A Rivian R1T owner (TEDActuallyTalks) that took delivery a couple weeks ago recently some of his initial thoughts on what it's actually like to own the electric pickup.
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Rivian R1T Owner Shares Initial Impressions (Video)
Thanks for sharing! It's great to hear from actual non-Rivian employee owners. I'm not surprised that he's already having issues with his power tonneau cover. By the look of the design I don't think anyone living anywhere you get snow or ice in the winter would dare open or close it unless it was absolutely free of snow or ice. I feel that the power tonneau and charge port door are potentially the weakest points in the overall design. I was surprised to hear an owner of an R1T pickup truck repeatedly refer to it as a car. I wonder how Rivian would feel about that.
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I would be very gentle with the the power tonneau and the rest of the truck really.
With it being so new I rather go easy during the break in process.
They were headquartered in Michigan until 2020; are you suggesting they redesigned the truck for Irvine weather after they moved their HQ?
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I'm suggesting they didn't think about ice and snow like many EVs. Front charging port is bad. Have you seen nissan leafs it's ridiculous.
Michigan is pretty mild, they get snow squalls but it's warm compared to where I am that's for sure. I've been in detroit in January with shorts on lol.
The tonneau cover is a major issue. It's still not working right on current deliveries.
Michigan is pretty mild, they get snow squalls but it's warm compared to where I am that's for sure. I've been in detroit in January with shorts on lol.
The tonneau cover is a major issue. It's still not working right on current deliveries.
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It's clearly an issue, and it's major primarily because all Launch Editions are supposed to ship with the powered tonneau. That means even if every other aspect of production is great, they probably don't want to ship many LEs until this issue is resolved. Maybe that's why they have some 250 undelivered R1T on the lot ...
I personally would be happy if they shipped my LE with just a manual cover, and promised to retrofit a powered cover some time in the future. Or I'll take a 180 degree tailgate or electrochromic roof instead
It's not a make or break feature for me.
Respectfully, I'm afraid I'm not quite understanding what you're trying to say here.
How would one "be very gentle" with a power tonneau cover?
I'm not familiar with the break-in process for a non-ICE vehicle? My understanding is that historically new vehicle break-in periods usually pertain to the combustion engine and components directly related to it.
I appreciate the feedback. Thank you.
To respond to another post, Michigan is quite an expansive state with much of it being North of many parts of Southern Ontario (where I live). We get more than enough snow and ice storms to cause problems with a power tonneau or charge port door if the vehicle had to be parked in the elements. I know that Michigan often gets the same if not worse. There's some big water to the West and Northwest of the state and it doesn't always freeze over.
Lol. Pretty funny.
^ I've had quite a few Pickup Trucks over my lifetime, none included a tonneau cover.. so it's just natural for me to leave the bed uncovered. Considering the awesome Gear Tunnel can be used for really secure storage... I will not be using the bed for storage.
I’ve had pick up trucks all my life.
some without a bed cover. most with a cover. Hard top, folding top and sliding top. All manual. The RivIan sliding electric too is going to be a continual problem for people. you can already tell they can’t make it work Correctly. And it will fail. on the ones they have been showing as demos, all sound terrible. Rivian can fix that but just supplying a manual sliding cover. All fixed.
Tesla will have the same problem too.
Wish there was a manual override, but I'm not too concerned (unless it gets stuck in the closed position). The good thing is those of us waiting will be able to get a lot of info on how well service calls go because of this potentially widespread issue with the early deliveries.
I have a feeling I will also be calling the R1T a car. I've never owned anything but cars before. "Truck" seems oddly specific to me, particularly since we'll only have one vehicle.
I have a feeling I will also be calling the R1T a car. I've never owned anything but cars before. "Truck" seems oddly specific to me, particularly since we'll only have one vehicle.
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The charge door design did change semi-recently. I'm not saying it is better or worse in cold climates. But it did change.
How so? Thank you
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AFAIK, there have been at least three designs that have been seen, publicly. Originally, the charge port was on the passenger side of the vehicle and the door opened more like a traditional fuel filler door.
Then the port was moved to the drivers side.
There seemed to be some issues with the design, because we noticed a lot of the test mules were missing charging doors, or had them really mis-aligned. There's several threads discussing (including pictures of the mules, such as https://www.rivianownersforum.com/forum/threads/real-rivian-photos-videos.885/page-116#post-40958)
Ultimately, we arrived at the current version, which has a unique "extend and rotate" mechanism.
Thank you. I was only familiar with the most current version. I'd prefer a manual door, just like a normal fuel filler door. Simply because I live where you get snow or ice in the winter, don't have access to indoor parking and I'd have to make absolutely sure that area was almost completely clear of ice or snow so it didn't affect the functionality.
You're gonna need a pigtail for the USB drive in the center console or it will get snapped off and stuck in or damage the USB port in the vehicle... that thing sticks out like a sore thumb.
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A right-angle USB cable may be even better.
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