RJ: Camp Mode Beta Testing Video. Rolling out very soon in next OTA update

[pc500]

I don’t think it’s GW. All of the Instagram photos RJ posted related to camp mode show that all of the vehicles are incredibly dusty. I think we’re just seeing a dust covered hood like the R1T in the bottom of this photo:

It's a R1S, only because the leveling animation say R1S.

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[bd5400]

It's a R1S, only because the leveling animation say R1S.

I’m not suggesting it isn’t. Just providing context for what the vehicles looked like covered in dust, meaning the R1S probably isn’t white.

 

[Bobthebuilder352]

Leveling: This is an unnecessary feature that’s “fixing” a problem that really doesn’t exist. Now if it could accommodate a 30° angle then that would be something but that’s not what we’re talking about. Perhaps I’m bitter because they can’t even get my truck registered so I’m not super confident in this working.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Leveling: This is an unnecessary feature that’s “fixing” a problem that really doesn’t exist. Now if it could accommodate a 30° angle then that would be something but that’s not what we’re talking about. Perhaps I’m bitter because they can’t even get my truck registered so I’m not super confident in this working.

It absolutely does exist unless you live in the plains. Some designated camp sites have a constant pitch to them, or the places that are flat and level already have things like a fire ring. It might not be able to completely level out on very angled surfaces, but if you can eliminate 3 degrees fore/aft and 5 degrees side to side, you'll be in a much better situation. You can still use leveling blocks in situations where you might need more than what the truck can accomplish. I expect it to have somewhere in the realm of 8" of travel from absolute min to absolute max. They can go higher or lower when in park than when the truck is being driven.

The induction stove-top included in the camp kitchen is especially important to get level. We've had issues with things slowly migrating off of the burner under use if it's out of level less than a degree. (We don't have the Rivian kitchen but have been using the same stove, free to move it somewhere level. I plan to try to accomodate leveling it in my final kitchen design above and beyond what the truck itself can accomplish.) I half expect this is part of the delay in releasing the kitchen. The liability for a pot of boiling water to slide off the stove-top could be significant.

 

[Bobthebuilder352]

It absolutely does exist unless you live in the plains. Some designated camp sites have a constant pitch to them, or the places that are flat and level already have things like a fire ring. It might not be able to completely level out on very angled surfaces, but if you can eliminate 3 degrees fore/aft and 5 degrees side to side, you'll be in a much better situation. You can still use leveling blocks in situations where you might need more than what the truck can accomplish. I expect it to have somewhere in the realm of 8" of travel from absolute min to absolute max. They can go higher or lower when in park than when the truck is being driven.

The induction stove-top included in the camp kitchen is especially important to get level. We've had issues with things slowly migrating off of the burner under use if it's out of level less than a degree. (We don't have the Rivian kitchen but have been using the same stove, free to move it somewhere level. I plan to try to accomodate leveling it in my final kitchen design above and beyond what the truck itself can accomplish.) I half expect this is part of the delay in releasing the kitchen. The liability for a pot of boiling water to slide off the stove-top could be significant.

Fair point on the stove but you could get 3° on that itself. average person is camping one night max in the truck before moving. This isn’t an RV.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

The auto leveling is nice.

But there are so MANY other more important and High Frequency use gremlins out there to fix this just seems ridiculous. How about fixing the Phone as a Key or Allowing my Card to open up the truck without the 5+ second delay, a key FOB that works like a key FOB just for starters. Or upgrading GearGuard...ect.. These are things used by the masses multiple times a day. To me it just seems as if they aren't serious about providing a quality experience for features already in place.

I'm getting disgruntled with my R1T because of this type of misdirection. My streaming stopped working and I'm being told to wait for the update (which I haven't received yet). When I asked about the timeline for me or if they could force it, the answer was I'll get the update in the next 2 weeks to 2 months. My truck continues to have "phantom battery drain" but maybe I'll just have to put in "CAMP MODE" when parking it for the night.

Thank you very much Rivian.

Nearly every update has gone after some of the things you mention. Those I think will always be incremental fixes until they find the sweet spot that works in all situations.

Marques Brownlee touched on the phone as a key in his recent Rivian video, where it was obvious during the course of it, the phone as a key was a bit hit and miss, but as he mentions, it had taken tesla some time to make the phone as a key work reliably.

Things will get better, but dumping all the engineers on it, won't necessarily make it go faster, hence they are part of feature updates.

Early adopter tax!

Also, would you rather have the vehicle in its current condition, or been patient and understanding if Rivian delayed deliveries further than they did, to fix those gripes prior to launch?

 

[jjswan33]

Honestly I don’t understand all the criticism here. Yes Rivian’s software is far from perfect and has lots of room for improvement.

In my opinion though the software updates are one of the few things that Rivian has done well. This has to be the 4th or 5h software update in 5 months of ownership. Every update has brought along a set of new features and important bug fixes.

 

[crashmtb]

Leveling: This is an unnecessary feature that’s “fixing” a problem that really doesn’t exist. Now if it could accommodate a 30° angle then that would be something but that’s not what we’re talking about. Perhaps I’m bitter because they can’t even get my truck registered so I’m not super confident in this working.

This feature was touted years ago already. Just like park/kneel mode. Presumably their suspension software group has a roadmap and they’ve now hit whatever point levelling mode was at.

A 30 degree angle? Really? Who is camping on a 67% slope?

Don’t be obtuse. This will by useful for more than just sleeping in/on the vehicle. It will help with things like using the gear tunnel doors as a table. Using the camp kitchen. Not having doors close themselves while camping. Etc.

It absolutely does exist unless you live in the plains.

hello from the flattest part of the continent, where I’ve never had a truly level campsite ?

 

[Dark-Fx]

Fair point on the stove but you could get 3° on that itself. average person is camping one night max in the truck before moving. This isn’t an RV.

We've taken a couple trips now, one was four nights, four different sites. Another was four nights at the same camp site. For either trip, anything that speeds up setup and teardown is a huge advantage when you're using equipment on the truck, and having to park in the exact right spot and still need to use leveling blocks adds a significant amount of time, not to mention the already limited storage space you have without having a dedicated camper.

For the one where we were at the same campsite, there were things to do that required driving to them, so we still had to tear down on two of the days we were there, and set back up again. It was an RV park but the parking pad was still a bit over a degree out of level. Ended up parking one wheel on a traction pad to get it closer. Without it, it was enough that you slide around in the RTT repositioning at night. If you're alone, not a big deal. With my wife and toddler, it's definitely been problematic as the tent is pretty cramped already.

I've probably spent more time repositioning at campsites than we've spent at DCFCs waiting for a charge to complete in the Rivian. It's difficult to get the truck in a situation where you're close to level and optimize the position of the truck for the ladder placement for the tent and the awning system on the other side. I'm excited about the camping specific additions and I can't wait to get them.

-Signed, Someone who has used the Rivian+RTT at 8 different camp sites and 13 nights total in the RTT since April and has a lot more planned once the camp mode stuff comes out. Only three out of the 8 sites level wasn't an issue.

 

[DJG]

The auto leveling is nice.

But there are so MANY other more important and High Frequency use gremlins out there to fix this just seems ridiculous. How about fixing the Phone as a Key or Allowing my Card to open up the truck without the 5+ second delay, a key FOB that works like a key FOB just for starters. Or upgrading GearGuard...ect.. These are things used by the masses multiple times a day. To me it just seems as if they aren't serious about providing a quality experience for features already in place.

I'm getting disgruntled with my R1T because of this type of misdirection. My streaming stopped working and I'm being told to wait for the update (which I haven't received yet). When I asked about the timeline for me or if they could force it, the answer was I'll get the update in the next 2 weeks to 2 months. My truck continues to have "phantom battery drain" but maybe I'll just have to put in "CAMP MODE" when parking it for the night.

Thank you very much Rivian.

So to be fair, I think this is now three OTA's in a row that includes PAAK improvements. The reality is there are a lot of different phones and software for it to just be easily fixed for everyone. For many, it's worked flawlessly from day one. I have to imagine the pool of people with suboptimal experience is shrinking with every update.

If you have defective cards/fobs, that's not an OTA addressable issue, it's likely a hardware issue that should be checked and resolved. I don't hear much about cards/fobs not working, and mine work just fine (in limited use because my PAAK has been on the good end of the spectrum).

It sounds like you have a lot of vehicle specific issues, and they certainly have merit to be rectified, but mass OTA's are not the medium through which to do that. As silly as it sounds, I think the best means of getting attention for your issues is to DM the software guy on Reddit, as he has told specific people to do so when they've mentioned similar oddities.

 

[Alpha456]

I agree, it's all the accumulated "little" things that you deal with every day that grinds on you and eventually start affecting the ownership experience. My number 1 is locking and unlocking (PAK, keycard delay etc.).

+100. I'd venture a guess that you attempt to lock/unlock your car slightly more often than you both camp in it and do so on an extremely un-level surface.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

We've taken a couple trips now, one was four nights, four different sites. Another was four nights at the same camp site. For either trip, anything that speeds up setup and teardown is a huge advantage when you're using equipment on the truck, and having to park in the exact right spot and still need to use leveling blocks adds a significant amount of time, not to mention the already limited storage space you have without having a dedicated camper.

For the one where we were at the same campsite, there were things to do that required driving to them, so we still had to tear down on two of the days we were there, and set back up again. It was an RV park but the parking pad was still a bit over a degree out of level. Ended up parking one wheel on a traction pad to get it closer. Without it, it was enough that you slide around in the RTT repositioning at night. If you're alone, not a big deal. With my wife and toddler, it's definitely been problematic as the tent is pretty cramped already.

I've probably spent more time repositioning at campsites than we've spent at DCFCs waiting for a charge to complete in the Rivian. It's difficult to get the truck in a situation where you're close to level and optimize the position of the truck for the ladder placement for the tent and the awning system on the other side. I'm excited about the camping specific additions and I can't wait to get them.

-Signed, Someone who has used the Rivian+RTT at 8 different camp sites and 13 nights total in the RTT since April and has a lot more planned once the camp mode stuff comes out. Only three out of the 8 sites level wasn't an issue.

I haven't been camping in my Rivian yet, but I did walk into an REI today and after that I can definitely see how this feature would be helpful.

 

[MNLightning]

Tenting in the R1T with a toddler, that's an adventure. I'm glad that more than a few of you are able to enjoy the camp settings features.

 

[MNLightning]

Nearly every update has gone after some of the things you mention. Those I think will always be incremental fixes until they find the sweet spot that works in all situations.

Marques Brownlee touched on the phone as a key in his recent Rivian video, where it was obvious during the course of it, the phone as a key was a bit hit and miss, but as he mentions, it had taken tesla some time to make the phone as a key work reliably.

Things will get better, but dumping all the engineers on it, won't necessarily make it go faster, hence they are part of feature updates.

Early adopter tax!

Also, would you rather have the vehicle in its current condition, or been patient and understanding if Rivian delayed deliveries further than they did, to fix those gripes prior to launch?

So the misadventures of Tesla are now the high water mark for development? It's not the engineers that are the problem it's the leadership and lack of direction. Opening/Closing/Locking/Unlocking... are pretty basic hardly something to delay a planned launch. Now if we were talking about the charging pad everyone would understand a delayed delivery j/k.

Something like this guy is experiencing.... but you think we should all just suk it up because we are early adopters lol.
https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...ther-phone-as-a-key-nor-key-card-worked.7870/

 

[MountainBikeDude]

So the misadventures of Tesla are now the high water mark for development? It's not the engineers that are the problem it's the leadership and lack of direction. Opening/Closing/Locking/Unlocking... are pretty basic hardly something to delay a planned launch. Now if we were talking about the charging pad everyone would understand a delayed delivery j/k.

Something like this guy is experiencing.... but you think we should all just suk it up because we are early adopters lol.
https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...ther-phone-as-a-key-nor-key-card-worked.7870/

Bet you're a blast at parties, really take the mood from FUN to ho hum in 3 seconds flat hey?

Tesla PAAK was the example used in the video I mentioned which is why I... mentioned it. And no not the gold standard, but one in line what we are talking about. You know... phones, key cards, fobs.

Rivian has the basis for a fantastic vehicle, they just have some software gremlins flesh out, or ? in your case.

It's kinda funny actually because you're so over the top and dramatic about well, everything! Your Vampire drain ???? is probably in line with everyone else's at this point, which, while not perfect, has been improving with each release. But you get so worked up it seems like it's full one minute, empty the next.

While you work on the rebuttle to my minor jab, in the meantime, hang some garlic from your rear-view mirror, drive a couple stakes through the underbody, and change out your washer fluid with Holy water. Should ward away any stragglers. Pictures welcome.

Ps.
Bet hanging the garlic from the mirror to take the photo will even have you crack a smile. For once.

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