R1T Tonneau Cover Issues Examined & Possible Fix Solutions -- by Sandy Munro Live

[Canthoney]

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[NY_Rob]

Thank you for posting @Canthoney ....

Very interesting with intelligent options for rectification. Let's see how the smart guys/gals at Rivian approach the fix.

Kind of shocking how badly worn/galled the guide piece was for a truck that basically went from the factory to Munro's shop. Like the one YT comment said "almost designed to fail sooner or later".

 

[Longreach]

Excellent breakdown of the design and issues.

How this ever got out of design, let alone testing is beyond belief. Anyone with experience should have foreseen the misalignment from shaft torquing and gear slip from day 1. Add in the general wear from those high spring loads needed to make it work, and it’s no surprise they are failing.

There are reliable tambour designs in the regular truck aftermarket that have proven reliable (Eg Retrax products) that would have been better, even if space changes were needed.

The proposed design changes (dual motors to reduce shaft torque, sprocket gears to reduce jumping, better wear surfaces) would definitely improve things, but the design is inherently complicated and may never be as reliable as a tambour design.

 

[Polecat]

This video has some timing, my Tonneau just decided to BAM stop working this morning. I've been clenching my teeth each time I've used it and then my wife needed to start loading stuff for the dump and it got almost all the way there. Oof what a design.

 

[COdogman]

Very interesting video. I think it’s funny they said Sandy, who is known for his cost savings advice suggests adding a second motor, while they say that is the last thing they would want to do because of the costs of it. I’m no engineer, but to me the only real solution to this seems to be a second motor.

Personally I would rather have a manual tonneau and use that space for storage.

 

[jclicky]

Very interesting video. I think it’s funny they said Sandy, who is known for his cost savings advice suggests adding a second motor, while they say that is the last thing they would want to do because of the costs of it. I’m no engineer, but to me the only real solution to this seems to be a second motor.

Personally I would rather have a manual tonneau and use that space for storage.

Haha I noticed that too. I couldn’t help but wonder if he wanted a less cost-effective solution that was more effective since he has an R1T himself.

I do hope they deploy a strong, reliable & more robust solution, just over-engineer it like they have so much else in the truck. Two motors, deeper teeth in the rotors, and other improvements to make it much stronger. I also would suggest doing something to make it visually clear to end-consumers that it’s the “updated tonneau cover” would help with reputation as more people may hear about these problems.

 

[Longreach]

Personally I would rather have a manual tonneau and use that space for storage.

No one has seen the manual tonneau yet, but in that solution it would be good if this space was turned unto a lockable storage compartment, like maybe a tool box

 

[COdogman]

Haha I noticed that too. I couldn’t help but wonder if he wanted a less cost-effective solution that was more effective since he has an R1T himself.

I do hope they deploy a strong, reliable & more robust solution, just over-engineer it like they have so much else in the truck. Two motors, deeper teeth in the rotors, and other improvements to make it much stronger. I also would suggest doing something to make it visually clear to end-consumers that it’s the “updated tonneau cover” would help with reputation as more people may hear about these problems.

Agree 100% As much wear and tear as that thing would take over the life of a truck, that is one item that almost requires over-engineering. As they were talking about their ideas to improve it, I was wondering if Rivian’s redesign is just of the motors or all new slats as well? From what I’ve heard it was a new 2 motor design, but no additional details. I hope they do it right - I’m sure they are already sick of getting calls about the original.

 

[COdogman]

No one has seen the manual tonneau yet, but in that solution it would be good if this space was turned unto a lockable storage compartment, like maybe a tool box

That is exactly what I had in mind. And if the panels of the tonneau could serve a second function like a table or recovery boards it would be even better. The website claimed the manual cover was 4 panels that could be stored in the gear tunnel. Sure would be nice to see more about it

 

[Longreach]

That is exactly what I had in mind. And if the panels of the tonneau could serve a second function like a table or recovery boards it would be even better. The website claimed the manual cover was 4 panels that could be stored in the gear tunnel. Sure would be nice to see more about it

Not sure why they couldn’t just be folded up rather than removed, like every other hard folding tonneau out there. They didn’t need to reinvent the wheel on this one.

 

[COdogman]

Not sure why they couldn’t just be folded up rather than removed, like every other hard folding tonneau out there. They didn’t need to reinvent the wheel on this one.

They say the manual version uses the same channel as the powered, so that would make folding hard. But I agree, they may have made this more complicated than necessary.

Manual Tonneau Cover
Our manual cover consists of four interlocking panels that slide in the channel of the truck bed. It comes with a bag for easy storage that fits inside the Gear Tunnel

 

[thrill]

A second motor, while costing a couple hundred dollars, would bring a lot of benefit to their system. The reviewers mentioned a need to have electronic synchronization between the two adding expense, but leaving that connecting rod in place to act as a mechanical sync would greatly simplify that since the differing torque could be easily measured. That significant track wear we saw would likely also be greatly reduced with synchronized dual motors because there'd be little binding now causing the rubbing.

 

[Prime]

Just my thinking with no engineering background, Sandy was likely suggesting the most realistic /stable solution without a complete redesign by adding a second motor. Seems like those springs are putting a lot of stress on the single motor to compress as those panels pack in. If they get around the misalignment issue causing failures I’d be worried the next failure would be the single motor design.

I think over-engineering for longevity is important, especially since this is meant to be able to serve as a work truck and daily driver.

 

[dp351]

I like the idea of dual motors without the connecting rod. Sensors could allow this setup to detect & correct for any misalignment or tooth skipping that may occur. Similar to how having independent wheel motors & no differential allows for cool tricks like tank turns.

 

[zipzag]

The lack of adequate testing of this accessory by Rivian is remarkable. I wonder what happened.

Great presentation by these two. Rivian's fix will be interesting. This video certainly makes a manual solution more attractive. I will not touch the cover more than a few times per month on average.

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