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Off-Road Upgrade or Not?

DuckTruck

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Here I go, flogging the Dead Mr. Ed yet again....The standard underbody guard should protect the $10,000 to $20,000+ battery (depending on size) in any Rivian, and the frame which carries it. That said, should even the smallest battery take a damaging or terminal strike, we're not talking a cracked or mangled transfer case, oil pan or drive shaft, we're talking potential catastrophic battery loss, including being stranded, up to a possible fire, well away from any help.

Bad enough for my stupid moves to show up on YouTube, courtesy of "friends", but I really don't want my R1T (and me) to be the hot spot on the Weather Channel's Satellite Image for the nation that day.

As Mr. Mackey might say:

Rivian R1T R1S Off-Road Upgrade or Not? 1630420380600


Accordingly, sign me up for the highest level of protection, the one most likely to keep my dumb a$$ on YouTube, but off the Weather Channel. And, trailer hitch be damned, I still want two matching outboard tow hooks on the rear bumper to maximize the chances of getting me back up and running.

Now I'll call Alpo.....
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DaveA

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I remember seeing an image of tow hooks behind the silver covers on the rear bumper a while back...to the left and right of the panel that hides the 2 inch hitch. no?
 

Pugster

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I’m the perfect case for an “on the fence” off road packager. I hike and bike and fish and hunt (and generally find myself in the woods frequently), but don’t go off-roading just to go off-roading - it’s all about the activity or destination I’m trying to get to. That puts me in some slightly hairy situations, but no rock crawling, mud holes per se.

Last year I damaged the truck (F150) twice. One destroyed a running board mount completely, the other dented the bottom of the forward quarter panel. Both were from coming off the backside of a medium-sized rock that was in the middle of where I wanted to go. Both totally avoidable if I’m being honest, but hey mistakes happen and I was having fun (and trying to get into some awesome lakes).

The other thing I run into frequently is approach and departure angles that are too steep for the truck. Not uncommon to drag the ass end at the bottom of a hill or big dip. If the protection extends all the way to the bumpers that should help as well…not to mention the angles on the R1T ?

So - I’m getting the package. Seems to me that both of my granite encounters could have been damage free with “all encompassing” plates. Add in some added resale value and I think it’ll be worth it for anyone who wanders off forest service roads and into more challenging terrain.
 

Trekkie

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The tow hooks of the package are more interesting to me than the skid plates, i doubt i'll climb rocks that often.
 

Party Mode

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I guess we will all know more in the next month or so when some forum members get their R1T delivered. I want to get this option but really need to see what exactly it protects. Makes me wonder if it also protects the sides under the doors some how? I would hate myself If I creased the rocker panel up on something! Not rock rails, because it think that may look weird on the R1T, but protection corner to corner and not just the the battery pac. So essentially it would protect the rocker panel area!
 

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Riventures

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@Pugster ; I think you just described a good portion of us, and how important recovery gear, and few other specs are. One does not need to be a hardcore offroader, these trucks are a means to an objective similar to the situations you describe. :like:
 

Babbuino

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I remember seeing an image of tow hooks behind the silver covers on the rear bumper a while back...to the left and right of the panel that hides the 2 inch hitch. no?
Right. There are 2 tow hooks on the back next to the hitch
 

kneebuster

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For those of you who watched the MotorTrend videos, there are interesting tidbits to be gleaned. First, the truck they show has tow hooks, so we can assume it's got the off-road package. It also is running the A/T tires. Now, if you watch the interior video at 0:47 you can see the charging screen. It shows a current range of 190 miles, charging at 48 amps, adding 18 miles/hr, and a time till full of 5hrs 44min. it's the right of the screen that is most interesting to me. There are 3 ranges; Trip at 301 miles, Extended at 252 miles, and Daily at 200 miles. If I'm right about the off-road package and A/T tires, it appears that it'll still be rated at 300+ miles. Don't know what it would be without off-road and with road oriented tires, but 300+ in the off-road configuration is what I wanted to see.
 

RivianBowerbird

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I saw an interview earlier which I believe clears this up (check out TeslaRaj's interview he did back at the beginning of 2020 with one of the engineers).
The battery protection is the same on all the vehicles. The extra protection with the $2,000 package is FORE AND AFT of the battery!
 

Rivuylkill

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I saw an interview earlier which I believe clears this up (check out TeslaRaj's interview he did back at the beginning of 2020 with one of the engineers).
The battery protection is the same on all the vehicles. The extra protection with the $2,000 package is FORE AND AFT of the battery!
Yeah, I think it was the same interview that said something like the standard shield can hold the weight of the vehicle on a 2 inch square or something, so should plenty of protection. 2k seems high for the fore/aft protection at least for anyone not huge into off roading. Probably another one of those things that when we finally have some more information, underbody pictures of both configs, etc, it'll help make the decision.
 

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Ralph

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I'm guessing much of these kinds of details will only be able to actually be verified after a few people take delivery. Or perhaps when the full Motor Trend article is published around the same time.

The fore and aft protection can almost certainly be added after purchase. "Skid plates" must be frame attached. It seems unlikely that frames will be customized, but I supposed trim *could* come into play. 2k is indeed a lot more than for other vehicles. There might be contributing factors. They might be cast aluminum ($). And/or installation might include a different valance. Note that it is well known in the off-road community that aluminum does not hold up and is not a "slippery" (a good thing) as (heavier) steel. Trade-offs.....

Along the same line of thinking, I doubt anyone has been able to confirm that shackles cannot be installed after the fact. Again, trim might prevent such, but tow points must also be attached to the frame to be effective. The attach points on the frame would *almost* certainly be on all models. Again the trim might make a difference.

So that takes us back to waiting for information and delivery. I can't imagine not spending the 2k myself on this vehicle, even for forest roads. I am curious to see how these components are integrated and if the after market will be able to effectively address the issue(s).
 

DaveA

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Something I just learned....the Adventure Gear warranty is 5 yr, 60k miles when purchased with the vehicle, but only 2 year warranty on those items if purchased later after delivery.

Rivian R1T R1S Off-Road Upgrade or Not? 1630597683848
 

Riventures

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I think this is the type of thing that if you are on the fence about whether or not you need it, you don't need it. Put another way, people with really serious off-road intent know who they are and have no doubt that they need it.
This certainly true. I think most of us are trying to point out that even if intend to go off paved roads sparingly, be over-prepared. IMHO, $2K is reasonable for simple but critical insurance.
 

Friscorays

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Bummer about March 1, 2022.
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