Rivian is going to have to make a fridge

[TAZ]

I'm still bummed that my Yeti 75 that I just got last year won't fit in the bed with the cover closed. I think I'll be getting a 65 and a (roadie 24 it doesn't fit either)for the beers when camping!

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[Sdvictor]

The blunder would be compromising the vehicle by designing the frunk around a cooler that maybe 5% of the customer will ever use.

Sadly, it was CS provided official dimensions that didn't account for the bump. It sounds like a lot of folks (me included) seemingly purchased coolers to use then based on those dimensions on the hopes that it'll work when they received their vehicles.

if they weren't fixed and finalized on dimensions, they shouldn't have provided it. Simple as that.

 

[crashmtb]

Is there a before-after comparison of the "frunk tweak"?
Is there an explanation of the tweak?
I wonder if it was to clear the space needed for the winch.
That image of a fridge being … 30%? … 50%? too big for the frunk is disappoint to say the least; I think it's a major blunder.
No 12V in the bed is also a minor "what were you thinking?" omission.
Has anyone found a compressor fridge-freezer that does fit in the frunk?

Before:

 

[astonius]

Before:

Man, I forgot how cavernous the prototype frunk was.

 

[godfodder0901]

Man, I forgot how cavernous the prototype trunk was.

And those hooks would be SWEET!!!

 

[crashmtb]

And those hooks would be SWEET!!!

surprised They got value engineered out. However, those sorts of foldy hooks are on all sorts of cars. Find a suitable one, and a Dremel…maybe a shot of bourbon to steady the hand and It’s off to town

 

[the long way downunder]

Before:

A low profile generic brand compressor fridge-freezer might fit.
Of course if it's a fully air-sealed frunk, the heat of the compressor has nowhere to vent, so it would be an insulated cooler for most of the time and the compressor could run when the frunk is open.

https://www.astroai.com/portable-freezer-car-refrigerator-22liter/ap/10001526

 

[crashmtb]

A low profile generic brand compressor fridge-freezer might fit.
Of course if it's a fully air-sealed frunk, the heat of the compressor has nowhere to vent, so it would be an insulated cooler for most of the time and the compressor could run when the frunk is open.

https://www.astroai.com/portable-freezer-car-refrigerator-22liter/ap/10001526

I don’t see the front trunk being any worse for cooling than the trunk of a sedan or something.

 

[the long way downunder]

Funnily enough, the owner's manual has a diagram that appears to be the "old" front trunk design:

I don’t see the front trunk being any worse for cooling than the trunk of a sedan or something.

Just because it's a smaller volume and I think watertight. Hopefully Dometic and Rivian invent something bespoke to the frunk (maybe replacing the plastic bin/liner) that includes an air duct to exhaust compressor heat.
The frunk of any EV has great potential. I think the volume and capabilities of the frunk is the defining characteristic of bespoke EVs vs ICE vehicles converted to a BEV power train.

 

[crashmtb]

Funnily enough, the owner's manual has a diagram that appears to be the "old" front trunk design:

Just because it's a smaller volume and I think watertight. Hopefully Dometic and Rivian invent something bespoke to the frunk (maybe replacing the plastic bin/liner) that includes an air duct to exhaust compressor heat.
The frunk of any EV has great potential. I think the volume and capabilities of the frunk is the defining characteristic of bespoke EVs vs ICE vehicles converted to a BEV power train.

given how well thought out most of the other details are, they’ll come up with something I’m sure. A lot of people will be asking for it.

 

[Forager]

So, what are the dimensions? Outside of Dometic, there are many other boat/automotive fridge companies:

Iceco, Engel, ARB, National Luna, Smittybuilt —and those are before you even start considering the buyer-beware Amazon specials.

 

[kylealden]

Funnily enough, the owner's manual has a diagram that appears to be the "old" front trunk design:

I believe that's the correct (production) frunk - just with the false floor inserted. It's the false floor that is new - previously it just went all the way down to a flat bottom, but they had to add the false floor to provide a flat bottom now that there's a big intrusion at the "true" floor.

FWIW I think the false floor is actually a really reasonable design and good set of tradeoffs for almost everyone. It just really sucks that they both explicitly advertised the dimensions without accounting for the cutout, explicitly said "large coolers are no problem," and didn't share updated photos of the frunk until the 11th hour.

Even those wouldn't be a big deal if the bed-to-tonneau wasn't so shallow, which is another set of independently reasonable tradeoffs that end in a real bummer for folks who want a nice place to secure a fridge.

 

[the long way downunder]

I believe that's the correct (production) frunk - just with the false floor inserted. It's the false floor that is new - previously it just went all the way down to a flat bottom, but they had to add the false floor to provide a flat bottom now that there's a big intrusion at the "true" floor.

FWIW I think the false floor is actually a really reasonable design and good set of tradeoffs for almost everyone. It just really sucks that they both explicitly advertised the dimensions without accounting for the cutout, explicitly said "large coolers are no problem," and didn't share updated photos of the frunk until the 11th hour.

Even those wouldn't be a big deal if the bed-to-tonneau wasn't so shallow, which is another set of independently reasonable tradeoffs that end in a real bummer for folks who want a nice place to secure a fridge.

I think you're right on both counts: the false floor hides the hump. And right that it's a problem for every owner with plans to use the truck, not just adore it. The people buying the kitchen … will want a fridge … the people buying the camper tent … even someone (like me) accustomed to buying quality food and bringing perishables and cold drinks as a "luxury" of road trips … a fridge takes up a lot of space and it's worth it. The prospect of that space being "free" in the frunk (and readily accessible) instead of taking up a big corner of the bed was a significant feature-function-benefit for my purposes. Not a dealbreaker. I'm sure there were hard fought battles over that space before the frunk team gave it up to the suspension or steering or winch teams. : )
Aside from a design blunder, it's another communication thing … the person at the head of Rivian communications really isn't sailing the ship … to let this kind of thing just get sneaked into the final production and jotted into the owner's manual without so much as an FYI is just not A grade corporate communication.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Picked up a Dometic CFX3 35. Fits okay but doesn't want to sit flat. But I think this amount of angle is fine.

I can reach in over the side of the bed to get in it. Can't do that for the fridge in the Hummer at all.

Didn't even bother trying to fit it in the frunk. I'm sure it won't fit.

 

[kylealden]

Picked up a Dometic CFX3 35. Fits okay but doesn't want to sit flat. But I think this amount of angle is fine.

I can reach in over the side of the bed to get in it. Can't do that for the fridge in the Hummer at all.

Didn't even bother trying to fit it in the frunk. I'm sure it won't fit.

Awesome! Likely just going to trade my 95DZ in for one of these.

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