New Rivian owner with my first question! Kuat piston bike rack trailer harness

[FraserC]

Hey there, we just got our blue Adventure R1T dual motor Max (Gen 2), and we love it! We are both keen cyclists and have a Kuat piston rack, which I mounted for the first time yesterday, and connected the wiring using a 7 to 4 pin adapter, for the brake and turn signal lights that are integrated into the rack.

When I drove it I set the trailer function to the 'accessory' setting per the manual instructions, but it seemed to revert to the trailer setting, and constantly report (usually when I came to a stop, as brake light was energized?) that my trailer was missing!

Does anyone on here use a Kuat Piston rack on their Rivian, with the lighting harness plugged in? I'm wondering if this is something I need to report to Rivian, maybe a setting for trailer harness but no trailer setting could be added? It's an annoyance because it changes the display from navigation to trailer missing - awkward when navigating in the city..!

Cheers everyone, loving this truck so far..!

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[ChiefBushWookie]

Can’t speak to the rack being used, I’ll leave that to the experts, but welcome! Love seeing new adopters of Rivian come in to the forum.

 

[Cycliste]

Welcome!
I use a Saris T-track mount sitting in the bed and a single tie down through the rear wheels. The front wheels are in wheel bags. Here is a Tahoe trip setup. If I use a second bed T-Track and leave the tailgate down, I can fit 4 bikes easily by having them face opposite directions. It’s great for a remote group ride with limited parking.

I’m looking forward to a gear tunnel slide for my equipment bag

https://interrobang.store/collections/gear-glide-tunnel-tray

The R1T is a great bike vehicle. My club is 30 km away from me so I’m loading one bike in the bed 3 days a week

 

[EVTrukHog]

I use the Kuat Piston Pro on my R1T. Connecting the bike rack lights via the trailer electrical plug automatically engages "tow mode" on the Rivian which disables all of the sensors and features reliant upon those sensors. Not being able to manually override this automatic tow mode is a complaint many of us have had for years.

My R1T "sensed" a trailer with approximate weight of 500 lbs when it is connected. I've never received the message "trailer missing" but I suspect your bike rack is not heavy enough for the sensor to detect it. I use the Kuat Pivot arm in conjunction with the Piston Pro which makes the entire rig quite heavy - this might explain why I haven't had the problem??

Do you have some heavy e-bikes you can load on your rack and see if that clears the message?

 

[FraserC]

Thanks for your feedback! So if I understand you, the hitch actually 'knows/senses' the mass on the hitch receiver? Interesting... So in that case, disconnecting the light harness will not correct this? Hmmm.. Well as far as the weight goes, the same behavior happens with the rack empty and also with two urban bikes that weigh roughly 75 pounds for the pair - which is cantilevered roughly 30 inches from hitch receiver to the center of mass.

I suppose then, again - if I understand you - the hitch may sense 50 pounds on your rack when it indicates 500 pounds, assuming the 10% tongue weight factor to calculate the trailer weight...? I'm also interested in how you got the trailer weight data from the Rivian menus, if you wouldn't mind educating me?

Again, thanks for your feedback!

 

[FraserC]

Welcome!
I use a Saris T-track mount sitting in the bed and a single tie down through the rear wheels. The front wheels are in wheel bags. Here is a Tahoe trip setup. If I use a second bed T-Track and leave the tailgate down, I can fit 4 bikes easily by having them face opposite directions. It’s great for a remote group ride with limited parking.

I’m looking forward to a gear tunnel slide for my equipment bag

https://interrobang.store/collections/gear-glide-tunnel-tray

The R1T is a great bike vehicle. My club is 30 km away from me so I’m loading one bike in the bed 3 days a week

Hi there fellow cyclist! I use the Kuat for hauling two bikes, and I also ordered the Sportline Flip-Out Bed Extender for when I haul multiple bikes for the bike Co-Op I volunteer at, though I'm still pondering how to secure the bikes since they are random sizes, typically kids bikes. Bungee cords for now, until I see or imagine a better method!

 

[EVTrukHog]

Thanks for your feedback! So if I understand you, the hitch actually 'knows/senses' the mass on the hitch receiver? Interesting... So in that case, disconnecting the light harness will not correct this? Hmmm.. Well as far as the weight goes, the same behavior happens with the rack empty and also with two urban bikes that weigh roughly 75 pounds for the pair - which is cantilevered roughly 30 inches from hitch receiver to the center of mass.

I suppose then, again - if I understand you - the hitch may sense 50 pounds on your rack when it indicates 500 pounds, assuming the 10% tongue weight factor to calculate the trailer weight...? I'm also interested in how you got the trailer weight data from the Rivian menus, if you wouldn't mind educating me?

Again, thanks for your feedback!

I "think" if you disconnect the Kuat light connection, then your trailer error message should clear. The Rivian does not detect anything in the hitch receiver until you connect the electrical plug. You can easily test this.

I'll admit I do not know exactly how the Rivian algorithim works to estimate the weight of the trailer... not sure if it is the suspension sensing the dead weight of the tongue or pulling resistance behind the truck - or some combination of both. You do have to drive for a while before it will estimate the weight. From the Owners Manual:

Go to Drive Modes>Trailers on your main screen and you can see the trailer profiles, estimated weights, etc. This is handy if you tow trailers, but aggravating if you're just connecting a bike rack.

 

[Cycliste]

Hi there fellow cyclist! I use the Kuat for hauling two bikes, and I also ordered the Sportline Flip-Out Bed Extender for when I haul multiple bikes for the bike Co-Op I volunteer at, though I'm still pondering how to secure the bikes since they are random sizes, typically kids bikes. Bungee cords for now, until I see or imagine a better method!

Yep—do what works for you and you have a lot of options with the R1T if your needs change in the future

 

[ModestoMan]

Go to Drive Modes>Trailers on your main screen and you can see the trailer profiles, estimated weights, etc. This is handy if you tow trailers, but aggravating if you're just connecting a bike rack.
[/QUOTE]

I have this rack on my R1S. Do what @evrukhog says and pick "accessories." This tells the truck that you have something other than a trailer. You have to do this every time you start a trip, however.

 

[FraserC]

I "think" if you disconnect the Kuat light connection, then your trailer error message should clear. The Rivian does not detect anything in the hitch receiver until you connect the electrical plug. You can easily test this.

I'll admit I do not know exactly how the Rivian algorithim works to estimate the weight of the trailer... not sure if it is the suspension sensing the dead weight of the tongue or pulling resistance behind the truck - or some combination of both. You do have to drive for a while before it will estimate the weight. From the Owners Manual:

Go to Drive Modes>Trailers on your main screen and you can see the trailer profiles, estimated weights, etc. This is handy if you tow trailers, but aggravating if you're just connecting a bike rack.

Thanks again! I tried disconnecting the Kuat light harness yesterday and it worked in terms of not switching to navigation mode. This is an OK workaround, but I am going to send a request to Rivian, since this is not OK to have no option to use a hitch accessory that blocks any rear lighting without a selectable mode that does not assume a trailer is connected. On a smart vehicle it's kinda ironic that the camera can't 'inform' the vehicle that there is no trailer but lights are in fact connected..

I also noted in the trailer menu that a trailer had been sensed, with a zero weight!

Thanks for your help EVTrukHog!

 

[FraserC]

Go to Drive Modes>Trailers on your main screen and you can see the trailer profiles, estimated weights, etc. This is handy if you tow trailers, but aggravating if you're just connecting a bike rack.

I have this rack on my R1S. Do what @evrukhog says and pick "accessories." This tells the truck that you have something other than a trailer. You have to do this every time you start a trip, however.
[/QUOTE]

Hi ModestoMan, that's interesting you can use your Kuat by selecting the "accessories" mode, when I try that (I have tried many times now!) it simply reverts to the trailer menu - at least opportune times whe using nav - and forces me to manually change the menu back to navigation... So I'm curious now, are you checking the accessory option like my photo attached? I think I have tried it both ways with no success, but would like to learn if there's any other option I'm missing?

 

[ModestoMan]

Yes, it works for me! My S is a gen 1... wonder if that matters. I can't confirm my exact process because I'm out of town without my rack installed.

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