit.
The Frontier Outfit is a "unique" item. You can't buy it. You have to earn it by collecting seven shipwreck scraps. You don't have to do it seven days in a row, though. That’s a common misconception. If you miss a day because you actually have a life outside of Los Santos, don't worry. Your progress stays. Collect three scraps this week, four next week, and the outfit will appear in your wardrobe under the "Special" category. It looks like something out of Red Dead Redemption, which is a nice nod from the developers.
Why You Can't Find the Wreck
Sometimes, you show up at the right spot and... nothing. You checked the community maps. You're 100% sure you're at the correct shipwreck locations GTA 5 daily coordinate. But the beach is empty.
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There are three main reasons this happens:
- The Session hasn't updated: If you've been in the same session since before the 06:00 UTC reset, the world might not have loaded the new asset. Switch sessions. It fixes 90% of GTA Online's problems anyway.
- You already grabbed it: The game doesn't give you a notification that you've already found today's wreck. If you play late at night, you might have grabbed it and forgotten.
- The "Ghost" Bug: Occasionally, the chest is there but the visual model of the shipwreck hasn't spawned. Walk around the area anyway. If your controller vibrates, the chest is there. It’s just invisible because the game's engine is held together by digital duct tape.
Expert Strategies for Efficient Hunting
Don't just wander the coast. That’s a waste of time. The GTA community is actually incredibly organized. There are dedicated subreddits and Twitter accounts—like GTA Web or the GTA Online daily reset threads—where people post the exact map location within minutes of the reset. Use them.
Open your interaction menu. Set your spawn point to "Last Location." If you find the wreck and the game feels laggy, force a save by changing your outfit in the style menu. Look for the little orange loading circle in the bottom right. There is nothing worse than finding a collectible and then having the game crash before it saves your progress.
If you are using a helicopter, watch out for the NPCs near the wrecks. Sometimes, especially near the more remote northern beaches, you might run into aggressive NPCs or even other players who are camping the spot. It’s rare, but this is Los Santos. People are weird.
Actionable Steps for Today
If you want to start this today, here is the most efficient path. First, check a reliable community source to see which of the 30 shipwreck locations GTA 5 is currently active. Don't guess.
Next, grab a fast sea or air vehicle. If you don't own one, go to the airport or the Vespucci helipad and steal a Maverick. It’s fast enough. Fly to the coordinates, land nearby, and listen for that chime. Once you grab the chest, you’ll see the "$25,000" and "1/7 Clothing Scraps" notification.
Repeat this six more times over the next few days. It takes less than five minutes per day if you know exactly where you're going. Once you have all seven, head to any clothing store or your apartment. Go to "Outfits," then "Special," and put on your new Frontier Outfit. You’ve now got a rare piece of gear and an extra $175,000 in your Maze Bank account. Not a bad haul for beachcombing.