Hauling sheet goods / long lumber in R1S

[flyingseal]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to figure out if anyone has confirmed whether or not we can haul sheet goods (4x8' plywood/drywall) and long items in an R1S. I'm specifically interested in the R1S 5 seat config for extra cargo room, and I asked rivian CS last week about cargo area dimensions for the 5 seater. The guy I talked to mentioned 52" width and 85" floor length behind the 1st row with the 2nd row folded flat.

If true, this means that width-wise it would work, but length-wise its a foot short. So I mentioned to the CS guy that it sounds like I could get by if using the tailgate down to haul long items that need to hang out past the end of the floor. He said it sounds like this would work out fine for me, so I went ahead and pre-ordered the R1S 5 seater.

It didn't occur to me though that we might not be able to drive with the tailgate down, but the liftgate closed. Does anyone have any info or guesses about this? Someone on reddit was mentioning that the lift gate likely needs to latch into the tailgate to stay down so it wouldn't be possible. What do you guys think? It would really be a deal breaker for me if I couldn't do this because I'm not really interested in getting a truck and I want a single SUV to be my daily driver and be able to haul sheet goods and long lumber a few times a month.

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[kurtlikevonnegut]

Funny you should bring this up....I actually had a similar conversation with customer service and brought this exact scenario up as a question to be asked by someone at the upcoming test drive event if the R1S is available (https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...mile-events-tab-now-available.2091/post-57715)

 

[flyingseal]

Funny you should bring this up....I actually had a similar conversation with customer service and brought this exact scenario up as a question to be asked by someone at the upcoming test drive event if the R1S is available (https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...mile-events-tab-now-available.2091/post-57715)

Ah yeah, glad I'm not the only one who would make use of this ability. It would seem like a major oversight for Rivian to not let us open just the tailgate. There will definitely be some form of tie-down hooks to secure items from sliding out of the tailgate so I'm not worried about that (every crossover I've driven in had tiedown hooks, so I can't imagine a big adventure SUV wouldn't).

Looking at the video that RJ posted where he climbs into the back of an R1S (this shows a much updated cargo area compared to older videos), it looks like there might be a latch area on both sides of the frame where the lift gate might be able to secure itself without relying on the tailgate? I can't tell for sure from the video quality.

I'm also not seeing a latch area on the lip of the tailgate for the liftgate to connect to either.

 

[Blueassassin]

I would put it on the roof or a trailer but that's me.

 

[timf]

Ah yeah, glad I'm not the only one who would make use of this ability. It would seem like a major oversight for Rivian to not let us open just the tailgate. There will definitely be some form of tie-down hooks to secure items from sliding out of the tailgate so I'm not worried about that (every crossover I've driven in had tiedown hooks, so I can't imagine a big adventure SUV wouldn't).

Looking at the video that RJ posted where he climbs into the back of an R1S (this shows a much updated cargo area compared to older videos), it looks like there might be a latch area on both sides of the frame where the lift gate might be able to secure itself without relying on the tailgate? I can't tell for sure from the video quality.

I'm also not seeing a latch area on the lip of the tailgate for the liftgate to connect to either.

You're right, that does make it look like there are now two sets of connectors on the body and nothing on the tailgate. That is much different than what was on the original prototypes and might permit what you are requesting.

 

[Swilly]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to figure out if anyone has confirmed whether or not we can haul sheet goods (4x8' plywood/drywall) and long items in an R1S. I'm specifically interested in the R1S 5 seat config for extra cargo room, and I asked rivian CS last week about cargo area dimensions for the 5 seater. The guy I talked to mentioned 52" width and 85" floor length behind the 1st row with the 2nd row folded flat.

If true, this means that width-wise it would work, but length-wise its a foot short. So I mentioned to the CS guy that it sounds like I could get by if using the tailgate down to haul long items that need to hang out past the end of the floor. He said it sounds like this would work out fine for me, so I went ahead and pre-ordered the R1S 5 seater.

It didn't occur to me though that we might not be able to drive with the tailgate down, but the liftgate closed. Does anyone have any info or guesses about this? Someone on reddit was mentioning that the lift gate likely needs to latch into the tailgate to stay down so it wouldn't be possible. What do you guys think? It would really be a deal breaker for me if I couldn't do this because I'm not really interested in getting a truck and I want a single SUV to be my daily driver and be able to haul sheet goods and long lumber a few times a month.

My 100 series land cruiser is the same. Not quite enough behind the first row for 8’ sheets, but plenty wide. Interesting you ask about tailgate down and lift gate closed because I have always done the opposite. Lift gate up with tailgate up. Keeps sheets in without securing with tie downs. I have gone tailgate down and liftgate down for other purposes. It doesn’t lock but stays down due to hydraulics. If liftgate is anything like land cruiser, you should be able to function as desired.

 

[flyingseal]

My 100 series land cruiser is the same. Not quite enough behind the first row for 8’ sheets, but plenty wide. Interesting you ask about tailgate down and lift gate closed because I have always done the opposite. Lift gate up with tailgate up. Keeps sheets in without securing with tie downs. I have gone tailgate down and liftgate down for other purposes. It doesn’t lock but stays down due to hydraulics. If liftgate is anything like land cruiser, you should be able to function as desired.

Tailgate up, liftgate open could be a backup option too if I couldn't lay them flat.

I reached out to CS again to specifically ask about driving with only the tailgate open, and they said they would dig into it for me and email me with their findings later today so hopefully some good news comes of it.

The more I watch that R1S video from RJ though, I get convinced that there are separate body latches for the liftgate on the updated version.

 

[electruck]

Who knows what the actual production vehicle will allow but we have seen this (starting about 9 seconds in):

 

[Aroohoo]

I'm trying to figure out if anyone has confirmed whether or not we can haul sheet goods (4x8' plywood/drywall) and long items in an R1S. I'm specifically interested in the R1S 5 seat config for extra cargo room, and I asked rivian CS last week about cargo area dimensions for the 5 seater. The guy I talked to mentioned 52" width and 85" floor length behind the 1st row with the 2nd row folded flat.

If true, this means that width-wise it would work, but length-wise its a foot short. So I mentioned to the CS guy that it sounds like I could get by if using the tailgate down to haul long items that need to hang out past the end of the floor. He said it sounds like this would work out fine for me, so I went ahead and pre-ordered the R1S 5 seater.

Based upon this post R1S Interior Dimensions it doesn't look like a full sheet of ply will fit inside, at least flat on the floor.

The W201 measurement (Cargo Width-Wheelhouse— The minimum dimension measured laterally between the trimmed wheel housings at floor level. For any vehicle not trimmed, measure the sheet metal) is 1151mm (45in) and 1084mm (42in) for the 5 and 7 seater respectively.

The 52" dimension you quote may line up with W3-3 (1298mm/51.1in). Unfortunately, I don't see W3-3 called out in the version of the SAE spec I found so don't know what that is actually measuring (could be elbow or shoulder room).

Another potential limiting factor would be the dimensions of the rear opening.

Disclaimer - I couldn't find the SAE Motor Vehicle Dimensions J1100_200911 document that defines what the measurements are in the public domain, but did find the 2001 version. Hopefully there isn't a difference in the dimension call outs.

 

[Autolycus]

Based upon this post R1S Interior Dimensions it doesn't look like a full sheet of ply will fit inside, at least flat on the floor.

The W201 measurement (Cargo Width-Wheelhouse— The minimum dimension measured laterally between the trimmed wheel housings at floor level. For any vehicle not trimmed, measure the sheet metal) is 1151mm (45in) and 1084mm (42in) for the 5 and 7 seater respectively.

The 52" dimension you quote may line up with W3-3 (1298mm/51.1in). Unfortunately, I don't see W3-3 called out in the version of the SAE spec I found so don't know what that is actually measuring (could be elbow or shoulder room).

Another potential limiting factor would be the dimensions of the rear opening.

Disclaimer - I couldn't find the SAE Motor Vehicle Dimensions J1100_200911 document that defines what the measurements are in the public domain, but did find the 2001 version. Hopefully there isn't a difference in the dimension call outs.

It looks to me like W3 is "shoulder room", so W3-2 is the 2nd row shoulder room, and W3-3 is the third row shoulder room.

 

[Aroohoo]

It looks to me like W3 is "shoulder room", so W3-2 is the 2nd row shoulder room, and W3-3 is the third row shoulder room.

I initially thought the same, but going by the 2001 spec, W4 is 2nd row shoulder room.
It very well could be that these were re-designated in the current spec.

 

[flyingseal]

yeah I think we will need to wait for someone to get their hands on an R1S to see what the final production specs are. Rivian chat seems to give out varying answers and we haven't seen much of the most recent design other than RJ sitting in the back

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

yeah I think we will need to wait for someone to get their hands on an R1S to see what the final production specs are. Rivian chat seems to give out varying answers and we haven't seen much of the most recent design other than RJ sitting in the back

First person to get an invite to a First Mile event with an R1S is going to have to bring a sheet of plywood with them.

 

[Autolycus]

I initially thought the same, but going by the 2001 spec, W4 is 2nd row shoulder room.
It very well could be that these were re-designated in the current spec.

I found a solid answer. Our guts were right. Here’s the 2005 manual:

 

[Jimi]

This is similar to my Volvo XC90 T8. They don't fit in the back with everything folded down, but I have hold tons of it on my roof rack without any problems.

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