Anyone prefer a third party bed cover tonneau / canopy?

[Kieran]

I had one on my Dadge Dakota years ago and loved it. But I would take it off occasionally and go without sometimes.
The main benefit I see for the R1 series of vehicles is two-fold: the R1S is not available without the 3rd row, and is not available with the 400mi max pack. Putting a camper shell on an R1T would basically give you the extra covered / internal storage, plus the 400mi max pack.

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[TollKeeper]

I contacted ARE about the Bed Shell, the response is simply..

Sorry, this is not in the plans at this time.

Got a email out to Leer, see how they respond. The only reason I have done the Tonneau delete is because of getting a shell. But how long do I have to wait to get one..

 

[VenturaLuke]

I know GFC has hinted at something being in the works which would be rad, but my concern would be the effect on range. I've had a shell on my Tacoma in the past and really liked it but I've also had a hard rolling tonneau for the last year and it serves my purpose well. Keeps all my gear secure in the bed. The only reason I think I would want a shell for the Rivian is if the bed was long enough to sleep in. No dice there.

 

[zymolysis]

Not me! My dog rides shotgun and I don't have any gear that couldn't go in the gear tunnel, under the tonneau, or in the attachable bed/roof racks. Plus I usually prefer the look of trucks without a canopy. If I wanted that look I'd just get an R1S.

The R1S gives up a lot of towing capacity (only 7700 pounds), and the option for an open bed, when you need it.

 

[C.R. Rivian]

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

I have the launch edition motorized tonneau. YMMV, but we had a record setting rain months up here after I got my R1T. I didn't see any leaks.

 

[moosetags]

I have the launch edition motorized tonneau. YMMV, but we had a record setting rain months up here after I got my R1T. I didn't see any leaks.

No leaks is very good. We still prefer a topper. It just works better for us.

 

[duessell]

I contacted ARE about the Bed Shell, the response is simply..

Sorry, this is not in the plans at this time.

Got a email out to Leer, see how they respond. The only reason I have done the Tonneau delete is because of getting a shell. But how long do I have to wait to get one..

Any response from Leer?

 

[Singlearrow]

Highly interested in a R1T topper here. Mostly for dry space, camping, etc- but additionally having fore/aft roof racks at the same level to allow for kayak/canoe/board/long item rack- it is key to our needs… if cap is not possible I would be highly tempted to go with the lightning and the universe of after market gear that already exists for it.

 

[TollKeeper]

Any response from Leer?

Yeap, nothing in the plans

And I kinda gave up on this.. Switched my order from a R1T to a R1S.

 

[duessell]

Yeap, nothing in the plans

And I kinda gave up on this.. Switched my order from a R1T to a R1S.

Yeah, I have a R1S reservation but my delivery window is now 2024 and would really like more weather-proof storage for my R1T untill then.

 

[jjswan33]

Obviously not a simple topper and probably not for folks worried about aero or not interested in camping but Oru Designs is building me a pop top canopy. Supposed to be ready in early January.

https://www.orudesignsusa.com/

 

[awoods177]

Softopper is an awesome option for a bed camper/canopy. I had one for years on my Silverado and it was super versatile. Easy to put up/down as needed to accommodate tall cargo, or take off completely if needed as well (I did this a lot when loading a slide in truck camper). As far as being weather-proof, we moved halfway across the country in a snow/rainstorm with some seriously wet/heavy snow and it performed amazingly well. After that, I never really worried about gear in the back getting wet. Don't get me wrong, it's not perfect but it's pretty darn good! Only downside is security - but with the R1T's gear guard and this, it keeps gear/cargo out of sight and keeps honest people honest.

I actually just created a specific thread about it, but I contacted Softopper to ask if they are going to offer an option for the R1T and they said they would love to, but need a loaner vehicle for two weeks (Monday - Thursday) for measurements. If I still lived in CO (where Softopper is) I would loan them my vehicle in a heartbeat. Maybe there are some folks in the area that could work with them??

Here are some screenshots I took from their website showing a couple configurations. I typically had mine "sealed" 90% of the time and then just put it in the "retracted" position if I was hauling something tall, or just wanted an open bed for whatever reason.

 

[HighVoltOverland]

I contacted Retrax about this.
The Response:

We need to test fit a bed cover after viewing and getting the CAD data from Rivian in order to see if we can make a bed cover for this new type of truck. Right now we are in a waiting line with Rivian until late 2023 in order to get CAD data and test fit the cover with them.

So I have them down as a maybe for now

 

[Mjhirsch78]

It would be nice if Rivian could get this information to these companies more quickly. I would love a topper from any of these major companies. I asked my guide about it and he said the folks he chatted with at Rivian were interested in the idea of a topper. Now they need to step up and get the info out so the option becomes reality.

 

[Count Orlok]

I have a Bakflip mx4 on my F-150h and it has been outstanding.

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