Introduction

If you’ve spent any time tearing up West Coast, Italy, or Jungle Rock Island, you already know that mods make BeamNG.drive truly shine. Whether it’s a hand-built drift map, a new turbocharged I-Series, or a custom scenario pack, installing mods correctly can make or break your experience.

This guide covers how to properly install third-party BeamNG mods, how to organize them, and how to troubleshoot issues when something doesn’t quite work.

📦 Step 1: Understand Where Mods Go

BeamNG mods are stored in one of two places, depending on how they’re installed:

🧩 Option 1: In-Game Repository Mods

When you subscribe via the in-game “Repository” or BeamNG.com Mods section the game goes to this folder:

BeamNG.drive\mods\repo


These are automatically managed by the game. You don’t need to touch them manually.

🧰 Option 2: Manual / Third-Party Mods

When downloading mods from sites like:

BeamNG.com forums (most reliable)

ModLand, ModDB, RaceDepartment, etc. (use with caution)

You’ll often get a .zip file.
These should be placed directly in your mods folder:

\BeamNG.drive\mods


✅ Important:
Do not unzip the file unless specifically told to by the mod creator. BeamNG loads .zip mods automatically.

🗂️ Step 2: File Structure

Let’s say you downloaded custom_drift_map.zip.

Inside that .zip, you should see a proper folder structure like this:

levels/
custom_drift_map/
main.level.json
info.json
art/
...


If you open the ZIP and see another folder first (like custom_drift_map/custom_drift_map/...), that’s a nested structure and BeamNG won’t recognize it.

👉 Fix:
Open the ZIP, go one level deeper until you find the “levels/vehicles” folders, and then re-zip that inner folder’s contents.

🔧 Step 3: Enable the Mod

Launch BeamNG.drive

Go to Repository → Mods Manager

Make sure your new mod shows up and is Enabled ✅

Restart the game to ensure it fully loads

🧼 Step 4: Clearing the Cache (When Things Break)

If mods don’t show up, textures go missing, or BeamNG starts acting weird:

Open BeamNG Launcher

Click “Manage User Folder” → “Clear Cache”

Restart BeamNG

This fixes 90% of mod-related problems.

💡 Step 5: Best Practices for Stability

Keep backups of your favorite mods

Avoid mods from sketchy sources (they can break your game or include malware)

Don’t mix old BeamNG mods (pre-0.25) with new versions

Remove duplicate mods (two vehicle mods with the same internal name = crash city)

Keep your game and mods up to date