[kirkSD]

I know the 21" wheels are not idea for off-roading, but are there any good tire upgrade options that would provide any incremental improvement? My off-roading use is primarily camping/exploring in the SoCal deserts. With some exceptions, these are not rocky trails, lots of relatively flat washes with firm to moderately soft sand. I'm hoping the 21's can be made to perform decently enough in this terrain to not warrant a second set of off-road only wheels/tires.

 

[Riviano]

All it takes is one modest-sized innocent-looking but sharp-edged rock on the side of a trail to slash your tire open.

 

[909phillyman]

I know the 21" wheels are not idea for off-roading, but are there any good tire upgrade options that would provide any incremental improvement? My off-roading use is primarily camping/exploring in the SoCal deserts. With some exceptions, these are not rocky trails, lots of relatively flat washes with firm to moderately soft sand. I'm hoping the 21's can be made to perform decently enough in this terrain to not warrant a second set of off-road only wheels/tires.

Although @Riviano is correct about potential damage, that can be said for any tire/wheels combo. My take is that I've seen quite a few R1T's on 21's riding around sketchy terrain and as long as you are realistic, cautious, and properly air down, you should be fine on the trails that you plan to tackle. For reference, here's Sandy Munro with his 1st R1T on 21's, on an obstacle course:

If you prefer to not click the youtube link above, go ahead and search YouTube yourself for "Munro R1T off road". Sandy did NOT go easy on the truck and he went over terrain that is likely more aggressive than what you're planning. Good luck on your decision.

 

[Neal]

I am new to this forum and generally don’t post much online, but I haven’t seen this discussed. Apologies, this will be a long post.

I strongly advise anyone on the waitlist to reconsider proceeding with the 21” wheel and tire. In my experience, there is a major flaw in the all-weather tire.
The water channels that run the tire's circumference are too wide (for context, the channels are almost double the width of the all-weather tires I have on my Subaru). These channels are weak points in the construction, leading to a tear in my tire with only 3,000 miles traveled.

Now for the context. I live in Western Washington, and I frequently whitewater kayak, ski, and do more stereotypical activities. This often involves driving on gravel roads, but rarely anything truly “off-road.” I have never had an issue with my old Outback with a good set of all-weather tires. This experience led me to spec the 21” wheels and tires for the range benefit on long days. That appears to have been a big mistake.

A couple of weeks ago, I was headed to the put-in for the Sultan River dam release on a very good to decent gravel road and tore through the tread on one of the tires. You’ll have to take me at my word, but it was an unexceptional location and speed. In fact, I was following my friend’s Prius with bald tires! The picture shows the result. Punctures happen, but the width of the water channel and the weight of the truck lead me to expect this to happen again all too soon.

Here are the reasons why this is worthy of a rant:

• You cannot currently replace the tires with something else. This Pirelli tire is the only tire on the market that will fit the 21” wheel.
• Your aftermarket wheel options are very slim. The bore and offset Rivian set the truck up with are basically unique. This means the only wheels (with the same bore and offset) are the ones offered by Rivian at the time of sale. (It appears that some custom options are available, but I haven’t been able to bring my shell out $6k after +$80k for the truck)
• Rivian will not sell you an additional set of wheels. Given their current production shortfalls, all “extra” wheels are being distributed as spares.

Rivian’s response thus far has been pretty lackluster. I got an “it is a heavy truck” response when I brought it into the service center. Fair point, but y’all designed these tires for the truck. Maybe I am crazy, but I was expecting gravel road performance to at least be equivalent to a Prius with bald tires.

I strongly suggest paying the extra money for the 20” wheels because you have other tire options at 20” if you want something more efficient. That’s a lot cheaper and better value than being stuck with an “off-road truck” that needs to be babied more than a Prius.

 

[O. horridus]

I guess that my response would be similar to Rivian's - "lackluster" as you call it. Punctures happen, whether you're on gravel or in a parking lot, and they suck. Mostly they are just random bad luck, sometimes the driver's behavior contributes, but rarely is it the fault of the tire.

Here are the reasons why this is worthy of a rant:

• You cannot currently replace the tires with something else. This Pirelli tire is the only tire on the market that will fit the 21” wheel.
• Your aftermarket wheel options are very slim. The bore and offset Rivian set the truck up with are basically unique. This means the only wheels (with the same bore and offset) are the ones offered by Rivian at the time of sale. (It appears that some custom options are available, but I haven’t been able to bring my shell out $6k after +$80k for the truck)
• Rivian will not sell you an additional set of wheels. Given their current production shortfalls, all “extra” wheels are being distributed as spares.

Yes, all these points have been raised and endlessly discussed over the past two years since Rivian unveiled their tire/wheel options. They are all valid points, and many have avoided the 21" because of these and other considerations. However this information is nothing new or unknown, and each of these three bullet points will become less of a problem over time - you have chosen to buy a brand new vehicle design and you will therefore have to live with some early adaptor problems like lack of aftermarket parts and accessories. Other manufacturers are using 21" wheels now, so as time goes on you will have more choices to select the tires you want.

The Pirelli Scorpion Verde has been around for many years, and there are millions of these tires on the road today. I find it unlikely that you have discovered "a major flaw" in the tire design based on your 3,000 miles of use. I think it's way more likely that you ran over a piece of metal in the road that the Prius in front of you missed. Or perhaps (but IMO unlikely) there was a manufacturing flaw in that one tire. But a major flaw in the tire design would have shown up by now, given the age and widespread use of this design.

I've driven that same road and others in the area, and I've seen people in lifted Jeeps get the same sort of puncture on similar roads. Jumping to the conclusion that this is because of a flawed tire design doesn't seem justified based on this one incident.

 

[Neal]

Fair enough, as we both stated, punctures happen. It could be a fluke.

I think the R1T's +7000lbs weight and the channel width on the Pirelli Scorpion Verde lend themselves to me more likely to puncture. Those channels might not be an issue on a vehicle with half the truck's weight.

I was unaware of how unique the truck's offset and bore diameter are, but I don't frequent these forums much. Tire options might not be an issue in a couple of years, but that does not help much today.

I still think this is helpful context for prospective buyers to consider. They are more than welcome to disregard just the same.

 

[MilesK]

I am new to this forum and generally don’t post much online, but I haven’t seen this discussed. Apologies, this will be a long post.

I strongly advise anyone on the waitlist to reconsider proceeding with the 21” wheel and tire. In my experience, there is a major flaw in the all-weather tire.
The water channels that run the tire's circumference are too wide (for context, the channels are almost double the width of the all-weather tires I have on my Subaru). These channels are weak points in the construction, leading to a tear in my tire with only 3,000 miles traveled.

Now for the context. I live in Western Washington, and I frequently whitewater kayak, ski, and do more stereotypical activities. This often involves driving on gravel roads, but rarely anything truly “off-road.” I have never had an issue with my old Outback with a good set of all-weather tires. This experience led me to spec the 21” wheels and tires for the range benefit on long days. That appears to have been a big mistake.

A couple of weeks ago, I was headed to the put-in for the Sultan River dam release on a very good to decent gravel road and tore through the tread on one of the tires. You’ll have to take me at my word, but it was an unexceptional location and speed. In fact, I was following my friend’s Prius with bald tires! The picture shows the result. Punctures happen, but the width of the water channel and the weight of the truck lead me to expect this to happen again all too soon.

Here are the reasons why this is worthy of a rant:

• You cannot currently replace the tires with something else. This Pirelli tire is the only tire on the market that will fit the 21” wheel.
• Your aftermarket wheel options are very slim. The bore and offset Rivian set the truck up with are basically unique. This means the only wheels (with the same bore and offset) are the ones offered by Rivian at the time of sale. (It appears that some custom options are available, but I haven’t been able to bring my shell out $6k after +$80k for the truck)
• Rivian will not sell you an additional set of wheels. Given their current production shortfalls, all “extra” wheels are being distributed as spares.

Rivian’s response thus far has been pretty lackluster. I got an “it is a heavy truck” response when I brought it into the service center. Fair point, but y’all designed these tires for the truck. Maybe I am crazy, but I was expecting gravel road performance to at least be equivalent to a Prius with bald tires.

I strongly suggest paying the extra money for the 20” wheels because you have other tire options at 20” if you want something more efficient. That’s a lot cheaper and better value than being stuck with an “off-road truck” that needs to be babied more than a Prius.
View attachment 7708

How have you approached the puncture? Were you able to patch it up?

 

[Neal]

How have you approached the puncture? Were you able to patch it up?

I was advised to replace the tire.

 

[LoudOrange]

Neal - kudos to you for acknowledging O'horridus' point.