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Apogee Off Road Introduction/R&D Truck Inquiry

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Hi everyone, this is Ethan Goebel from Apogee Off Road.

I wanted to reach out into the Rivian world as we are beyond excited to see the evolution into the electric off road community.

We are an off road accessory manufacturing company located in Lake Forest CA, currently known for our products in the newer Toyota market, but are looking to branch out into the Rivian market as well.

We know that many people from the Socal area have placed their orders for their R1T's and R1S's.

We're wondering if anyone who currently has an order would be interested in becoming our R&D truck for various off road/overland products. Obviously the first orders are going to hit customers around June, so we are prepared to wait.

We can provide various details on what we would need and what we would provide.

In short, we would need the truck for at least one business day to disassemble and 3-D scan for various products such as front and rear steel bumpers, skid plates, bed racks, roof racks, sliders, etc... and then sometime later for product testing/media.

Our products are California designed and manufactured.

If anyone is interested, feel free to contact us at [email protected] or feel free to message us on the forums!

If anyone has any comments or questions feel free to respond to this post! We also encourage you to reach out to us with any ideas you have for the Rivian platforms.

We look forward to hearing from you all.

Kind Regards,

Ethan Goebel
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ajbrutman

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Hi everyone, this is Ethan Goebel from Apogee Off Road.

I wanted to reach out into the Rivian world as we are beyond excited to see the evolution into the electric off road community.

We are an off road accessory manufacturing company located in Lake Forest CA, currently known for our products in the newer Toyota market, but are looking to branch out into the Rivian market as well.

We know that many people from the Socal area have placed their orders for their R1T's and R1S's.

We're wondering if anyone who currently has an order would be interested in becoming our R&D truck for various off road/overland products. Obviously the first orders are going to hit customers around June, so we are prepared to wait.

We can provide various details on what we would need and what we would provide.

In short, we would need the truck for at least one business day to disassemble and 3-D scan for various products such as front and rear steel bumpers, skid plates, bed racks, roof racks, sliders, etc... and then sometime later for product testing/media.

Our products are California designed and manufactured.

If anyone is interested, feel free to contact us at [email protected] or feel free to message us on the forums!

If anyone has any comments or questions feel free to respond to this post! We also encourage you to reach out to us with any ideas you have for the Rivian platforms.

We look forward to hearing from you all.

Kind Regards,

Ethan Goebel
I have a very early preorder slot. Iā€™m in SoCal/ Newport Beach area. Will most likely take delivery in late June early July!
 

CommodoreAmiga

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Anyone think this might void warranties?
It doesn't.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act defines what a manufacturer can and cannot do regarding warranty coverage. They can't void your warranty just because you took it apart. Nor can they void your warranty just for installing an accessory or using an aftermarket part. They can only deny warranty coverage if they can demonstrate (the burden is on them) that the aftermarket part/accessory or improper installation/use was the cause of the failure. And even if they did demonstrate that, the denial only applies for that specific failure.

For example, if you install an off-road light bar on your front bumper, and a week later your driver-side headlamp high beam stops working, Rivian must honor your warranty and replace the headlamp unless they can prove the light bar or your installation caused the failure. Now, if they did demonstrate that you tapped into a circuit that did cause the problem, they could deny the warranty claim -- but your overall vehicle warranty is still in tact. If a brake caliper locks up, a week later, Rivian has to warranty that, unless they can prove that failure was also caused by the light bar installation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnusonā€“Moss_Warranty_Act
 

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Apogee Off Road
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I have a very early preorder slot. Iā€™m in SoCal/ Newport Beach area. Will most likely take delivery in late June early July!
Great! Congrats on the early preorder! Shoot us over an email : [email protected], we look forward to hearing from you.
 
OP
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It doesn't.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act defines what a manufacturer can and cannot do regarding warranty coverage. They can't void your warranty just because you took it apart. Nor can they void your warranty just for installing an accessory or using an aftermarket part. They can only deny warranty coverage if they can demonstrate (the burden is on them) that the aftermarket part/accessory or improper installation/use was the cause of the failure. And even if they did demonstrate that, the denial only applies for that specific failure.

For example, if you install an off-road light bar on your front bumper, and a week later your driver-side headlamp high beam stops working, Rivian must honor your warranty and replace the headlamp unless they can prove the light bar or your installation caused the failure. Now, if they did demonstrate that you tapped into a circuit that did cause the problem, they could deny the warranty claim -- but your overall vehicle warranty is still in tact. If a brake caliper locks up, a week later, Rivian has to warranty that, unless they can prove that failure was also caused by the light bar installation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnusonā€“Moss_Warranty_Act
Great explanation here! We've had no warranty issues with other vehicles we've taken in.
 

SoCal Rob

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If anyone has any comments or questions feel free to respond to this post! We also encourage you to reach out to us with any ideas you have for the Rivian platforms.
Ethan-

Iā€˜m in Laguna Niguel and have a preorder for an R1S but I was late to the game so I probably wonā€™t do you much good except as a potential customer. Functional rock sliders are high on my list.

The most important thing I need for off-roading is a way ro carry a full-size spare. The SUV has room for a compact spare and nothing more. Because of the importance of weight and aerodynamics on an electric vehicle, Iā€™d love to have a way to carry a spare only when Iā€™m going on an off-road trip. The compact spare should be fine for daily on-road driving.

Maybe something could be designed which could attach to the hitch receiver and swing away or pivot down to allow the tailgate to operate normally. Ideally with a companion floor stand which could attach to the frame for storage in a garage. You could attach the stand and lower the air suspension as a back-saving strategy for installation and removal. Another possibility is a frame which could attach to tie down points in the cargo area which would mean no aerodynamic penalty. I imagine this would be a lot lighter than a hitch receiver mount so it should be easier to install and remove.

Because the details on the production vehicles arenā€™t out now (though they should be ā€œsoonā€) it is difficult to offer real suggestions until we see the product. Iā€™m pretty sure Iā€™m not the only one who isnā€™t hitting a trail without a full-size spare, so please keep this need in mind since Rivian doesnā€™t seem to be addressing it.

Thanks!

-Rob
 

photontorque

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+1 on post #9 in full.

It is amazing to me that an adventure vehicle doesn't come with a full-sized spare. Rivian touts their outreach to outdoor-minded people, "adventurers", and then somehow designs a vehicle that doesn't come standard with a full-sized spare. Huh.
 

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SoCal Rob

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It is amazing to me that an adventure vehicle doesn't come with a full-sized spare. Rivian touts their outreach to outdoor-minded people, "adventurers", and then somehow designs a vehicle that doesn't come standard with a full-sized spare. Huh.
Iā€™d even be fine paying extra for it if it doesnā€™t come standard, but not available at all? Heck, Iā€™d even settle for a kit with a full-sized spare on a steel wheel with jack and collapsible tools stored in a foam insert, and the whole thing in a vinyl carrying case that can be strapped into the cargo area. Whatever it takes.

I can throw together something like that on my own, but it seems like a huge oversight on what otherwise seems to be a well thought-out vehicle with what looks like above-average off-road capability.

To be fair, our Land Rover has a scissor jack which isnā€™t really suitable for anything other than pavement, a lug wrench / tire iron that bends during use, and 2-piece lug bolts which nearly foiled AAA. However, itā€™s a lot easier to compensate for those issues (bottle jack, 3ā€™ socket breaker bar, and new lug bolts) than to come up with a full-sized spare and a place to store it.
 

SoCal Rob

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Trade-off between batteries and the associated additional range and a cubby for the spare. They apparently decided range was more important to most customers
That is totally reasonable and I understand that trade-offs are required, especially for an EV. Even an established player like Land Rover can struggle with this since our 2006 LR3 has a full-sized spare stored under the body while giving us room for two 6ā€™ adults in the third row while the new Defender has a spare stuck on the tail door and room for nothing more than two small children in the third row.

Iā€™m holding out hope that someone will provide some kind of solution, even if it comes at the cost of a usable third row. Without knowing the dimensions of the cargo area, I understand that may be what it takes.

Worst case Iā€™ll buy a spare, wrap it in a tarp, and use ratcheting straps to keep it in place in the cargo area. Iā€™d prefer a better solution than that for an $80K SUV even at a cost. I donā€™t expect miracles, but Iā€™d like something better than ĀÆ\_(惄)_/ĀÆ even if the accessory is going to be available ā€œsoonā€
 
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SANZC02

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That is totally reasonable and I understand that trade-offs are required, especially for an EV. Even an established player like Land Rover can struggle with this since our 2006 LR3 has a full-sized spare stored under the body while giving us room for two 6ā€™ adults in the third row while the new Defender has a spare stuck on the tail door and room for nothing more than two small children in the third row.

Iā€™m holding out hope that someone will provide some kind of solution, even if it comes at the cost of a usable third row. Without knowing the dimensions of the cargo area, I understand that may be what it takes.

Worst case Iā€™ll buy a spare, wrap it in a tarp, and use ratcheting straps to keep it in place in the cargo area. Iā€™d prefer a better solution than that for an $80K SUV even at a cost. I donā€™t expect miracles, but Iā€™d like something better than ĀÆ\_(惄)_/ĀÆ even if the accessory is going to be available ā€œsoonā€
Here are the specs for the R1S I got from customer service a few weeks ago. Pretty much the same between the 5 and 7 seater except for cargo height is a 2.7 inches shorter for the 7 seater.

ā€¢ The cargo floor length behind third-row seats is 553 mm.
ā€¢ The cargo width behind third-row seats is 1298 mm.
ā€¢ The cargo floor length behind second-row seats is 1353 mm.
ā€¢ The cargo width behind the second-row seats is 1298 mm.
ā€¢ The cargo width minimum with 5 passenger seating is 1151 mm.
ā€¢ The cargo height with 7-passenger seating is 855 mm.

ā€¢ The cargo height with 5-passenger seating is 925 mm.

ā€¢ The cargo width minimum and maximum ranges from 1084-1496 mm.
ā€¢ The cargo volume behind the third-row seats is 499 liters.
ā€¢ The cargo volume behind the second-row seats with the third row folded is 1323 liters.
ā€¢ The cargo volume behind the first-row seats with the second and third-row seats folded down is 2499 liters.


ā€¢ The cargo height with 7-passenger seating is 855 mm. (33.6 inches)
ā€¢ The cargo height with 5-passenger seating is 925 mm. (36.4 inches)
 

DucRider

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