Anyone prefer a third party bed cover tonneau / canopy?

[Dohmar]

I don’t think bed caps are as popular as you think, generally. They’re certainly very popular in the PNW though, where it’s nice to have dry storage.
there are 10 pickups on my block alone, here in a place with six months of brutal winter. not one of them has a cap on the bed. Two have tonneau covers.
do you really think manufacturers design their truck beds to support an aftermarket cap first and foremost?

the AREs of the world will get their mitts on a Rivian for development if demand exists. And I imagine they participate in the SEMA measuring days.

I can't speak for Canada or the USA, but in Australia the bed caps are very popular, but even more popular is to take the sides of the bed off entirely and weld in custom trays (tool boxes and other compartments)...

http://www.outbackcustoms.com.au/
https://www.poutyscustomtrays.com.au/
https://mmmfabrications.com.au/custom-ute-trays/

I doubt anything like that will be possible with the R1T due to the integrated nature of the bed - if the concept of removable bed options turns in to reality, I can guarantee the R1T will be super popular with tradesmen and other mobile workers.
https://www.autoweek.com/news/green...armaker-rivian-patents-modular-truck-bed-r1t/

With the R1T having the entire side as one piece, we'd have to hope this is something the option in to the successor to the R1T. Also as someone mentioned above, it would probably impinge upon the spoiler and the camera field of view, so they'd have to consider that too...

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[C.R. Rivian]

If I was putting any kind of canopy on it would be one of these.

https://www.hiatuscampers.com/

Hiatus is the best alternative to a slide-in camper....slide-ins are not approved by Rivian for the R1T. That makes sense, btw...even the lightest would bump up against payload limits with gear and passengers. Believe me, I've looked.

 

[georhey]

I'm hoping that one of the canvas canopy manufacturers creates Rivian-specific products. SoftTopper.com, or BestTop.com both make great solutions. One of these would be idea for my needs.

I'm going to contact both manufacturers to make the recommendation. If you're potentially interested, please also contact them to voice support.

Would love to get a Soft Topper once i get my R1T. Will definitely reach out to them

 

[kylealden]

Go Fast Campers is planning an R1T camper top. They are very lightweight (well within the payload limits) and support load bars on the roof. I'm leaning towards this route.

There are major advantages over an R1S in that it creates space to stand up inside and access the roof from the bed without cutting any holes (which isn't really plausible with the R1S due to the glass roof), and it's roomier due to the longer wheelbase in general.

To the original topic question - I love the integrated tonneau cover, the only real reason I'd prefer a third party cover (something like a diamondback) would be to have more clearance for things like a fridge. A canopy camper solves that for me, and it's nice to still have the tonneau cover integrated for extra security (e.g. if I leave the tonneau closed, I don't have to stress about someone breaking canopy windows to get at valuables in the bed).

I don't love all the controls being on the bed rail, that will make a lot of these solutions (third party covers, canopies, etc.) a little fussier than they need to be. I'm hopeful that GFC's design will work with the crossbar mounts so it is easy to add/remove with a hoist, otherwise that sways me towards the RTT...

 

[COdogman]

I used to love the idea of a cap until I actually had one and realized exactly how often I am hauling things taller than the cap. I quickly found myself annoyed with it. It was great for the dogs, but I'd rather keep them up front with me now and have the open bed.

I do think they should have put those controls somewhere else near the bed, but given the rear spoiler design I think this is all designed this way on purpose vs. it being oversight. I don't see how you would put any type of cap or soft topper up there with that spoiler being where it is. To Rivian, they gave you a dry secure space in the gear tunnel and under the tonneau and I guess that's enough.

 

[moosetags]

We have always used a bed topper on our Diesel pick-ups. It's fairly important accessory on a 90-day Airstream trip. We carry a lot of stuff in our truck bed. We think that we could get by with the tonneau cover. we are a little concerned because the guys from TFL said that during their tests of the R1T that the motorized tonneau was not watertight and leaked. We are hoping that the manual tonneau on our Explore Package R1T will be watertight.

We always used Swiss Cap bed toppers on our trucks. They are aluminum and commercial looking. We will decide after we work with our truck a while if we want a topper or not.

Brian

 

[moosehead]

A bit different direction, but our Retrax rolling bed tonneau has been tremendous. Manual operation is no issue from any side of the bed including in snow. Very secure locking. Water resistance is good (not water proof).

 

[Dman250]

I’ve had pickups with and without caps (toppers, shells, etc). I had one on my current 5’ bed Tacoma and found it handy, but also restrictive when needed to maximize the limited bed size, and I sold it. I’m currently running a soft rollup tonneau which takes seconds to roll back or close up, and conforms to or packs down slightly taller loads, which is really handy for dump runs of yard debris or hauling gravel or mulch. Most US shells even from the big brands like ARE, Leer etc are very poor quality design and manufacture. Niche Australian or South African brands like RSI, AluCab etc are much better but harder to find depending on where you live. The SoftTopper seems like a great solution, or GFC, Hiatus, Vagabond etc for camping … assuming they work around the bed rail controls. As a longtime pickup guy I think Rivian is really missing out by not offering a clever, OEM-quality shell solution as an alternative to the tonneau. Also, a pass-through from bed to gear tunnel for longer loads or for sleeping.

 

[brianmartin]

I’ve had pickups with and without caps (toppers, shells, etc). I had one on my current 5’ bed Tacoma and found it handy, but also restrictive when needed to maximize the limited bed size, and I sold it. I’m currently running a soft rollup tonneau which takes seconds to roll back or close up, and conforms to or packs down slightly taller loads, which is really handy for dump runs of yard debris or hauling gravel or mulch. Most US shells even from the big brands like ARE, Leer etc are very poor quality design and manufacture. Niche Australian or South African brands like RSI, AluCab etc are much better but harder to find depending on where you live. The SoftTopper seems like a great solution, or GFC, Hiatus, Vagabond etc for camping … assuming they work around the bed rail controls. As a longtime pickup guy I think Rivian is really missing out by not offering a clever, OEM-quality shell solution as an alternative to the tonneau. Also, a pass-through from bed to gear tunnel for longer loads or for sleeping.

i live in the PNW, and have a LEER canopy on my Silverado. I find myself thinking "gosh im sure glad i have this" a lot. it rains a lot here, and having a completely water proof rectangular space is SO useful. I can turn it into a dog living room if I want. I can jam a bunch of stuff in it and take it to the dump without worry about tarps or tie downs. I can pack it to the brim with camping stuff and firewood, and its always dry. Not sure what you mean about quality, my LEER is super high quality. paint is perfect, windows perfect, lock is integrated with my factory keyfob. it's been rock solid for me.

 

[No.92]

it will be interesting to see what the cap manufacturers do to get around the controls for the gear tunnel doors, tailgate, and tonneau cover being built in to the bed rails, and the lack of bed rail to clamp the cap to.

You can open the gear tunnel from the screen inside. Where the crossbars hook to can be where the canopy can lock onto I'm sure

 

[crashmtb]

You can open the gear tunnel from the screen inside. Where the crossbars hook to can be where the canopy can lock onto I'm sure

To be more specific... If designing a canopy for an R1T, I’d use the crossbar attachment points for mounting, and either buttons on the vertical sides of the canopy which actuate the tailgate and gear tunnel switches via simple levers, or just contour the sides around those switches(a less favourable design as it would create pockets for dirt and moisture)

 

[Dman250]

i live in the PNW, and have a LEER canopy on my Silverado. I find myself thinking "gosh im sure glad i have this" a lot. it rains a lot here, and having a completely water proof rectangular space is SO useful. I can turn it into a dog living room if I want. I can jam a bunch of stuff in it and take it to the dump without worry about tarps or tie downs. I can pack it to the brim with camping stuff and firewood, and its always dry. Not sure what you mean about quality, my LEER is super high quality. paint is perfect, windows perfect, lock is integrated with my factory keyfob. it's been rock solid for me.

Use cases differ and I understand it works for you. I do understand security and weather-proof storage. When I had a shell on my previous 6.5’ bed pickup I would have described it similarly to you, except for quality … I’ve never had a Leer but compared to automotive OEM design, fit and finish I think most shells are pretty bad. My point was that on the 5’ bed of my current Tacoma, every inch counts and the shell seemed to constrain things more than on the bigger truck. Hauling anything over 5’ (4.5’ for the R1T), like a 6’ stepladder or lumber that you would just rest on the top of the tailgate with an open bed, requires popping the rear window. Do you bungee it down, or let it bounce on the road? Even taller loads which fit behind the closed tailgate, might be too long or wide for the rear window to close due to the slope of the glass or placement of the lift struts. Anyway, not to flog a dead horse but on MY shortbed truck I have found a tonneau, which provides a smaller but easy to use secure space, and a larger and easy to use open space, to be the best compromise. I haven’t noticed; does the R1T have a sliding rear window? That’s a great feature to transport a few long pieces of lumber or pipe: rest one end on the dash, and the back half on top of the tonneau.

 

[crashmtb]

Use cases differ and I understand it works for you. I do understand security and weather-proof storage. When I had a shell on my previous 6.5’ bed pickup I would have described it similarly to you, except for quality … I’ve never had a Leer but compared to automotive OEM design, fit and finish I think most shells are pretty bad. My point was that on the 5’ bed of my current Tacoma, every inch counts and the shell seemed to constrain things more than on the bigger truck. Hauling anything over 5’ (4.5’ for the R1T), like a 6’ stepladder or lumber that you would just rest on the top of the tailgate with an open bed, requires popping the rear window. Do you bungee it down, or let it bounce on the road? Even taller loads which fit behind the closed tailgate, might be too long or wide for the rear window to close due to the slope of the glass or placement of the lift struts. Anyway, not to flog a dead horse but on MY shortbed truck I have found a tonneau, which provides a smaller but easy to use secure space, and a larger and easy to use open space, to be the best compromise. I haven’t noticed; does the R1T have a sliding rear window? That’s a great feature to transport a few long pieces of lumber or pipe: rest one end on the dash, and the back half on top of the tonneau.

The rear window is fixed, but on the plus side it has a defroster element.

 

[Dman250]

The rear window is fixed, but on the plus side it has a defroster element.

Hmm, I’ve opened mine to accommodate long loads more often than I’ve felt the need for defrost With my current truck. Major oversight on Rivian’s part, in my opinion. Especially since there’s no pass through from bed to interior below the belt line.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

The rear window is fixed, but on the plus side it has a defroster element.

There are trucks with operable rear windows with defrosters. Those aren't mutually exclusive features.

The old Chevy Avalanche even had a completely removable rear window with a defroster.

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