R1T isn't a 'Truck'? Think Again. Best vehicle I've ever owned, hands down.

[Inkedsphynx]

Like, I assume, most of us here - I don't work in construction or any sort of industry that requires me to ride around in an F-350 all the time. I also get a little offended every time I see someone say that the R1T isn't a 'truck' or is only good for mall crawling or glamping.

To me, over the last week, my R1T proved again and again that it's not only a truck, but probably the best truck I could have asked for in my time of need.

Over the last week I completed a move from Downtown Seattle out to Maple Valley. Roughly an hour apart, give or take 15 minutes based on traffic. The move was primarily done in the R1T. I did rent a Uhaul (what a nightmare that is when moving out of a downtown high-rise) that was used to move the biggest of the furniture (king size bed, shelving units far too unwieldy to move in the R1T, couch, etc.

I had originally planned to do most of the furniture in the R1T, but sadly, it decided to rain the entire time I was moving, so plans had to change at the last minute. I did know, however, that I would only be able to do 1 run in the U-Haul, so I'd only be able to get about 25% of my items into it (this is mostly because I hadn't been able to pack ahead of time, due to being in San Francisco for work the week before).

Over the course of the week of moving, I put ~1600 miles on the R1T driving back and forth over and over with loads of items. As it was raining, I made heavy use of the bed with the tonneau closed the entire time. I opened/closed it probably 3 dozen times, no issues with the mechanics. I also had absolutely 0 issues with water intrusion - several times I moved items that could have been damaged from water in the bed and had no issues at all.

The gear tunnel was immensely useful for all the random long items I had, and even once when I had to store crossbars for a tonneau-open run (the very last run with the few remaining bigger items, luckily it was not raining). The frunk was so amazing, I used it for all the more fragile small items and had no issues with anything breaking or being damaged.

Perhaps most impressive to me was moving my Lego collection. I have a LOT of VERY LARGE Star Wars UCS sets, including the Super Star Destroyer, Falcon, etc. I managed to move all of them in the back or front seat without being able to hold or stablize them, and after the move the only model that needs any repairs is the Falcon, and only because I dropped something on it. The suspension in the R1T was so amazing, even over our shitty highways and the speed bumps in my new neighborhood that the models barely moved even without being secured.

I also had to get my two motorcycles moved. One I rode out, since I caught a cold but dry day. Awful ride due to the cold, but glad I got it done. The other bike I had to trailer as someone had vandalized it while in my parking garage and it could not be started (broke a screwdriver off in the ignition. News-flash to thieves - this will never work to start a modern electronic-ignition motorcycle, so stop damaging people's property for no potential gain). It was just a tiny U-Haul trailer and a 600lb bike, but hooking up and disconnecting the trailer was dirt simple and took me less than 60 seconds, in the rain. The truck didn't even feel like the trailer was back there. I did suffer a bit of mileage loss, between the trailer, cold temps (was around 38 degrees when I moved it), and there being water on the road, I think It took ~35% more 'range' to go the distance than it did when I was making runs without a trailer.

Over the course of the week I had to fast charge at 150kw 3 times (I only have a 110v outlet at either end of the trip, and was plugging in every time I parked at either location). Total cost was something like 90$ for the fast charging. I spent a total of ~90 minutes charging over those 3 charging trips. My calculations for what this would have cost me in my Defender (nevermind it would have taken easily twice as many trips, and in reality wouldn't have been possible at all) would have been something like 250$ in fuel alone.


Not sure this is particularly interesting to anyone, but I wanted to post because I am so ecstatic with how well the R1T enabled my move, and the amazing performance it demonstrated - AS A TRUCK - over the course of that week. No other vehicle I've ever owned would have done as well, including my extended-bed F250 (no tonneau - all my shit would have been soaked, plus it'd have cost me an arm and a leg in fuel) or my older Ram. I've never been able to move my Lego collection without massive re-assembly, and I lay that directly at the feet of the amazing suspension this vehicle has. I made the move in probably half the trips any similar truck would have required due to the amazing storage in the R1T. Lightning would not have been better for me. Hummer EV would have been a freaking nightmare. No matter which way you slice it, the R1T was the perfect truck for me to move in, in this situation.

Best vehicle I've ever owned, hands down. Does everything I'd ever want it to do and so much more.

Sponsored

 

[COdogman]

That's awesome! We forget sometimes that "truck stuff" isn't just hauling plywood and tools. It's also the regular stuff we all have to do in our trucks, like moving, shopping, loading and unloading. That's why I switched to a Tacoma after years of SUVs - I can't pick up a washer/ dryer for our business in an SUV. I can't wait to do it in my R1T.

 

[mabowden]

I chuckled a little bit when the post is about being a truck and 30% of it is about moving a lego collection.

Great post, overall. I didn't buy a Rivian solely for "Truck stuff". There are way cheaper ICE options that will be better at "truck stuff" then a Rivian. Glad to hear that it is useful and capable, that is what I bought it for. I want it to replace a sports car (albeit the rivian has 3-4X the HP) and an SUV. I'd like to be able to haul some stuff around in the bed when necessary. However, I'm not towing a 30ft trailer, boat, etc.

 

[Inkedsphynx]

I chuckled a little bit when the post is about being a truck and 30% of it is about moving a lego collection.

Great post, overall. I didn't buy a Rivian solely for "Truck stuff". There are way cheaper ICE options that will be better at "truck stuff" then a Rivian. Glad to hear that it is useful and capable, that is what I bought it for. I want it to replace a sports car (albeit the rivian has 3-4X the HP) and an SUV. I'd like to be able to haul some stuff around in the bed when necessary. However, I'm not towing a 30ft trailer, boat, etc.

Moving a Lego collection along with hundreds of lbs of other stuff in the same runs. None of my runs were Lego only, they were all fully loaded down. Several of the runs I couldn't see out anything but my driver's side window because I crammed so much stuff in.

I disagree about the 'cheaper ICE options better at truck stuff'. At least in the context of what I need a truck for (moving, hauling woodworking supplies and tools, the occasional landscaping duties, etc) there is nothing in the ICE world that is a better truck for me, period. An 8ft bed but loss of the Frunk and Gear Tunnel is not a net win for me. Coil shocks over air suspension is not a win for me.

And that is totally discounting that I'm an avid overlander, and by the time I buy a Taco and properly kit it out to be even close to competitive with the R1T, it's not that much cheaper.

 

[mabowden]

Moving a Lego collection along with hundreds of lbs of other stuff in the same runs. None of my runs were Lego only, they were all fully loaded down. Several of the runs I couldn't see out anything but my driver's side window because I crammed so much stuff in.

I disagree about the 'cheaper ICE options better at truck stuff'. At least in the context of what I need a truck for (moving, hauling woodworking supplies and tools, the occasional landscaping duties, etc) there is nothing in the ICE world that is a better truck for me, period. An 8ft bed but loss of the Frunk and Gear Tunnel is not a net win for me. Coil shocks over air suspension is not a win for me.

And that is totally discounting that I'm an avid overlander, and by the time I buy a Taco and properly kit it out to be even close to competitive with the R1T, it's not that much cheaper.

Depends on your definition of 'truck stuff' I guess. You can get a new f250 in the $5x,xxx's (base spec) or $6x,xxx's (well equipped) that will tow heavy things with less frustration, and has a bigger payload capacity and room to boot.
My definition of 'truck stuff' is basically working a farm and all that comes with that: trailers, payload, etc. I don't think Rivian is trying to hit that mark.
I'm not arguing its not an insane value, do it all truck. That's what I'm buying it for. I'm just saying if you are just buying it for "Truck stuff" (towing, payload, moving long distances) you may be disappointed in the end. For your use case, it was great, but I'd still argue not totally suited for what many would call "truck stuff." If I owned a 30ft trailer and camped a lot, I would not buy a Rivian unless I only camp within 50 miles of where I live, which is pretty rare. If I owned a boat and went to havasu a bunch, I would also likely not buy a Rivian...

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

Last Sunday I took my family to a tree farm to get a Christmas Tree with the Rivian. After selecting our tree and performing the necessary feats of strength with the handsaw, we loaded said tree right into the bed like a real truck and drove it home. It was far easier and less stress inducing than having it on the roof like we've done in the past.

It also got many more admiring looks than any of the other "real" trucks in the parking lot.

 

[Inkedsphynx]

Depends on your definition of 'truck stuff' I guess. You can get a new f250 in the $5x,xxx's (base spec) or $6x,xxx's (well equipped) that will tow heavy things with less frustration, and has a bigger payload capacity and room to boot.
My definition of 'truck stuff' is basically working a farm and all that comes with that: trailers, payload, etc. I don't think Rivian is trying to hit that mark.
I'm not arguing its not an insane value, do it all truck. That's what I'm buying it for. I'm just saying if you are just buying it for "Truck stuff" (towing, payload, moving long distances) you may be disappointed in the end. For your use case, it was great, but I'd still argue not totally suited for what many would call "truck stuff." If I owned a 30ft trailer and camped a lot, I would not buy a Rivian unless I only camp within 50 miles of where I live, which is pretty rare. If I owned a boat and went to havasu a bunch, I would also likely not buy a Rivian...

I guess the problem I have with that point of view is that your problems seem to be with the charging infrastructure, not the truck. If you had 350kw chargers every 20 miles on your common routes, I don't think considerations of range for towing would be that important, or shouldn't be at least.

I don't factor range into my calculations for how much 'truck' the R1T is because I don't ever need more range than it has, even for the towing I do. I could get a boat to any water around here on a single charge without issue, and the charging infrastructure on the highways out here is good enough that I could go any direction without any issues even with a trailer. Once I got over to Idaho it'd be a different story.

But you're not wrong either. Still, that 50k F250 won't do all the stuff my R1T will do that I consider 'truck stuff'

 

[moosehead]

 

[mabowden]

I guess the problem I have with that point of view is that your problems seem to be with the charging infrastructure, not the truck. If you had 350kw chargers every 20 miles on your common routes, I don't think considerations of range for towing would be that important, or shouldn't be at least.

I don't factor range into my calculations for how much 'truck' the R1T is because I don't ever need more range than it has, even for the towing I do. I could get a boat to any water around here on a single charge without issue, and the charging infrastructure on the highways out here is good enough that I could go any direction without any issues even with a trailer. Once I got over to Idaho it'd be a different story.

But you're not wrong either. Still, that 50k F250 won't do all the stuff my R1T will do that I consider 'truck stuff'

Agreed. IMHO the R1T is the best swiss army knife truck ever made.

The 2023 F450 that can tow up to 40,000 pounds is a 100lb jackhammer.

 

[Inkedsphynx]

I would bet money the R1T could tow 40k lbs too. It's really just a matter of whether the frame could hold up to the stress, which I think it could.

For the record, btw, I overloaded my payload capacity by at least 2x on 2 of the runs. One of the runs I had close to 2k lbs worth of books in the bed, plus all the crap in the cab, and another run I moved a bunch of heavy exercise equipment that weighed at least 2k lbs in total, again plus the stuff in the Cab, Frunk, and Gear Tunnel.

No complaints from the truck, no noticeable difference in ride or drive quality. I think the payload rating is pretty conservative.

 

[mikehmb]

Next time someone gives you a hard time about your Rivian not being “a truck” because it doesn’t do “truck things,” you can always point out that a van is actually a superior option to a truck in 99% of “truck use cases” that don’t explicitly involve towing >7k lbs. Even then, ask my neighbor who dumped his GMC Sierra for a Sprinter that tows their Airstream around the country.

Then laugh as you do a gnarly burnout 0-60 run in 3 seconds in your super truck full of whatever you managed to stuff in there (which is a lot, because “truck”).

(sorry - I have been a truck owner my entire adult life and I find the “it’s not a truck!” nonsense so ridiculous)

 

[RBR1S]

Truck stuff - anything too big, to awkward, or too heavy to fit in your car; Everything you never wanted to do for others but you have a "truck" so help me move....


I've only had a few occasions I needed a truck over the last decade or two and in every case, I rented one. I've literally stayed away from them JUST for that reason. No I am not helping you move, NO you cannot borrow it.

 

[Inkedsphynx]

Lucky for me my friend circle is pretty small and most of us already have trucks because we overland a lot, so I haven't yet had to face the dreaded "Hey, you've got a truck, I've got pizza, beer, and 40000 lbs of furniture. Sounds like a party, right?"

 

[BourboNole]

The way I like to look at it is that it is better as a truck than what the average American uses a truck for. No, it will usually not beat a true work truck if you are using it for farm or construction work, but I would venture that well less than half of the trucks sold in America are actually used full time for work. Most of us who have trucks do so for the comfort, safety and convenience that only a truck can provide. SUVs can cover most of that, but when you need a bed, you need a bed. A truck with a tonneau cover is the ultimate do it all vehicle, and the R1T is the current ultimate iteration of that because it is more comfortable, likely just as safe, and even more useful except at the extreme fringe where a larger bed would make a difference. Plus, it better on-road than any truck on the market, and close off-road to the very best.

I have yet to use it in a manner that my wife's Yukon couldn't also do, but it was certainly nice being able to drop the suspension down to load a generator into the bed by myself after Hurricane Ian. Oh and it powered multiple fridges and home network after both Hurricane Ian and Nicole, which the Yukon and none of my prior trucks could do.

 

[RBR1S]

I can't pick up a washer/ dryer for our business in an SUV. I can't wait to do it in my R1T.

You've now got me wondering. Is the R1S big enough to put a washing machine in the back. Enquiring minds want to go to Home Depot to find out. *laying down obviously*

Sponsored